Psalm 126 ~ restored

Psalm 126

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,

we were like those who dream.

2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then they said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.”

3 The Lord has done great things for us;

we are glad.

4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

like streams in the Negeb!

5 Those who sow in tears

shall reap with shouts of joy!

6 He who goes out weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

bringing his sheaves with him.


When we've looked at Psalm 126 in the past, our reoccurring joy is God's storehouse of blessings never is depleted. Restoration of our loved ones, knowing good-byes are temporary. Restoration of our joy. Restoration of friendships, even just in good will. Restoration of the next generation. Restoration in our living loved ones.

The joy in Christianity is in the strength God gives us in endurance, certainly, but dwells so much in the renewal and redemption of the every day. In Jesus Christ, our LORD, we have the duty, the obligation and the joy to Give Us the Day!

Always remember 10 lepers were cleansed and only one came back in gratitude.

Blessed are You, OH LORD. OUR ROCK AND REDEEMER!!!!!!!!!!!

We had the most wonderful Pentecost at our Church on Sunday. We are a smallish Church,   So! The blessings of the day continued in our atrium - we had a mended friendship from someone I have always admired their Joy of the LORD spirit. Which led to more good will!  A renewal of our willingness to be a Church. A confession of weariness and meanness of spirit in me, during the be prayed for part of the service. And a Forgiveness. A remembrance of blessings. And it was WONDERFUL!!! It was all so wonderful that we applauded the LORD several times. God loves spontaneous worship.  And it was WONDERFUL!!!

I love the LORD. And I am so glad to be part of my family. Even the ones I'd like to thump on the head.  Blessings of Psalm 126.

I love the LORD. Come let us think of our blessings and bless HIM!

The Joy of the LORD is my Strength!!!

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Matthew 21:33-46 ~ the tenants

Matthew 21:33-46

“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord's doing,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

My mom is a Realtor. And we've had some rental property since I was in the 7th grade. So tenants are part of our life. We've had a Park Cities Baptist Minister, a Dallas Cowboy former owner,  a long named jewelry store owner in Dallas, a police man, and some restauranteurs who - I wish they knew where the garbage can had been placed. A stewardess homeschooling her kids who painted around the furniture and doors as was convenient.

Tenants means rolling stone. Just a season. Not in ownership. 

And then we have something that is more permanent. 

Tenants of our faith. A minister friend of ours told us - you have to prepare for those times when life floods you. Overwhelms you. You have to know what you believe and what you will cling to. Accountability of your faith. Because we are not here forever. We have to have a cornerstone. 

 When we rejoice in the LORD, more things are marvelous to our eyes. We learn to look for things to rejoice in.

Gratitude for what God planned to do for us. Gratitude for His Eternal Promises. Just for you. As if you were the only person who exists.

Acts 14:10
said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking.


Romans 11:20
That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear.


Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Ephesians 2:20-22
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.


2 Peter 3:18
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.




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Psalm 101 ~ I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me

Psalm 101

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio

I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
to you, O Lord, I will make music.
2 I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;
3 I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.
4 A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.

5 Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly
I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart
I will not endure.

6 I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
shall minister to me.

7 No one who practices deceit
shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies
shall continue before my eyes.

8 Morning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
from the city of the Lord.


What a Blessing it is thinking upon Jesus - being the feet who walked this life - to Save us.  To remember with joy in our hearts - there is one who is Good. And He Loves us and advocates for us. To know we cannot fail to do God's will because - it is His Plan. And just as GOD never lies, His work and His words never fail. 


Jesus Christ the LORD. Our Savior. His Story. His Love.




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Psalm 68 ~ O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah

Psalm 68

God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
as wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
3 But the righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!

4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the Lord;
exult before him!
5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6 God settles the solitary in a home;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

7 O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness, Selah
8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
10 your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

11 The Lord gives the word;
the women who announce the news are a great host:
12 “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home divide the spoil—
13 though you men lie among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with shimmering gold.
14 When the Almighty scatters kings there,
let snow fall on Zalmon.

15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
18 You ascended on high,
leading a host of captives in your train
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.

19 Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation. Selah
20 Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
21 But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
22 The Lord said,
“I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 that you may strike your feet in their blood,
that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”

24 Your procession is seen, O God,
the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25 the singers in front, the musicians last,
between them virgins playing tambourines:
26 “Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, O you who are of Israel's fountain!”
27 There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

28 Summon your power, O God,
the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings shall bear gifts to you.
30 Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31 Nobles shall come from Egypt;
Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.

32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34 Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose power is in the skies.
35 Awesome is God from his sanctuary;
the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!

It has always seemed to me, as vacation ends, something happens to bring us back to our regular life. Usually something not very endearing. And a loved one commented sourly, God has a terrible sense of humor. Look what He did to Job. 

I doubt Job still complains. 

Deuteronomy 1:33
who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

We always tend to think of God as removed. Yet the Scriptures tell us again and again - GOD Almighty goes before us. Existing before us. Creating before us. Writing the Book of Life. Loving us before we were created, seeing us grow, fall back, trying again in His Strength. Remembering Jesus' first sign - He cared for a mere woman who wanted Him to change His mind and help. Not something the Roman Empire saw a lot of!

John 2:4
And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”

Some days it is an effort to struggle forward. Yet is is God who gives one power and strength to His People.  Blessed be GOD!!  It is only in the power of HIS Love we claim Psalm 68 is for us. 

Read it, claim it, love it. His promises are for us. His beloved. 

Deuteronomy 31:8

It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Proverbs 16:18

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

John 10:4

When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

So we know God goes before us. Outside of time, yet the nature of God is to be everywhere.

Luke 17:20,21
Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

It would be the modern equivalent of God saying, He's got us covered.

Psalm 77:19
Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.

Isaiah 43:16
This is what the LORD says--he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters

Daniel 5:23b
God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.

It is up to us to Honor the LORD. To be grateful, to be mindful, to be reverent. To seize the day, by remembering we work for the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.


Job 12:10
In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.

Isaiah 49:16
Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

2 Corinthians 1:3 
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort



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When away from home and internet

Our Heavenly Father, Holy. Let Your Will be done on Earth and in Heaven. Give us this Day! Our daily Bread. Remembering You are the Bread of Life. Forgive me my many sins. As I need and rely upon Your Grace to forgive those who sin against me. Lead me not into Temptation. Deliver me from evil. For, Father God, it is Your Kingdom, Your Power and Your Glory - Forever!!



Hello, my fellow followers of Jesus Christ. I enjoyed a vacation with prayer, scripture, fellowship, a great meal, lots of Padre Island views and margaritas. How disappointed I was when our vacation spot did not have internet this year. However, it was wonderful to get Edward away from his laptop! I tried for an hour and a half to post just a blurb on my phone. Recalling the comedian who says we are all just Terrible because we don't allow the satellite circling the earth time to provide us with phone service. Well, after an hour and a half - I feel I was patient. And it is a good thing that Jesus understands rash words better than Moses had it. My friend loaned me her phone and whoa - hold the phone - it started showing me Google from hotmail to hot teens gone wild. What a strange world we live in. I am happy to report the x at the top of the page did work as I encouraged the phone to "whoa!"

I am looking forward to my Bible Study at HopePointe today on David and Needlepoint. I look forward - as I do just about every single day - I get to!! Write the Blog.

We will wait to see what Father God brings us in Scripture to think about. May the blessing of seizing the day be yours. I had the blessing of my 23 year old scrubbing my kitchen upon our return and discovering 4 young people in 4 days can turn a kitchen into an "I Love Lucy" Disaster. Praise the LORD for their willing hands to amend it.

Blessings until later!

Anne Laurel

Luke 24:44-53 ~ continually in the Temple blessing God

Luke 24:44-53

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸  You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰ Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. ⁵¹ While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵² And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ⁵³ and were continually in the temple blessing God.

So many times, people love Jesus, but don't love the Scriptures. Or love Jesus and don't belong to or love the Church. The disciples give us a model. Jesus is recorded in the Gospels as going to the Temple 26 times and Synagogues 13 times. Jesus is the Son of God. The disciples, who loved Jesus from living with HIM, seeing His mercy, began going to the Temple continually blessing God in worship. 

When we believe the promises of God the Father, we are called to do as the disciples. To go to our Church and give God the only gift He has not given us - Thanks and Worship.

With God's blessings upon us - we should worship Him with great joy and continually to find and give genuine Thanks to our Creator. 

This has been one of my favorite Psalms since I was a young child, going to Parochial School and enjoying Morning Prayer.

Psalm 100

 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
²      Serve the Lord with gladness!
     Come into his presence with singing!

³ Know that the Lord, he is God!
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

⁴  Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his courts with praise!
    Give thanks to him; bless his name!

⁵  For the Lord is good;
    his steadfast love endures forever,
    and his faithfulness to all generations.

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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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