Psalm 19 ~ One day tells a story to the next

Psalm 19 ~ God's Word Translation

For the choir director; a psalm by David.

1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky displays what his hands have made.
2 One day tells a story to the next.
One night shares knowledge with the next
3 without talking,
without words,
without their voices being heard.
4 Yet, their sound has gone out into the entire world,
their message to the ends of the earth.
He has set up a tent in the heavens for the sun,
5 which comes out of its chamber like a bridegroom.
Like a champion, it is eager to run its course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens.
It circles around to the other.
Nothing is hidden from its heat.

7 The teachings of the Lord are perfect.
They renew the soul.
The testimony of the Lord is dependable.
It makes gullible people wise.
8 The instructions of the Lord are correct.
They make the heart rejoice.
The command of the Lord is radiant.
It makes the eyes shine.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure.
It endures forever.
The decisions of the Lord are true.
They are completely fair.
10 They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey, even the drippings from a honeycomb.
11 As your servant I am warned by them.
There is a great reward in following them.

12 Who can notice every mistake?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep me from sinning.
Do not let anyone gain control over me.
Then I will be blameless,
and I will be free from any great offense.

14 May the words from my mouth and the thoughts from my heart
be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my defender.

One day tells a story to the next.

Proverbs 24:27
Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.

Today, was a great day of Disc Golf!! Observing grown men salute nine year old Connell Stillwagon as he play with - shine!  Genuine talent, fostered carefully, by coaching from his dad, Matt Stillwagon. Connell is the World Champion Disc Golfer of the Junior Division, 10 years and younger. Not United States Champion, mind you. The World Champion Disc Golfer Amateur (the Professional category is not available in this age range) for a nine year old. We will notice with Connell, he is playing in a division allowing ten year olds! And, further mind you, Connell did something heretofar unheard of - he hit an Ace drive - a one stroke win  - - - on a Championship Course !!!!

I watched him casually flick an impossible shot today and smile with genuine satisfaction as eight grown men applauded, whooped and hollered. This boy plays DG, Disc Golf, daily with the grown men. Many who play daily - and he - holds his own.

With only a twinkle and a genuine smile. Awwwww.

This year the Stillwagons hosted both a Disc Gold Boy Scout Camp and helped with Stonebridge's Vacation Bible School. This is building a house.

One day tells a story to the next.
One night shares knowledge with the next
without talking,
without words,
without their voices being heard.
Yet, their sound has gone out into the entire world,
their message to the ends of the earth.

This man is teaching his son more than video games. More than an evening of television. With determination, Matt is teaching his son, not just a sport, but using his time, talent and effort to build Connell into a talented man - each day with purpose. Matt is not a soccer mom, but reasonable and witty using words to fence and entertain. He said today, his mom told him if he wanted a good woman, he'd have to have good looks or wit. So Matt has been sharpening his wit for many a year, holding on to RaeAnn - they celebrated their 13th anniversary.

1 Corinthians 3:9
For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.

Conall Stillwagon - Juniors 10 and under.

Matt Stillwagon
July 9
105 degrees at the Country club at our 1:30 tee time. Add the infamous 20 mph winds, on a card of 5 players, and you have a 5 hour round!!!!!!
At the end of day 1, Conall Stillwagon leads by 4!
8 am tomorrow we'll be back at Country Club to do it again

Proverbs 31:26
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

Rae-Ann Stillwagon
July 11 near The Woodlands
Before I go to bed I must say how unbelievably proud of my son I am. He has been playing at the PDGA Worlds Disc Gold Tournament in Emporia, Kansas. He playing in heat as hot as Hades with the sun beating down in him and he's keeping his cool :0) he only lost two strokes today on his 13 stroke lead from yesterday. He has 27 holes left to play (18 tomorrow and 9 on Saturday) Matt, correct me if I'm wrong. He still has the lead by 11 and I am literally sitting on the edge of my chair waiting for a recap of every round. Please wish him luck here or on Matt's page because he can always use people cheering for him. I know I sure am :0) C-Dawg, this is your year!!

Rae-Ann Stillwagon
July 11 near The Woodlands
Sorry dad! I have a baby asleep on my lap so I couldn't answer your call. I DO know how the boy did on his first round. He lost one stroke and is still in the lead by 12!! He has unfortunately taken it hard but he'll bounce back! He needs all the encouragement he can get. I told Matt to show him our Facebook pages to see all of the people wishing him luck and cheering him on. I know that'll make his day :0) Dee Dee and Papa have already landed but are on their way. I bet that'll brighten his day too. —

Matt Stillwagon
July 14
Wow! We drove through the night so we could share the hardware w the North Side Chain Gang. To our surprise, after the mini, Conall came back to a hero's welcome

CONALL STILLWAGON!!! 
CONALL STILLWAGON!!!  CONALL STILLWAGON!!! 

Proverbs 11:17
A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.

Galatians 6:10
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

2 Thessalonians 3:13
As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.

Kindness and encouragement are tools that pay off for generations. We are the-elbows-out- generation. But I want to share another story about goodness and the payoff.

We don't personally know Bill Engvall, the comedian, but his kindness and his fraternity room - benefited my eldest son Cal - in a way that creates a grateful heart for me today.

Cal was traveling home, as college students do, at 2:00 in the morning, and he reached a stretch of highway outside of Austin, Texas that was brand new, multi-lanes and suddenly Cal noticed the street lights just ended, plunging the road into complete darkness. He Really did Notice, because his car went from no problems, to completely dead with the steering wheel locking up totally.

He was rather panicked, as even a completely adult person would be. We agreed to drive to meet him, but he did tell us he was rather afraid. We told him it would be about two hours before we could get there, but we were leaving immediately. Cal seemed to get younger and rather make a whimper noise at that. He decided he would call a fraternity alumni to see if Jerry, the alumni, would help. Jerry is a policeman and enjoys walking in on his own fraternity, years past, in uniform, with a smile. It causes them.... to sit up straighter. And I have to smile, and admit, cleans them up to a good degree.

Jerry got out of his bed, drove to Cal stranded on the highway and decided to help him locate the right place to have the car towed to, calmly, I might add. And wait with Cal, for the right tow truck (for a long time!), signing for night time delivery at the dealership, taking him back to the fraternity house and arriving only about a half hour ahead of us.

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Jerry, as a police man, is fully aware, you take your life in your hands resting on the side of major highway/freeway.

So - how does Bill Engval come into the picture? You may well ask. Well, Bill's class of fraternity boys were hanging out on the porch about,  let's be kind, and say a few decades back. And the high school bus was in view every afternoon. Finally, a geek arrived and said to the cool, ultra cool, fraternity "Men"..."You all look cool." The High School geek was assured, they were cool, indeed. He said he was not cool, new to the city, friendless, with a divorced, dumped mom, and no one was having anything to do with Jerry.

Who still comes by to see that dilapidated horror of a fraternity room? Bill Engvall - once a year. By the way, if you meet Bill Engvall, tell him mothers across the nation hope he will in the future give 48 hour notice to clean said room before the request to visit that just nastiness. Bill Engvall does visit with the current ultra cool fraternity boys, but mostly he is coming by to see Jerry Pate. Jerry was inducted upon High School graduation. He was never a student at said lofty university - but he was, and is, the back bone for something much more important. Jerry learned to tile and he tiled the bathroom with the fraternity seal. Until the University President, slash former alumni himself, got nasty and ripped out the work they all still talk about. Spoilsport.

Proverbs 24:27
Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.

Thank you, Bill Engvall for your kindness to a son of a dumped mom, who announced he was friendless and geeky. Jerry Pate is the result of that kindness and decades later - I say - Thank YOU SO MUCH!!!!! 

JERRY PATE !!! JERRY PATE!!! JERRY PATE!!!!

Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary of doing good..............
............ for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

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Psalm 105 ~ To you I give the land

Psalm 105


Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!

7 He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”

12 When they were few in number,
of little account, and sojourners in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!”

16 When he summoned a famine on the land
and broke all supply of bread,
17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 His feet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord tested him.
20 The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21 he made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to bind his princes at his pleasure
and to teach his elders wisdom.

23 Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful
and made them stronger than their foes.
25 He turned their hearts to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.

26 He sent Moses, his servant,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them
and miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
they did not rebel against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood
and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
and gnats throughout their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain,
and fiery lightning bolts through their land.
33 He struck down their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
young locusts without number,
35 which devoured all the vegetation in their land
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of all their strength.

37 Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,
and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.

39 He spread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
40 They asked, and he brought quail,
and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
42 For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.

43 So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
44 And he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,
45 that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!


The Bible is clearly the most important evidence of the Exodus. Clearly, we cannot please our Heavenly Father without faith. Archaeology proves everyday that history is His story. For a further demonstration, God says His words are the truth. Qumran Dead Sea Scrolls go back for two millenniums showing that scripture does not change. Everyday the gospel fragments indicate that it was written in about 40 A.D. and written by the authors the Gospel indicates.

The media does not frequently try to pull the evidence together supporting faith in the scriptures. Even when the evidence is very compelling:

Exodus archaeology is not announced loudly or repeated with frequency in the media. But evidence exists. It is important to remember that Egyptian culture removed the Pharaoh from his many children, the child who grew into Pharaoh frequently scraped buildings and monuments removing evidence of his father's accomplishments changing them to his own accomplishments and memorials.

One of the most fascinating Exodus archaeology artifacts is an eye-witness to the Exodus on the Egyptian side of the Exodus. This citizen is complaining about government officials dealing poorly with plague after plague. The document exists today because all references to the Pharaoh's name in charge were removed. Ipuwer Papyrus ~ An Egyptian Eyewitness to the Exodus ~ Just as the date of the Exodus is debated for centuries, the Ipuwer Papyrus is placed from 1600 B.C. to 1200 B.C. A man named Anastasi discovered the Papyrus in the area of Memphis, near the pyramids of Saqqara in Egypt. Resides now in a museum of Leiden in the Netherlands. Both the Exodus and Thera interpretations assume that the poem records a historical event, which is disputed by many Egyptologists. Ipuwer Papyrus

In his book Pharaohs and Kings: A Biblical Quest, David Rohl suggests that the tomb of Joseph himself is found (1995: 360-67).[6] The evidence seems to support this hypothesis. The Bible is very specific as to what became of Joseph's body. The bones of Joseph were removed and carried with the children of Israel in the Exodus. The statue of the tomb's recipient had a mushroom-shaped hairstyle, painted red, different skin color than that used for Egyptians. A throwstick, the Egyptian hieroglyph for a foreigner, was held against the right shoulder. The statue had been intentionally smashed and defaced.

In Ramses II's topographical list (ca.1275 BC) the place-name "Jacob-El" (#9) appears again (ANET 1969, 242; Simons 1937). The first appearance was in Thutmose III's list. This means that this city of Jacob has been around for two hundred years. Another interesting name that was found is yhw which is "Yahweh" in Hebrew (Horn 1953, 201; Giveon 1964, 244). In Ramses II's topographical list (ca.1275 BC) the place-name "Jacob-El" (#9) appears again (ANET 1969, 242; Simons 1937).

It seems abundantly clear from all these topographical lists the Hebrews were in Egypt at this time.

On a statue-base of Amenhotep III at Kom el Hetan which is the funerary temple of Amenhotep III there is a topographical list with the place-name Yspir (Series a:1; Kitchen 1965, 2). This is the same name translated "Joseph-El" in Thutmose III's Topographical list (ANET 1969, 242). After Yspir in both lists the place-name Rkd appears (Series a:2 in Amenhotep III's list, and #79 in Thutmose III's list; Simons 1937, 112). Rkd is the same place-name as Ruhizzi in the El Amarna letters (EA 53:36, 56; EA 5426; EA 56:26; EA 191:2; Rainey 1982, 354). The ruler of Ruhizzi is Arsawuya who seems to be located in northern Palestine or southern Syria (EA 53:36, 56; Moran, 125)

Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. - Exodus 1:8

Satellite images have been reported to show the 40 years of travelling out of Egypt. Other non-biblical accounts are: Hectaeus, a Hellenist who came to Alexandria about 320 BCE, according to Jan Assmann. The Egyptian version begins with a ravaging plague in Egypt, interpreted by the priesthood as a divine punishment for the presence of aliens, whose rites and customs has infiltrated worship. They were expelled under their leader Moses. Lysimachos, 2nd century BCE, begins his story with a famine, that the priestly oracle ordered the Pharaoh to cleanse Egypt from impious settlers, a reference to the Jews who sought refuge from leprosy. The Pharaoh gave orders to drown the lepers, and expel the Hebrews, who gathered around Moses into the desert. Chaeremon, Alexandrian pedagogue and Nero's tutor, gives another version of the story, as expelling the Asiatic and purging Egypt of their associated lepers.

History is His story. 

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Psalm 69 ~ Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair.

Psalm 69

Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
and the flood sweeps over me.
3 I am weary with my crying out;
my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
with waiting for my God.

4 More in number than the hairs of my head
are those who hate me without cause;
mighty are those who would destroy me,
those who attack me with lies.
What I did not steal
must I now restore?
5 O God, you know my folly;
the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

6 Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me,
O Lord God of hosts;
let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me,
O God of Israel.
7 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
that dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers,
an alien to my mother's sons.

9 For zeal for your house has consumed me,
and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
10 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting,
it became my reproach.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate,
and the drunkards make songs about me.

13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
At an acceptable time, O God,
in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
14 Deliver me
from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
and from the deep waters.
15 Let not the flood sweep over me,
or the deep swallow me up,
or the pit close its mouth over me.

16 Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17 Hide not your face from your servant;
for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.
18 Draw near to my soul, redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies!

19 You know my reproach,
and my shame and my dishonor;
my foes are all known to you.
20 Reproaches have broken my heart,
so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
and for comforters, but I found none.
21 They gave me poison for food,
and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

22 Let their own table before them become a snare;
and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.
23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see,
and make their loins tremble continually.
24 Pour out your indignation upon them,
and let your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their camp be a desolation;
let no one dwell in their tents.
26 For they persecute him whom you have struck down,
and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.
27 Add to them punishment upon punishment;
may they have no acquittal from you.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
let them not be enrolled among the righteous.

29 But I am afflicted and in pain;
let your salvation, O God, set me on high!

30 I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the Lord more than an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32 When the humble see it they will be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33 For the Lord hears the needy
and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.

34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion
and build up the cities of Judah,
and people shall dwell there and possess it;
36 the offspring of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

Matthew Henry starts by concisely saying," To commit the keeping of our souls to God, that we may not be soured with discontent, or sink into despair. David was hated wrongfully, but the words far more fully apply to Christ."

People get tired of the same message of hope David brings saying trust in God and HE will fulfill His promises on earth. I hear more people, outside of Church, Church gatherings, Pregnancy Assistance really question if the Word of God - Scripture - is old rickety, washed up, nonsensical.

My son was president of his fraternity and his room was were Bill Engvall lived during college. Yesterday we read the Pew Research asking if Americans think less religion in the country is positive or negative. Here is your sign - look at the news. Look at the problems schools face with the students - with the teachers - with the way people interact.

Fortunately we see most of the complaints about the Word of God are the same.

Deuteronomy 25:11,12
If two men, a man and his countryman, are struggling together, and the wife of one comes near to deliver her husband from the hand of the one who is striking him, and puts out her hand and seizes his genitals,then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity.

This is so archaic, surely we understand we are dealing with 'bogie men'.

Led up into how the New Covenant is surely the nonsense of Y2K Year 2000 update.

And 'Jesus' would not have said cut off her hand. Actually Jesus spoke of this scenario:

Matthew 5:30
If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.

Matthew 5:17
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

According to Jews, they quit doing the sacrifice at the time Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed in 70 A.D. Sacrifices quit, people don't cut off their own arms. A Gift from HIM who fills the gap where sin would destroy.

What has not quit is the people seeking HIM. According to more research by the Pew Forum ~

Worldwide, more than eight-in-ten people identify with a religious group. A comprehensive demographic study of more than 230 countries and territories conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life estimates that there are 5.8 billion religiously affiliated adults and children around the globe, representing 84% of the 2010 world population of 6.9 billion.

The demographic study – based on analysis of more than 2,500 censuses, surveys and population registers – finds 2.2 billion Christians (32% of the world’s population)

Speak up kindly - even if your voice squeaks. Let people know why the Word isn't archaic, but living and active ~ filled with the Mercy of Jesus Christ. What was true in David's time - is true today -

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

John 5:17
But Jesus responded to them, "My Father is still working, and I am working also."

1 Thessalonians 2:13
And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

It's not archaic, the Word of God points to the coming of Jesus Christ. Even in the Deuteronomy quote.


 Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
For God will save Zion
and build up the cities of Judah,
and people shall dwell there and possess it;
the offspring of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

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Luke 18:1 ~ And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Luke 18:1
And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.


The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life
Growth of the Nonreligious
Many Say Trend is Bad for American Society
ANALYSIS July 2, 2013

About half of Americans say the growing number of “people who are not religious” is bad for American society. But a similar share say either that this trend is good or that it does not make much difference, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center.

In recent years, Pew Research surveys have found evidence of a gradual decline in religious commitment in the U.S. public as a whole. For example, there has been a modest uptick over the past decade in the share of U.S. adults who say they seldom or never attend religious services. The number of Americans who do not identify with any religion also has grown in recent years; indeed, about one-fifth of the public overall – and a third of adults under age 30 – are religiously unaffiliated as of 2012. Fully a third of U.S. adults say they do not consider themselves a “religious person.” And two-thirds of Americans – affiliated and unaffiliated alike – say religion is losing its influence in Americans’ lives.

The new, nationwide survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life asked Americans whether having “more people who are not religious” is a good thing, a bad thing, or doesn’t matter for American society. Many more say it is bad than good (48% versus 11%). But about four-in-ten (39%) say it does not make much difference. Even among adults who do not identify with any religion, only about a quarter (24%) say the trend is good, while nearly as many say it is bad (19%); a majority (55%) of the unaffiliated say it does not make much difference for society.
growth-nonreligious-1

Matthew 18:20
For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.

No, it's not bash my Church day. This is the state of America today.


The Business community would say, "You have two percent attrition, Churches." Time to retrain your workers on customer service specialization.

The Body of Christ must be healthy to go out and do work. So much of the Bible is about figuring out your own life. Surely we must have a healthy level of care for the Body of Christ as a community, before we say serve.

Gentiles lord power over one another you go and love each other. Show you are Christians by your love. Give without thinking of return.

We've got the-world-is-bad-idols - "Oh, did you see that horrid movie its Bad". Go give a Church member dinner. Pastors, instead of having the new person leave because the lead pastor has too much to do - Do similar to the people in Acts, put them with another pastor who will call once a week, find them on Sundays.

Ask people. Do you want in grief to be left in peace or can we put three families who check on you during the real effort of recovery.

In divorce. Do you have three women who would call on this person during the real effort of recovery.

In children groups. Politely tone down your opinion on public schools vs home schoolers. Thanks. Moms, we are all different.

In substance abuse, in addiction, in reality - let's have a path for recovery.

The Book of Acts has lots of meals together. Socializing time. 

Not having enough kids for youth group - add two churches together quickly.

New people - have a face who calls and finds you each Sunday. Have several groups find who relates and pick up this family - find them on Sunday and speak - invite and phone call them. Forget easy social media as a greeting. A Greenhouse requires care, water, sunshine, Warmth. This is Biblical.

Some people have talent. Real HR talent - put them in charge of calling the two percent left and are sitting at home. The sweep up committee is Hard Work.

The fell away crowd was ignored.


Thank You, Father God, we look to You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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Psalm 103 ~ Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, Who forgives all your iniquity, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life

Psalm 103

Psalm of David.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children's children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!
21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!
22 Bless the Lord, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!

The Blessing of GOD upon
His Messengers
mighty ones doing His Word
obeying His Word
His Hosts
His Ministers

Thank You Father God for Your Blessings.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!

Ezekiel 34:26
And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing.

Jeremiah 32:41
I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

Isaiah 56:3
Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
“The Lord will surely separate me from his people”;
and let not the eunuch say,
“Behold, I am a dry tree.”



Deuteronomy 28:2-8
And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7 “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 8 The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Job 42:12-17
And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He had also seven sons and three daughters.

Genesis 12:1-3
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10
Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.' So God granted him what he requested.


 

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Luke 23:56-24:11 ~ But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.

Luke 23:56-24:11

56 Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

Luke 24

1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " 8 Then they remembered his words.

9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.


Seems an very inauspicious beginning for Christianity.

The promises of God dismissed as unbelievable.

We have come a long way.

Remember this in our own lives, with faith.

In Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.

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Mark 2:18-22 ~ New Wine

Mark 2:18-22

Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”

19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”.


New wine - being changed by Jesus, seeing our lives as a gift from God and for God, not just another salmon swimming upstream without hope and going through the daily work. Old wine - what is valued, mellowed, cherished. What is Jesus telling us? We cannot change, cannot save ourselves. We cannot do it ourselves. With God all things are possible. Every day, we take our old wine - the things we value, the things the world expects, old hurts, the things that concern us. And we put them before God - the new wine of the Holy Spirit. Then we see the blessings and we thank Him.

Blessed be God, who creates light out of darkness.

We are new creatures in Christ Jesus, not controlled by the old values, but placing ourselves in front of Father God as His children.

Pull from the 25 verses of Isaiah 45:

Isaiah 45:

⁵ I am the LORD, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you

⁹ "Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker,
to him who is but a potsherd
among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
'What are you making?'
Does your work say, 'He has no hands'?

²² "Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth; for I am God,
and there is no other. 
 


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

Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.


Remembering things that caused pain, later bringing intelligence and blessing.

I was told in college by a happy voice on the phone, a Word of God, was coming to me. And in the upbeat voice, I had no clue the voice would say, "You will have a handicapped daughter and I think she will die." You might imagine, that made me quite angry. The call was so abrupt, there was confusion which of two roommates the voice belonged to. The voice was cheerful and told me this was a gift of the LORD and if the gift was ignored, the gift would cease. I later, after Isabelle died, I looked to see what the person had done with their life. I still wonder today when news is given from the Lord, but without caution. Even Samuel worried about doing this. I suppose, you have to put your own life in your hands when cheerfully offering up news like this.

Have you ever spent time wondering why a good person would suffer  - like with a broken hip. Didn't He - the LORD - care? And realizing, later, the odd reaction to the news teaches us about a heart of an individual involved. God is at work in our lives, all the time.

I remember having an ocean vacation and dreaming of my brother with his children, waking to find the dream wasn't true and feeling very, very sad. Sometimes there is a reaction to news - in all of us - that God would say is like a run over raccoon. We suffer for the raccoon and actually what has caused the end of the raccoon -  is the creature clinging to his own path, the food, found along that path. Ignoring the obvious.

Other times, we have to be glad the emotion was Expressed! This weekend, years later, I've been blessed to spend time with my brother's family - enjoying his children.

We are very able to breeze past our moments filled with joy with the abandon of the wide highway.

Luke 13:24
Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able

Luke 17:17
Then Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine-- where are they?

Strive to be the one who truly gives thanks. All of our gifts are really from Him. It is only in the heart, where HE treasures us, where thanks may truly be given.

Father God, help us to be worthy of our calling from You!  Each day giving thanks, putting our hands out and help us to bring Your will to earth, bringing more heaven to earth - to Your Glory. In the name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.

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1 Kings 17:8-16 ~ The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’”

 Zarephath earliest occupation dates in the Late Bronze Age, c.1600 B.C., is mentioned in Papyrus Anastasi I from the reign of Rameses II.

1 Kings 17:8-16

Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”

13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’”

15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

I always love the Bible Jesus has commented upon.

He loved this portion so much to speak the Word about His opinion.


Luke 4:24-27
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.”

For us today, this miracle indicates that God is still at work. In difficult situations He provides assurance. On the horizon, the hope of a new fulfillment in Him.


Luke 18:1
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.


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1 Samuel 16:1-13 ~ surely the Lord's anointed is before Him

1 Samuel 16:1-13

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”

10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest,[a] but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.”




12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

Footnotes:

1 Samuel 16:11 Or smallest

Young Shepherd with Lamb, painted by Giovanni Segantini

Jeremiah 17:10
“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart

James 4:8
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.


And as David aged and God's promises were fulfilled, David had this to say:

Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Psalm 97:11
Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.


Psalm 27:4
One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.

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