Ephesians 4:22-24 ~ on the new self

Ash Wednesday is Solemn, Holy, Reverent and Life.

Jesus called all things relating to His Purpose as Joy.

If we combine "The Beatles", "Happy Birthday", "Self Improvement" and "Happy New Year" - We would embrace Ash Wednesday. The Pew Report did a study about perceptions of Ash Wednesday Nationwide regarding USA  non-participation in Ash Wednesday.

God has His 12 Gates Open to His Kingdom.  His Policy on the world is to save the world in Jesus Christ. God's Policy one Prayer is 24/7,  we are never left nor forsaken.

Ephesians 4:22-24

To put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be renewed in the spirit of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

1 Timothy 1:5
The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Ezekiel 11:19
And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh.


When Jesus healed His people, He asked them (us) to ask Him for what we need. The Pew Report set out 12 years ago to ask what people think of Ash Wednesday. To look at perceptions is to realize Prayer is Conversation. With 'Yar'. God is God.

• Some of the comments about Ash Wednesday were as follows:

• I really don't want to think about my life, my body, my brain becoming Dust.

The Beatles might answer with Zechariah 8.

3 Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. 

4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 

6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? 

7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, 8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. 

And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”



It's whimsical, granted. And to add the right balance, no one on earth desires their funeral like this. Heavens, we have to see Heaven encompasses from Genesis One, the fall of Eden to the time the Bible tells us encompasses travel the world has never seen. And the Roman Empire traveled on a whim or a talent-daily-wage. The Roman Empire Age would hardly arrive at the middle of Heaven.

When we are saying dust, we are enfolding the idea that as we leave this earth - this will be solemn. And in Jesus Christ we are saying:

John 12:24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, еxcept a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. ... Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.

• The Pew Reports people say seeing the dust on people in different stages of decay reminds them of creepy, old movies.

Why deny the Valor?

• The Fact we have Scriptures is evidence of Valor.
• We have safety. God is our refuge. There is more to our lives than today. We are eternal beings. With many miles to go.
• This Dust has Valor. This is Jesus telling us life ends and the Life of Jesus and His Death includes us in the Victory of Jesus in His Home and His Kingdom and His Power and His Glory.

We worship today encompassing all generations. Why would we shun the Faith of our Fathers ? The warmth of centuries of Hymns. The traditions the many we loved participated in long ago and will encounter in Heaven again?

Why wouldn't we consider the coming possibilities of Heaven being far more like some of our latest technology. Zechariah speaks of a familiar neighborhood. This calls Home and we would dearly love to live and encounter. Why wouldn't this have horses and another having flying machines.

We do not pray in Latin. We pray with sincerity.

Today, one of the Largest Selling Aspects of Book Buying is Self Improvement.

• Ash Wednesday, according to the Pew Report, is extensively asking us to find faults in our lives we weren't even aware of until more pressure arrived.
• Jesus tells us He longs to save the world. Jesus tells us He longs to take His Children and put them under His Wings.
• Why wouldn't we instead find what the Season of Lent would bring us to bring us closer to the Heart of God?
• A Physician friend of our's was saying that if your prescription is giving you every side effect the label warns you about, even if it worked on you before, you have been prescribed the wrong medication.
• In other words, if something is wrankling you from the Word of God, is this because you do need to consider this amazing aspect of Living Scripture. Scripture is Alive.
• Or are you looking for something to fuss about?
• And sometimes we surely would like to avoid something and God has earmarked this as, "When we arrive here, later." Lent can mean, oh, we are going to prepare for this. And God will make the path available.
• Father God tells us He loves a Cheerful Giver. We seem to adore New Year's Resolutions. Why isn't Ash Wednesday carefully considered as what I really could do to Please God Who Generously Loves me?
• Father God loves to say, "Include Me in all aspects of your life!" "What would we talk about as you Pray to Your Father?" Wouldn't our Father love to know you are reading your children more stories. Helping homework more like you'd have liked the help? Helping an elderly neighbor because you know you helped your parents and grandparents. 
• Are you thinking over a trip to see family far away? 
• God would Love to know of more Love.
• Did you quit your diet. (New Years Resolution?) Now, you know Father God doesn't want you to have unhappiness, loss of self esteem, Diabetes. Your Body is a Temple of God. 
• Have you been meaning to Volunteer at Church. God Welcomes you!
• Father God would ask you to consider what Cheerful Thanksgiving you'd provide with Great Joy.

Ash Wednesday is a Voyage.

Isaiah 61:1

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to 

proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

 to proclaim freedom for the captives 

and release from darkness for the prisoners

Surely we will stand Firm to this Truth?

The Joy of the Lord is our Strength!


Isaiah 51:1
Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD:
Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn

And on this Adventure, Journey, Path, Way - on this Map of God's Plan, 

the Adventure is Joy and the X on the map has been instead

replaced with The Joy Jesus has Planned by His Love,

His Sacrifices, His Support and Steadfast Love.

Abba,

When You brought us Jesus as an innocent and newborn baby, You chose youth. And yet as the Scriptures of the Gospel of Jesus begins, You speak of dust. The Genealogy of the long departed. And in Jesus, what is dust is stirred to create the most welcoming Promise of Your Almighty Plan and Word - Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 37
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Where we would see dust, You would see Life.

When we would Believe You, You clothe us in Jesus and give us the Joy of the Lord.

When we want Renewal we will come with confidence to Your Throne, tell you of our trespasses and receive renewal from Your Grace upon Grace.

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. You provide us Grace and peace from You, God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Thanks and Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

You comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by our Gracious Father.

You assure us life has trouble and we know Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

Our hope in You is unshaken, for we know in suffering of life, we will also share in You Comfort, The Holy Spirit.

Lifting up our Hearts, our hopes, the ones we Love for Jesus Christ to Bless, Enfold and Uplift all we Love and to Save the world in Jesus Christ.

Our cares covered in Jesus.

Our prayers for Elliott and His Miracle, Dee, who is better, and Jim, covered in Jesus. All our worries and anxieties and prayer requests - covered in Jesus.

Bless us to Seek You First to live Lives of Love, Peace and Joy.

Thank You, Jesus, Amen.

Your Glory has Filled the Temple, Live in me, Lord Jesus and all who Love You today and tomorrow. 

On earth let Your Hope and Future, Your Good Will be done as in Heaven.

Amen Jesus, Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †  

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Psalm 30 ~ O Lord be my Helper!

Psalm 30

A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple.

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.

3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
7 By your favor, O Lord,
you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.

8 To you, O Lord, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
9 “What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!

O Lord, be my helper!”

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness

12 That my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

When Psalm 30 is mentioned, I always think of "Gladness." The Happiness Psalm.

Is there spring without winter? Is there a child without pregnancy and labor? Is there sunrise without night? Yes, in Heaven!

The Prodigal Son is a story of maturing into faith. The Ten Talents is about trust. The Pray until the 12th hour is about evil circumstance of injustice.  Pray impudently with Faith.

Matthew 8, Jesus calms the Storm. The Storm is said to be furious and great. 5 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”

Storms are not quiet when death is about to happen. The Disciples 'Probably' were not meek and mild to ask Jesus to help and to wake to see they were about to die.

Let's decide who else could be placed in this Psalm.

Abraham. Jacob. Joseph. Job, Moses, Joshua, Ruth, Naomi, Gideon, Samuel, David, Rehoboam and Abijah, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Zechariah, Joseph, Mary. John. Zacchaeus, the blind men calling for Jesus, the woman with the idea to hold the fringe of Jesus' robe. Jairus, father of the daughter. The Centurion to heal his servant. The woman from Syro-Phoenician. All the Disciples, minus John, on Good Friday.

Apparently, most of us have been in this Boat.

Including the Fishermen Disciples, getting out to fish.

Suddenly, Jesus had fixed Breakfast.

Psalm 34:8 

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Jesus has done some incredible things from fish. Not only was Jesus alive from conquering death, Jesus had created an incredible catch - tearing the nets and making a new Church from fishermen. Jesus had paid debt for Himself and Peter. We can be sure this was the best breakfast of their Lives.

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

you have loosed my sackcloth

and clothed me with gladness

That my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Abba,

For every season and time there is a Purpose.

We've reached the beginning of Lent!

Luke 15

"When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' "I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."

You give us Your Peace.

Psalm 12

I will now arise,” says the Lord;

“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

6 The words of the Lord are pure words,

like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,

purified seven times.

7 You, O Lord, will keep them;

you will guard us from this generation forever.

Abba, Please give us Your Peace. So many times Jesus healed, like the man who was blind and cried out for Jesus, those around Him told the blind man to hush. When Zacchaeus climbed the tree, he did so to rise from doubt.  When Jesus healed Jairus' daughter, He said:

Mark 5:36
Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

Asking Jesus to Bless all of His Good Creation this Lent and Easter. 
We pray for the earth as God's Good Creation, where He sees Good.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!
Let us live to find You first, and live in Love, Joy and Peace.

For thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory. Amen in Jesus Christ.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †  

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Psalm 133 ~ Blessing Life Forevermore

Mount Herman and the mountains of Zion, feeding the Jordan River

Psalm 133

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when brothers dwell in unity!

2 It is like the precious oil on the head,

running down on the beard,

on the beard of Aaron,

running down on the collar of his robes!

3 It is like the dew of Hermon,

which falls on the mountains of Zion!

For there the Lord has commanded 
the blessing,

life forevermore.

We pray all the time, "Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven."

When we practice doing unto others as we want to be treated - we are practicing our eternal life. And we bring more Heaven to earth doing our Father's Good Will.

This is an important concept.There is so much anger coming from hurt and deprivation of life goals. It's said we have less than 40 minutes of family conversation a day. The goal is to decrease anger and find out how the other person thinks. Giving all a chance to bloom, just as Jesus waited on His Brothers.


2 Timothy 4

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:

2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

How would our Father God measure kindness? And why would He equate compassion and mercy with goodness and kindness with oil and Aaron's robes?

In a dry and dusty land...

Psalm 63
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

Do we feel called?

Would anyone turn down the Opportunity to be an Ambassador? It wouldn't be all roses.

1 Timothy 4
9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

11 Command and teach these things.
12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them,c so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.


We say:

Nehemiah 8:10
"The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

This isn't a mystery, this is the upbuilding of kindness providing The Joy of the Lord is our Strength.

Abba,

Thank You for Today. We ask the Joy of more Heaven on earth. To seek You first and Your Kingdom. To live Life with Love, Peace and Joy.

Cover those we love with Jesus Christ. Thank You for seeing Your Blessings today. Seeing Your Help.

Bless those with illness who have asked for prayer. Elliott, Dee and Jim. Your Healing Word, Father God, we ask in Jesus Christ.

For our Lives, families, friends to have Your Peace. And Your tender Love. We cover all those we Love and all You have given us to pray for in the Steadfast Love, Peace and Joy of Yours.

Blessings of Lent Beginning this Ash Wednesday. Easter is Coming!

Amen in Jesus.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †  

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