Acts 1 ~ Hearts of all

Acts 1

1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 

9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 

10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? 

This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. 13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.


15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms,
“‘May his camp become desolate,
and let there be no one to dwell in it’;
and “‘Let another take his office.’

21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 

24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

What would Combine the Ascension with the Exodus?

Many people teach Ancient Egypt History has taught the slaves and impacted Yahweh Jehovah and the Bible into the New Testament to the Ascension.

Should we avoid the topic when scholars say the Psalms echo some of Egypt's polytheistic gods worship?

Wisdom - what Proverbs and James records Wisdom is preferred.

We should have an answer if this is thrown in for debunk God.

Dominion

Dominion of God is Our Rock.

Daniel 7:14

"And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

Daniel 7:27
The Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.

Genesis 11
8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth

Matthew 2:15
This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my Son."

Isaiah 19:25
The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance."



And the Pharaohs were supposed to be seen to ascend. And Mary Mother of God. Sincerely, we count Pharaohs ascending with Mary - as besides the point. For a good reason. Horus is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities - worshiped from late prehistoric Egypt until the Ptolemaic Kingdom during the Roman Egypt. Horus is seen as the god's son of Isis and Osiris, and he plays a key role in the Osiris myth as Osiris's heir. Like Moses, he comes from the marshes of the Nile. As "god's" son - he rules the nation of gods.

Historians say the Hebrew Alphabet is based upon Egyptian Hieroglyphics.

John Walton. Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, PhD in Hebrew and Cognate Studies, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He author of Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Set–Old Testament.

Another parallel to this three-part division comes from Egyptian reliefs depicting the military encampment of Ramesses II during the battle of Qadesh .4 The main entrance to the Israelite tabernacle (the courtyard area) lay on the east side, one of the shorter sides of the tabernacle. The main entrance to the Egyptian army’s camp was also on the east side, one of the short sides of the rectangular-shaped camp. If one followed a basically straight line from this entrance westward into the center of the camp, one eventually entered the king’s reception tent, which contained, at the west end, the pharaoh’s private area and throne room. This reception tent, like the Holy Place in the tabernacle, was three times as long as it was wide. Moreover, the pharaoh’s throne had falcon wings on either side, reminiscent of the winged cherubim in the tabernacle’s Most Holy Place. As the divine commander of the Egyptian military, Pharaoh was deserving of this specialized tent-shrine for his travels. For the Israelites, the tabernacle was the tent-shrine for Yahweh, their commander and the one who was to lead them to their


The purpose? God was making the Children of Israel comfortable through the desert.

An Echo of the New Covenant

Isaiah 54

10 Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

Is this all an adaptation?

Why wouldn't life, angels, rulers, things present, things past, things to come, powers, height, depth, - in all creation - - -All will be able to point, emphasize, encourage, teach, rebuke, strengthen us in the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Emmanuel God with 'us'. The Highest Name of Jesus.

Scriptures repeat to teach. Why not the stories God wants His Children to know?

The New Covenant is important? This is certainly not contained in mere national borders.

Jeremiah 31
33"But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34"They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."…

Hebrews 10:16
"This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds."

Jesus prepares His People

He gave us the widow of Nain's son. Jairus' daughter. Lazarus. Jesus prepares His People. Why not the stories God wants His Children to know?

When Nebuchadnezzar II had three round-ups of Judah and finally destroyed God's Temple put in place by Solomon, Nebuchadnezzar had been prepared in his own life by the Assyrian Empire learning about the Majesty of Jehovah God of All from Jonah - whom Jesus recognized in the New Testament.

Nebuchadnezzar was fascinated by Isaiah 13th's Chapter he believed fulfilled his own life prophetically.

Ezekiel 1:3 t
The word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians.


Nebuchadnezzar honored the faith of Jehovah and gave Ezekiel a house - that the captives might continue to gather and honor God. Nebuchadnezzar said the exiles, not slaves anymore, would one day return to a redeemed Israel. Nebuchadnezzar saw Noah and Babylonian Gilgamesh Flood story as the same.













When God says we worship Him in Spirit and Truth, He is talking about a vast Universe and Histories we only today see glimpses of. God is reaching out not to just us, but to the millenniums and cultures of the world.

Nebuchadnezzar honored the Lord. And the Babylonian Chronicles in museums today tell us exactly the same History the Bible tells us of the Exile in Babylon.

John Walton is Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College. He has a PhD in Hebrew and Cognate Studies, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He writes for BioLogos Forum and is the author of Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Set–Old Testament.

Another parallel comes from Egyptian reliefs depicting the military encampment of Ramesses II during the battle of Qadesh. The main entrance to the Israelite tabernacle (the courtyard area) lay on the east side, one of the shorter sides of the tabernacle. The main entrance to the Egyptian army’s camp was also on the east side, one of the short sides of the rectangular-shaped camp. If one followed a basically straight line from this entrance westward into the center of the camp, one eventually entered the king’s reception tent, which contained, at the west end, the pharaoh’s private area and throne room. 

This reception tent, like the Holy Place in the tabernacle, was three times as long as it was wide. Moreover, the pharaoh’s throne had falcon wings on either side, reminiscent of the winged cherubim in the tabernacle’s Most Holy Place. As the divine commander of the Egyptian military, Pharaoh was deserving of this specialized tent-shrine for his travels. For the Israelites, the tabernacle was the tent-shrine for Yahweh, their commander and the one who was to lead them to their ultimate destination.


Remember with me, God's Word was recorded in The Pentateuch -- the first five books of the Bible - written by literate Prince of Egypt - Moses.
The Children of Israel did not know the Name of God, merely that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - were the promised Patriarchs who loved and followd the One True God.

God has done many, many things to make mankind understand His Glory. And Hebrews 11 records for us - today - the Children of Israel had some great measure of faith to walk through the Parted Red Sea the 19th Dynasty Ipuwer Papyrus records,

A Surprise from The Anno Domini. Era

The Roman Stoa build by Herod in the Second Temple exactly copies the Vatican of the 4th Century.




Fragment left by the 70 AD destruction by later Emperor Titus. 70 AD would have been Jesus' natural lifespan.



ere is a picture of the first St. Peter's Basilica built by Emperor Constantine from 326 -333 AD. It was of typical basilica architecture. Romans were famous for the architecture. Domes, Arches, Concrete, Columns - there were many forms this building could have taken. Typical basilica (basilica - Roman public building) architecture was the Royal Stoa beside the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem. Herod had built a Roman basilica on the 36 acres of the Temple. 103.6 metres (340 ft) Emperor Constantine (who naively believed Christian citizens would be more controllable) built a very similar basilica upon Peter's tomb:


There are no coincidences, just works of God.

What can we say to comfort ourselves for these cross cultural references of the Lord?

1 Kings 8:27
But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!

Acts 7:49
Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me, says the Lord, or what will be My place of repose?

Acts 17:24
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.

2 Chronicles 2:6
"But who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to burn incense before Him?"

The Rock of our Foundation. Is Jesus Christ the Lord.

1 Timothy 2

1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the mana Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

ALL THINGS WORK FOR GOOD FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THE LORD AND WORK ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSES

Thank God, Father Almighty,

We ask in the Name of Jesus to have Your Help as we live our lives, and pray.

When we lift up prayer (like my ears) You Work Your Wonders for Your Glory.
We lift up Edward, P and D and we pray for their healing and comfort.
We pray for our lives today to please You and the years to come -
we skip the geriatric years and come into Your Kingdom having been taking from the Good Works You have prepared - in there midst.

We pray to end well.
A soul must be like a brain. As well as Light. We enter into the Promises Land - Heaven - The House of God - Your Kingdom intact with our memories, our gifts, our talents, as the people who bring their soul to You.

We pray as we live this adventure, You are Gracious and Merciful to us, in Your Tender, Tender Love
for the condition of our soul - we all will journey to bring to Jesus God Almighty.

Thank You for Your Help, every day. Bless the ones we Love.
We will rest and be glad, Trusting You with their care! Praising God to be New Testament living.

You are Good and we lift up our hopes and the people You have given to us.
This Nation. The concerns and needs of the Church and Saints. And the continued dialog of Biblical Archaeology, faith, the Historical Communion of the Saints past and present - quick and dead - for the tender and merciful Love of Jesus to be seen in the souls of the world Jesus longs to hold dearly in His Loving arms.

Let Your Great Will be seen on earth, bringing more encouragement to Love and Joy. We want to see this so very much as we fulfill bringing our soul to Jesus and see all things work together for Good for those who Love the Lord and Word According to His Purpose.

Let Your Tender Love, Father, be our goal joined with You, we Pray with Joy. Amen in Jesus.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †

Psalm 73 ~ 1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are

So the Bible is Real. We see Peter fuss and Paul fuss and James the Lesser with his long-living brother John have a dust up. How much more real can you get than a John Chapter 21 people fuss.

Recently I saw the Spike Lee Movie "Do the Right Thing".

Did Jesus ever say to His Disciples, "Today I am going to rest, sit this one out, stay home, be quiet, chill out, sit on the eating couch all day."

And did Jesus ever do like Asaph - who knew the miracles of God through living with King David and Solomon?

Psalm 73

1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. 5 They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.

7 Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. 8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. 9 They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.

10 Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. 11 And they say, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?"

12 Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.

13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. 14 For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning.

15 If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, 17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. 18 Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. 19 How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!

20 Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.21 When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, 22 I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.

23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.

28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.

We see right away the answer is No. Verse 1 God is Good to the Pure of Heart. Asaph quickly makes the point, Asaph is weary, tired.

Jesus Was Not Offended By Questions. Although He answered Nicodemus so tartly, Nicodemus loved Jesus all his days.

If we draw near for asking a real question... we see Jesus more clearly and we see Him More With Love.

The Psalmist Asaph makes a correlation right away to Genesis 1. Father God knows rest. A point we don't take easily. God did not say time out - God said rest. Relax.

Did Jesus do this?

John 2

11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. 12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

Asaph makes the point that enviable people are well fed and at rest.

Was Jesus this?

Matthew 11

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’


Jesus dealt with surly people. John 5 The 38 year invalid man Healed at the Pool of Bethesda didn't really thank Jesus, instead he did tell the Temple officials  Jesus healed him after Jesus told him specifically not to sin. And Jesus kept following the Will of God. Jesus kept doing Good regardless of the thoughts of others.Mark 10:46-52 - Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight. Thank Father God, for Jesus.


God tells us this about Himself:

Exodus 34:14
you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God

Jesus certainly did not let the Disciples talk Him into casting fire on the Samaritans.

Luke 9:54
When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?"

Jesus DID NOT. He had revealed He was Messiah in His Words first to the Samaritan Woman.

Lets look at Exodus 34, again....

…13"But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim 14for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God-

The Truth of Jesus childhood is this:

Luke 2
49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?”[h] 50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

Asaph proclaims he does not want to be a jealous man because, it affects the generations. Psalm 73:15







Jesus has waded in into the messiness of Life. He did not stay in His Heaven. He reached far down to bring us His Grace. The intersection of real life, real mess, real sin, real hope, real Glory. Real God and REAL Jesus Christ God. Our Grace was hard won. We need to have the Appreciation as we begin Lent towards Easter.

Because this was what Jesus displayed all His Life.


Exodus 34

1The Lord said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. 3No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” 4So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. 5The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7keeping steadfast love for thousands,a forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”


God is so interesting even the way the New Testament is arranged. The Gospels of Jesus are first, of course. Then Paul, basically, and as the list goes further down - James the Brother of Christ is honored above Peter - Keeper of the Keys to the Gates of Heaven. I think this is heartwarming. Paul - we read - is like us - he will work, not having walked with Jesus in this life. And God is going to see our lives saying He blesses us for seeing Him with eyes of faith. I love the placing of Paul writing in the Holy Spirit. The forgiveness of Paul.

We surely Need This Jesus. Every day.

Father God,

We Bless You for Jesus. He enables us to have a Hope and Future. Covering us in His Righteousness. When we believe Jesus, He gives us this immeasurable Gift.

Father, we will Trust in the Lord with all our heart, and do not lean on our own understanding. In all our ways acknowledge God, and He will make straight your paths.

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, Jesus, Himself, likewise partook of the same things, that through death Jesus might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.

Knowing we were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from our forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a Lamb without blemish or spot.

We give You thanks for the Lavish Love of Jesus, especially on the Sabbath. Realizing the Magnitude of Jesus. And giving thanks knowing our sincerity in Thanking Him, is our Joy and is pleasing to Him. God who bends so far that we might Live forever with God in His Kingdom.

Abba, Thank You. And for the ones I love, the People You have given me and we pray for. Thank You for helping me with my ears. For Helping Edward. For P and for D. For their complete recoveries. Thank God, Truly, my experience in life testifies when you rejoice with the chances of others and ask with joy the storehouses of God do not grow small - Abba loves and provides.

Thank God for His Goodness, covering us with the Grace we need. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †

Psalm 91:11 ~ For He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

Psalm 91:11

For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.

Yesterday we talked about how tenderly Father God cared for the Children of Israel in the desert. The desert - where we all really don't want to stay for 40 years. And Deuteronomy clears up some of the questions I had about this. One of the questions I'd have would be, how did the Children of Israel manage to leave Jericho - when Jericho is an oasis - how would you leave 40 years in the desert and leave this lush Jericho - I'd say Father God made the desert more comfortable. See Deuteronomy 2 Verse 7. God made them very comfortable - with the cloud, with the fire by night, with food and water.




Psalm 103

We will employ this Scripture today for the Exodus:

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

6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.





Psalm 103

Using this to see this for:
Esau - Moabites
Lot - Ammonites


12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.



Psalm 103:16 

for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.

{Deuteronomy 20 (That too was considered a land of the Rephaites, who used to live there; but the Ammonites called them Zamzummites. 21 They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. The Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place. 22 The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day. 23 And as for the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorites coming out from Caphtor destroyed them and settled in their place.}





Deuteronomy 2:1-23

 Then we turned back and set out toward the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea, as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.

2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 “You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north. 4 Give the people these orders: ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful. 5 Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own. 6 You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”

7 The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness.

 These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and
you have not lacked anything.

8 So we went on past our relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned from the Arabah road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber, and traveled along the desert road of Moab.

9 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession.”

10 (The Emites used to live there—a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. 11 Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites, but the Moabites called them Emites. 12 Horites used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did in the land the Lord gave them as their possession.)

13 And the Lord said, “Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.” So we crossed the valley.

14 Thirty-eight years passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley.

By then, that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. 15 The Lord’s hand was against them until he had completely eliminated them from the camp.

16 Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died,
17 the Lord said to me, 18 “Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar. 19 When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war, for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.”

20 (That too was considered a land of the Rephaites, who used to live there; but the Ammonites called them Zamzummites. 21 They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. The Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place. 22 The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day. 23 And as for the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorites coming out from Caphtor destroyed them and settled in their place.)







I was immensely struck with mummies found in China going back at least 3 thousand years. One was from India, another from Europe, a woman dressed as nobility buried with a horse, another from another European nation. Another a Chinese child buried lovingly, perhaps with every blanket from the household. The scientists were perplexed at different styles of burial, and also perplexed at travel needed and how did the travel occur.

And it's place - will no it no more -

2 Timothy 3

The Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.





They lived in a range of structures - small family houses, larger structures to house clans, grand pueblos, and cliff-sited dwellings for defense. The Ancestral Puebloans links stretched across the Colorado Plateau linking hundreds of communities and populations. They are, sadly, not clearly known.

 Look at the Nations changing hands. Anasazi Indians were thought to be their own tribe. The Ancestral Puebloans spanned present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado. Anasazi Indians were then a puzzle because Navajore flecting historic traditions, the term was used to mean "ancient enemies". Believed perhaps, now, to be from the Oshara Tradition, who developed from the Picosa culture.





We have talked quite a few times about Heaven echoes the earth - Father God as Creator. We should see that just as Africa begins Eve's mitochondrial DNA - Middle East history echoes across the earth. Like the lost Ancient Library of Alexandria.

We look to the Bible as a study of the repeat, un-changing behavior of mankind. Why do we believe borders do not change? My husband is French on his paternal side. Very French. Yet this part of France was solidified in the 17th century from - - - Italy. I have recently found my great-great grandmother has a very Italian name.

Now, how are we to see Psalm 91:11 as protection in change and war and borders changing?

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

One of the theories around the vast Anasazi Indians is actually climate change. Just as the people of Elizabeth I used the Thames River. in winter. to skate down the Thames going 40 or more miles per hour - the Anasazi might have left due to heat and drought.



Our Abba,

You are our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.

We will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

We will make the joyous noise of a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
Our Almighty Father utters His voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us.

And they woke him and said to him, “Jesus, do you not care that we are perishing?”

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!”

And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Jesus said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

This our Jesus, where we want to be sealed forever in His Name and His Righteousness. We know this for ourselves and for our prayers for the people we Love and are given by God. No longer are we Eli, Samuel or Hezekiah accepting the loss.

The LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things human beings look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

- Instead we are the Easter People of Jesus Christ saying, "I have faith, Jesus, help me to have more."

"'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for one who believes."

Alleluia and Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †

Mark 7:24-30 ~ Tyre

Mark 7:24-30

24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.

 And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 

25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 

27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 

28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 

30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Jesus was God and His Disciples sat with Him and learned. This is a man who sat and had breakfast after cooking breakfast for the Disciples with impossibly scarred hands and side. A man.

John, the Disciple who Lived, was fighting in the 2nd Century with the Jews and Christians about the divinity of Jesus Christ.

John - grasped what Jesus did. What Jesus lived. The amazing life of Jesus where events crashed and writhed as Life ironed impossibly back to goodness. These men walked in confusion for years watching Jesus. And asked Jesus impossible things for the impossible things they witnessed from Him.

How beautifully John explained Jesus. Chapter One. Merely the Light of the World. The Light of Mankind. Puzzling even to the people who knew Him all their lives. Beyond compare. Grace upon Grace. From His Fullness the received. Impossibly. Impossible.

And John had the circle of unending Love touch John 1 with John 21.

1 After this Jesus revealed himself again
to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias,
and he revealed himself in this way.

Jesus was not simply a man traveling to Tyre. This is the Word of God. True God of True God. Begotten by the Word of God.

The Word of God has traveled, not just outside of Israel - expanding the Borders, we have discussed before. The Word of God has gone where Ezekiel has said Tyre has failed Israel in the great need of Israel and will be cursed for being fair weather trading ally. The Word of God speaks Tyre is cursed and will be joining the mainland and will stay unimproved.

See the parallel? Jesus the man goes to Tyre. Ruined and cursed by the Will and Word of God. Jesus would go where He knows ruin exists. And Jesus encounters ruin. A mother frantic to save a child from unspeakable evil. Only God can save this child.

Tyre? Remains untouched. But the living child is going to have Life.

An analogy of the funerals we have been to and will go to - where we are so glad that death is a friend. Suffering and ruin end. What is in this world is lost and gone, but far, far more importantly - what is SAVED.

This is the Bible, and ,of course, is a true sequence of events. Jesus went to Tyre. The man travels outside of the Borders of Israel like He did for Egypt. A call to be a Light for the Nations.

The Word of God demonstrates what the Power of the Holy Spirit IS. The Eternal. What really is Saved. Jesus goes where the curse is - and Jesus saves.

The Disciples wanted Israel to a be a Free Nation. For almost 2,000 years the Jews would not walk under the Arch of Titus - showing the capture of the Temple Tools. By true and clear carved marble mosaic. May 14, 1948 - Jesus Disciples would be pleased to know the creation of a free Israel. Almost 2 thousand years for the end of Jesus' life - Israel is resurrected and free.

God works in all kinds of people, in all times, in any Way He chooses, at His Own Time Schedule. God fulfills His Word.

The Work of God goes on. His Workmen go Home.


Abba,

We give You thanks for Your Word going forth in all places, all ways, all Goodness. Jesus will move like Living Water filling places we did not even know existed. Nourishing and renewing, sweeping clean.

Thank You for Your Word for ourselves, our children, loved ones, People we are Given by God and know for the awesome Histories of God and the times to come. We will laugh at the future knowing He is God and He does not worry.

Thank You Father God, for Your Goodness covering us. Jesus Lord God for us and the Nation completing all Nations who call upon Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †

Psalm 100 ~ It is He who made us, and not we ourselves.

Psalm 100

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

Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the Lord, he is God!

It is he who made us, and not we ourselves.
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

Bring Your Blessings Home to Your Heart

{utting your favorite photos with a Psalm is not a bad idea to pray or to fb. Remembering we have people yet to meet. We have had golden years to celebrate. We are Blessed of God.

Sometimes we need to collect those memories and put them to the Word of God and reach out with Gratitude.

A Wonder - what God will bloom - what He Wills. His Adventure.

This Azalea garden was removed... Three days of chainsaws about five years ago, sadly, because the gardener had gone Home to Father God.

The yard became a winter home. Summers in Texas can be quite... warm. See the Azaleas have - recovered. Blooming. The Garden has begun to bloom again and in the durable strength of God - this garden just might be stronger and hardier and happier to work hard to survive, to endure,  to bloom - like we do. In Father God's Plan we only glimpse.




Romans 15

Jesus filling in our gaps. Jesus our God -

15 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”

4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed 9 and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing the praises of your name.”

10 Again, it says,

“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”

11 And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
let all the peoples extol him.”

12 And again, Isaiah says,

“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.”

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

14 I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. 15 Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

17 Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. 18 I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— 19 by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. 20 It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. 21 Rather, as it is written:

“Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand.”

22 This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.

23 But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, 24 I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. 

25 Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord’s people there. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem. 27 They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. 

28 So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this contribution, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way. 29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.

30 I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. 31 Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the Lord’s people there, 32 so that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed. 33 The God of peace be with you all. Amen.



With eyes of faith, see Father God has you in His Plans.


Isaiah 54:10

For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, 
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, 
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

11 “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
and lay your foundations with sapphires.b
12 I will make your pinnacles of agate,c
your gates of carbuncles,d
and all your wall of precious stones.

13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
and from terror, for it shall not come near you.


Abba,

We lift up our Lambs of God shining bright and unaware of their solid Goodness and blessings in Jesus. Bless and defend them, strengthen them.

Protect us as we continue to want to walk the Plan and Path You have placed for us. Protect us, encourage us, and in Your Loving Wisdom Guide us.

Thank You for the time to pray, the joy to place the gentle Holy Spirit around those we Love, the people You have Given us. We give You thanks for the blessings we see in our Churches, Church Families, Local government, State Government and the new enthusiasms in Federal Government in all the new people. Thessalonia has a wonderful 4th Century House Church. Where we hope this Good Government will have endurance to bring us all God's Blessings.

We will be like God's Garden. Letting go of what is dead wood and working forward to bloom. We all get the choice to enjoy the journey or complain so much the song sings, "Here Comes a Flock of Waawaa's". Grateful for the chance to close my mouth today.

We pray the balance will be a blessing for us all. Jesus the Lord saving the world for His Glory. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †