Psalm 33 ~ For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His Holy Name.

Psalm 33

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
he puts the deeps in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
16 The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.

18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.


Two days ago we looked at a miracle sent to Jeroboam, the usurper of Rehoboam, Solomon's son.  The man of God summoned by the word of God knows not to stay, dine and visit with Jeroboam.  The next part of 1 Kings 13 is a prophet beguiled by another prophet to disregard GOD's instructions to him. 

 1 Kings 13:16-25

 And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, ¹⁷ for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’” ¹⁸ And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him. ¹⁹ So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.
 
²⁰ And as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back. ²¹ And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the command that the Lord your God commanded you, ²² but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’” ²³ And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. ²⁴ And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body. ²⁵ And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.
 


he Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.

This would be a reminder to listen to the voice of God 

 For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.

even when godly friends would say relax, enjoy.

The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
 The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.



This would be one more reason to be grateful to our Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God our mediator and advocate.

Hebrews 4:15, 16

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.





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Luke 7:11-17 ~ “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!”

Nain is known as the Arab village of Nein, the north side of the Hill of Moreh. Nein means pleasant. The town of Jesus’ day was probably placed on the hill than the present village. Named for the pleasant view across the plains of Esdraelon. To the west is Mt. Carmel, and to the north, Nazareth stands out, about 6 mikes away. To the northeast is snow-capped Mt. Hermon.

Luke 7:11-17

 Soon afterward ^{[The next day]} he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. ¹² As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 

 ¹⁴ Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” ¹⁵ And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.  

¹⁶ Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” ¹⁷ And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.


The fourth chapter of Luke is the beginning of Jesus' ministry. In the 5th Chapter, Jesus calls His disciples and begins to minister to large crowds. We remember Lazarus so very clearly (in the 16th Chapter of Luke as a parable) and in the raising of Lazarus in the Eleventh Chapter of The Gospel, According to John. The seventh chapter of Luke is still the Early days of Jesus' ministry.

Remember Peter's profession of faith for Jesus as Lord, in Matthew 16. Yet Jesus did something the Old Testament did as well. Jesus told the woman at the well in John Chapter 4,   The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” ²⁶ Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

Jesus talked about, in Nazareth,  the obscure miracles which have gained in the telling.


Luke 4:23-30

What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.

Jesus being GOD, did not just converse with His disciples, He went out to the people -the original Hebrew word expresses heart-felt "sympathy" as a personal identification with suffering from grief as a physical condition.


when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

We can expect today, GOD has compassion on us. Even when we feel far away from HIM.


Isaiah 41:10
 Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Matthew 28:20
Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

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1 Kings 13:1-10 ~ And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’

1 Kings 13:1-10


English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio   

And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. 

 Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. 

 2 And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’” 3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’”  

4 And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.”  And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself.  

5 The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.  

6 And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him and became as it was before. 

 7 And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” 8 And the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, 9 for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.

 
Some Background History:

While still young, Jeroboam was promoted by Solomon to be chief superintendent of the slaves. Upon hearing the prophet Ahijah (1 Kings 11:29-39), he began to conspire to become king; but was discovered,  fled to Egypt, remaining under the protection of pharaoh Shishak. Upon the death of Solomon, Rehoboam assumed the throne. The 10 northern tribes revolted against Solomon's son and asked Jeroboam to become king. Rehoboam's poor conduct helped Jeroboam, and Jeroboam was accordingly proclaimed "king of Israel".

Jeroboam fortified Shechem as the capital of his kingdom. and in Dan and Bethel,built "golden calves," which he set up as symbols of God, pulling worship away from Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, but to bring their offerings to his shrines.

He became distinguished as the man "who made Israel to sin."

This miracle made no abiding impression on him.He was in constant war with the "House of Judah."

Translocate

verb (used with object), trans·lo·cat·ed, trans·lo·cat·ing.

to move or transfer from one place to another; cause to change location; displace; dislocate.

Saint Pio (Pius) of Pietrelcina was said to have translocated to be with people in prayer. This information is not readily available in his saint literature. It would be difficult to prove and might cause someone to cry out "seize him" in order to ascertain the situation. This didn't work out well for Zechariah in Luke 1 either. 

What a unique reaction. Usually people have fear and trembling when dealing with Mighty Acts of God. The Scriptures do not record God trying again with Jeroboam.  The Word of God, He sent forth, was fulfilled.

Isaiah 55:11
so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

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Mark 8:27-38 ~ If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Mark 8:27-38

 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸ And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹ And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” ³⁰ And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

³¹ And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³² And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³ But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

³⁴ And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵ For whoever would save his life  ^{[The same Greek word can mean either soul or life, depending on the context; twice in this verse and once in verse 36 and once in verse 37]} will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. ³⁶ For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? ³⁷ For what can a man give in return for his soul? ³⁸ For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Jesus told the crowd to take up a horrible instrument of death to be His followers. This is the Eighth chapter of Mark. This shocking statement did not put a dent in the people willing to follow Jesus. Which would say something about the wonders of God they have seen Jesus do. The comfort His Words of life offer. People followed Jesus into the wilderness without food, sometimes going 3 days to hear Him. Jesus was filled with compassion for His people.

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


The Children of Israel were asked to believe and to follow the LORD. They were afraid to leave slavery, yet they did with gifts from the Egyptians. So many times we read of these great acts and wonder what Jesus would have us do with our lives.

Romans 4
And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹² And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

What are Abraham's footsteps?

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

Romans 4:9-10
Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!

Abraham went by faith. Just as Paul went by faith to the Gentiles, having been educated at the feet of Gamaliel, and climbing quickly in his career at the Temple. 

These people who did not know the next step, but trusted God to provide the path.

Psalm 119:133
Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.

Joshua 6:7
And he said to the people, “Go forward. March around the city and let the armed men pass on before the ark of the LORD.”

Philippians 2:23
Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me

John 16:33
have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

A cross.  A public stand. Making a vow. Keeping a vow. Caring enough to create action. Refraining from action and letting God in prayer. Putting forth the thought, the action to have our lives reflect His love.



2 Corinthians 5:20
So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!"



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Genesis 20 ~ And Abraham said of Sarah

Genesis 20

From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. ² And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. ³ But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.” ⁴ Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? ⁵ Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” ⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

⁸ So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. ⁹ Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” ¹⁰ And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” ¹¹ Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ ¹² Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. ¹³ And when God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

¹⁴ Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. ¹⁵ And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” ¹⁶ To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” ¹⁷ Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. ¹⁸ For the Lord had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

Abraham and Sarah, the parents of today's Middle East trauma. Abraham could hear the LORD speaking with him and Still was self-centered. My inner nature tells me - this is good work if you can get it. And then the real sorrow we do not do better for the LORD. In the wellsprings of our heart. Jesus deserves that LOVE.  The incredible patience He has for us. 

Abraham judged Abimelech to be his enemy. Abimelech had a lot of grace. Our movies would tell us Abimelech would take a woman immediately. Instead, Abimelech has spoken with Sarah but has not known her. In our world, we would be suspicious of That set of circumstances. The movie "The Kingdom" is a spectacular movie of the freedoms we enjoy as Christians and the devotions of being Muslim.  The plot, according to IMDb; A team of U.S. government agents is sent to investigate the bombing of an American facility in the Middle East. There are a lot of rabbit holes and the investigator learns of a profound Muslim holiness dwelling in the Muslim family,  with a willingness to honor the evil of murder for those having different ideas. 

The movie relates to me biblically, Aaron was invited to come into God's sanctuary seeking forgiveness and splashes blood around the Holy of Holies. It is God -  knowing we are not His holiness but giving us JESUS to say,  please stay with me eternally. 

Instead of judging one another so harshly, we need to remember how unique we are to God. GOD knows us just as we are. God, who says come as you are. Grow. Rest. Lay down your burden.

Matthew 13:32
It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.

Hebrews 13:2
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

We know Abraham entertained angels and recognized them as angels. Surely we can recognize, in this passage, even the righteous need a Savior. Abraham prays for Abimelech, when it is Abimelech who had clean hands and asked for mercy. God loves the prayer of a righteous person.

James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.


Father God, each day let us remember in humility we can do nothing Good apart from You. In Your Son, Jesus Christ, alone is our great hope, faith and Love. In Jesus Christ alone is our mercy. We pray to you and hope to availeth much.  You have always appreciated the huge prayers and rejoice with us when we rejoice in Your smallest mercies. In the name of Jesus. Amen.




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Psalm 54 ~ O God, save me by your name, and vindicate me by your might

Psalm 54


O God, save me by your name,
and vindicate me by your might.
2 O God, hear my prayer;
give ear to the words of my mouth.

3 For strangers^{[insolent men]} have risen against me;
ruthless men seek my life;
they do not set God before themselves. Selah

4 Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord is the upholder of my life.          
5 He will return the evil to my enemies;
in your faithfulness put an end to them.

6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good.
7 For he has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.


Psalm 54 is a Psalm of David.  A Psalm written by a man who saw war, homelessness, being overlooked by his father and brothers, marked as a criminal, a mercenary.  And he lived through victory, indulgence, defeat and into old age.

We live in time when the news generally isn't great.  People have doubts about their children's futures.  Most of us are amazed at least once a month by a new phone app or a computer application.  And we have so many debates about nutrition, carbs, the wheat supply being irradiated. Sometimes it helps to remember my grandmothers grew old after facing life's hardships. I know they had years life shook them like waves. They were not like the centenarian documentaries of self-reliance and hard core assurance. Yet they found they endured and looked forward to more with God in eternity. 

How are we saved? By the blood of Jesus. I wouldn't turn this down, especially at the Communion Table. By the cross of Jesus?  It is the symbol of victory of the LORD over the enemy of death, despair, false witness.  Yet David grasps something very important here. We are saved by the name of Jesus. The Christ. The Son of God. The LORD.

Philippians 2:10
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth

What shall we say about our JESUS?

Jesus

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.


Genesis 1:3-4
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good.



Proverbs 8

The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of old.
23 Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
24 When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth,
26 before he had made the earth with its fields,
or the first of the dust of the world.
27 When he established the heavens, I was there;
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28 when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep,
29 when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
30 then I was beside him, like a master workman,
and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always,
31 rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the children of man.


Romans 1:16-17
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”


Isaiah 55:11
so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Hebrews 6:13
When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself

Acts 2:21
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.



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Isaiah 12 ~ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

The Alpha Course. All questions are open and welcome. Discover a loving relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. All are respected at the table. HopePointe Anglican Church for 8 weeks beginning September 23rd.

Isaiah 12

You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O LORD,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.

2 “Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”

3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day:

“Give thanks to the LORD,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 “Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

Discover the richness of knowing God through the Love found in His Son Jesus Christ.

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Psalm 42 ~ Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.

 

 

Psalm 42

 As a deer pants for flowing streams,
    so pants my soul for you, O God.
² My soul thirsts for God,
    for the living God.
 
When shall I come and appear before God?^{[See the face of God]
3} My tears have been my food
    day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”
⁴ These things I remember,
    as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
    and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
    a multitude keeping festival.

⁵ Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation ⁶ and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;
    therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
    from Mount Mizar.
 
⁷ Deep calls to deep
    at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
    have gone over me.
 
⁸ By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
    and at night his song is with me,
    a prayer to the God of my life.
⁹ I say to God, my rock:
    “Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?”
¹⁰ As with a deadly wound in my bones,
    my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”

¹¹ Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
 
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.


During the years we were Catholic, I remember watching Mother Angelica on television - hearing of a priest being converted from worldly success to the priesthood, because he awed by the Scriptures being read word for word, in precision, in order across the entire world. Regardless of circumstance, the liturgy was read; the daily Scripture told of God's nature.

As a new, and again Anglican -  British people came to visit, telling of the Church of England suffering permanent loss after World War II because the correct order of the Scriptures were read and the people did not feel fed, merely part of a system.

Today is the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. A great tragedy, where we read the face of God was turned away. Today's Scripture was supposed to be Ezekiel 7, the Day of Wrath.  However, we are in a precarious situation in our country. Many people feel capitalism feeds only the cream and not the workers. Other people feel we should help everyone - give comfort with government decision on day care to the decision of where we should live and in what manner - as long as we all have access to health care. Others feel Animal Farm with a system appearing to help the masses while really the people in power are the only ones with affluence. 

Should we stay to the left? Vere to the right? People with political savvy feel we could become like South America where we veer right to left with little being accomplished. Some applaud the idea of government stymie. And Libertarians - I remember when we all thought they were out of their minds. Now, I hear moderate Republicans wanting to be Libertarians.  Recently, I went into an affluent store on Padre Island where the parties were being debated as really being one party. I suggested to the store employees lunching that both Congressional parties were receiving Chinese money to do away with our system and liberties. Partially I said it to see the reaction. They laughed and the most talkative of the group waved her fork and said she could see that happening easily.  We no longer have faith in our government to support our views. 

We've seen changes. We've seen college students unable to find jobs easily. People looking for jobs. We've also seen President Reagan run for President and ask us to believe America had not seen the end of its glories. We saw this country recover from economic stalemate almost purely on entrepreneurial inspiration. 

What would recovery of our hope take? God. The belief what we do matters. Now and  in the future to our family, what we put our efforts into should include our family and communication - so they really understand what we believe. The need to speak genuine hope to one another.  

The belief and actions that say - I believe we can do away with compromise that merely compromises our very cores and hope belief, action, industry, enterprise will offer opportunity to up lift, to confirm, to encourage, to prosper.

Pray each day for your nation, for your family, your Church, your neighbors, your friends. Expect the LORD to hear and act. Encourage each other in prayer.

 Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.

In Jesus Christ is our salvation. 

Daily.  Pray.  Vote.  Believe.


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