1 Corinthians 4:3 ~ regard us, as servants of Christ

1 Corinthians 4:3

This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.


Acts 22
2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he said, 3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today."

The Bible and man are in a balancing act. God's Word is perfect.


Proverbs 30:5
"Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him."

And man...

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

What shall we do with the balance of Holiness and mankind?

Romans 3:24
Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

 


We must rest upon God's Grace. And let Him fill us with Gladness. Asking His Living Water to renew us.

Christians want to behave as Jesus did. Jesus did have trouble. Peter vastly made an impact when Peter tried to behave as Jesus.

Matthew 10:25
“It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house "Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!"


We live our lives making decisions. How will we have comfort in our salvation and have grace? Reading the Word.

John 3 tells us

~ Your soul is getting along well when you have faithfulness to the truth.

~ Walk (live) in Truth.

~ Pray for your Children to Live in Truth. When You believe the Promises of God, you will obtain them.

~ You are doing faithfulness for brothers and sisters, even strangers.

~ Love people from your Church.

~ Show hospitality to God's people.

~ Imitate what is good, in sincerity. Anyone who does what is good is from God.


  Jesus explained this Truth when He said we are the part of the Vine. God is the Vine dresser. God feeds us. HE loves us best!!!

Robert Gelinas
Practicing Christian Blog. Published 20 of the most unique Blessings from the Bible. Absolutely amazing. Breathtaking. Listed as a challenge, you must look up and think these through. 
http://robertgelinas.org/2013/01/14/20-blessings-from-the-bible/


1 Thessalonians 5:23
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us carefully accept with gratitude God's blessings. An earnest prayer.

Some of the things I do to feel God's peace are publish this Blog. When I'm having a "Wild Winds of Life Howl" Day. Or biblically, "Days may come" Day, I write God's will and I am comforted.


Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Doing HIS Will and Worship, you receive renewing of the mind. God's plan for your life will be good and pleasing to you. Your decisions will be helped towards blessings. I volunteer at PACN. Homeless people wind up as blessed, fulfilled and joyous from council and their prayers. Orphans who seem shielded by social armor pray to receive God when they had felt cut off. Gay men worried by military announcements of HIV possible spread, talk and pray about a worried mom. Where to receive Spiritual Comfort and a Spiritual home. Teenagers terrified of their peers during STD scares come in to be held by consultants. Women recovering from cocaine addictions and child loss from CPS, find they are expecting again and want to make sure this child is upheld in their parenting skills and determination to do things right this time.


Philippians 1:9-11
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may 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.

Seeing the Equestrian Leap of Faith. an Equine Assisted Therapy Riding Program dedicated to serving riders with disabilities. Horses, therapist Shannon and volunteers provide physical, mental and social therapies helping riders expand balance, self-confidence, motor skills, joy and encourage them to “pick up the reins of life.”


Psalm 121:7-8
The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Prayers for life encountered. A time to speak up. Conversations encountered. Ambulances that go past. And an ongoing conversation with God. Each day praying for the family, extended family, the friends of long ago, the friends of today, the people I love to volunteer with. All this takes is beginning with the Lord's Prayer. Beloved, let us love one another Love is of God. And the person held to Jesus, with the request "Jesus, please."



Hebrews 13:20-21
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

That is a tremendous blessing!


God takes our narrow path. This is the meaningful aspect of our lives, where God makes a place of peace with Him.

1 Peter 4
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace


 
—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

 To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.


Father God today and each day, bless, strengthen in Your Joy, establish and guide us as we work with You. Let our peace in our loving relationship be carried to our lives to the blessing of those near us  Let Your Loving Heaven and Will be done in our lives for this Earth. Your Will and Your Plans for our lives go forth. We ask You Word be fulfilled in Jesus Christ to the Good You Have for us. Amen. 

♔ Lord Jesus Saves  †

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Ephesians 5:32 ~ This mystery is profound

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


Eternal Word Television Network, "What Catholics Really Believe: Setting the Record Straight" (1992 Karl Keating), which contains 52 chapters, each devoted to a common misconception about the Catholic faith. The book is available from Catholic Answers

"Fundamentalists, and even some Catholics, are surprised to learn that celibacy has not been a rule for all Catholic priests. In the early centuries priests and bishops could be married—the practices in the West and East were the same—but celibacy was soon preferred, and eventually it became mandatory. By the early Middle Ages, the rule of celibacy, in the Latin or Western Rite, was firmly in place."


In the 1330s a large number of natural disasters and plagues led to widespread famine, starting in 1331, with a deadly plague arriving soon after. Epidemics which may have included plague killed an estimated 25 million Chinese and other Asians during the 15 years before it reached Constantinople in 1347.

Within, roughly, a hundred years, Martin Luther was to be born.

 Mask of Martin Luther and his hands, age 62

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Proverbs 23:18 ~ Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Who are you going to be rude to - Today?

Famous Dumbledore said: "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends."



I had a memorable conversation with my very loved Daddy. He said several times, "When you are dead, you are just a dead animal."

Oddly, and with good reason, God talks about this in Scripture. What is Scripture? Scripture is a truthful road map to the circumstances in life - guaranteed - to test what metal you are made of.

So who thought we might just be dead animals? Solomon.

Ecclesiastes 9:4
But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.


Solomon actually heard from Father God. And then Solomon set out on his merry way to do what people do. Like the Frank Sinatra song - "I did it myyyyy wayyyyyy." Solomon later came back to God and wanted his life to reflect the wisdom of growing up.

Well.
I learned some of this as I grew up.
However.

I was standing in my godfather's driveway and in 5th grade. I'd been sent to Parochial School by my parents and grandmother - where I learned  Heaven is a huge part in believing God is God and His Word is His Word. And His Promises are Sure. My father probably wanted to annoy me, but frankly. I was tired of this two week, on going, JAB. 

My father was telling my godfather he had decided we are dead animals when we die.

And I said, "Daddy." My godfather Jess, sorta poked my Father with his grilling spatula.

"What, honey?"

"I'm telling Uncle Tate."

"Sure, honey. Tate knows."

I digested this as unlikely. But Daddy was 6 feet tall and I was not. And I felt angry. Angry at this Jabbing. And angry that Daddy had said differently for years.

So I said with A Lot of Anger, "Maybe you ARE GOING TO BE A DEAD ANIMAL and Jess and I WON"T BE."

Daddy immediately looked hurt.

I also know when to make a healthy retreat.

And to know more Discussion Would Happen.

And that did occur. Daddy said I'd really hurt his feelings. And I said you send me to school and YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE IN JESUS. And I cried, my mom got upset and Daddy decided he did believe in Jesus and Heaven.

You never know what conversations become meaningful. However, I know that conversation occurred in 1974 and my dad died in 1993. Daddy wrote one last letter and said that he was going on. And he was calling on the mercy of Jesus to make sure he met his loved ones in Heaven.

God says what you tell a child is important.  The conversation might Spiritually have been much more about Daddy and Father God, than I was,  in that conversation. Daddy protected his child. 


Matthew 18:6 
If anyone causes one of these little ones--those who believe in me--to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

We really have a choice when we call on the name of Jesus. Placing ourselves well.

Someone else  I count as one of my Favorite and Most Loved People on the planet passed on after years of speculation about Cheap Grace and Expensive Rent running a Church.

That death bed scene had a tremendous choice offered.  That life had been spent not talking the talk, but without doubt - Walking His Walk.  The offer went back to accepting Jesus as a teenager because a grandmother had asked her beloved grandchild to love Jesus, saying, "I'm going to Heaven because of Jesus, and you need to accept Him too - because I'm not going to Heaven without you."

Many, many times I've quoted the Parable Jesus told us about expectation and Prayer. Do we see God as a Judge or someone who would Run as a Father to us.

God loves our best expectations of Him.

Proverbs 23:18
Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.


God expects us to Think about this.

God says we reason. Let's reason in His Love for us.

Proverbs 24:14
Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Philippians 1:20
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.

2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.


Father God, Let me be one of Your number and I shall go far in the mercy and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. I invite You, God, to know all of my variations, aspects and shine Your Life and Light within me always.  Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves  †

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Psalm 100 ~ Serve the Lord with gladness!

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!


2 Serve the Lord with gladness!

Come into his presence with singing!


3 Know that the Lord, he is God!

It is he who made us, and and not we ourselves

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.


4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise!

Give thanks to him; bless his name!


5 For the Lord is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his faithfulness to all generations.

We are all sure that we need more. More things, more electronics, more friends, more clothes, more shoes. Of course we need things, God provided even during the Exodus for things. He is our Father God  -who provides all things  - and creates all things.


Matthew 7:13-14

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."


Jesus explained that thirst is part of life, but in Jesus, we are fulfilled.

The Wide Highway is appealing. We add things to our lives like adding items in a shopping cart. The Narrow Path assures us we need few things. Life is meaningful on the narrow path.

The Narrow Path has a cost. Choices made  appealing to Father God. Not the picks of the world. Allowing Him to make the Narrow Path for His Glory and Sufficiency. Using the words we would say more carefully. Apologizing when our words were not what would He would have chosen for His Child.

Father God, please direct my path to be Your Path. With Jesus as my Shepherd, I will not be in want.

Lead me in Your pastures.  Let me know this path . Help my seeds to be fruitful , placing good seeds and give love, encouragement and tenderness on this meaningful journey.  Quiet me down and lead me the Path of Righteousness for Your Namesake. Jesus the Lord.

Let Your Living Water restore my soul from being in the World and not of the World. 

Help me know that the Wide Highway is interesting, yet not what You would call the enduring and quality portion of Your Plan. Let your Spirit of Truth be one of self-control and Faith and not of Fear. 

You are my Shepherd, the Guardian of my Soul. Let your rod and staff comfort me that I may comfort others.

Let me have Joy in You and  wisdom to see  Your Narrow Path You'd provide is more than sufficient and filled with a hope and future of good.

Help me,  Jesus,  that my footsteps will leave as my footprints goodness and mercy all the days of my life. That in the Victory of Jesus Christ, I will live all my days as Heaven is at hand, knowing I dwell in Your House forever. Give us this Day!    Amen in Jesus!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves  †

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Jude 1 ~ Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

Jude 1

1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,

To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

2 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.

For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

8 In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. 

But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.
11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.

12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.



17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

 

20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.


24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Matthew 7:1
Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

Matthew 5:7
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

God prepares us for what is ahead. He equips us.

The Vietnam War was something I grew up with in Elementary School. Passionately. That Apple of a dilemma was so finely sliced at my household dinner table we understood war and hate had to be explained with many views around that apple. The heroism of valor to protect our Republic and the ideas of Democracy from oppression.The unmitigated Hate that causes war. Civil War is almost relentless and has to be fought until brothers are too broken, bleeding and destroyed to war more.  


The respect due to the men and women who would put their lives on the line to fight for freedom and their Nation. The horror of being in an un-winnable situation. The damage that war caused to the warriors personally and to their families.


The Spirit of Peace that said we will not disobey our consciousness telling us killing in a battle on the other side of the earth Is Wrong. Obeying the inner voice saying conformity to wrong is wrong. Mourning for our Nation in distress. Still brings tears to my eyes.

Now we deal with sides. I rather think Rodney King had an important message. And I wept with him, too. Still.





I was thinking quite comfortably last week of Beautiful Carrie Prejean and Perez Hilton.  And after I answer some life questions, I'm going to give my answer. Because it's important to be clear. And the answer is important to me.

Let me tell you of one of the best days of my life.
I went to Easter at a soon to be relative's house. And I won't give you his name because - only because - he wouldn't want me to. I was an awkward youth going to the Most Beautiful House you've ever encountered in your life. It was a mansion, fully stocked with cook, maid and full time gardener. I was Nervous. And the Door Flung Open and this WONDERFUL Man threw open his arms and he wrapped me in his arms and he kissed me on the forehead and said "Call me "Nickname"!"

I am privileged to have known "Wonderful Man". He raised two daughters and never forgot their children. We had Santa for Christmas and the children never noticed his 50 year employed Butler and Handyman was African American. Santa gave heirloom, antique, rocking horses and Forts that would arrive with names on them. "Wonderful Man" gave his grandchildren cars when they graduated from college because he'd been without a car after his Ivy League education bottomed, rock bottomed, out at the start in the Great Depression.

"Wonderful Man" said he'd been without a car and knew the hardship, so his family would not be without cars.

Of course, "Wonderful Man" was indeed a Great Uncle and not a biological Grandfather.

I was privileged to see "W.M." raise holy cow anger tantrums, and hold my hand when my Daddy died. His Secretary worked for him for 50 years. Probably the Gardener, too.  He talked about being out of work and going door to door to find a job. And usually, there was a girl friend.

When"W.M." was close to ninety years of age, he came out of the closet very privately. Because, seriously, it was very private. Because "W.M." didn't need our permission. And "W.M." didn't need people to discuss his private matters.

"W.M." did require respect and love. And when he died at age 94, we wept for months. He is very missed. "W.M." didn't run off with his friends. He was a Paterfamilias to his family. He didn't have biological children, but his children well remember his legacy of generosity, intelligent discourse, loyalty and love. We all recall seeing "W.M." see Paradise the week we sat by his side, knowing that the Hawaii he was telling us about, was his new Home.

Beloved, let us love one anther. Love is of God. Love covers a multitude of sins.


"W.M." was cremated, placed in his extensive family cemetery and his children, grand-children and great-grand children Wept. The Priest had on a white as snow vestment and when "W.M." was placed on the earth, the Good Priest wiped his hands with "W.M." ashes down his pristine vestments and said, "Jesus Christ displays this better. Jesus Christ makes us white as snow. His Love washes our sins away and makes us clean. He draws us into His Heaven."



 


Why did "W.M." keep us separate from his gay friends?

I grew up next door to two men who were gay in the Big City. For 15 years. Hal was the nicest man you'd ever meet. His partner was Not. The Partner growled at small children and I was afraid of him. He was not pleasant to my father or my brother. My mother took a pot roast to Hal one Friday night, behind their second wooden fence. My father asked her not to go as they were entertaining their regular Friday evening group. Let's say. She shouldn't have gone. My mom wishes to this day she hadn't gone.

We had two lesbians move onto our street in Dallas when I had young, young children. The neighbors were divided. The consensus was don't bother them, be polite, just be nice. That was ok. Until the children started screaming from their back yard during parties. Behind the 12 foot fence. And the police started arriving every Sunday afternoon until we were all relieved to see that the other part of the couple did move away.

I was in the Galleria with a friend and we were walking down a fairly isolated corridor and two very affectionate -to each other-  men were spooning, as they walked. I had a 12 year old boy in front of me and he was aghast to see the spooning. He started to edge over to the side away from them. They bent over and ran, as if to get him. He CRIED OUT IN FEAR. They were pleased. We rebuked them and they laughed more.

I was in a Bible Study. I began to realize the interest from the woman next to me was not platonic. And then I realized she hadn't wanted me to notice, but now that I had noticed and was worried, she was rather enjoying the cat and mouse game. I have the unique experience of being asked to participate in a three way with two lesbians, who didn't think that I'd comment. One didn't think I caught on. Yes, she invited a lover to Bible Study. And I began to pray this would be revealed and it was. To the proper authority. Cloak and dagger Bible Study ended. Surely, no one thinks this is appropriate in Bible Study.

I volunteer at a Pregnancy Assistance Center. We had a lesbian client and our area experience and statistics say lesbianism is a wife with a husband who begins to be introduced to her hobbies and her friends and then back to the man. We were discussing this, and the Psychologist who works there, did agree, and said her fifty year old husband was invited to his co-workers lesbian household for dinner. He had to leave after dinner, it turned into a group spend the night - adults only -  slumber party.





So what would I say to Perez Hilton?

I would say Jesus knew of what He spoke. The focus of the Gospel is Love. There is One who is Good and He Loves. I cannot cast the first stone. But I believe Jesus is right and Jesus loves.

I value what Jesus said and He said all of mankind falls short of His glory. Jesus did not cast His Children aside.



Father God! Thank you for the blessing of the love shown in My Loved One. Let us love one another for love is of You. We want You to be our Joy. Bring Love to be the highest calling in the land You would call Your own. Speak Joy, Love, Healing, Faith, Peace and we will reply "The Mouth of the Lord has Spoken!"

Guide us when we have stumbled, in Your Forgiveness we will live in Your Glory.

Be merciful to us when we doubt. Strengthen us in You, Lord Jesus. Let Your Great Love save us from fire of unbelief and the absence of Your Love. Teach us wisdom and mercy.

Only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves  †

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John 1 ~ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

A newly found mosaic, probably of Alexander the Great. In a fifth century Synagogue in
Huqoq, Israel. Found a week ago.

Dang. We could entitle this post what my son Alexander did last summer. Last summer, Alexander, my youngest son, was in Yaquq known to archeologists as Huqoq, Israel. And Alexander found a 4th century coin with his professor Nathan Elkins, from Baylor, with a team from the University of North Carolina.

Tyre was an Island - Before Alexander the Great decided to make more mainland.

In 332 B.C., Alexander besieged, defeated and created Tyre into the mainland from formerly being an island and Gaza in his march toward Egypt. During this campaign, he turned toward Jerusalem. This had been recorded in Scriptures. Alexander had already demanded men and supplies from the Jews, who were under the rule of Alexander's mortal enemy, the Persian king Darius. The high priest hesitated, saying that while Darius lived they would honor their pledge. Alexander was angry and began a move on the city.

Well aware of the danger, Jaddua asked the people for prayer to God for His mercy and protection. Then, says Josephus, Jaddua had a dream as to how to entreat the Macedonian king. He and the other priests dressed in their priestly robes and, accompanied by others dressed in white garments, formed a procession going out of the city to a carefully chosen place to meet the Alexander the Great.

Alexander then did the unexpected. Alone, he approached the high priest and members of the procession and greeted them. He bowed down.

Alexander said: "I did not adore him, but that God who hath honoured him with his high priesthood; for I saw this very person in a dream, in this very habit [garment], when I was at Dios in Macedonia, who, when I was considering with myself how I might obtain the dominion of Asia, exhorted me to make no delay, but boldly to pass over the sea thither, for that he would conduct my army, and would give me the dominion over the Persians; whence it is, that having seen no other in that habit, and now seeing this person in it, and remembering that vision, and the exhortation which I had in my dream, I believe that I bring this army under the divine conduct, and shall therewith conquer Darius, and destroy the power of the Persians, and that all things will succeed according to what is in my own mind" (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 11, chap. 8, sec. 5, William Whiston translation, 1981).

Josephus records Alexander accompanied the priest into Jerusalem and Temple, where he "offered sacrifice to God, according to the high priest's direction, and magnificently treated both the high priest and the priests."

Alexander's visit was capped by a briefing from the book of Daniel, written several centuries earlier, which foretold the rise and conquests of Alexander. "And when the book of Daniel was shewed him, wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians, he supposed that himself was the person intended; and as he was then glad, he dismissed the multitude."

What Alexander the Great encountered was, of course, the Living God. This is what we hope for our children and our loved ones to realize about Jesus.

 


The Apocrypha is debunked frequently.

Josephus would have said this is a mistake to debunk the Apocrypha. Without the history lessons from the Apocrypha, we would not have miraculous Hanukkah recorded. We would not have Biblical explanations for more miracles of God that led to Zeus not being sacrificed to in the Temple. We would not know of the heroism of Judas Maccabees. We would lose the understanding Jeremiah fully Knew to hide the Ark of the Covenant sealed until God unseals the Ark from Mount Nebo (from the Greek word ἀπόκρυφος, apókruphos, meaning "hidden"), where Moses stopped and did not enter the promised land. Without the Apocrypha, history wouldn't explain the Herods easily, we wouldn't know the coins of Israel / Judah depicted and image the first time of a non-Davidic king declaring majesty over the Children of God. The time had come for the Messiah.

Until 1534, the Apocrypha was  recorded as part of Scripture. St. Nicolas risked life and limb to meet with Bishops to agree what the Holy Spirit would call Scripture for a Church Jesus was prophetic to say existed.

Among the Dead Sea Scrolls were a number of manuscripts of the Apocrypha.

And yes,  parts of the Apocrypha are unlikely seeming, or as if they appeal to Asian worshipers.  Scripture is factual - and - God's Word appeals to - the intended people of God.

Yes, the language was merely of the written, spoken words of the people of God. Greek. How unlike God? God did not say He sent His only begotten son to the Hebrew speaking world. God sent His people into the second exile (why they were returning well treated from Emperor Darius) and to the people like Alexander the Great.

Why? GOD was on a mission. A God sized Mission - to save - the - World.

Where?
The Huqoq Excavation Project is excavating a fifth-century A.D. synagogue at Huqoq, an ancient village in Israel’s Lower Eastern Galilee located three miles west of Magdala (home of Mary Magdalene) and Capernaum Jesus' hometown.

Because?
In reality, God is reaching to all of His Creation. To discover, just as Alexander the Great, God is is found when He is sought.

Because... Because?

John 1 says something very profound about this Discovery TODAY.

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


Alexander was told about what Daniel had to say about Alexander the Great. Because they wanted Alexander to believe. They probably forgot to tell Alexander the Great what was said about making Tyre into a rubble.

Ezekiel told about that prophecy.

Ezekiel 26 announces the destruction of Tyre (Ezekiel was the prophet who announced a head of time what Nebuchadnezzar would do) , Ezekiel 27 asks for a prayer for the beautiful Tyre. Combine the two chapters, you have a wonderful example of God's mercy.

Ezekiel 27:1-4

1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
2 Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;
3 And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty. 4 Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.

Tyre, Lebanon today - the coast and southern half are devoid of population and are in ruins.

Ezekiel 26:1-14 ~ (Revised Standard Version)

In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
"Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, `Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken, it has swung open to me; I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,' therefore thus says the Lord GOD:

Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. They shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers; and I will scrape her soil from her, and make her a bare rock.

She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets; for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD; and she shall become a spoil to the nations;
and her daughters on the mainland shall be slain by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

"For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadrez'zar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers.

He will slay with the sword your daughters on the mainland; he will set up a siege wall against you, and throw up a mound against you, and raise a roof of shields against you. He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as one enters a city which has been breached. With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets; he will slay your people with the sword; and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground.

They will make a spoil of your riches and a prey of your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; your stones and timber and soil they will cast into the midst of the waters.

And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more.

I will make you a bare rock; you shall be a place for the spreading of nets; you shall never be rebuilt; for I the LORD have spoken, says the Lord GOD.

God laments Tyre. 

And Today. Today. Today. God still has Tyre as a desolation explaining the Word of God goes on forever.

Why say John 1 contributes to the Passage?
The Word of God points to the same message from the Father. The tributaries run to the streams, the streams to the river, the River becomes the Ocean.

Jesus did not stay on as a Warrior King. Jesus Christ, Messiah, instead Jesus fought for all of us.

God defended Hezekiah - and his God seeking, earnest nation against the Assyrian Empire.
God defended returning Judah freed slaves as the wall surrounding Jerusalem was made safe.
God defended Judah from Alexander the Great after fulfilling the Word of God as told by Daniel and Ezekiel in the Holy Spirit.

Luke 2:14
"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."


Father God, let me be one of Your numbers, when the saints go marching in.
And my family. For the Churches of Jesus Christ. My loved ones and even the people we wait upon in prayer for His favor to create harmony. When a man loves the Lord, even his enemies are at peace with him. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves  †

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Luke 19:45-48 ~ a house of prayer

The Shepherd, by Greg Olson

Luke 19:45-48

 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.



Jesus said that we, in our bodies, are the Temple, yet it came with a caveat:

1 Corinthians 6:19
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own

Jesus went into the Temple (not just His Body, but the physical location) at least 26 times, recorded in the Gospels; And Jesus entered Synagogues at least 12 times. Every day, Jesus acknowledged mercy over sacrifice.



Mark 10:27
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

Matthew 5:14
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

Philippians 2:1-11
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of JESUS every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that ..... Jesus Christ is Lord! To the glory of God the Father!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves  †

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