Psalm 108
My heart is steadfast, O God!I will sing and make melody with all my being!
2 Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations
4 For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer me!
7 God has promised in his holiness:
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet,
Judah my scepter.
9 Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
12 Oh grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the salvation of man!
13 With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
Psalm 136
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
4 to him who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever
5 To him who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
6 to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
7 to him who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
8 the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
11 and brought Israel out from among them,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
13 to him who divided the Red Sea in two,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
14 and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
for his steadfast love endures forever
15 but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
16 to him who led his people through the wilderness,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
17 to him who struck down great kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
18 and killed mighty kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
20 and Og, king of Bashan,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
21 and gave their land as a heritage,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
22 a heritage to Israel his servant,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
24 and rescued us from our foes,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
25 he who gives food to all flesh,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
We were treated to a rare Sunset tonight. The sky turned brilliantly orange. Astonishing.
All of life has so many changes. I once stood in line in the grocery store and a man asked me how long I'd been married and I replied just short of 20 years. He said that when people had been married 30 years, all things began to change. Old family would not gather as much and new families form as parents and children formed marriages and offspring. He announced 30 years is revealing.
He said you find out where the love is. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Love rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
When we consider health, we know accepting change makes life more rewarding. And like the Prodigal Son, this is a process.
One of the purposes of life is the eager anticipation of the revealing of the sons of men.
Luke 2:34
"So that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
This sounds fairly ominous. Add to this...
Ecclesiastes 1:18
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief."
Surely not the most gloriously happy, smiling way to begin the day. And now "The Good News."
The Nature of God is not:
Because I could not stop for Death
Emily Dickinson - 1830-1886
Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.
The Bustle in a House
Emily Dickinson
The Bustle in a House
The Morning after Death
Is solemnest of industries
Enacted upon Earth –
The Sweeping up the Heart
And putting Love away
We shall not want to use again
Until Eternity.
Eternity is now. God is with us.
The Nature of God, we pretty well know.
A Capstone of Living Word:
For God so loved the world, He gave His Only Son, that we should not perish, but have eternal life in Jesus Christ.
God is actually not for breaking the bruised reed. The Scriptures are filled with failing and then the perseverance of Love. One of the highlights is the Prodigal son's Father running towards - enduring Love.
How will combine our painful life changes announced by the first Chapter of Ecclesiastes?
Jesus Christ is the Way, Truth and Life. The process of enduring painful change and the process of hope now enfold forgiving one another and letting go, forgiving, of the enemies hurting our thought process peacefulness.
Psalm 136 is quite a study condensing Capstone Journeys in the Old Testament. In some ways the events are harsh. Yet there is a Truth enfolding all Comfort and our Comforter. The Endurance of Love. The Journey of new paths of Love. We see the Light of the Olympics, but the flame of God within us is never left behind when Father God dwells within us.
When Jesus gave us The Seed Parable, He was explaining the perils of Journey.
When we Believe Father God, we find this Hope and Love will happen at all ages and all seasons.
Revelation 21:5
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
Always fascinating to learn of God's Position!
Deuteronomy 11:19
"You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them
when you sit
in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up."
Matthew 5:1
When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
Matthew 15:29
Departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there.
Matthew 13:1
That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.
Matthew 13:2
And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
Why did Jesus sit to teach and pray?
Jeremiah 32:27
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me."
Mark 9:3
His garments
became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
Luke 18:1-4
Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that He exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Abba,
We love to remember Jesus as Grace upon Grace. From His fullness we have received.
We recall Jesus aided the father who professed his belief with far more compassion than His own Disciples who said "Teach us to pray."
Mark 9:23-24
23“If You can?” echoed Jesus. “All things are possible to him who believes!” 24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”
We believe in Your Word's the prayer of a righteous man availeth much. We pray for those who have asked us to pray for them, body, mind and soul. The overwhelming Love and Power of Jesus give healing, Love and hope. Remembering Jesus told us and healing ministries agree - more prayer the better. Praying with expectation.
And with Joy and Verve - we pray for those we Love and thank God for their blessings. We pray for those who display courage in their patience wait for the solution. We bless those who lead with Courage and Mercy. We continue daily to pray for the prayers that have been asked of us. With great expectation and great Comfort the Holy Spirit provides the strength and joy of You - to do our lives.
Blessing Father God for the summer providing more time to visit family and be there. Asking blessings on the elderly for fortitude, health and clarity. Giving thanks for opportunities for ourselves and our Children. The blessings of Home and Hearth and Education. Seeing the new season of summer with Profound Joy.
Carrying these prayers up to our work, our needs, our communities, our Churches. Knowing God will bless us for far away prayers like praying for the national government and our elected officials. Asking God to bring Truth to the news, more Good News and balance. And refusing to be discouraged. Instead letting God have room to show He is God and God is not worried. Blessing Abba for covering us in the Name of Jesus.
We are praying with Hope for Elliott to live to old age, well past age 42, to overcome cancer and live to great old age with Harby his wife.
Amen in Jesus for today and tomorrow!