Zechariah 7:1,4-10 ~ true judgments, show kindness and mercy

Jesus is Alive!!!

Zechariah 7:1,4-10

7 The word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev.

4 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: 5 “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? 6 And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? 7 Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’”

8 And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 

9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, "Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”


When we fling open the Word of God, we are surrounded by worship. Our Father the Lord God Almighty. Zechariah 7 and all of God's Word is Living and active. These were the Words of God.



Isaiah 12:2-4

"Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation."

3 Therefore you will joyously draw water From the springs of salvation.

4 And in that day you will say, "Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make them remember that His name is exalted."





Father God,

We pray the Large prayers of Jesus bless us prayers. The seeds of the young generation bloom and have the Holy Spirit rise up in them. the youth will have Your Power to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

We pray into our Lives healing, the Life of Jesus and His goodness.

We want to see Your Great Deeds and Awesome Works in the land of the living. In these days may the righteous flourish, And abundance of peace flourish. Secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places. The LORD is our king; He will save us. And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.

Come Lord Jesus in the willingness of God to us each day to see Your Willingness and dwell there. Bringing more Heaven to our lives in our words and deeds. Bless our lives, our children, our children's children unto the generations carried to dwell in the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Bless the fruit of our hands with Your goodness and mercy. Bless the farms and farmers in this unseasonable cold.  Our produce feeds the earth world wide. We ask Your help, Father God.

And all the people praying will Alleluia their Amen together in Jesus Christ!!!

Mark 12:13-27 ~ God of the Living

Mark 12:13-27 

13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?" 

15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" 

They said to him, "Caesar's." 

17 Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they marveled at him.




18 And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, 19 "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. 21 And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife." 

24 Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying,

'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? 27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living."

1 Timothy 3:16

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: 

He was manifested in the flesh,

vindicated by the Spirit,

seen by angels,

proclaimed among the nations,

believed on in the world,

taken up in glory.

One of the great wonders is the God drawing circles around the deep and the Biblical author would never know what was being written. The Biblical Author would never ride in an airplane to see the intricate Godly detail.

The Mystery to my thinking is how high and wide is God's Love. How far Father God takes the elevator down to hear us pray. To care about our concerns.

Mark 12 is astonishingly Practical. It's like asking if I turn on the TV and find something I shouldn't watch and then I realize what I'm doing - then God says just move on. God is such an Astonishing Father to us that as our thoughts wander during prayer or other times, He'd probably give us His robe, His embrace and His ring and His welcome back. Just come Home.


Mark 12 says you have a need - God will hear and provide. We are living His Plan. This is the Biblical equivalent of pray for parking spaces. And red lights.


You have a question about God's policies? He wrote you a Letter. Called the Bible. The Word of God.






God is so astonishingly available.


Abba, Father God,

We would pray with Jesus Christ to let the Spirit give Life to this prayer.

Thank You for 12 Open Gates of Heaven. Thank You for Jesus our mediator. Thank You, You ask as God for us to pray and talk with You.
You are a God of open arms, open heart, open ear policies. Our Father.

We rise up in Hope giving You are cares - the real ones.

Giving You the People we Love - knowing prayer stirs up Life.

Giving You all of the People around the world thinking of the millenniums and Jesus.

Thank You for Your Life Jesus. We will live on with You in the Hope and Future of Your Plan for us all..

Amen.

Luke 6:29 ~ on the cheek

1 Corinthians 2
Jesus appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then Jesus appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time (most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep). 7 Then Jesus appeared to James, then to all the apostles.


Luke 6:29
To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.


This is, of course, Easter week. And God sees God days of thousands of years. So in Father God's time this morning Jesus offered up His own Life and  His Seamless Chiton Holy Robe. Tradition says it would look like this:

There is a marvelous, fictitious movie regarding early Church thoughts on Jesus' Holy Seamless Chiton, with Richard Burton as a Roman soldier, called "The Robe." The last study done on the Shroud of Turin shows the center dates back to the time of Jesus Christ with unexplained radiation. There is also a face grave cloth in Spain of the same material. The edges of the Shroud of Turin are Renaissance repairs. The most interesting portion to me is the unexplained Radiation.




The Week of Easter provides a lifelong thought process and journey about Forgiveness.

Luke 23:34
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

And they cast lots to divide his garments.



Tom Halladay and Rick Warren did a combination Bible Study and Book "The Relationship Principles of Jesus" and the Study called "40 Days of Love." This study considered all the aspects biblically of the Forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

Let's look at the list of the Bible.

Jesus had a long, incredible list to forgive.

~ His mother and brothers for trying to stop His Ministry and knowing of The Annunciation.

~ Peter and Thomas swore they'd never desert Jesus.

~ Eleven of 12 Disciples.

~ Some of the 72 Disciples upon hearing Communion would be eating the body and blood of Jesus, they never walked with Jesus again.

~ And astonishingly the list continues to the deaf heard, the blind saw, the lame walked, the lepers (9 of the 10) cleansed.

~ The list of those who knew immediately this was the Messiah: John the Baptist (doubted in prison at death's door), Andrew and Phillip had eye-witness testimony from John the Baptist, Peter and Nathaniel. With no clear word of the Samaritan woman from the well.

~ All  2 - 3 thousand people of Capernaum knew the first week of Jesus' ministry - all were being healed, all the town turned out for Jesus' first Sermon.

~ The Great Crowd following Jesus through the wilderness the day the Widow of Nain's son had his funeral bier merely touched by the Son of God - left his own funeral alive again.

~ Jairus is not mentioned again after his daughter had risen from the dead.

~ Being flogged to death, beaten to small beaten pieces by Pontius Pilate after being declared 'innocent' and with a message of innocence from Pontius Pilate's wife.

~ A week after Palm Sunday hopes Jesus to become King of Israel.

~ Let's not forget - you. Jesus died for your sins. And mine.

~ The sin of the world God wants to ... save. Jesus has carried, covered the sins of the world.



When you stop to think about Jesus having to facing hate after His Ministry.
Dying of a broken heart according to an Autopsy Study done by Mayo Clinic Doctors. You can well wonder what forgiveness is.

We know Jesus, His Father and the Holy Spirit work in such tandem, we know Father God knows in nano-second-by-second-detail each detail as Jesus felt in every cell and thought in His Body.
Hear O Israel, the Lord God is One.

And so we face Judgement from God Crucified. And Risen.

What do we see in this Incredible Heart Breaking Forgiveness?

Jesus and Father God did not have the Temple fall during the natural life time of Jesus. Those who had seen the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus healed them all. Displaying His Father's Abundance. Rome did not destroy the Temple and Judah until 70 A.D. The Willing Love God gives. God was taking charge, establishing the firmness of His forgiveness. Giving an eternal example.

John rightly said in John 21 we cannot know and list all Jesus said and did. We need the other Gospels to see more of just a glimpse. God Plan was the solid foundation of miracles standing firm. The deaf heard, the blind saw, the lame walked, the lepers cleansed. The Solid Promise of God healed them all.







John recorded by gentile Roman History was boiled in oil and made a horror for Emperor Domitian. Even the Emperor is unable to kill John and the incredible amazement of the entire Coliseum. ------- John survived unharmed. Emperor Domitian literally throwing John into a boiling cauldron of oil in front of a large, large Population of Rome. Faith was found for Jesus.. Domitian had no other way to put John away, other than exile on Patmos. Not surprisingly, Father God Planned John's long life and they wrote one of the most memorable books of the Bible, with the most glimpses of Heaven. Heaven beyond description with such splendor.


Mary Magdalene adopted eternally for her diligent search for Jesus. Seek and find - Jesus Promises us as well.

1 Corinthians 2
Jesus appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then Jesus appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time (most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep). 7 Then Jesus appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

And Jesus appears to Paul.

In fact, many people I know have had Jesus Love and appreciate them in their dreams. And warming hearts and changing lives proving Jesus is Love Magnificent.






Now we reach Forgiveness.

Ephesians 2 tells us God sees each of us and names us. Amazing when you consider the Millions of people seen in ancient of days and now. Crowds of people known to the God of All. Our Father. Many days have passed from those traveling the footpaths of rural Judah.

Crowds and Crowds of people known to God. The hairs on their head numbered. Father God would save all. And knows their stories of joy and struggle as well as the sparrows.

God one time sponsored a traffic jam and called it Exodus.

Eternity is without the cage of time. God invents time in this part of life. We don't see how we connect with dusty roads and men in dust robes.

We can say this age has divorce and disposable families. We move just as mankind moved all over the world in mummies found in China in 3,000 B.C. Horses from Europe. People from India and the U.K. and Denmark. Found in China mummified. Life and mankind are similar. Even if now we orbit the earth in rockets. 1500 A.D. had just as much divorce. As the USA was turning territories into states, we had a lot of divorce. It was called move to another state or territory suddenly and don't tell or leave a forwarding address. Divorce was called abandonment.



Now - Let us connect the ages through the Ancient of Days - Father God. Hear Oh Israel, God is One.

Forgiveness.
Bullying. Stalking. War. Robbery. Divorce. Theft. Familial death. Loss. Trauma. Accident. Illness. Child death. Illness. Pain. Loss of home. Old age when all that is familiar departs. Severe disappointment.

How do we relate the events of Easter to life today?

Jesus told several stories in the Bible to let us know His Burden is Light. He gives rest to the weary. His Love is the freedom of the Law. His Love is Liberty to the captive.

The Amazing Glory of God is His Mercy. Above sacrifice is God's Love and Mercy. When we are pressed and do not please our earthly father or our Heavenly Father. When we are the victim and become so angry to take this upon us to act in anger.

In our lives, we will have a Caiaphas. Ananias. We will weep to have a stranger help us like Simon of Cyrene. And have some pain in the comfort and perhaps anger.

We will see those we helped desert us like the nine lepers and only one leper gave thanks. Jesus healed and healed and healed - we know the name of few. Remember the blind, disobedient, beggar named Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus is healed and told to go his way at the end of the 10th Chapter of Mark. Instead of his own way, Bartimaeus chooses the Way of Jesus and follows Jesus.

We will see friends leave like Jesus saw the 72 disciples depart in horror of eating the Body and Blood of Christ.

We will have our family depart from public discussions and told the Family of God does His Will. If you are in a season of glum life, very glum, you can see Mark 24 is a personal roadmap of the sadness of Ecclesiastes House. Ecclesiastes House is despair in old age semi-living in doubt and fear. Sad news, realities of temporary life on this earth. Hard to extremely difficult to have a cross to bear.




Jesus our God. God of Love. God of Encouragement. God of Hope.

Jesus tells us what to do when we have a Cross to bear. God has Given Us His Word. Behold.


Luke 1

Go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins

Because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet
into the path
of peace

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you!"

Jerusalem - "The Lord sees", "Oasis of Justice", "City of Peace", "City of Holiness" in the "City of Peace."

What did Jerusalem Witness of the Risen, Eternal Life-Giving Jesus?


Jesus told us to turn the other cheek.

Jesus told us there are sheep and there are goats.

Jesus told us there is wheat and there is chaff.

Jesus displays forgiveness. All will Live. Jesus is not going to cull His People. Our God has a rich, rich heritage going back to the first days of Genesis saying God requires no human to die to please God. God has taken care of His Righteous and Well Earned Wrath. God has Given Himself.

Our God forgave in His Mercy - All.

And Jesus did not run to where He was going to find chaff - blowing bits of nothing for His Risen Victory. Jesus turned His face to be with those who had hearts for Jesus. 500 and 12 and Paul.

The Light of Mankind would draw multitudes - so fed by the Risen Christ appearing to the 500 and 12 and Paul - Multitudes would change the world - all nations would see the Life and Light of Jesus Christ, Messiah, Son of God. The Beloved of God are welcome in Jesus.

Jesus did not require God to stand Him in the Temple and see applause of the multitudes. Jesus did not require Caiaphas, Ananias and the Sadducean Council to tell Jesus it was a mistake. Jesus was busy forgiving instead.

Jesus was Living Alive and Active in Doing the Will of God. Jesus was finding Joy in His obedience and in His Humility finding the Victory.

The Path of God is established in forgiveness. Jesus was seeing the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

FINALLY, Finally, brothers of God's Family Doing His Will,

Aren't we curious who the 500 were?

Finding these gathered in Jesus - His Beloved. We know the 500 of God - Philippians 4

Finally, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think on these things.

Whatever you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, put these things into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Abba our Father,

We give Thanks for Your Blessings given Willingly. We give thanks for the Joy Jesus has in His Victory and His Beloved in the multitudes and 512.

the Lord of peace, our Abba, gives the 512 peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with us all.

Knowing the example of Jesus - this day and always - we will have peace. In the world, we will have tribulation. But take heart; Jesus overcomes the world.”

God our Abundance Always and Always and Always!
Just as Jesus has fed the thousands and we are the millions and the millenniums fed by our Living Jesus. Personally. We, the Children of our Father, are so very glad to be part of the 12 and the 500.

We pray perfect peace and our mind staying on Jesus. We can do all things through Christ Jesus our Lord. We want our Father always to trust in us.


May our Father God giving endurance and encouragement give us the same attitude of mind toward each other our Christ Jesus has.

May our God of hope fill us with all joy and peace as we trust in our Jesus, we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Filling us, the ones we love, the nations Trusting in God and those believing in Jesus the ability to go marching in with the Saints of God. 'Oh win, oh win, oh win' the Saints of God go marching in. We want us all to be in that number marching in with the Saints of God.

Alleluia in the Highest Name of Jesus. Amen.

Acts 1 ~ Alive to them

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.






The well-known horrible God of the Old Testament. Is the exact same Father God of the New Testament.

Once again we see God rising up and leaving poor humanity... after dying to save us. Dying in a way no one would ask to die.




There are dark days and we have left Holy Week, Good Friday and found Easter. If you ever have dark days of wondering if God is that god our God avoids for dire sacrifice of blood and unrelenting wrath - Read John 21 and Acts 1.

Jesus has said several times, "Rise up." "Let us Rise from here."

Jesus graciously lets us know He is found in Heaven with His Father. He has not left to be with the Greek Dispersion. He is alive and doing His Father's Work.

Father God graciously explains the Disciples are left from the years with Jesus as bold, resolute, compassionate, wiser, enabled, eager to have and do the Great Works of God. Father God has left them better than they ever were. We speak easily and routinely about the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the Poor have Good News preached to them.


We are sometimes the Poor in Spirit, we have times just like the New Testament where we are down as David in Psalms. Jesus with absolute confidence told us we will have suffering and doubts. People looked at the Son of God, in His eyes, after all of His Miracles, and were honest to say they doubted. And in being comfortable to be themselves, Jesus strengthened them. In Acts 1, the disciples tell us about ourselves today. Jesus strengthened them. The People of Jesus stand on their feet and get the job done. Whatever work God has put to our task. God gives us the ability to rest, to think, to worry, to overcome and to do the work and will of God Himself.

When Jesus traveled to Bethsaida, He was able to call this the hometown of "Peter, Andrew and Phillip" because Jesus is so very quick to love and include others. And when a disciple needs a replacement, the Disciples are not able to snap their fingers and point at the next favorite. All of the 72 Disciple extras and the 500 in the company of the Victorious Jesus have been Loved. Almost all organizations could call up the next batch with little effort. Not the men of Jesus, they were LOVED. Included even if not a Disciple and going to Bethsaida.

This is a God we could Love for being so very Loving.

How would they pick the next Disciple? They would go back to David finding the outstanding Mercy of God Himself. The Disciples would trust the Word of God would send and establish His Word and Work. The answers are in God's Living Word.

Abba, Father God,

You speak of what shall be. And as You told us of the Holy Spirit we could see Your Beloved are prepared for Your Holy Spirit.

You did never leave us as orphans, You came to us to bring us

Proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. Words given in opening mouths boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel. brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

You Living Word is alive giving us all a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.” The righteous are bold as a lion.


Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. And Let me speak the Life the Spirit gives. Let Your Crown of Love and Encouragement be the Light of God.

Warm the hearts of my loved ones. The people You have given me. Let us sing together what God has given us. What Wonderful Jesus has fed from His days among us as Grace upon Grace and the Love flows for Millenniums.

Our Hearts warm and love and receive Jesus. Amen to being Easter People. Amen.