Psalm 116 ~ I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

Psalm 116

1 I love the LORD, because he has heard
my voice and my supplications.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, I pray, save my life!”

5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
6 The LORD protects the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your rest,
for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

8 For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.
9 I walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.
10 I kept my faith, even when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted”;
11 I said in my consternation,
“Everyone is a liar.”

12 What shall I return to the LORD
for all his bounty to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD,
14 I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
16 O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!



Who listens to you?
And are they good when you have an imperfect circumstance?
Imperfect circumstances... who has those?
Not the Holy Saints, by their own fault, we read about in History. History is written, according to Winston Churchill, by the victors.


Imperfect circumstance? God likes those. According to Facebook and a lot of the people we know are explained by the goodness or badness as we scroll through those pages.


According to Facebook, God does not give you perfect people and no problems, He gives you trouble and people trouble to allow you to do the prime objective - Grow up to go - HOME.

People talk and talk. But where do their hips move. And what do you hear behind what they perfectly convey?

And who cares to improve the lives of others???

Philemon 1:20
Yes, brother, may I have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.

Real Christians seek to make Him known in what they put their hand out towards. We cannot be works driven. Yet, even the demons believe and shudder at the Word of God. Faith without works is dead.

Relationships that do not bounce are dead. We all want life long friendships with loyalty. That comes from having the Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. in different seasons to Bounce. To Forgive. To be able to trust the other person.

Servanthood.

The pesky problem with servants... they eventually need something from you. Allon-bacuth means oak of weeping. Jacob, on the lam - with the worst marital problems on the planet - the horrid novel The Red Tent - says it was so bad Jacob started really, really, really being interested in the sheep. We are the wisdom people...let's all vote for polygamy.

Back to the topic. The problem with servants is they require something. Jacob on the lam - oh my, oh my humor - Jacob has to Stop. And take care of

Genesis 35
8 And Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.


And you know life has a lot of problem solving and connecting the dots...lOOk at the way Scripture is placed together; how paragraphs join. There is a REASON the Scripture did not arrive with Subtitles.

Genesis 35
7 and there he (Jacob) built an altar and called the place El-bethel,[God at/of/for Bethal] because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother.

Jacob is having to flee - over Words - not sticks and stones (what a joke) until really important words were spoken. God reveals Himself - to Jacob who was fleeing death and buried a servant loved for her dearness to them. Compassion to the compassionate.

Recall with me - Jesus did not have dinner with Pharisee members without open hearts and did not become best pals with Caiaphas. Caiaphas was Forgiven. Jesus THE LORD - does not make hearts change. HE reveals HIMSELF to ... Joseph who showed Mercy to Mary. Joseph showed COMPASSION and was Mary's neighbor - in times of extreme distress.


Jesus is the LORD GOD wanting to save ... the world.

But the Gospel begins here, in the manger, where Creator comes to creation, where Creator is held by creation, where Mary picks up her God and holds him close and kisses His face and suddenly, wondrously, everything in this aching cosmos, everything in this wounded creation, is made glorious by such a simple act-that God came here and dwelt.

This, oh this, is the fearsome thing of grace. Alleluia, alleluia, world without end.  ~ C.Lowenfield


Why for Heaven's sake to we think we have to be perfect. Perfection is God. Salvation is God being perfect. Salvation requires an unusual depth of love. 

God reaches down to... Peter. Remember, unfortunate Peter is... horrors... married. It's about time the Catholic Church remembered - no... it was for walking on water and trying to Be GOD that Peter was having to be rescued. What I'm saying is marriage should be Upheld,  for people trying to be part of a HOLY Family and say the Hebrew witnesses (see the Ryland Papyrus in Manchester England for 60 A.D. Fragments fittingly attributed to the disciple John) could 'not' remember the correct word for siblings of Jesus and children of Joseph and Mary. No, in clarity, Joseph and Mary made a perfect blended family.

Gosh. It's just possible... maybe... that saints have children, a spouse, problems, temptations, ugly words and might be - not Eve - deciding if they are God - but human.

Gosh - it's just possible that plaster saints are - plaster covered.


Let's look at Paul writing to the Philippians...


Philippians 1

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers {sup class Bishops} and deacons:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

"For Heaven's sake" - you think they are needing Grace - hmmmm.


3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.


Halos are good. Especially at Christmas time. Halo is Light entering Mankind. A phenomenon recorded as factual. But this halo is requiring some Myth Busting. Paul is saying what he says in another passage - When Paul remembers someone Paul prays - not that Paul is in constant thought in prayer for a specific individual. We seem to think St. Anthony in Heaven - wants to hear about your car keys and isn't in Paradise with Jesus. Now the truth is, Virginia, that St. Anthony is a Saint of God in Paradise. But 36% of the World is Christian. And a lot of the people alive today are Catholic. Catholic Church? Is St. Anthony a Santa Claus? OR. Is it entirely possible that... Jesus is sovereign and with compassion for sheep of HIS - HE has compassion on the understanding need - THAT

WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT....


We are too UNHOLY for the LOVE OF CHRIST TO REACH TO US...

Matthew 9:36
But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were faint and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.



6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Encouagement!!!

7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

Having the rough patches in all circumstances and still being HELD IN THE HEART!!!

8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Christ Jesus has this affection to yearn - for plaster saints - no for YOU! How HIGH is this love, the Word of God tells us this love is Amazing.

12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

St. Francis knew he had to use both words and deeds to proclaim the Gospel. And paraphrasing him -
"Preach the gospel always, and if necessary, use words." Words came (creating sticks and stones!) and actions were made catching the attentions of the talkers.


15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.


Yes, and I will rejoice!
For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance

God says prayer is with - reward. We can expect people who love us to bounce (because we jostle them) - we can expect
deliverance like the way the centurion expected a Word of God would do the trick.

20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

Not works - but like the Syrian woman - we hope even for the crumbs of God's Table  and we repay our Savior by not deliberately treating HIM as our waiter or hand Him the broom to fix our messes.

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

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… Thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. Matthew 1: 21
…His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, The Might God,
…The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace Isaiah 9:6

… God hath made that same Jesus… both Lord & Christ Acts 2:36

…Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world! John 1:29

…they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, the song of The Lamb Revelation 15:3


…Behold, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah Revelation 5:5


..and the Bright & Morning Star Revelation 22:16


..and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life 1 John 1:1


…we have and advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ The Righteous 1 John 2:1


…whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us. Luke 1:78


…Before Abraham, I Am. John 8:58


…And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. John 1: 34

…are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. 1 Peter 2:25


…We have found the Messiah which, is being interpreted, the Christ. John 1:41


…I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6


…through the knowledge of the Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. II Peter 2: 20

..a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Revelation 19:16

…I am the Light of the World. John 8:12

…The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world… John 1:9

…I am Alpha & Omega the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come

The Almighty Revelation 1:8

Luke 2:10
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

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Job 33 ~ to bring back his soul

We are the wisdom people, with the ability to look back over at least 4 millenniums and see the people 2 millenniums Before Christ.

Matthew 13:16-17
But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

John 20:29
Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”


Job 33           Elihu Rebukes Job

“But now, hear my speech, O Job,
and listen to all my words.
2 Behold, I open my mouth;
the tongue in my mouth speaks.
3 My words declare the uprightness of my heart,
and what my lips know they speak sincerely.
4 The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
5 Answer me, if you can;
set your words in order before me; take your stand.
6 Behold, I am toward God as you are;
I too was pinched off from a piece of clay.
7 Behold, no fear of me need terrify you;
my pressure will not be heavy upon you.

8 “Surely you have spoken in my ears,
and I have heard the sound of your words.
9 You say, ‘I am pure, without transgression;
I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me.
10 Behold, he finds occasions against me,
he counts me as his enemy,
11 he puts my feet in the stocks
and watches all my paths.’

12 “Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you,
for God is greater than man.
13 Why do you contend against him,
saying, ‘He will answer none of man's words’?
14 For God speaks in one way,
and in two, though man does not perceive it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on men,
while they slumber on their beds,
16 then he opens the ears of men
and terrifies them with warnings,
17 that he may turn man aside from his deed
and conceal pride from a man;
18 he keeps back his soul from the pit,
his life from perishing by the sword.

19 “Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed
and with continual strife in his bones,
20 so that his life loathes bread,
and his appetite the choicest food.
21 His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,
and his bones that were not seen stick out.
22 His soul draws near the pit,
and his life to those who bring death.
23 If there be for him an angel,
a mediator, one of the thousand,
to declare to man what is right for him,
24 and he is merciful to him, and says,
‘Deliver him from going down into the pit;
I have found a ransom;
25 let his flesh become fresh with youth;
let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’;
26 then man prays to God, and he accepts him;
he sees his face with a shout of joy,
and he restores to man his righteousness.
27 He sings before men and says:
‘I sinned and perverted what was right,
and it was not repaid to me.
28 He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit,
and my life shall look upon the light.’

29 “Behold, God does all these things,
twice, three times, with a man,
30 to bring back his soul from the pit,
that he may be lighted with the light of life.
31 Pay attention, O Job, listen to me;
be silent, and I will speak.
32 If you have any words, answer me;
speak, for I desire to justify you.
33 If not, listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Job 33

“But now, hear my speech, O Job,
and listen to all my words.
2 Behold, I open my mouth;
the tongue in my mouth speaks.
3 My words declare the uprightness of my heart,
and what my lips know they speak sincerely.
4 The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
5 Answer me, if you can;
set your words in order before me; take your stand.
6 Behold, I am toward God as you are;
I too was pinched off from a piece of clay.
7 Behold, no fear of me need terrify you;
my pressure will not be heavy upon you.

Why hammer away? When God gives us the urge to speak, do speak up.

God never called for hammers, He asked for Salt and Light. Just like a potato chip, to delight the people who want more. Remember the people of God went to John the Baptist in the wilderness and traveled so far to See Jesus ~ He was concerned they'd faint on the journey home.

Jesus Expected His Word to go forth and last.



8 “Surely you have spoken in my ears,
and I have heard the sound of your words.
9 You say, ‘I am pure, without transgression;
I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me.
10 Behold, he finds occasions against me,
he counts me as his enemy,
11 he puts my feet in the stocks
and watches all my paths.’


The Word of God says when we speak from HIM, usually we feel like we have solid ground to speak from. Even Paul did echo this in Scripture - saying he knew he he was a sinner but during His speaking - Paul could not put a finger on his sin.

And then, and then and then - before we get too puffed with pride. The Lord would remind us man thinks of himself as more pure than a Holy God. In the very core Scripture of Micah 6 - Walk Humbly !




12 “Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you,
for God is greater than man.
13 Why do you contend against him,
saying, ‘He will answer none of man's words’?
14 For God speaks in one way,
and in two, though man does not perceive it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on men,
while they slumber on their beds,
16 then he opens the ears of men
and terrifies them with warnings,
17 that he may turn man aside from his deed
and conceal pride from a man;
18 he keeps back his soul from the pit,
his life from perishing by the sword.


Remember with me, one of man's greatest longings is to for the salvation of his beloved family and friends. The Rich man asked of God to send one back to them from the dead. Remember with me God speaks unbelievable renewal of life in the reformation of Israel. Happening when... again today.
God IS Still Working.

John 5:17
But Jesus replied, "My Father is always working, and so am I."



And we see the repeat of the appearance of the Holy Spirit rings forth that God gives STRONG emotion when He roars forth.


19 “Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed
and with continual strife in his bones,
20 so that his life loathes bread,
and his appetite the choicest food.
21 His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,
and his bones that were not seen stick out.
22 His soul draws near the pit,
and his life to those who bring death.



23 If there be for him an angel,
a mediator, one of the thousand,
to declare to man what is right for him,
24 and he is merciful to him, and says,
‘Deliver him from going down into the pit;
I have found a ransom;
25 let his flesh become fresh with youth;
let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’;
26 then man prays to God, and he accepts him;
he sees his face with a shout of joy,
and he restores to man his righteousness.
27 He sings before men and says:
‘I sinned and perverted what was right,
and it was not repaid to me.
28 He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit,
and my life shall look upon the light.’

Jesus Christ - our Mediator - Thank God!!!


29 “Behold, God does all these things,
twice, three times, with a man,
30 to bring back his soul from the pit,
that he may be lighted with the light of life.
31 Pay attention, O Job, listen to me;
be silent, and I will speak.
32 If you have any words, answer me;
speak, for I desire to justify you.
33 If not, listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”


Elihu Rebukes Job. Well he who laughs last - laughs best soo... what can we take from this? Now, we know they both spoke the truth and without the effort to COMPLETE the communication...all efforts go unnoticed they both strive for the same goal.

If life exists truly in the nano moments of our days, we have to remember the old commercial of how many licks does it take to get to Jeshua's center ---

Salt, light, humorous teachings, encouraging, same-side, believing in each other like a Good Father to Gideon.   And sometimes, being the tootsie-roll center - our Christmas gift is the determination not to argue and the gift of silence is given. 

Elihu goes on in great detail - Job has found one willing to give him great time - not always judging Job correctly - yet still worth the efforts they bring to each other. Iron sharpens Iron.

Teaching us letters of recommendations, as a letter of Christ, are written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

When we bring Him to others our speech is not CARVED IN STONE, but the Glory of righteousness of Love.

The heart of our communications for HIM are - not - a ministry of condemnation - holier than thou - but seeking the permanent glory of He is Salvation and Love. Praying for Him to let us be bold when, like Elihu, we are given a teachable moment.

The Ministry of His Righteous Love exceeds so far - we are reminded Jesus came in glory to save the world. The Lord, who is the Holy Spirit brings LIFE!

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Isaiah 40 ~ His reward is with Him

Isaiah 40

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.

3 A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”


6 A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
The Greatness of God

9 Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
14 Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

18 To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?
19 An idol! A craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.
20 He who is too impoverished for an offering
chooses wood[h] that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman
to set up an idol that will not move.

21 Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
23 who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

25 To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
not one is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.



Isaiah 40

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.

Pontius Pilate was recorded historically only in the last 40 years. He was recorded as scoffing at Truth. Eve was recorded as wanting to be the decision maker in Good and Evil on par with God.

When Jesus chose to live our life on earth. Roman money had poured into Judah. The Vine of David had been snipped from the Throne of David. Outwardly religious, Herod chose the priests for His Temple. Essenes left the Temple declaring the Temple, where Anna and Simeon greeted infant Jesus; later Jesus occasionally taught, to be devoid of the Holy Spirit. The Essenes did perish as well as the Temple. Choosing to live in an Ivory Tower - desert. Yet the fruit of the Temple and the fruit of the Essenes in the Dead Sea Scrolls reflect today the workings of the Holy Spirit.

This was a mess - the kind Jesus declares HE will come and save if we call earnestly upon Him. The Word of God is messy. Jesus is declared a winebibber - alcoholic - glutton - sitting with thugs and sinners. From a blended family the Sadduceen Council would gossip about for forty years after Jesus' trial.

Church tradition says leave the world and be more saintly. The Word of God does not leave the World. Only Elijah fled and had extreme despair. It was a terrible mess - and God came when earnestly sought.

Subtitles work when life is more perfect. And then you can skip the paragraphs unredeemed to be necessary for subtitles... No, the Word is Living and Active.


3 A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

This glimpse of Heaven is explained more fully in Isaiah 49. Well worth looking up. Especially if you have lost a loved one and wonder what paradise looks like. Scripture requires some digging to be put into the heart and lived. We prepare our hearts when we look into Scripture. And more of this is found in the Gospels. John the Baptist was from Abilene. (The place where Abilene, Texas is named for.) The roads are level, the landscape is flat - Just like we glimpse Heaven in Isaiah 49. Although the grid work is flat, Heaven has hills and mountains. You can tell for all flesh shall see it together, for the Mouth of the Lord has Spoken.

Surely Heaven in God's word with Scripture fulfillment is worth looking UP!

6 A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.

~ Oh man, being middle aged, almost, you have to love the permanence of the Word of 'our' God Will Stand Forever.

And we get to the portion that says cry and the plaintive wail - where to cry, how much, when??? We all do that. This is when we realize when you go to your long ago Minister and your child is being spit - literally - upon and he says nope the turn the other cheek portion is gone after weeks. Now. That. Will draw you up short. Even that Minister doesn't believe "TURN THE OTHER CHEEK." Wow. That makes you want to sit down. Actually. NO. What our minister friend was saying is not so shocking. When you connect the thought dots. My son Cal tried peace. And that Scripture was just not the right fix to the problem. Peaceful solutions should be explored.

Come Lord Jesus always be our wisdom to apply the right fix to the right problem. !!!!!!!!!!!!

The adults advised Cal to save his reputation, rebuke the devil and he will flee. Acutaleee. We advised him to hit the spitter who first liked to draw a crowd first. My son went better than the adult advice and instead rammed the spitter against a wall and did this:

2 Chronicles 16:9
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”

Job 24:23
He gives them security, and they are supported, and his eyes are upon their ways.

Merely with force and an eye pressed to an eye - the true grit determination and the pain - extinguished the jealousy the spitter had over a pretty girl. The girl chose poorly herself.

She picked
Proverbs 13:20
Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. Seeing that the embarrassment both boys caused her wasn't worth the struggle.

Proverbs 18:24
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

She never gave that valiant son of mine another look. And let this mom tell you he was president of two clubs in High School. The teachers voted him in their top ten student pick. And Cal received a larger scholarship to college than the Valedictorian, because a parent dug through every book Amazon and the High School Counselor recommended. He was President of his college fraternity. Ran the blood drive. Was in Student Council. Ran two formals, and had many, many people stand in line during the parties to tell him of their troubles so he could solve them. Now. Please write Cal and explain to him - he has a God given talent to do psychology or psychiatry.

Happy 25th Birthday, Cal.

9 Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.

The Good News still is that Jesus Christ saves. And according to verse 10, God saves well and efficiently.


12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?

13 Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
14 Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?

Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?

15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.




18 To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?
19 An idol! A craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.
20 He who is too impoverished for an offering
chooses wood that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman
to set up an idol that will not move.

21 Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
23 who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

25 To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
not one is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.



The Lord lives within us when we accept Jesus Christ. For each season of our lives, God is for us. In trouble, God is our salvation daily - a wilderness still in God's care. In good times, God in His Glory prevails. We don't need to read the Bible just as history. Or we recognize that portion as the old John the Baptist portion. Not just looking at biblical stories with nostalgia of great times, we can look ahead in hope. God is for us in this time and in this generation. His reward is with Him and He is with us. 



 Isaiah 40:1-31   English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio


 

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Zechariah 4 ~ Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”

Zechariah 4


And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. 3 And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” 4 And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. 7 Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”

8 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 10 For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.

“These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.” 11 Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” 12 And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?” 13 He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

C.S. Lewis was known to be a tenderhearted child who was very interested in the products of his imagination which he and his mother called 'small things'. His younger wanderings were filled with the understanding of Jesus and, later, Narnia. In the in between years, C.S. Lewis was prone to wander far from the Lord. He had a time period where he despised his small things.


What if -
C.S. Lewis had only encountered a world where he was disdained for his lack of total devotion and judgement for being inferior to Jesus? Would human judgment have inspired C.S. Lewis to grow?



We have free will. But how pervasive is that free will?
I'd say we live a life of illusion - believing all around us is so permanent. 

About three days ago I asked my mom how old her brother was, and found Jimmy was 83. 

My Uncle Jimmy provides us with the renewed and living hope Jesus gave us of workers coming to the Lord at different ages.

Yesterday, her brother, went in an ambulance to the hospital and died before family could be called. His family is so grateful to the Lord Jimmy did not suffer.  - Jimmy Willard, in his 70s, heard Jesus telling Jimmy was precious, chosen and special in Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven Life."  After seven decades of his mother Anita's daily prayers - prayers that were Pervasive. Refusing to Yield - led to Jimmy understanding How Very Much Jesus Loves Jimmy.  Grandmother Anita must be fluttering those hands and clutching Jimmy to her. She loved that boy of hers!

The purpose of this blog is to tell the truth of hardship and love.  Jimmy had two adoptions as a small child. He looked normal, but a forceps delivery made life Very difficult for Jimmy. His first adopted mother decided to beat potty training into that small burned boy. Jimmy grew up seeing Anita feeding hordes of people in her backyard during the Great Depression from their small frame house.

Finding Jesus and knowing His love took the constant being at sea out of Jimmy. And his final years, after making sure Grandmother Anita lived in her home until her 90's, were filled with the knowledge he had returned decades of kindnesses. Their circle of love and care were completed in his care for her.  Even after Grandmother Anita went home, those prayers continued to love on Jimmy.  He found Jesus. His later years were the best for him, the fulfilled Jimmy was a vastly different Jimmy.




I'd say we have Two Choices in Life - Being on the Ship - like the analogy of Paul traveling to spread the Joy of Jesus the Bridegroom dwelling within us. And swimming with the fishes - rather like Jonah.

Swimming with that Jonah fish circling - leads us to being spit out as lukewarm to Him.


“And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.”
― C.S. Lewis

“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
― C.S. Lewis

“I have come to know a God who has a soft spot for rebels, who recruits people like the adulterer David, the whiner Jeremiah, the traitor Peter, and the human-rights abuser Saul of Tarsus. I have come to know a God whose Son made prodigals the heroes of his stories and the trophies of his ministry.”
― Philip Yancey 




But not needing that Ship? Fellows on a Ship... Or like the movie "Knight and Day". With HIM Up there - without Him - down low. 

“Self-sufficiency is the enemy of salvation. If you are self-sufficient, you have no need of God. If you have no need of God, you do not seek Him. If you do not seek Him, you will not find Him.”
― William Nicholson, Shadowlands

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
― C S Lewis 




Trouble on the Ship....


“Here I am going to say something which may come as a bit of a shock. God doesn't necessarily want us to be happy. He wants us to be lovable. Worthy of love. Able to be loved by Him. We don't start off being all that lovable, if we're honest. What makes people hard to love? Isn't it what is commonly called selfishness? Selfish people are hard to love because so little love comes out of them.”
― William Nicholson, Shadowlands

Discomfort is something to be looked upon as an opportunity to grow. Trouble requires us to change. Giving us time not to stagnate, but to endure. And grow.




Paul indeed found trouble on the Ship - the sojourner found His Ship sometimes even had shipwrecks. But in clinging to that Ship   those trusting Him found safe harbor.  God used Paul's talents to make his life rich knowing how high, how wide was God's love for all aboard that ship.
 
If you are familiar with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - you realize Zechariah 4 opened up doors to C.S. Lewis to explain the sojourning of life. Perfectly explaining the Love experienced by those who Love the Lord.   GOD Equips us to do His work.




And of course - We need a Christmas Message ~

The other aspect of looking at Zechariah 4 is seeing how his parent fostered C.S. Lewis' creativity. The gifts we give our Children should encourage them to cook, doodle, dream, build, musical instruments - these gifts change lives. I'm so grateful to Mike McDonald, our Youth Minister, who told us one Christmas we would be buying Cal the best used guitar we could reasonably afford because that gift gave Cal the music of his soul - pouring out longings teenagers can't always express. Mike taught Cal guitar for free at his insistence, and Cal went on to start his High School Guitar Club, which in turn, got Cal leadership skills to start the Ultimate Frisbee Club which in turn got him several large Scholarships to College. Thank you, Mike McDonald.


Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things.
Steve Jobs

But the person who scored well on an SAT will not necessarily be the best doctor or the best lawyer or the best businessman. These tests do not measure character, leadership, creativity, perseverance.
William Julius Wilson

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.
Erich Fromm

Delete the subtitles

One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.
Edward de Bono

Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but the making something out of it after it is found.
James Russell Lowell

Proverbs 16:3
Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

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