Matthew 19:26 ~ with God all things are possible

1800s Vintage photo of Capernaum

Matthew 19:26

Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”


The Work God gives mankind is to believe upon the One He sent. Abraham sometimes asked the Lord, "Did You say that?" Samson's parents prayed the Angel of the Lord would come back and explain again. Gideon asked for a sign.

Father God gives us Hebrews 7 telling us the whole Chapter - God is going to do what God Plans. And He doesn't have to use the Tribe of Levi to give us Jesus - High Priest - Mediator. The tribe of Judah.

And in the same way - God would comfort His Children - His People - God Prepares them for what God is doing. Mostly.



Look at the Preparation of God's Children for Jesus to lead the path to the Kingdom of Heaven. Bodily Resurrection.


Luke 7:1-10 ~ Jesus went with them


After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.

Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.

4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.”

6 And Jesus went with them.

When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9

When Jesus heard these things,
he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”

10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.


Doubt.
God doesn't enjoy it.
Do I Doubt? Really not much at all. I spent 16 of the first years of my life doubting that I believed fervently in the unseen. It was a popular thought to toss around, is this knowable. I joined a Youth Group in High School, I saw the peace and serenity of belief in Jesus as Lord. Later we were asked to make a decision. I did and felt the Holy Spirit come into my being - my soul. Light filled me. I have never been without the Holy Spirit again.

Others around me doubt. People I love. The point being - we who are strong, don't want to say to those around us - You Doubt?!!! We are bearing with God's Children in encouragement.

Life is in progress.

The Goal is to Finish in Faith.
Our destination is Jesus Christ.
The One who loves you most. Our Hero. The Savior we need. Jesus.
Naked we were born into the world, naked we will leave.

Doubt is an incredibly uncomfortable circumstance for the believer.



God goes further.

Luke 7 :11- 17 ~And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Luke 7:11-17


Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 

And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 

And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 

Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 

 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Oh. yawn. Nain. One of those miracles. Something about a kid. And why get so excited about Lazarus - when this Nain thing was, yeah - that.

Suppose you are on a tour of Israel. Nain. Tuesday so - Nain. (Inane?) 

Let's reason together. Who is there with Jesus in the great crowd?  Jesus is the Lamb of God in the wilderness. The people have left their flock to go and seek and find Jesus. These are the diligent.

Instead of a teaching, they are led on a walk. Now that can't have been much fun. They couldn't all walk beside Jesus. So the big old crowd is just ambling along.

Suddenly, they all can understand the horror of a widow losing a child. Especially if that child was going to be her old age support and joy. End of just a summer day walk.

And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 

And they have sensory overload perception going on. Some of the crowd was from Nain and knew this was not a joke or a play.

These are the people who didn't know how to save Jesus at the time of His death. A Very Important Thing. When the reports come to them of the dead being seen walking in Jerusalem and THEIR JESUS was shamefully killed.They have an idea about resurrection.

They are going to rise up. Because. An important because. If you heard that your local area had the dead walking around - you would brush that off. And if more people told you - you might think zombies. Avoid THAT area.

Instead, the faithful have seen with their own eyes, the widow of Nain was blessed.

And there was no way Lazarus was a fake.  He had - an aroma.

Jesus is in the business of telling people how to contribute to their healing. Jesus Healed Death - with His Word. Jesus is constantly telling people - go show the Rabbi.  Keep this quiet - this was just you and Me. Avoid the village. Let me take you away from the crowd and explain in a way a deaf man can understand what happens.

Jesus gave this very public miracle to provide - Glam? No Jesus provided this miracle - that - when the time came - they would have a foothold on the path to "Believe Jesus."  And they were going to make so much NOISE, Roman Emperors were going to shake and tremble for the next 300 years.

Acts 2:6 
And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 

Acts 5:12 -15 
Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. [The Temple past the guards all of that.] 

None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 

And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them.

Acts 13:45
But when the Jews saw the multitudes 

Acts 8:6
And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.


Joel 3:14 
Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

 





When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

Father God,
We surely and without doubt know the mystery to Faith is Yours. The people who read Isaiah knocked upon Herod's door to see the King of Kings.

Yet in the Love of Jesus Christ, You provide us with some insight to the Glories of Jesus in Father God.

For all of us The Book of Revelation will be different. Because You have told us we all have a different place and gift, talent, ability of faith, hope and Love. 

We all are part of the Body of Jesus and see aspects to You. The Father who Fills All of the Heavens and is the Light in all of Mankind.

Your Word is living and active. We can look past to the millenniums and know when Abraham went forth to please You, You were pleased. Abraham believed You and You credited Abraham with the Righteousness of Jesus. In You we are Covered Mightily. 

Abraham pressed You for Goodness and You made Abraham the Father of Nations because You love to be expected to Do Good as David knew so well.

Father God, this life tests us and perplexes us, be our Light, our Path and our Strong Deliverer. We lift up the ones we Love knowing that You Love more. We lift up the People You have given us in our lives and ask Your help and comfort and joy for them. We lift up leaders who call forth Your Mercy and Profound Love. 

We say In God We Trust and we shall not be ashamed. We ask the Light of Jesus Christ to shine in all of mankind and the Glorious Love of Jesus - The Holy One of God - is to bring forth more Heaven to this earth in the Love You told us is the New Commandment.

In Expectation, we look to the Future, knowing You hear all our prayers and Your Love is always present. Heaven's 12 Open Gates. Father God, we give You thanks for Love enduring in perseverance, joy, for Love opens minds, hearts and lives. JESUS, YOU ARE THE LORD MOST HIGH. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Matthew 1:6 ~ David was the father

Matthew 1:6

6 and Jesse the father of David the king.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.




With this being the Scriptures - surely this is a nicety. Happy Family. No problems we could relate to. Except the Scriptures are the Road Map of Life. And real events are related establishing our return to Father God as His prodigal child. Our map to the Path of God.

Jesse is a father of 8 sons and this is good for the family survival and prosperity. Jesse is a sheep farmer. Of the Tribe of Judah - where the Book of Judges never really cleared out all of the land allotted to the Tribe of Judah. Like Israel, this family is getting along well, but it's not the Land of Milk and Honey the slaves of Egypt had hoped for.

David is just a little bit overlooked in the herd. Samuel the Prophet (overwhelmed with all the potential trouble did not want to even go to Bethlehem to anoint a son of Jesse's) travels from Shiloh. Jerusalem is not a City of David yet. Jerusalem is waiting for David to grow up to be held by Jews. The Nation of Israel is like David - unaware - it is underdeveloped. Doing well but not being the land of milk and honey the Exodus was going to be.

And David is frankly abused.
When Samuel - The Samuel, High Priest, Prophet, talented to hear the Voice of God like Abraham - asks to see Jesse's sons - Jesse should have leaped to do what God wanted. Jesse has raised David to know the honor, the Love, the Mercy, the History of God's Promises to their tribe, to themselves individually and the Nation of Israel. Jesse holds back the hireling - his own son - David.


Astonishing to 8 sons and Jesse - David is said to now anointed of God to be future King of Israel one day. And how does this The change to David's life? Jesse is probably wondering about this - and David we see in 1 Samuel 17 is - now - after being anointed of God by His High Priest and Prophet Samuel - David is now - tending the sheep. Jesse is probably still wondering what to do for David. So David is sent to the war lines where his oldest 3 brothers will need to be fed and given supplies. The Army of Israel is fed by the families. Probably this was the best opportunity Jesse could think of for David. And God starts David working and fighting and playing music for Saul. Jesse was probably - relieved. Whew. On the Path. And now part of the Royal Court. Whew.


And soon all of Israel knows David is on the run from Saul who is increasingly an angry and violent, murdering priests, man. And if you'd been Jesse - would you have had a different plan for your anointed 8th son? Would you have brought David home earlier? Jesse wouldn't have king lessons available from a sheepherder.




David - left to fend at erratic Saul's Court - is now fully on the run. Realizing he has to do something for his family - probably about the time the priests were murdered by Saul for helping David. David makes a statement about David - he places his family in safety.

Years go by. 23 years of no success. Near Success. And after Saul and Jonathan die - 3 or more other sons were crowned. David is crowned part of King of Israel 3 times. Life hands David the horror of being a criminal. Right goal - goes horribly awry. Captain of the Unhappy. Mercenary. Success is a Very Hard Road.

And how does David handle this? David is built to make the unhappy - happy. He has been Captain of the Unhappy for mercenary trips. David has become a trainer of men.

So David has Won The Super Bowl - where will David Go?

David has Arrived. David is pulling in from business and now equality contacts. He has the Phoenicians, former employers, now working to provide supplies and be allies and teach workmanship. David is building a David Palace. He does this so well that as Jeremiah is predicting the fall of David's Temple, City and Palace - Jeremiah is imprisoned in David's Palace. 500 years later.



Does the building ego satisfy? Probably not.

Life had been so rough and tumble.

Maybe the 4 Story Palace would Satisfy?

Not exactly.

Maybe the View would Satisfy?

...Not exactly.

Many wives satisfy?

Not exactly.

More children.

Not exactly.

What has placed David in Matthew 1:6?

David realized God loved David's best efforts which David kept providing.

David could anticipate God's Love.

When David fell down and failed, The Prophet Nathan was going to explain to David in terms David could love and appreciate. The Word of God reached to David with Love and Mercy and Power.



David knew he had not been the best father at all. And God moved to tell David his life had not been wasted. God was going to parent David's children forever. David could once again anticipate and behold and count on God's Mercy. Everlasting. Mercy.


2 Samuel 7

18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 

19 And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! 

20 And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! 21 Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. 

22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? 

24 And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God. 

25 And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. 26 And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. 

27 For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 

28 And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 29 Now, therefore, may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”

Abba,
We ask Your Blessing of Jesus upon ourselves, the ones we Love, the people You have given us. This Nation. Peace for all. God wants to save the world in Jesus Christ.

Romans 12:2
Be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.


Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

2 Corinthians 4:16
So we do not lose heart

Our Amen is in Jesus.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †

Psalm 91:10 ~ no evil

The Proverbial Bear Hunt has truly changed. 100 years, 40 years ago we had bear rugs and stuffed bears. Today we have found that we can't go under the bear rug and are asked too many times to go around the bear rug and it just feels weird to walk over the bear head. And so we ignore the bear rug and instead look for bears.

Today Salmon hatcheries are pumping out the fish - a staple in diets for all of the Omega Vitamins

What has happened to Bears? They are longed for. And a Bear Hunt might involve a hefty cost, a new camera, hiking shoes, binoculars and discussions of bears seen and where they are.

Psalm 91:10

no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent



Slightly less sought after - The Black Plague. We all like to escape Trouble. And then there are times - where you just have to live past trouble. World War II is considered the end of the British Empire when the Church read the liturgy and the bombs dropped. The faithful attended during the crisis and later sat at home to think things through.

We find the Church - during the Plagues - was the hospital. Was holding Services in the open air to avoid contamination. Striving to heal, pray and bless.

Some of the facts known to the people facing the Black Death - this had been around for a 1,000 years. 541 A.D. was the beginning. In only eight days in August 1667, Elizabeth Hancock lost her six children and her husband. Some of the 150 Million Deaths. Covering her mouth with a handkerchief against the stench of decay, she dragged their bodies to a nearby field and buried them. She knew to drag them by a rope to be buried and she knew she was burying them herself. Harvard University was built in 1636.

Will we face the Black Plague? The Plague of Madagascar killed 36 of 84. But they are remote and antibiotics - we know due to a mass graveyard of 600 -  Plagues are pretty typically stopped by Antibiotics. Modern DNA analysis of the Black Plague performed on the remains of some of its victims has shown that the bacterium responsible for the deaths of between 30 to 60% of Europe's population in the 1300s was Yersinia pestis.



Is the subject of the Post the Black Death?

Nope.




The Subject of the Post is what we do when Trouble assails us.

We live in a time where we are told we live in a 50% divorce rate. We are told 2 in 10 Women will have Breast Cancer. We have old Dog Sanctuaries where old family pets are let go to have a puppy and pep in the household. Not exactly. When reading the Pew Reports you find college graduates have a 2/3 success ratio in marriage. Breast Cancer is now 90% curable. And the 2 of 10 includes women who are 90 years and 100 years old.

Telling us we aren't as throw away as we think. We are healthier than we think. And Old Dogs sometimes lived with really Old People.


Trouble. If you rounded up Gideon, David, Jeremiah and Peter - they wisely said No to Trouble. But some people are divorced, some pass on from metastasized cancer and old dogs are sometimes not given loyalty.



When Trouble comes - we are defined in our ability to endure and hope. To remain steadfast and follow what God would want us to do.


In the Days of Black Plague - it traveled 8 miles a day and this was known.

Eleanor Ross

"Peak District village of Eyam, home to Hancock and her family, became the site of one of the most heroic acts of self-sacrifice in British history – and one of the main reasons the plague’s march was halted.

Today, in Eyam, located 35 miles southeast of Manchester, all seems well in the world. A pretty commuter village of 900 residents, Eyam has all the requisite English attractions: pubs, cozy cafes and an idyllic church.

Stand here 450 years ago, though, and you would have looked down onto a village ravaged by the Black Death. You would have seen empty streets, the doors daubed with white crosses, and heard the wails of the dying from behind closed doors.

The plague reached Eyam in the summer of 1665 when a London merchant sent flea-infested cloth samples to the local tailor, Alexander Hadfield. Within a week, Hadfield’s assistant, George Vickers, had died a prolonged and agonizing death. Before long, the rest of the household had fallen ill and died.

Until now, the plague had been mostly contained to the south of England. Terrified the disease would spread across the north, wiping out other towns and communities, the villagers realized there was only one option: quarantine. With the guidance of their rector William Mompesson, they decided to isolate themselves, creating a perimeter of boundary stones that they vowed not to cross … even those who were not showing any symptoms.

“It meant they couldn’t escape coming into contact with the disease,” explained Catherine Rawson, secretary at Eyam Museum, which details how the village dealt with the plague.

It also meant making careful plans to ensure not only that villagers were kept in, but that others were kept out – and the residents could still receive the food and supplies they needed.

The villagers established a system of boundary stones around the village’s periphery, boring holes into the rocks and leaving coins soaked in vinegar – they believed it acted as a disinfectant – in the holes. Merchants from surrounding villages would collect the money and leave bundles of meat, grains and trinkets in return.

You can still visit the boundary stones today. Set about half a mile back from the village, these flat, rough rocks are an attraction now, the sides of the holes smoothed down by centuries of children slotting their fingers in. Silver coins glint inside, placed there by tourists to honor plague victims.


How well residents took the news that they were going to be quarantined is debatable. Although some villagers tried to leave, it appears that most of Eyam’s townsfolk stoically accepted their plight and made a pact with God to remain.

Even if they did leave, they certainly wouldn’t have received a warm welcome elsewhere. One woman left Eyam to travel to the market at nearby village of Tideswell, five miles west. When people realised that she was from Eyam, they pelted her with food and mud, shouting, “The Plague! The Plague!”.

As more people died, the village began to collapse. Roads were left to crumble; untended gardens became overgrown. Crops were left unpicked in fields, leaving villagers to rely on food packages from neighboring towns. They were living with death literally around the corner, unsure of who would next fall prey to a disease nobody understood. The plague in 1665 must have been very much like Ebola in 2015, except with even less medical knowledge and no available vaccine."

What was won?

The Black Death traveled 30 to 100 times faster over land than the bubonic plagues of the 20th century

All human attempts to end the plague in Europe were not in vain.

Cities  managed keeping plague beyond their borders - those devised and implemented quarantine: border controls at city gates, harbors, and mountain passes; individual health passports (which identified a person, certified where he or she came from), and other related measures such as spy networks to signal when a plague had erupted in a foreign city or region.

Ragusa was a pioneer in this regard, with its earliest ‘quarantine’ and it's increasingly sophisticated measures to isolate the infected and control its borders during the late 14th and 15th centuries.

We know in the centuries before the Black Death, about 10 percent of people lived past age 70, said study researcher Sharon DeWitte, a biological anthropologist at the University of South Carolina. In the centuries after, more than 20 percent of people lived past that age. Survival.

In Survival areas, a cluster of three immune system genes code proteins that latch onto harmful bacteria, triggering a defensive response. People living in places the Black Death did not ravage lack these toll-like receptor genes.

The great pestilence jump-started the transformation of the hospital from a charity endeavor to a place where the sick go for treatment.

Housing improved - an increased demand for private spaces in domestic architecture, perhaps a reaction to the pre-plague crowding had enabled the disease to spread rapidly.

You’re reading this article in English rather than in Latin because of the Black Death. Literacy made a tremendous jump after the plague. The number of universities saw an increase after the plague. Many Latin professors had been wiped out, so teachers fluent in this language were brought up from lower schools to staff these new universities. Lower school vacancies were filled up by teachers who had little or no working knowledge of Latin.

End of hopeless feudalism. The feudal system burdened peasants with obligations to their lords was turned upside down by the Black Death. So many peasants died during the plague the fields lay abandoned and the crops went unharvested. Lords became desperate for workers.

More ambitious peasants were filled with a sense of purpose and flocked into cities to engage in crafts and trades. The more successful ones became wealthy. They became a new middle class.


Knowledge of medicine existed had been employed in the context of theology and spirituality.

Now with clergy and monks dying with the common folk, and with no answers as to why the horror was happening, the Church revealed itself clueless in the face of catastrophe and thereby lost credibility as an exclusive pipeline to God. Many people lost faith or turned to other paths of spirituality. Dogma was increasingly questioned, and people began to think for themselves.

The Spiritual Reformation had begun. Bibles were printed in working languages. Churches were changing. The world was set out to be explored.


Trouble
was not avoided.


Isaiah 45:7
I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things.


Jesus told us this in The Beatitudes. And Isaiah was telling the Exiles, the slaves of the Empire of Cyrus.


Daniel 2:22
He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.

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.

Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 12:12
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Isaiah 40:31
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

1 Corinthians 13:7

Love

bears all things, 

believes all things,

 hopes all things, 

endures all things.

Abba Father,

We Pray Your Word:

1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.


Abba, we know the Scriptures and the Power of the Living God. We thank You for Jackson's increase in health and for his comfort. We pray for the comfort of Alexander who in his steadfastness prompts admiration and imitation. We give You thanks for education and opportunity. Long forest walks - giving Joy.

We thank You to want to come home from lovely vacation. We thank You for Lovely Vacation and for Good Health. For my nose healing from nitrogen applied. We Thank You for weight loss after vacation and for 20 point improvement in Blood Pressure - back to Low Blood Pressure.

We thank You for the rain we have seen in Texas and pray for the West Coast on up to British Columbia.

And Say Thank You for Blessings. Like not being in Plague. And mostly for Alexander, leading the way in Steadfast Love bringing us to see the fuel You give for us all - Love.

In Jesus we Celebrate Life. Forevermore.

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †

Matthew 17:14-20 ~ Nothing will be impossible for you

The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 17

14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

17 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Here is an idea for this Passage. It's like verse 20 says, a little weak in faith. However, Jesus said to deal gently with the newbies. Or the different idea than yourself. To be an encourager, like Paul said in the Holy Spirit. And! The Spirit of God can move us as the Word is Living and Active.

In the Spiritual bottom line: Jesus knew He was dealing with a spiritual force created from exile in God's Kingdom. A vast and powerful God knows of what He is speaking. God is God.

I've heard a Sermon on using the brain Father God has gifted us with. Seeing great Holy Spirit works with practicality to understand at the level we can see with our physical eyes. And I had a conversation with a loved on on reaching faith through practicality. We can look at this verse with the brain and eyes God has given us to see a practical level that is much smaller, yet still part of our lives - daily.

Seeing this passage as: The situations in our life troubling us.

We can allow ourselves to fall into the fire of being overwhelmed with life. Or we can ignore our real difficulties and drown them with water like selfishness, alcohol or substance, video games and emotions. Allowing ourselves to be the victim and love our troubles for defining us. Not allowing ourselves to see real oppression and not grasping God to hold us to His path.

The task it to be like Joshua centered on Jesus to be our Savior.

My Resolution is to acknowledge my difficulties to our Heavenly Father. To express them. To gather Prayer . To cast my opportunities for a solution UP to Jesus, Who Cares for me. And to see with expectation what God will do. And release my worries knowing that He will not shun a worrier. Our Father God is Love.

Joshua 1:7

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left.

Psalm 28:7

The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

1 Peter 5:7

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Father God, 

We pray for our Good Works pleasing to You. We ask You and to give our worries to  Your guidance, Love, mercy and direction. Letting You, Jesus, to to be what centers us and leads us in our lives. Keep us in You, always. Amen in Jesus.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †

John 15:1-16 ~ every Branch in Jesus

The Silk Road - an ancient network of trade routes connecting the East and West. Central to cultural interaction between the regions for many between East Asia and Southeast Asia with East Africa, West Asia and Southern Europe.

Christians recognize Jesus puts our sins as far as East from West. As South from North.

Jesus puts upon our hearts to make straight paths.

John 15:1-16

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.


12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Christians are well acquainted with the theology the History of the Kings of Israel and Judah are also reflections of opinions, ideas, words and deed creating life. And giving us the fruit of the Spirit shown as fruit of the tree of our lives.

History is enjoyable for the stories told. Reflections on values. I considered a History Major in college until the Junior and Senior years were taken with fluency in a second language. So instead I read History.

The study of Abigail Adams life is one of making the best of her husband's ideals taking him from home.

Abigail had been left behind too many times and she was making sure she was traveling with the First Ambassador to England after the Revolutionary War.

John Adams followed most unusual patterns - taking his wife across the fierce ocean to take an Ambassadorship of the brand new nation. John Adams was actually instructed by Thomas Jefferson not to be accompanied by his wife - it looked provincial. When our Nation's soon to be First Vice-President did not heed Jefferson's request, Benjamin Franklin was much more frank and rude and told him he was a fool who would fail. These letters actually had one reach him before the journey and Franklin's letter reached Adams in London. Competent men rarely like rude letters. And while John Adams would work as a Christian to restore his friendship with Jefferson, because of their warm shared past. Adams would be shocked at the looseness of Franklin. And their relationship would never repair. Franklin was married, but appeared in the French Court with any woman of his choice. When in France, do as the French.

Jefferson also pointed out to Adams he would risk Abigail's life to cross the ocean. Abigail had missed years with John and they decided if they perished, they would take this time together and perish if they must. Adams had abhorred George III because they had fought his injustices to have freedom. Jefferson and Adams had discussed the real possibility George III would kill the first Ambassador to England on the ability to kill a subject of King George III's for treason. Abigail and Adams did not think Abigail would be killed, but discussed how her passage home would go.

John Adams was loyal to his nation. And loyal to Law. John and his son Quincy had represented the defense of men who had killed five Boston residents during the Boston Massacre in 1770. Seeking law and justice. Hence - John would be the First Ambassador. A stepping stone to being the 1st Vice President and the 2nd President of our nation.

It was abhorrent to learn to bow to George III. The pomp and the ceremony of all of England was something a freeman like Adams feeling as if he had discovered the stench of hell. As he approached the monarch, John Adams felt fear. He felt that if he were to be killed, this would be the day, or he would live. John Adams truthfully said he was the man for the job that both nations had been kindred with a common language and shared a common faith. He was glad to represent the new nation as a proud new nation to address as hopeful common allies. Adams hoped to unite the countries as help to both nations.

The King did not speak for a long time and, finally, congratulated Adams as being a sincere man. George III went on to say of all the men on the planet, he was the last to accept the separation. And the first to hope for the new nation to go forth to do great and meaningful things for the citizens. George III expressed his approval of Adams for the desire for his nation for greatness. He then asked Adams what he thought of the French. Adams correctly said he only represented his own nation with great care. The King said exactly, an honest man only represents his own nation. Both men found warmth and sincerity in the conversation. Adams was greatly surprised. Adams had done very well.




Jefferson asked for Adams to come to the French Court. Under no circumstance was Abigail to even put foot in France. He and Benjamin Franklin were part of Court, but had achieved nothing. A few ships would help, but not create safety. Adams was laughed out of the court for not speaking French. King Louis XVI spoke English perfectly, but King Louis preferred to be in double entendre with Franklin - Franklin seemed to have changed personality. Later in the day, Adams was to scream and yell, almost to the point of stroke with the Ambassador of France to the United States. Franklin and Adams had now become completely estranged. Jefferson was aghast. And found with Adams ability to scream and yell over no assistance being provided, that the French worried the scene would become the loss of the new nation. Adams was to display his truthful disdain over complete disregard for the cares of the many. Jefferson was to discover the lack of diplomacy had found the path to command the attention of the disinterested government. Adams again succeeded. Being honest.



Now look at the Theology of making a Straight Path.


John Adams was willing to take his distinguished career and represent fair Justice to the English Soldiers killing during the Boston Massacre. And he had no real diplomacy except the truth. Which made him the Second President. He would spend his last years talking to Jefferson and Jefferson began to read the Bible. They died on the same day.  John Adams entered Heaven seeing a living Thomas Jefferson, who had been unknown to have died earlier that day. Both men were better men to have repaired public damage.


Thomas Jefferson, is a fascinating man. He studied a Bible he had pushed aside until his old age and found pure Truth. Jefferson had changed during his time in France. It was hard for him to become provincial again after being in the city of Paris which had delighted all of Jefferson. And he then planned for Washington D.C. for the new world to have a real city. Jefferson was an entertainer and usually had 40 guests for lunch and dinner. Thomas Jefferson would show all his collections and every meal had French wines. What did this mean? Each bottle of wine - back in the day - cost an astonishing $75 per bottle. Most French wines aboard American ships had one destination - Monticello. Jefferson constantly re-arranged Monticello. If slavery had a break, it was the slaves rested during non-harvest seasons. Winter was vacation. Except at Monticello. Jefferson would die broke. So broke he was one million dollars in debt. His family would leave Monticello the day after his death. No son would be alive from Jefferson. He had long ago promised never to remarry. Daughters were not important enough to work to leave a legacy.

And the truth is Thomas Jefferson was very lovable.

And yet History paints a picture.


During the Presidency of George Washington - scant years - the French Crown had been held from 987 to 1793. The reign of self interested family to an indulgent court with hardly any interest in the welfare of the people. Warned 200 years earlier by the Russian Czar about the lack of care for the citizens.

Acts 1 tells us Judas 'turned aside to his own interests'. End of French Crowned heads.

And George III was to be the King who failed and yet his government remains today. He cared for his people.





Benjamin Franklin July 1784, Franklin met with Mirabeau and contributed anonymous materials that the Frenchman used in his first signed work: Considerations sur l'ordre de Cincinnatus. The publication was critical of the Society of the Cincinnati, established in the United States. Franklin and Mirabeau thought of it as a "noble order", inconsistent with the egalitarian ideals of the new republic. Franklin was with the King and the New Republic. Franklin would rise to be Governor of Pennsylvania

In 1990, The New York Times reported Now, 200 years after his death on April 17, 1790, Boston and Philadelphia became beneficiaries of Franklin's 18th century wisdom. Franklin bequeathed the cities a total of $12,000 sterling, with one hitch: much of the money could not be drawn on for 100 years, and the rest could not be distributed for 200 years.

Franklin's bequest is worth $6.5 million, and the legacy has become Politicians, historians and civic leaders put the money to a green legacy restoring public parks. Public land. Franklin would like his green legacy.

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George Washington is loved by our Nation. The Nation he gave the Whiskey Tax and he primarily paid. His family did not mind his slaves were to serve him, but not Martha and her children, upon his death. Let's be real as we look even at this issue. He would be debunked for his interest in a nation and not heart from a New York pulpit by the relative of mine, Rev. Byrd Wilson. Who had known him through his father, James Wilson. Not really what you'd hope to have happen. Not really what you'd want your relative to have done. Let us love one another.

Interesting, a king has a son. And therefore he is not going to let go of a nation. Washington and Jefferson had no son. John Adams did and Quincy was raised to rise up - in what was truly important. Both Adams, father and son, were committed to a community of justice and opportunity for all. Adams told George III's concern for the nation not having a monarch, that they would both pray the new nation was directed to please God.



1 John 4:7-10

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.


Our Abba,

John told us of the God of Love.
Paul told us God is Steadfast and encouragement.

And once more, Isaiah says: “The root of Jesse will appear, One who will arise to rule over the Gentiles; in Him the Gentiles will put their hope.”

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

With God in us as Love, the Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit, and God's presence in our souls. We will let His mercies renew in us each day. And have His presence as we trust our lives, cares, loved ones to His Love and Mercy.

With God's help, we will do what God has given us to do. Following God's Will and Way.

In Jesus Christ. Always. Our Amen in Jesus.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves † 

John 14 ~ Because I Live, you also will live

John 14

“Let not your hearts be troubled."

"Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”


8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.


12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 

13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.


15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. 

Because I live, you also will live. 

20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?”

23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.


25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.

Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.

Rise, let us go from here."






When we rise - as Jesus asked us to do in this life, He promised us troubles will come and in overcoming - Jesus said this as well:

We remember with all the joy You have given us.

These are the Words Your Brother Jude gives us of his life with Jesus as He lived, loves and has Joy.

Abba, Holy Father,

We ask You to help us to recall each day - Your mercies are new.

Bless those we love. Bless us in Jesus we ask. For our prayers and lives. Bless and fill those we love.

We ask the Blessings of Jesus on our Nation. And upon the Nations Trusting in You.

Fill all believers with encouragement to pray more Heaven upon earth.

In the Promises of Jesus - we ask

Bless us and keep us, make Your Face to Shine upon us.

We thank You, Father, You are gracious to us.

Let Your Face Shine and Your Merciful Heart Smile upon us.

Giving us Your Peace and Covering and Blessing us in the Highest Name of Jesus.

Amen and Amen and Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †