Revelation 1:12-15 ~ His voice was like the sound of rushing waters

The angelic image seen on Presbyterian Hospital of Charlotte, NC's security camera and tape in the doorway of Chelsea Barton's room. A lot of the family and hospital staff saw the image and identified as an angel. The angel appeared before her family prayfully removed her from a ventilator and placed her in the Lord's hands. Chelsea Barton had a recovery the hospital spokesperson said could only be explained as a miracle.

There were a lot of comments on the photo image, positive and negative from Scripture for Today on December 27th . Please look closely at the hand on the door and the shape of the wings.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,472288,00.html -

Revelation 1:12-15 (Today's New International Version)

12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, [a] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters

a. like Daniel 7:13.

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John 3:16 ~ Spirit of Truth

John 16:12-15

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.


Jesus Christ our LORD was more than a teacher. He is the Word of God spoken. He is Truth.

Pontius Pilate ran full and head on into TRUTH. Placed suddenly in the Judgment Seat, where he longed to be. His wife sent a message, in Matthew 27:19, warning him to deal with Jesus as a righteous man.

John 18:37-39
Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world— to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in ³⁹  But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

Many people were uncomfortable with Jesus, usually, because His ways were not their ways. When you read the 16th Chapter of John, it is apparent Jesus felt for Pilate. He wanted Pilate to recognize him.  For Pilate to know. And apparently Pilate did know. Pilate wrote the sign.

John 19:19-22
Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”

Isaiah 55:9

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Our Scripture passage is important.  Jesus longs for us. Not to scold us and improve us.

1 John 4:19
We love because he first loved us.

Jesus wants His Truth to be merciful.


Luke 15:20
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

Psalm 137:5
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill!

 Matthew 23:37
 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
 
Hosea 2:19
And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.


John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?



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Luke 12:22-31 ~ why are you anxious about the rest

Luke 12:22-31

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴  Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁶ If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. ³⁰ For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

Centenarian documentation agrees with this philosophy. The Discovery Channel interviewed the people living to be 100 or more years old and found centenarians felt their troubles did not come to stay, but would eventually work out. This faith led them to look over their lives and agree trouble had a way of working itself out.

Proverbs 8:32
"Now then, my sons, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways."

Proverbs 19:16
He who obeys instructions guards his life, but he who is contemptuous of his ways will die.

Luke 8:21
He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."

John 20:29
Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”




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Acts 16:22-34 ~ having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks

Acts 16:22-34

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio

²² The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. ²³ And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. ²⁴ Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵  About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, ²⁶ and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. ²⁷ When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” ²⁹ And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³² And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. ³⁴ Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

We all face times in our lives where we feel we cannot move forward. We feel we are stuck. And we wonder if God hears us.  Yet we will go forward. And sometimes then we feel unforgiven or stuck again. Christians are, according to marketing surveys, more likely to feel guilty.  Paul was good at not feeling guilty by helping the others around him. He had to be somewhat angry with the jailer for locking him up. He wasn't sure how long he'd be detained. 

Paul could have run off and been like most prisoners we see in movies. Instead, Paul recruits the others to stay and help. Because he stayed, the entire household - in relief, in joy, in the caring - they believed and were saved. 

The Scriptures tell us of the most unlikely things to happen, yet they touch us when we take the time to to look at them in wonder.  We are responsible for the people God gives us. Sometimes at the forfeit of our own rights, but in caring for others, we care for Jesus and we care for ourselves. 

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Deuteronomy 16 ~ You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you

Deuteronomy 16 

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio

Passover

Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God, from the flock or the herd, at the place that the Lord will choose, to make his name dwell there. 3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. 4 No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the flesh that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain all night until morning. 5 You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, 6 but at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell in it, there you shall offer the Passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, at the time you came out of Egypt. 7 And you shall cook it and eat it at the place that the Lord your God will choose. And in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. 8 For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord your God. You shall do no work on it.

 The Feast of Weeks  

9 “You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. 10 Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you. 11 And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. 12 You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.
 
The Feast of Booths

13 “You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. 14 You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. 15 For seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.

16 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.



18 “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. 20 Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.


21 “You shall not plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God that you shall make. 22 And you shall not set up a pillar, which the Lord your God hates.



Passover is Easter time. The Festival of Weeks is Shavuot, in late May or early June. The Feast of Booths is like Thanksgiving, Sukkot, in late September or October. 

In all of these times, there is a celebration of a relationship with Father God! He draws us away from the every day.  Each is a jubilation and a joy. We take weeks to prepare and celebrate for Christmas, but these festivals are a week long, or weeks. This is something we miss out on in our world.  It's interesting advice in the closing - no partiality, bribes and a call for justice. Perhaps God is saying we tend to not get along even in the midst of celebration. 

 

 The Biblical Antiquities Center in Georgia, built a typical house in the time of Jesus choosing to live among us as Grace and Truth.

 

And Asherah was the image of the consort of God. It was something that competed with the worship of Father God.  Mankind tends to love images. Jesus could have been born in Jerusalem, able to worship at the Temple continually. Instead, GOD chose the fields where David had quiet time to think upon what would be the Psalms.  Jesus referred to the Temple practices as something worse than business as usual. Jesus is remembered as chasing out people for not allowing His House to be a House of Prayer.

Matthew Henry has excellent commentary on this chapter:

Never should a believer forget his low estate of guilt and misery, his deliverance, and the price it cost the Redeemer; that gratitude and joy in the Lord may be mingled with sorrow for sin, and patience under the tribulations in his way to the kingdom of heaven. They must rejoice in their receivings from God, and in their returns of service and sacrifice to him; our duty must be our delight, as well as our enjoyment. If those who were under the law must rejoice before God, much more we that are under the grace of the gospel (!); which makes it our duty to rejoice evermore, to rejoice in the Lord always! When we rejoice in God ourselves, we should do what we can to assist others also to rejoice in him, by comforting the mourners, and supplying those who are in want. All who make God their joy, may rejoice in hope, for He is faithful that has promised.

Hallelujah!!!!


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Acts 27 ~ giving thanks to God in the presence of all

Acts 27


  English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio 

And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. 2 And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 3 The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. 4 And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8 Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea. 

 9 Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast[a] was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. The Storm at Sea 

13 Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. 14 But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land. 15 And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda,[b] we managed with difficulty to secure the ship's boat. 17 After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear,[c] and thus they were driven along. 18 Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. 19 And on the third day they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. 

21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.” 

27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. 28 So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms.[d] A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms.[e] 29 And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship's boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it go. 

 33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength,[f] for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” 35 And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. 36 Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 (We were in all 276[g] persons in the ship.) 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea. The Shipwreck 

39 Now when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. 40 So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. 41 But striking a reef,[h] they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. 42 The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, 44 and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.

It's good to be Paul. At first it was thought he was just another opinionated prisoner. But Paul does something we should remember when applying the love others as yourself. He saves himself as he saves others. 

And no, it is not really good to be Paul. In belonging to Jesus, he has given up his freedom and is in a life threatening situation. We seem to forget life in the Scriptures isn't all about God caring and providing. It is about the dangers of the voyage. 

Imagine being asked to have a meal and throw out the food for the voyage. It is the story of Elijah - having enough. It is trust. It is faith. Without this hope, it would have been impossible to go forward.  

Even for Paul, the wind blows where it will. 

Ezekiel 37:9 

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 

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Acts 10:34-43 ~ everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name

Acts 10:34-43

  English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio 

So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, ³⁵ but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. ³⁶ As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ ( he is Lord of all), ³⁷ you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 

 39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, ⁴⁰ but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, ⁴¹  not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

Luke 18:10-14

  “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹²  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The second Scripture speaks of two different types of people. One is large and in charge and the other is humble. The first Scripture tells us God is not interested in boundaries and track records. But His Spirit searches us. Finding who believes in HIM. I feel angry when people debunk the Scriptures and say, "If you fear Him, you don't understand Him." 437 times in Scripture it tells us to fear God.

After the 1990 movie "Ghost" was made, with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, the United States public was polled to ask if they believed in the Heaven, hell and judgement portrayed in the movie. The public answered overwhelmingly - they did. We belonged, at the time, to an Episcopal Church where the Christian Education Director said the movie annoyed her, of course, there is no hell. Even to the children of people worried about suicide in their family. It really was not comforting or informative. In fact, it made me end the conversation and go home. Later, my family voted with our feet and left the Church. And I witnessed the young woman, in our Bible study, who had several stillborn children and was told there was not really a Heaven - just a memory in God's mind.

Luke 12:5 

But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!

Proverbs 9:10 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. 

So we press the boundaries of our beliefs and we say - where do you really stand. Is Proverbs true? The beginning of wisdom says God is in Charge. Not the Pharisee. With his position of importance and self-importance. 

And if there is a Heaven and a hell - all those scary movies are bunk - what we really need to do is please the One who will Decide.  

And then we see injustice in our lives, in the people around us and in the news and we wonder - is God really in charge? Maybe since everyone else skirts, skates and plays the margins of the rules - it is the acceptable thing to do. 

Then we remember with just a touch of humility the man who chose to not be like Buddha. Not a god to seek and seek and seek. God who chose to live among us as grace upon grace. Who chose to die upon a tree. And to be seemingly defeated. Only to astonish the Sanhedrin Council. The Talmud, of that Grace and Truth time, that exists today. The Roman Emperor - who was afraid of the name of Jesus Christ within 16 years. The men who hid and let the women mourn and take spices to the Tomb. The woman who proclaimed Him first and was the person adopted, after Jesus triumphed over death, into the family first. "My Father and yours." 

And God tells us about human nature. No one had to tell Jesus about human nature - He already knew. And He longed to gather us under His wing as His own. He cried for us. God shows no partiality. A good record and a bad deed - we are sinners. A bad record and a humble repentant heart - we will be the first He says "My Father and yours." 

Proverbs 16:18 

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. 

Job 28:28

 And he said to man, 'The fear of the Lord--that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.'" 

Romans 14:12 

So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. 

James 3:6 

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 

Matthew 12:36 

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak 

Titus 1:2 

in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began 

2 Timothy 1:9 

who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time 

Ephesians 2:5

even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 

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Mark 16:9-20 ~ while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.

Mark 16:9-20


  English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio

Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.


12 After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

14 Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 

19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs. 


So the believers went to each other and told what they'd seen and believed. Even when they knew they'd probably be met with unbelief. A community who'd lived, eaten with and witnessed Jesus. These brothers and sisters, doing the will of God, faced up to what they knew to be true. It was very brave, they'd just seen the government kill Jesus brutally.

Genesis 15:6
 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 

Mark 9:24, 27
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 

Matthew 14:31-32 
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.

The same Lord Jesus rebuked them in this passage in verse 14 for unbelief and hardness of heart. Being God, Jesus knew when to press them to grow in faith and then to provide signs.

John 14:9

 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Jesus expected His adopted family to grow in faith. Just like His Father, he sometimes pressed them and then he comforted them.

Matthew 17:7

But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.”

 

Matthew 9:29

Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”

but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.

What can we expect from Jesus today? The Word and Will of God being living and active - unchanging yesterday, today and tomorrow?

John 5:17

 Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

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John 15:1-8 ~ apart from Me you can do nothing

Earl of Durham's Monument

John 15:1-8

 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ²  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.  

⁶ If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

I enjoy telling good family tales. And I admit, if they cause a Bit of embarrassment for someone else, then there is a little vinegar in the sugar. Take for example my cousin.  Samuel Clements. For the younger generation, he was the Robin Williams of his day. (Maybe I should say Lewis Black, but I really think he was closer to Robin Williams.)

Mark Twain:

It's no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.  

Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today. 

God's inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn.
- Notebook, 1898

What God lacks is convictions- stability of character. He ought to be a Presbyterian or a Catholic or something- not try to be everything.
- Notebook, 1898

 

Everything human is pathetic. The secret source of humor itself is not joy but sorrow. There is no humor in heaven.

 All right, then, I'll go to hell.

Perhaps you've heard the tale about how my cousin was loud to proclaim he was jipped by his father. His father was in line to become the Earl of Durham, the oldest son. His father was so off  - as to not accept the Earldom complete with Lampton Castle.

When in doubt, tell the truth. 

Familiarity breeds contempt. How accurate that is. The reason we hold truth in such respect is because we have so little opportunity to get familiar with it.
- Notebook, 1898

Honesty is the best policy - when there is money in it.

What a mixed bag we all are. Of good intentions and bravado.

Jane Lampton Clements had a son. Her son's name was Samuel Langhorne Clements. 

Firstborn and the Law of Primogeniture (Birthright):

Deuteronomy 21:17b

The right of the firstborn is his.

Add to that Cousin Samuel's birthday of November 30, 1835 and you realize they were out of the country for a time. And I happen to know for a fact - Samuel and William Lampton arrived, as the eldest sons of the Earl of Durham, in Virginia, in 1740. You might guess Samuel was his grandpappy and William mine. Well, Samuel had a fight with his dad. Because. Aristocratic England was going to the dogs. Slavery, debauchery, lots of ceremony and rules. And lots of druggies; so many they created Gin Lane. So Samuel and William fled their father because they wanted something new. Something clean. Something they could put their life's work into. So you see, Samuel Clements/Mark Twain had no claim on the Earldom. He forfeited fair and square and it fell to William. And William only had sons..... so move over MP Earl of Durham.  An American Cousin is coming to call. (I actually have a cousin who did this and they were quite lovely to her.)

So you see. Samuel Clements was a rascal. And yet. He was related to his Grandpappy Samuel in a profound way. Samuel believed strongly in women's rights and civil rights.  Lincoln's Proclamation "... not only set the black slaves free, but set the white man free also."

He believed unions needed to exist. And believed Laissez-faire was something government was created to keep in check for the greater good. 

Plus he said, " I have no respect for a man who can spell a word only one way."  I deeply relate to that. Except he really said - "I never had any large respect for good spelling." You have to like a man who gets to the point.

And for all of Twain's inner angst, it is important to realize he had amazing financial difficulties but he mirrored his Louisiana cousins (who are so proud to claim him), because he also gave the funds for an entire Presbyterian Church. 

And perhaps Samuel's thoughts on Heaven changed after he out-lived so many of his daughters. I cannot speak for Samuel's inner thoughts on Jesus Christ. I hope for him Jesus' Grace followed and preceded and Loved his works. It is only the place of Jesus to judge his soul. I offer this as hope for those with mixed deeds, all of us. Apart from Jesus Christ, we can do nothing.

When I reflect upon the number of disagreeable people who I know have gone to better world, I am moved to lead a different life.

Proverbs 23:5 

When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. 

Is certainly a phrase Samuel found to be true in his life, financially. Even Lampton Castle has found hard times. Built on coal mine wealth, the Castle, unfortunately, became unoccupied in 1931 because the coal mines underneath caused portions of the Castle to fall down. 

And of course this is an analogy. Words can be meaningless. Or obscure. And even worthless. We all have days wondering how fruitful our lives really are. It is because no one is good. 

All generalizations are false, including this one.

And even that is wrong. We do have moments and aspirations of goodness. Yet really. The reason we do - we abide in HIM.  Jesus Christ is our LORD. He is our hope for Salvation.

1 John 2:28 
And now, dear children, Continue in Him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. 

John 1:9 
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 

1 John 2:8 
 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. 

 Matthew 5:16 
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Romans 15:5

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Psalm 136 ~ a heritage to Israel his servant, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 136 

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio

  Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
     for his steadfast love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
4 to him who alone does great wonders,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
5 to him who by understanding made the heavens,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
6 to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
7 to him who made the great lights,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
8 the sun to rule over the day,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
11 and brought Israel out from among them,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
13 to him who divided the Red Sea in two,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
14  and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
15 but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
16 to him who led his people through the wilderness,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
17 to him who struck down great kings,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
18 and killed mighty kings,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
20 and Og, king of Bashan,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
21 and gave their land as a heritage,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
22 a heritage to Israel his servant,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
24 and rescued us from our foes,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
25 he who gives food to all flesh,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.


What is a heritage? It is the good values you learned from your grandparents and your parents. A heritage are the values we learn to discard from our grandparents and parents. What we will give to our children. Then they will want to separate out their experiences and the process begins again.  And we give them the next heritage of keeping our mouths shut, our hearts gracious and to love as the next generation grows.

God does this for us as well. We know we just don't deserve His Goodness. But the most important thing is to Love the Lord. And accept His Grace. And to try again. It is GOD giving us the grace to accept people, laugh with them and at them gently.  To laugh at ourselves.

It is the ability to know in the Lord's Prayer;  Give us this Day!  Sometimes means I trust in You Father God, in faith that tomorrow will take care of itself.  It is the ability to love when we just don't Want to.  And the ability to Hope - when our heart is the most grumpy.


Psalm 116:13
I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD

It is the times we gather with the ones we love and everyone clicks glasses - knowing this is a good moment. It is the times when it is difficult and we raise the Communion Cup - knowing we call on the Name of the LORD.  Jesus Christ.

In His Steadfast Love, We endure Forever!!!!

1 John 2:1
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in any way he could..

One day the grandson asked, 'Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?' The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, 'Take this old wicker coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water.'

The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, 'You will have to move a little faster next time,' and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the old wicker basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was 'impossible to carry water in a basket,' and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, 'I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do this. You're just not trying hard enough,' and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, 'See Papa, it's useless!' 'So you think it is useless?' the old man said. 'Look at the basket.'

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old wicker coal basket, it was clean. 'Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out.' Moral of the wicker basket story: Take time to read a portion of God's word each day; it will affect you for good even if you don't retain a word.

Thought for Today: God's Love is like the ocean, you can see its beginnings but not its end. I really like this story because I don't retain things too well anymore...age may have something to do with it but I figure my brain just gets overloaded! God isn't concerned about my brain anyway; He's more concerned about my heart.


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