Luke 6:17-19 ~ came to hear Him and to be healed

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, born 1936, serves as Pope Francis, 266th Pope since 33 A.D. Peter, the first Pope.


Luke 6:17-19
And Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.


In the Exodus, God was healing His people. In this Scripture, people had believed, asked of the LORD, acknowledged the Lord, and acted upon His Word. They expected to earn the right to be called the Children of God. They had grown from the slaves thinking God should do things for them, their way.


Judges 1

After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the Lord, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The Lord said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” 3 And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Then Judah went up and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. 7 And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8 And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. 10 And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher. 12 And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.” 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. 14 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people. 17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called Hormah. 18 Judah also captured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. 20 And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. 21 But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day.

27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. 28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.

29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.

31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, 32 so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.

34 The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35 The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. 36 And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight"

Judah was a son of Jacob and Leah. He believed with the help of his brother, he would fight for God's will. He deemed a fight was necessary, he believed himself capable of the task with godly counsel. He expected success. He expected to help others.

Manasseh's tribe had a famous father, Joseph. They enslaved people to go forward to success. We all have a choice to adopt the ways of our parents or do differently. Ephraim, the same. Zebulon.

Asher, Naphtali and Dan were sons of women wanted not as wives. They compromised, they capitulated. They knew their place, had been told all of their lives. Sometimes a compromise accepted is just that. And rules out a greater opportunity. Life will eat your lunch and not thank you for it. Or tell you your place, if you listen to life.

There are times a fight is required. And without the fight, the struggle not to sit at the back of the bus, you are Far worse for Not Fighting. A lot of fights depend on the struggle motivation for His acceptance. Compliance is not always the way to peace. There is a quote from the movie "Cowboys and Aliens." It's rather like Zacchaeus climbing the tree to see Jesus.

[referring to his wife being taken by the aliens]
Doc: It's my fault she got took. I never should have taken her to that town.
Meacham: Oh, no! No! No! It's not your fault. You'll get her back. You're setting things right. Just gotta have faith, that's all.
Doc: Faith?
Meacham: Mmhmm.
Doc: Yeah. God's been real swell to me. I don't mean no disrespect, preacher, but either he ain't up there or he don't like me very much.
Meacham: Well, surely you don't expect the Lord to do everything for you. Do you, Doc? You gotta earn His presence. And then you gotta recognize it. And then you have to act on it.

The Canaanites. What did they want of HIM, of the Children of Israel? Jesus died for them. God knew their hearts and decided. The Old Testament said follow HIM. The New Testament said follow HIM.

With the Word, "God's Plan"

Father Jorge Mario Bergoglio -
"If the church stays wrapped up in itself, it will age. And if I had to choose between a wounded church that goes out on to the streets and a sick, withdrawn church, I would definitely choose the first one.”

"Poor girl who, rather than returning the child to sender, had the courage to carry it into the world, must wander from parish to parish so that it’s baptized!”

Decrying, their exploitation, "Children are mistreated, and are not educated or fed. Many are made into prostitutes and exploited." He denounced a "culture of discarding" the elderly and treating them as if they are disposable and worthless due to their advanced age.

Having witnessed a woman, called after a vegetable, mistreat her children simply by not standing up for right. I find the new Pope, with his fights for the weak and needy, as riches for the Church. Perhaps we will see Him fight for the rights afforded to Peter and the Lord's brothers. Peter, the man Jesus said would prevail. Peter's mother-in-law served the Lord after He healed her.

1 Corinthians 9:5
Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas?

Ephesians 5:32
This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

I would say the Church should acknowledge, Jesus had brothers, Mary was married as part of His Plan. And the early Church Fathers were married. The Early Church was very pro-marriage and understood marriage as a Union He created. Hear HIM and be healed Church! It takes one Pope to say other Christians are saved in the name of Jesus Christ, let's see one with courage say, "Peter was married." Let's affirm marriage.

Sermons used to be in Latin, as well as the Readings. The Church determined the Word. If we say the Plan of God - then we say we believe His Word. We have Scripture because people lived to deliver us HIS Word from 395 years of Roman Empire indecision. The People who loved Jesus, lived to spread His Word. Ask Him in prayer, work for His will, and act upon His Word.

The Catholic Church should understand the Sermons... based upon His Word. Church? I would definitely choose the first one. His. Jesus Christ the Lord.


Psalm 112

Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
2 His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
7 He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
the desire of the wicked will perish!


Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
2 His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.


Think about how mighty the Church has been,  early Church Fathers - who were married with offspring. And today. Some mysteries are not so mysterious. We were a generation raised thinking of the Holiness of the Church. We did not expect to dictate to the Church, bend down to learn the wisdom of the people. Look to HIM. He tells us. Love.

God's workmen go home. His Plan endures. Fight the good fight.

People of Israel inquire of the Lord. The crowd sought to touch Him, for power came out from Him and healed them all. Seems we would inquire of the Lord, for our needs.

Revelation 19:7
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.


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Revelation 2:8-11 ~ Do not fear

Revelation 2:8-11

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.

9 “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty ( but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’

This is an unfamiliar passage of God's Word to a lot of people. We discussed it with a Bible Study once and people asked to look it up and study it as an aside to our evening study. It caused a lot of reaction. It surprised me. People were angered at the thought of hell being ended by death. I think it is amazing, and it needs to be not as discussed as other passages. I was telling it to someone I dearly love and it provided assurance - the hell they worry is in their future - is not going to be eternal. This really is not the point.

The point is that God is above all things.  His dominion is over all and He will be merciful over all. I find comfort in that. It speaks to how merciful He is.

What is man, that God is mindful of Him. God follows the unredeemed into hell, to cause them not to suffer. Now that really is Light.

John 1:5
New International Version (©1984)
The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

New Living Translation (©2007)
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

English Standard Version (©2001)
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

It is absolutely our joy and obligation to pray diligently, as Jesus Christ is LORD, for the people we care about in salvation. This passage far from eliminates the worry. This tells us there is a Kingdom of God and hell.

When you read Scripture, God is specific about a judgment. My uncle was saved in his 78th year. My grandmother said she would never give up praying for him. My mother said her mother was dancing in Heaven.


Never give up. Never.


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Romans 7:1-12 ~ So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

Romans 7:1-12

Or do you not know, brothers^{[bothers and sisters]}—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.


7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

What do we learn from the Ten Commandments? When you sit down to memorize them, they are orderly. God comes first. Right after God gave HIS Commandments, He said if you follow His Commandments you will be blessed.

Our Pastor asked a question in the Sermon on Sunday, and I thought it was the oddest question. "What do you hate about men?" Actually, he was asking what do you hate about Lent. But given that I actually learn a lot from the Sermons, I gave thought to the rather surprising question, "What do you hate about men?" After all, I have a husband and two sons.

It turns out what I hate about men is they always expect the maid is coming to clean up after them. We don't have a maid. Although.....

So, I hate to sweep up after other people's messes. I get angry, I think of harmful things. And I growl and make weird noises. Usually I'm not good company after their extended visits get cleaned up.

I think  God probably feels like this when He is called upon to clean up our messes. We need all the grace He willingly bestows and we should avoid messes.


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Song of Solomon 2 ~ As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women.

Song of Solomon 2


I am a rose^{[Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, daffodil]} of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.

2 As a lily among brambles,
so is my love among the young women.

3 As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my beloved among the young men.
With great delight I sat in his shadow,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me to the banqueting house,
and his banner over me was love.
5 Sustain me with raisins;
refresh me with apples,
for I am sick with love.
6 His left hand is under my head,
and his right hand embraces me!
7 I adjure you,^{[that is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song]}
O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
until it pleases.

8 The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes,
leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.

9 My beloved is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Behold, there he stands
behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
looking through the lattice.

10 My beloved speaks and says to me:
“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away,
11 for behold, the winter is past;
the rain is over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.

13 The fig tree ripens its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away.

14 O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the crannies of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let me hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
15 Catch the foxes for us,
the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
for our vineyards are in blossom.”

16 My beloved is mine, and I am his;
he grazes^{[patures his flock]} among the lilies.
17 Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle
or a young stag on cleft mountains.

Love, we are told, makes the world go around. God, the inventor of Love, says Love flourishes with His Laws of Love.

The Roman Republic began in 500 B.C., and upon becoming an Empire, lasted until 395 A.D.. The History of this vast government has a profound, lasting influence on the development of language, religion, architecture, philosophy, law, and forms of government today. When you look at what brought down this government, I would say conclusively, its marriage laws.

There is a direct correlation in society between up-building and destruction in the way society looks at marriage. When two people are to be one, it is working of the Holy Spirit. It affects the fruit - children - and culture in all aspects.

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first Emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. Interesting the world was working on marriage during the birth of Christ, calling for David's house to report to Bethlehem. (They've found the census, by the way.)

Augustus was a tidy man, someone who wanted to be a Caesar beyond reproach and his wife, Caesar's wife (whom he proposed to while she was married and pregnant with her other husband's child), as well. Romans had been allowed to marry in different forms and it was all pretty much live and let live as far as marriage went. Augustus decided it needed to be .... Defined and Legal.

 

1. Confarreatio (divorce almost unheard of)was a traditional patrician form of marriage. Divorce for confarreatio marriages, diffarreatio, was a difficult process and therefore rare. A special type of sacrifice that caused the dissolution of the relationship between the man and woman. She would then pass back into her father's home or family. Originally, the confarreatio was indissoluble. The wife leaves her family and becomes her husband's family, or property = cum manu. Later, divorce was easier the dowry returned with the wife.

2. Coemptio (slavery/service) was in essence a sale of the woman to the husband. Coemptio occurred at any time throughout marriage. This was a process of mancipation (slavery/service). The transaction occurred with a scales-holder and in the presence of at least five witnesses, adult male Roman citizens. Coemptio could occur not only with a husband but also with an outsider. However, this process is deemed for the “sake of trust” not for the “sake of marriage.” Coemptio was only a convenient legal practice. If a wife became cum manu through the process of coemptio divorced, then she became emancipated. By the 2nd century AD, a wife was able to compel her husband to emancipate her, a right not shared by her children.

3. Usus (living together, owned by husband) Cum Manu acquired by usus was simply the cohabitation of the husband and wife for the duration of a year. After a year passed the wife was transferred into the ownership of her partner, she was considered taken by the decree of yearly possession. This process required no ceremonial practices. If the woman was not willing to come into ownership of her husband, manus by usus was easily preventable. As conditioned in the Twelve Tables if the wife absented herself for the total of three days and three nights before the end of the year, each year, the marriage was not cum manu, and she was not under the ownership of her husband. If a woman married cum manu through the process of usus divorced then, she became Emancipated. Subsequently, the law of usus was dissolved by legal enactments presumably because it fell out of use..... so Do Not Spend Your Anniversary Together at all costs....

4. Sine Manu (living together, owned by father instead of husband) the wife legally and ritually remained a member of her father's family, standing under the control of her father's potestas. The bride is not under control of the husband. This form of marriage held no ceremonial formalities led by a public official. Ultimately it involved a husband and wife living together under the intention of a marriage, in conjunction with the legal capacity of marriage under the Roman law. Although no official ceremony was held, it was customary for the bride to be escorted to her bridegrooms house. The children of this union were legally members of the husband’s agnatic kin.

Women faced with the loss of property when entering a cum manu marriage began to only consent to sine manu (father's family property) unions (similar to living together, today, to avoid prenuptial agreements and financial wedding issues.)

So, Augustus was trying to put marriage together better for inheritance when he created these types of marriages, legally. They had been used for centuries. When we read the last paragraph in brown, Augustus' goal was promoting self and not promoting a couple living as one person.

Does it sound like these forms of marriages would help sort out society better and then the playing field is easily understood? It had an effect. A definite effect. The love of many grew colder.

Marriage is a work in progress. Dating or living together leads to a non-committed society - free to abandon hearts and children. Those abandoned hearts hurt others, the cycle goes on and on to the detriment of society.

True, we don't consider women property in most of the world today. But we do consider property, income, commitment instead of Christian marriage for love, honor, obey, cherish in sickness and all circumstances. Confarreatio (devoted love forsaking all other things) began to be a thing of the past.

The End of the Empire? Selfishness. Christianity is said to have split the Roman Empire, but really selfishness. Lack of family, a place to go, fairness - is the downfall. Marriage laws made family and oath and position always an uncertainty. Claw your way along.

Weakness created invasion, civil war, plague, economic depression, hyperinflation caused by years of coinage devaluation. A denarius coin, a day's pay, quit using silver and was devalued. Trade increased during the good years of the Empire, but war created large landowners unable to send their goods abroad. Local city dwellers were trapped and unable to buy what they needed by war and unsafe trade on the highways, pledged themselves to local land barons. The Empire broke up into 3 parts in 258 AD. Large, open cities of Classical antiquity slowly gave way to the smaller, walled cities that were common in the Middle Ages.

Alec Gerrard's Temple Model of Solomon's Porch.

Solomon's Porch, the portion of the first Temple still incorporated into the Second Temple, during the days Jesus chose to teach in the Temple. 

God saw something marvelous in Solomon and preserved part of the Temple Solomon built. This portion of Scripture is an interesting. Reminding us God, developed human love.  The footnotes are important here and show God intended love to be an oath of commitment. Without commitment and dedication, love becomes a bramble area.

Solomon was visited by the LORD and given the commission to ask for a blessing. He asked for wisdom. Solomon would spend his reign visiting, creating, being absorbed in selfish pursuits of getting the LORD to speak to him in the altars of high places, historically in pagan worship. What would take Solomon away from his Temple built to the Lord? Solomon forgot the Word of God - to be in union with faithful followers of God. Using wisdom to be a worldly wisdom. The effects of Solomon's self-centered absorption would be Solomon's son Rehoboam was not well versed in wisdom, loosing David's Empire for God in the third generation. Wisdom was forgotten in the building of Solomon's House. We see examples of monogamy and polygamy in Scriptures. In polygamy, we see the same examples in the fall of the Roman Empire.


The fig tree ripens its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.


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.


We live in a world were marriage is now considered to be very expensive. Many couples don't get married because they cannot afford a very large wedding. The Justice of the Peace costs about $140 and is considered a poor substitute for a Church wedding. So, if the whole cake doesn't look pretty, they forgo the wedding, probably to look progressive or worldly instead of poor.

However, we still see jubilant expectant mothers, and mostly because their future with their spouse is secure.

Why would God want us to know of this Glory in His Word. He delights in two very different types of creation, reaffirming their love and commitment in the merging of self into union. God sees this as a celebration of love.

the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.

Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle

What Beauty He Bestows Upon Us.



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2 Corinthians 13 ~ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

2 Corinthians 13

This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 2 I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them— 3 since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. 4 For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.

5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. 7 But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. 10 For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.


11 Finally, brothers,^{[brothers and sisters]} rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints greet you.

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Restoration. What is appealing about this test? Aiming for peace, comfort, agreement, peace inside of us. The Love of God and grace of Jesus abides.

My oldest son worked as a waiter in college, during his fraternity president years. He told me for a long time each Sunday, a nun, a woman in her 70s, in the Austin/Georgetown Texas area, came in to his restaurant. Each Sunday, this wonderful woman would ask for my zippy fraternity president son as her waitstaff. She would arrive for a Sunday lunch, in her vestments, alone, after specifically asking for Cal. And spend about 10 or 15 minutes asking him about his classes and his life and his opinions on various things. Cal, was not attending Church at the time; called home to tell me he thought she was a very special, open, considerate, caring woman. Each Sunday, she would affirm him with a few, new sentences written on the check. And she would tip him very generously. She wrote things like this, "You are a very special and thoughtful young man. I look forward to hearing the things you comment upon."

Jesus Christ. The Lord. Was coming to visit Cal. I kid you not. Of course, this was a woman. In Genesis, God describes His attributes as both masculine and feminine. Jesus tells us about Himself in the Word of God. Jesus, our Hero, gets His hands in life as He immediately reaches for Peter. Jesus bends down and sits with the woman caught in adultery. Jesus is so filled with amazing goodness, He travels on His Sabbath to minister to my son. Seeing in Cal wonderful possibilities and reasons to go out of His way to love this young man.

These are the attributes we are not skilled to point out in Jesus! He has are so much amazing goodness and His unending up-building in Love is plentiful.

Psalm 119:50
This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.

Isaiah was given the blessing of seeing the AMAZING Blessing of God's Unending LOVE.

Isaiah 12:1
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."

Jesus spend His days proclaiming individual mercies and love, instead of rules and severity.

Isaiah 51:1
And it shall be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people's way. ”Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug."

Isaiah 66:13
As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

2 Corinthians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Philippians 2:1-3
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Acts 13:15
After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.”

Acts 15:32
And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words.

Colossians 2:2
That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ

Colossians 2:19b
Holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

This passage has key phrases influencing my life for many years. Paul is severe here, but he relates so well the phrases

my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down

An example I've tried to use for years in parenting and in communicating -  is the third time of reaching out. Going the extra mile Scripture asks of us in communicating, before judgment, in disciplining children. Jesus makes our lives meaningful by continuing to reach towards us.

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





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2 Corinthians 5:6-15 ~ we persuade others

2 Corinthians 5:6-15

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

When God is establishing faith, He says aim to please HIM and walk by faith.


Numbers 17:1-3
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers' house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. Write each man's name on his staff, and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers' house.

A staff is used as a walking stick. Case in point, a person walking by faith would need one of these.

In both the ninth chapter of Matthew's Gospel and the twentieth chapter, Jesus encounters literally blind men.

Matthew 9:27-29
And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” 28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”

Jesus was asked to help. He asked them for faith. He said their faith established His help.

Again and again the blind are brought to Jesus.

In Mark's Gospel, we find:

Mark 8:21-25
22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

Jesus gives the man privacy and His full attention. Jesus makes a diligent effort to be on the man's level in the healing.

Each day, as Christians, the act of asking HIM for the opportunity and talent to help Him is important.

This is our aim:

2 Timothy 1:5
I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

Timothy has come from a home where one parent has faith, the other does not. We live making judgments for all of our decisions. It's vital to remember we are is known to God; boast not about outward appearance, on what is in the heart.

Proverbs 14:10
The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.

John, having met God walking the earth and traveling with HIM, said He is love.

What is the fuel of those walking by faith?

Nehemiah 8:10
Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

Psalm 3:3
You are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

Matthew 14:36
Implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.


Be of good courage.




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Hosea 14:2-9 ~ Take with you words and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips..

2 Chronicles 32, 3-4:
“And he took counsel with his officers and his mighty men to stop up the waters of the fountains that were outside the city, and they assisted him. And a large multitude gathered and stopped up all the fountains and the stream that flowed in the midst of the land, saying, "Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?""



Hosea 14:2-9

Take with you words
and return to the Lord;
say to him,
“Take away all iniquity;
accept what is good,
and we will pay with bulls
the vows of our lips.

3 Assyria shall not save us;
we will not ride on horses;
and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.”

4 I will heal their apostasy;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he shall blossom like the lily;
he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;
6 his shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be like the olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.

7 They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow;
they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

8 O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.
I am like an evergreen cypress;
from me comes your fruit.

9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.

King Hezekiah was raised to understand, by his late father King Ahaz, to survive as King of Judea, he needed to understand political, monetary, religious compromise to have a good life as a puppet king for the Assyrian Empire next door. Hezekiah started out on just that path, pulling gold from the abandoned Temple by Ahaz to give as tribute.

This is part of an amazingly jaw dropping time in the history of God's chosen people. The people decided to rely upon HIM and work ferociously to build upon their hopes while constructing fortifications against the Enemy. It is the only time in the Scriptures a leader has to ask the people to stop donating to HIM. The coffers are overflowing.

2 Kings 19
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: “O Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 16 Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands 18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. 19 So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.”

20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard."

2 Kings 20
5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you."

2 Chronicles 32:23
And many brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from that time onward.

Hezekiah lived such a prosperous reign, it is the only one compared to Solomon in prosperity and trade.


King Hezekiah's bulla or seal. In the Josef Chaim Kaufman Collection, Archaeological Center in Tel Aviv, Israel. Found also is Hezekiah's servant seal, which hung on a cord for the honored person to wear. Archaeologically, there is no doubt of these seals. Archaeologically, Hezekiah is supremely rich of finds - 2 actual seals of Hezekiah's, at least 5 bullae belonging to servants of Hezekiah, the tunnels for water, the Shiloah Inscription and the evidence of abundance in purchasing. Plus the historical knowledge of the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel and the wealth and independence of the Kingdom of Hezekiah's Judah in the midst of the Assyrian Empire.

All of these bullae bear the name of Hezekiah, without doubt.

Return to the Lord;
say to him,
“Take away all iniquity;
accept what is good"

Far from being an austere prophet Hosea says beautiful Words of HIM.

They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow;
they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

John 15:1
I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

Jesus was absolutely in agreement with Hosea, proclaiming faith for today and in this marvelous generation -

Matthew 13:32
Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.

Faith proclaimed through the generations.

Isaiah 28:16
So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed." +

We place our trust in Jesus, our strong deliverer. Each day.



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A Good Man

Jesus Christ, the Messiah

Revelation 3:14

And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God

Matthew 12:18

Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles

Hebrews 5:9

And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him

Oldest Icon of Jesus Christ

Proverbs 12:2
A good man obtains favor from the Lord, but a man of evil devices He condemns.

Proverbs 14:14
The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.

Psalm 145:7
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

Jeremiah 31:12
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more.

John 7:12
And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.”

Hosea 3:5
Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.

Romans 15:14
I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.

1 Peter 2
So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

After one has been enlightened, and tasted the heavenly gift of grace, shared in the Holy Spirit. Tasted the goodness of the Word of God, testified to the powers of the age to come. We should not fall away. It's almost impossible to restore again to repentance. We must believe, we have only once crucified the Son of God. We must not harm ourselves and hold Him up to contempt.

Hebrews 9:14
Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”


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