Malachi 4 ~ For behold, the day comes

Malachi 4

“For behold, the day comes, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

But for you who fear my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go forth leaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

5 “Behold, I will send you Eli′jah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.”

God loves to tell and repeat matters of Faith. Elisha, also, lived seeing this verse.

2 Kings 7

7 But Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” 2 Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But he said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”
The Syrians Flee

3 Now there were four men who were lepers at the entrance to the gate. And they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die.” 5 So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians. But when they came to the edge of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no one there. 6 For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and of horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us.” 7 So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses, and their donkeys, leaving the camp as it was, and fled for their lives. 8 And when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent and ate and drank, and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and went and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent and carried off things from it and went and hid them.

9 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king's household.” 10 So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city and told them, “We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no one to be seen or heard there, nothing but the horses tied and the donkeys tied and the tents as they were.”

Then the gatekeepers called out, and it was told within the king's household. 12 And the king rose in the night and said to his servants, “I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry. Therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the open country, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive and get into the city.’”

And one of his servants said, “Let some men take five of the remaining horses, seeing that those who are left here will fare like the whole multitude of Israel who have already perished. Let us send and see.” 14 So they took two horsemen, and the king sent them after the army of the Syrians, saying, “Go and see.”

So they went after them as far as the Jordan, and behold, all the way was littered with garments and equipment that the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king.

16 Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord.

Now the king had appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. And the people trampled him in the gate, so that he died, as the man of God had said when the king came down to him. 18 For when the man of God had said to the king, “Two seahs of barley shall be sold for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria,” 19 the captain had answered the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” 20 And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate and he died.

Jeremiah 31:31
Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah

God also explained the economic conditions of the time of Jesus.

Isaiah 7

18 In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.

20 In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

21 In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, 22 and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat curds and honey.

23 In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become briers and thorns. 24 With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. 25 And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

Thank You, Father God. For Your amazing prophetic Word. Bless us to walk in Your paths. In Jesus. Amen



 

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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Luke 11:5-10 ~ Which of you who has a Friend will go to Him at midnight and say to Him

Luke 11:5-10


5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;

And he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence [or persistence] he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Compared this to the verse ~

1 John 5:14
And this is the confidence which we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 

Why sometimes does it seem our prayers are not answered even when God calls us His friend? David prayed for his infant to live. Elijah and Jonah prayed for death. Disciples James and John asked for higher rank in Jesus' Kingdom. Jesus prayed "this cup to be taken from me." Paul prayed for a thorn in the flesh to be taken away.

Yet All of the Them were willing to live God's plan.

The bottom line would be - how to have more prayers answered. But it isn't the bottom line. Our prayers are answered.

Be persistent.

Be expectant.

Listen. To what God's Word speaks within you.

What we usually pray to God is not that His will be done, but that He approves ours.
~Helga Bergold Gross

Gross but true.

One of the articles I read was about a man coming to his prayer group facilitator and saying he was going to quit. The needs of the group were overwhelming and nothing ever happened.

Don't we all get in a prayer rut? This group wasn't spiritually dead, they looked at the question to see - well, seems to be true, now what. They began to ask God, maybe this continuing difficulty IS put in our lives to grow from it. They prayed over arthritis and said, we don't like it. It doesn't seem to be going away - God give me strength to do what You would have me do.

Here is a quote from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, on tragedy: "The odd thing is that those who are most deeply involved … are most aware of two things: a kind of strength and vision just to go on; and a sense of the imperative for practical service and love. Somehow in all of this, God simply emerges for them as a faithful presence."

Some of the ways we don't ask God, in our asking, would be (taken from an article by Wayne Jacobsen, in blue):

The trivial: "Let's pray I can get over this cold" or "Give us a rain-free day for the church picnic." (I disagree here - the Scriptures say to pray for everything and then thank Him for His answers.)

The self-motivated: "My brother's unit just got called up to go to Iraq. Let's pray he won't have to go." While I can understand the emotion behind the request, it is still misplaced. If he's in the military, why shouldn't he go? God's purposes frequently include hardship and risk. Should we ask him to trump his purposes for our convenience? (Wayne Jacobsen goes on to say, pray the fear of his family and their peace. Pray for safety.)

The controlling: "Don't let my daughter move in with her boyfriend" As with Kris' request, I think we're spitting into the wind if we ask God to make other people act according to our will. He doesn't even force people to adhere to his will. Why should he make them act according to ours? (Pray for God to be known to the daughter, that she might want to live in His Love and let her actions reflect His holiness.)(Daniel Effectively prayed for hearts to be open to God's Will, His Heart.)

The manipulative: Not all prayer requests are directed at God. We're usually more diplomatic about it than Charissa, who was only four years old, but knew what she wanted. "Jesus, would you help Bob and Laurie learn how to spank their children, so their kids won't hit me when I come over?" I'll admit it worked for Charissa, but I don't think prayer was intended to send subtle (or not so subtle) messages to the faithful.

The blaming: A group in my former church was praying for an infertile woman. They thought she wasn't getting pregnant because her husband wasn't godly enough be a good father. So they asked God to change him. She blamed him and tried to manipulate him to change, and by the time she came to see me, she was incredibly frustrated. I told her I thought they'd missed the point. None of us qualify for God's gifts. If God waited until everyone was ready to have a baby, no one would ever give birth. (Being asked to pray for something we feel is too hard or not God's will. Remember the men willing to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus by cutting the roof apart.)

The mass-produced: I don't know why we think we have a better chance of getting prayers answered if more people are in on it. Like many of you, I receive prayer requests on the Internet begging me to pray for people I don't know, about needs I'm not involved in. God's answers to prayer are not based on a tally sheet. Prayer was designed for two or three faithful believers to focus on, agree, and fervently intercede, rather than enlisting large numbers of uninvolved people. (I do believe God loves to hear more people like the centurion who had people prevail for him to Jesus. But God knows us. One prayer is all it takes. Jesus heard Zacchaeus and Nathaniel . It isn't a popularity contest.)

I loved this article, even if I didn't agree with every part.

Our prayers are answered.

When we ask. Yes. No. Wait.

Jesus liked the conversation of being asked. He could see what a blind man wanted.

I know my great-aunt Hazel prayed for her only child to come home safely from World War I. And William was killed. I know God heard her prayers. Hazel talked about William a lot She really enjoyed remembering him. My mother told me Aunt Hazel talked of William more than my mom thought she should. Aunt Hazel had William's painting painted. And it went to another cousin, after Aunt Hazel passed on, who became ill and William's painting was thrown to be given away or thrown away. An uncle was asked if he wanted to travel 6 hours to look over everything being put out. There was William's portrait.

My uncle took it and asked our family in Franklinton, LA (where William lived) if there would be a good place for William's painting. And it was given to our cousin, who is the town librarian and she herself lost an infant son. When she passes on, William's painting will hang in the Franklinton, LA Library because William died defending his country.

That is effective prayer. Father God had a plan. Father God was asked for mercy, for safety. How do we know? Hazel lived her life remembering the blessing William was to her. Certainly, she wanted William with her, but she was able to take the blessing of having a son and be glad, grateful. The Fruit of that Spirit is also - my uncle happened to decide to drive the 6 hours to look at what was being put away. He petitioned the family and found someone who would treasure a lost son. A cousin who is a librarian, where William will be remembered for his ultimate sacrifice.

And then there is my mother's friend a psychologist loosing her vision from hereditary weak blood vessels and glaucoma. Determined God would give her a miracle. And He did. Recovered sight without medication or surgery.

A client in crisis at PACN told me that she prays and is constantly astonished each morning as Father God's mercies are renewed. She says she has prayed this way and particularly at night. She believes we rest and our souls are renewed.

Psalm 30
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

Mark 12:31
The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

Romans 12:9

This expectant Christian woman says when you ask Father God to connect His soul to the loved one - you pray "Jesus, please." And you let yourself experience the love you feel for them. Sometimes pressing prayer requests are added earnestly, why this is worthy of His consideration. Love in prayer is important.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-28

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

25 Brothers, pray for us.

28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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Exodus 3:1-6 ~ And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”

Saint Catherine's reveals Mt Sinah is habitable. See the city way in the distance.

Exodus 3

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”

When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” 

And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Jesus had joy in His Life. Every day. God loves to heal. Moses had the same joy Paul displayed.

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

Exodus 7:7 and Acts 7:30 record Moses as being about 80 years old. And still being interested in life. Surely this is not a meek attribute. A Prince of Egypt should not be meek.

Numbers 12:3
3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.

What does God famously say about the meek?

Matthew 5:5
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.


David, rather agrees with Jesus here.

Psalm 37:11
The meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.

Blessed are the merciful - BECAUSE - Didn't He say something about obtaining mercy?

Psalm 10:17
O Lord, thou wilt hear the desire of the meek; thou wilt strengthen their heart, thou wilt incline thy ear






 

Raise your hand if you think Christian Bale, using his Batman voice, in the December 2014 Movie Exodus: Gods and Kings is going to look - meek. Betcha - he will.

How is Moses of  "Lift-Up-Your-Hands-Moses" a meek man? Good question.

Maybe we should contact the Movies Makers and say - heck - you got the title wrong "Moses, Man of God, Meekness".

I've puzzled this most of my adult life. And Moses explains this. Moses is meek. God says so.

Numbers 12
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. 

3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.

4 And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. 5 And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. 6 And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed.


What did Moses do next? To be meek -
13 And Moses cried to the Lord, “O God, please heal her — please.”
God heard the prayer of Moses.


What is meek?

Mark 12:31
The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.

Philippians 2:20
I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare.

AHA
The Joy of the Lord is my strength

Philippians 2:19-24
19 If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. 20 I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. 21 All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ. 22 But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News. 23 I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here. 24 And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon.

Proverbs 16:7
When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Acts 9:4
And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

Now,  we Are saying the meek are the ones who Will Pray when someone is in distress. So... Moses slept with his fathers on Mt. Nebo, outside of the Promised Land. And yet... Moses prayed for the Children of Israel to receive the land. God brought that to pass. And again after the Babylons enslaved them. And again after almost 2,000 years. Now, that is some Excellent Prayer.


When we pray for others, A Day to God is millions of years, this is TODAY.
take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground
We are walking on the same holy ground with Him. We touch God when we pray.

Thank You Father GOD, You hear our Prayers! In the Highest Name of Jesus. Amen! 

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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Psalm 36 ~ How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

Psalm 36

Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart;
there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3 The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4 He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil.

5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O Lord.

7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.

10 Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your righteousness to the upright of heart!
11 Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the evildoers lie fallen;
they are thrust down, unable to rise.

Matthew 10
26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

My family spent last June all over the Smithsonian and Arlington National Cemetery. We watched the changing of the guard about six or seven times. We found our great-grandmother's brother. Edward is pessimistic and says when we are gone, in a hundred years, we are largely forgotten. Yet if you listen to people, the stories of ages past have memories that hold dear today.

I can tell you about my dearly beloved uncle Artelles. My great-great uncle Artelles was named for his father Milton.

Milton was in the Confederate Army. At age 13. A bugle boy. Not the best job. Nope. Bugle boys tend to be shot for leading men. And what do you think was going on at home in Camden, Arkansas? Well, Jim Tom Elliott was busy running a railroad and a law practice. In a small town on the rise.

A fight was coming to town. The battle was the last significant fight the Confederate States won in the South. The Battle of Poison Spring took place on April 18, 1864, during the Arkansas phase of the Red River Campaign. And James Thomas Elliott's oldest son wanted to GO. Small towns. Big noises. Young men. And Milton was not going to take no for an answer. Another reason to get the boy out of town he was making a lot of noise -  Southern sympathy - The Union General Frederick Salomon occupied the home in 1864 during a stay in Camden. The family lived upstairs. Best not to anger the Union army.

Jim Tom Elliott's son survived.

He'd tousle my hair and say son take a good look around this is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometown

In '65 tension was running high
There was a lot of fights between the black and white
There was nothing you could do
Two armies on a Saturday night in the back seat there was a gun
Words were passed in a shotgun blast
Troubled times had come to my hometown
My hometown
My hometown
My hometown

Now Main Street's whitewashed windows and vacant stores
Seems like there ain't nobody wants to come down here no more
They're closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks
Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain't coming back to your hometown
Your hometown

During Reconstruction, the U.S. Representative James M. Hinds in 1868 was assassinated by George A. Clark, a member of the Ku Klux Klan and the Secretary of the Democratic Committee of Monroe County, who was drunk at the time.

James Thomas Elliott chose to run for the empty seat in a turbulent historical time. He was elected as a Republican to the Fortieth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James Hinds, and served from January 13, 1869, to March 3, 1869.

James Thomas Elliott was a Unionist Republican. He, oddly, was not reelected. Jim Tom became a Circuit Judge of the Sixth Judicial District of Arkansas from October 2, 1865, serving until September 15, 1866. He established and edited the South Arkansas Journal in 1867. In this time period, the family lost 2 daughters, Belle and Emmaline Elliott to yellow fever on the same day. Later they would loose the younger son, who had been photographed by Mathew Brady during the housing of federal troops. Three of their four children died.

Milton became a ... pharmacist. And his wife wrote a book with the rest of Camden Ladies Historical Society called "A Garden of Memories" about the Civil War and the losses experienced.

Milton and his son Artelles did not seem to connect completely. Artelles professed interest in the Military and was sent to The Virginia Military Institute. There was ... some family discussion... about a loss of commission over a cigarette smoked during chapel. And yet, Col. Artelles Elliott was made a Colonel during WWI and had a very interesting college roommate named General George Patton. August of 1943, found Artelles serving as an aid to his college roommate. Artelles had nothing to comment on that.

Battle gets to people. Winston Churchill quoted this during the war - “It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.” Still, given what I know about Uncle Artelles, I do not think he would have voted for the slaps.

Some of us remember him as Artelles. Some of us refer to him as "Uncle Artie". I know that for my grandmother - she delighted when Artelles would visit. Activities stopped. My great-grandmother Munner would glow. Uncle Artelles brought one of the first German Shepherds to the family in World War II and at the time the breed was called "A Police Dog" - the dog was a huge hit and they named him - Cop. Artelles had stories of the Philippines, Europe. My great-grandmother had their mother living with them and she felt her family was complete when Artelles lived at home. And really he just visited.

To my father, Uncle Artelles was something like Captain America. And my great-grandfather would glow to greet his brother-in-law.

While we were on our trip to Washington D.C., my niece was most concerned with the concept of "every word proclaimed to the housetops" and I had to hug her and shrug.

God is Ancient of Days. Jesus is the visible image of God. Jesus said every word of God is worth living by.

Matthew 12:36
But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.

That universe will hold a lot of our words, all our days, to discuss when we all get to go to Heaven for a discussion with our Father God.

As you get older, you get the "rest of the story" - Uncle Artelles had some very unremarkable and rather ordinary sad things happen to him in life. And in the middle of the funny story, someone throws in the part you hadn't known before, and you ache. Feeling sad for the man who had brought such joy to his family. And not all the parts of the story would he want put in public. After you walk for two solid hours to get to his grave and locate it - you realize something new about Uncle Artelles.

He was part of something very fine. Artelles put his life on the line for decades for something he believed in. Not the right or the left. Right and wrong. And that cross on his grave - that symbol of a soul being covered by the Promises of God - his end arriving in a veteran's hospital - no.

God covers the grave of Colonel Milton Artelles Elliott. Shelters him from harm of stories Artelles only owes God. Reminds us that this Man Stood for Something Mighty Fine. Kept going when days were terrible. Lived out long days, living peace. And when Artelles meets His Maker, Jesus is going to remember Artelles gave his life for serving others.

A Tree has fruit. Let me tell you what fruit I see from Artelles life.

1 John 4:7-21
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

1 John 4:11
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Matthew 22:39
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

1 Peter 4:8-9
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Hebrews 12
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

John 3:17
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

We left Arlington that day about six hours after we arrived. You realize what people have done for a Nation that cries Freedom. We were very proud of Uncle Artelles. The length of his service. The seriousness of what he had witnessed. The personal toll that took on him. And you realize a life that was held in such seriousness for duty - Artelles requires a merciful God. And we felt His pervasive peace.

I say this a lot and it's why I know Jesus is God. Jesus broke fish for thousands. He got his Hands in there. Jesus got dirt, probably, under his fingernails for a sinner. Jesus reached into the Sea of Galilee to pull out the self-righteous and that Sea never really sees a warmer day that 88'. That's some chilly water. Jesus gave new wine of the Holy Spirit. His first sign was wine at a Wedding. For His mom.

Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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