Psalm 91 ~ His Faithfulness

 

Just when we expect to be in the Hap, Hap, Happiest Season of All, and then. Suddenly, in our expectation of Joy, we are all too easily thrust into unhappiness. As we had felt the Joy of the Season. Wham.

One family member ate a Christmas ornament - make that, two family members ate Christmas ornaments. Practice Christmas safety.

The second one was me, before I was two years old - I ate a glass Christmas ornament, from the tree, in France. Due to language barriers, the French doctor induced vomiting immediately, he then returned me and had found an interpreter. With all Ipecac accomplished, the interpreter was pretty horrified. With the deed done, my father and the doctor agreed to talk the next day if necessary. Fortunately, not one thing happened.

When the other person in our family ate a silver colored ornament, we sat in the waiting room for hours and hours and hours and I began to beg to know why the non-talking toddler did this. As boredom persisted, I cried and, he reached in to his mouth and showed me the ornament he had been chewing on, but never swallowed. Immediately, we returned home.

Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High 

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 

2 I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

5 You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, 

but it will not come near you.

8 You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.

 9 Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place-- the Most High, who is my refuge-- 10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you, 

no plague come near your tent. 

11 For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

12 On their hands they will bear you up, 

lest you strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread on the lion and the adder; 

the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. 

14 "Because he holds fast to Me in love, I will deliver him; 

I will protect him, because he knows My Name. 

15 When he calls to Me, I will answer him; 

I will be with him in trouble; 

I will rescue him and honor him. 

16 With long life I will satisfy him 

and show him 

My Salvation.

God's Salvation is sometimes a long run event. The Christmas Story spans, up to, a decade. In poker, this is called The River.  Not just the 4 weeks of Advent. Preparation for Jesus for entire Lives with bravery.

We become so familiar with The Christmas Story, we do well to remind ourselves to see how many Miracles God was doing. 

Our Father God is Perfectly Able.

Let's be Blessings Finders. Only God could do all of this:

A Virgin. A Father, who was poor, engaged his daughter to the Son of David line. She tells her father an Angel has visited. Mary is allowed to leave with haste to visit family.

1. Mary has escaped being stoned to death by her father. Honor allows this. This is not all that unusual.

2. Her cousin is 6 months pregnant and has the same Angel story. God has given Mary credibility. This sounds improbable and yet stands to the Sanhedrin Council. How Credible - the father is a Rabbi. This occurred in the Temple itself. Really? The Rabbi couple are past the child bearing years.

3. What do Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, think of Mary's story? They are having her into their home.

4. Joseph is the Son of Kings of Israel - is he going to stone his betrothed? He has considered this. And has decided to divorce her instead. Mary has been shown mercy.

5. The Angel returns to Joseph in a dream. Miracle.

6. Joseph has decided the dream is a Gift of God and will act upon this. Free Will is working with Mercy. In an ego and heart-wrenching time.

7. Joseph decides to take Mary on an 80-mile trip for tax purposes. Her family does not offer to decline the journey of the betrothed couple.

8. Jesus is born not on the side of the road.

9. A barn is not germ free. Mother and child survive.

10. Shepherds visit with miraculous tidings. Having been with animals. Childbirth is far from safe.

11. Mary and Joseph present their son to the Temple. In an age where tribes are known and also your father is known as your last name - Mary and Joseph have wonderful greetings for an unwed (as yet) pregnancy involving Angels.

12. The Marriage takes place. (The Marriage thrives. Other children arrive.) Considering all the difficulty - this is a miracle.

13. The family travels. An unsafe thing to do. For water and food problems. Because a murder is found of small boy infants in Bethlehem. Out of kosher, and into Egypt. This would involve sea travel. Germs on ships are notorious. Taking an infant to an area His Mother would not have built antibodies for.

14. They travel back to Judea.

15. They overcome Herod's idea to kill Jesus. From astronomy. The Christmas Star. How many people pilgrimage for a King from astronomy.  And they survive Herod's Successor.



God has taken them Past 15 or more perilous events.

Beaches of Israel

Is this story in doubt?

1. Not according to The Bible. 

Dead Sea Scrolls 4Q521 | Luke 7:22 -

So he answered them, “Go tell John what you have seen and heard: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news preached to them. 

2. Several Eyewitness Accounts of the Gospels.

3. According to Isaiah. Prophetically. Even Nations shall come to the arrival of God's Light, explaining the Magi.

4. The accepted truths of James and Jude - Brothers of Jesus. The Gospel of John, who lived with Jesus' Mother, Mary. The two verses in the Gospels explaining that all of Nazareth knew the family of Mary and Joseph.

5. Complete with the commentary of the Historically available Sanhedrin Council discussing the unusual events. Rudely.

6. The Histories written by Josephus of Judea and of 5 Roman Emperors.

7. The Shape of the History of the Roman Empire concerning Jesus Christ.

8. The written Histories of the Disciples and their Disciples. Mark and Polycarp and Timothy. Luke.

9. Countless Changed lives.

Your cares and prayers are well within God's abilities and His Heart. 

With so many ways His Plan could have been deviated or not accomplished - we see Father God has a plan.

What is the Shield and Buckler?
We know in life, when we face hard crossroads of death, stoning, robbers, familial severe stress, medical death, intense pain of travelling at pregnant week 40, the sadness of a family letting a betrothed woman to travel like this. The need for a hasty departure. We know this causes intense stress and worry.

The Shield and Buckler is evident, the Bible does not tell of the emotional toil. The Bible explains events. God sees the heart. Many times we find crying and despair and intense prayer. This simply isn't recorded in the Christmas Story. Unto them a Child was Given. Wonderful. The Joy of A Child Is Born.  During a time of Labor - near death - this is forgotten in the Joy of a Child. God is our Shield and Buckler. Through generations, in all seasons, God gives us strong help in our life.

God Himself tells us our prayers are important to Him. God is our Shield and Buckler. Like the arms of Moses, God is our Help and Comfort.

Let us vacation from our cares and troubles, 

Let our prayers and faith be doubled and tripled.

Allowing the Reason for the Season. Jesus.

Allowing A Child To Be Given To Us. God Himself, 

Our Father in Jesus is our Shield and Buckler.

 Abba, Father

We are so Glad You are God. We look to You for Your Willing, Lavish and Abundant Blessings. As we connect the A parts of Life to the B parts of Life and hunt for the C part of Life.

Thank You for Being our God. Thank You for Jesus.

Help us each day to walk in Your Good Works knowing The Blessing of Salvation is a Gift.

Gift this Nation trusting in You to know Your Love and Good Pleasure. Bless us, we ask, during this Holy Season. In ways we could not even know to ask or imagine. Being Blessed to know this Prayer is Your's and goes further with You.

Bless the people knowing to ask with the Holy Spirit for more Heaven upon earth. 

And to have the faith to believe You will do as Jesus as asked us to Pray.

Covering this day and all those we Love with the Name and Salvation of Jesus. Amen.

We reach out to touch Jesus - to touch His Heart by asking You in the Name of Jesus, 

we ask More Heaven upon earth.

For all of our Cares - we Lift to Jesus.

For all of our Loved ones - we Lift to Jesus.

For all of our Nation trusting in You - we Lift to Jesus.

For the Nations around the world looking to Jesus 

- we ask Your Blessing of Heaven on earth.

Saying thank You 

for hearing the prayers 

of Your Beloved worldwide

Blessings of Christmas. 

In Jesus, Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You Jesus

Jeremiah 31:1-9 ~ continued My Faithfulness to you

Edinburgh

A law was passed in Scotland in 1640 which made celebrating 'Yule vacations' illegal. The Christmas ban lasted 400 years. Christmas Day only became a public holiday in Scotland in 1958! Once the ban was lifted, Scotland adopted many of the traditions from England and the USA.

Ephesians 1:10-23

As a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, 

things in Heaven and things on earth.

In Him we have obtained an inheritance, 

having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory.

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him

Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might 20 that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the Heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 

And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Edinburgh's Silent Light

We know from Scriptures, God loves worship and Jesus is the Head of the Church. What if the Church had decided, Christmas was to be celebrated every 33 years, Jesus' life span on earth.  And we had Christmas but 2 or 3 times in a lifetime?  It might seem more practical. Why did the Lord want us to Celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ every year? Why did God ordain this yearly celebration of the Birth of His Only Son?

John 3:16

For God so loved the world,

 that He gave His only Son,

 that whoever believes in Him 

should not perish 

but have eternal life.

Why didn't God think we needed to think about the loss of the Only Good One in His life of Grace upon Grace as the Light of the world?

Romans 5:8 

But God shows His love for us 

in that while we were still sinners, 

Christ died for us.

Proverbs 10:12 

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

And if we remember only one reason?

1 John 4:8

Anyone who does not love does not know God, 

because 

God is love.

Jeremiah 31:1-9

 “At that time,

 declares the Lord, 

I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, 

and they shall be My people.”

2 Thus says the Lord:

“The people who survived the sword

    found grace in the wilderness;

when Israel sought for rest,

the Lord appeared to him from far away.

I have loved you with an everlasting love;

    therefore I have continued My faithfulness to you.

4 Again I will build you, and you shall be built,

    O virgin Israel!

Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines

    and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.

5 Again you shall plant vineyards

    on the mountains of Samaria;

the planters shall plant

    and shall enjoy the fruit.

6 For there shall be a day when watchmen will call

    in the hill country of Ephraim:

‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,

    to the Lord our God.’”

7 For thus says the Lord:

“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

    and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;

proclaim, give praise, and say,

    ‘O Lord, save your people,

    the remnant of Israel.’

8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country

    and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,

among them the blind and the lame,

    the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;

    a great company, they shall return here.

9 With weeping they shall come,

    and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,

I will make them walk by brooks of water,

    in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,

for I am a father to Israel,

    and Ephraim is my firstborn.

Proverbs 3:13

Blessed 

is the one who finds wisdom, 

and the one who gets understanding

1 Timothy 6:6

 

Godliness with contentment is great gain

Ecclesiastes 3:12 

I perceived that there is nothing better for them 

than to be joyful 

and to do good as long as they live

The 2,000 years we have reenacted

The Child Leapt within!

Proverbs 15:13 

A glad heart makes a cheerful face

Psalm 68:3

But the righteous shall be glad; 

they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!

Abba, Father,

Guide us, O Lord, in all the changes and varieties of the world; that we may have evenness and tranquility of spirit: that we may not murmur in adversity nor in prosperity wax proud, but in serene faith resign our souls to thy divinest will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Our God is working. His Son, 

Jesus is working.

In Jesus,

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You Jesus

Psalm 33 ~ The Counsel of the Lord Stands Forever

 

Philippians 3 

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.

To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Psalm 33

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!

Praise befits the upright.

 

Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;

make melody to Him with the harp of ten strings!

3 Sing to Him a new song;

play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

4 For the Word of the Lord is upright,

and all His work is done in faithfulness.

5 He loves righteousness and justice;

the earth is full of the steadfast Love of the Lord.

6 By the Word of the Lord the heavens were made,

and by the breath of His mouth all their host.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;

He puts the deeps in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

9 For He spoke, and it came to be;

He commanded, and it stood firm.

10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

He frustrates the plans of the peoples.

11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

the plans of His heart to all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people whom He has chosen as His Heritage!

13 The Lord looks down from Heaven;

He sees all the children of man;

14 from where He sits enthroned He looks out

on all the inhabitants of the earth,

15 He who fashions the hearts of them all

and observes all their deeds.

16 The king is not saved by his great army;

a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation,

and by its great might it cannot rescue.

18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,

on those who hope in His steadfast Love,

19 that He may deliver their soul from death

and keep them alive in famine.

!

Christmas Past 2016, the Exodus movie came out. 

Christmas Memories

This is Very exciting. 97% of the Audience surveyed said they really want to see this film.

44% of the Critics like the film. A major criticism is that it is, "So Biblical." Therefore, I'm in! This Movie Theater soon!!!



Here are some Rotten Tomato Splat quotes:

The film itself turns out to be a traditional, linear account of the Moses story that could have been taken from one of David Kossoff's bible stories

OH GOOD!

To be absolutely fair, even if Exodus were cast with 100% racial/ethnic authenticity, it would still be a terrible film.

(The Bible is inclusive immediately. Eve's mitochondrial DNA, we ALL have, is from Africa. The Exodus explains how to include the outsiders and slaves of slaves. The Acts of the Apostles includes the high and low born, foreigners and different races.  Immediately, the Disciples began to carry the Light of Jesus, Light of the world, Light of mankind all over the world.)

The History Channel says you can still see effects of the plagues from the air. The Ipuwer Papyrus is also called The Admonitions of Ipuwer. Its official designation is Papyrus Leiden I 344 recto. Currently, in the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Netherlands, after being purchased from Giovanni Anastasi, the Swedish consul to Egypt, in 1828. The sole surviving manuscript dates to the later 13th century B.C. (no earlier than the 19th dynasty in the New Kingdom). The Ipuwer papyrus runs neck and neck with the account of the Exodus. And when you look at Historical Documents in Egypt which date the exodus circa 1447-1446 B.C. which also connects when the words Joseph, Israel, Goshen, Yahweh appear in tax records and official Egyptian documents.

Ok. The Exodus parallels would be today and for our lives.

Let's do that.

Anyone ever work a job to provide for their family they just would love to leave?

Anyone stuck with needing God to help them? Asking for a miracle?

Na? Ok! Let's all go home now.

Or.

What about just being in the world where the world does not offer you condolences, kind appreciation and generally tries to belittle you.

How would you survive that?

Well, for one, we live not in the desert traveling and traveling and afraid of starvation. God has made us far more comfortable than this wondrous time of awe to see, with great emotion and heart, Moses speak with God.

God, today, says we can just reach for Him and He is right there with us. Jesus assures us this is quite true when we dwell in understanding His Word. We live in a time, when our Hope of God is far more personal and far more internal.

When we clearly know how much God loves us, and listens to us, we surely are capable of escaping the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Criticism is to tear flesh. We worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put confidence in our soul as being Beloved of God. And as we worship, we see more people need the encouragement of God and our care and love.

We are the Easter People and Alleluia is our song. Sometimes we need to see the Power of God to realize the wonderful position we are in as the Beloved of the New Covenant. And yet, we are inspired again because God created the Universe merely with His Word. God has provided this world with 2,000 years of Jesus Christ and His compassion. Therefore, we are separated from harsher realities.

The Living Water of God, today, provides is with the assurance that we have the opportunity of Salvation. 

The Comfort the Holy Spirit has provided within us helps us to provide others with comfort today.

Moses told us a Word from God is louder than any trumpet mankind has ever heard. I imagine that hearing the heaped up waters descend upon the army of Pharaoh made an astonishing noise... and still... the noise of God created a sound they had never experienced before in their time frame.

People who literally hear God say that HE speaks with a gentle whisper, more powerful than mankind can imagine from rocket engines or blaring bombs. The Exodus and the New Testament of God choosing to arrive as a baby are both wonders of God. 

Abba, Father,

Thank You, Father God, for Your Wonders. 

And You have not finished yet. 

I will wait upon God all the days of my life 

and dwell in the House of Lord for His Word to me. 

Alleluia. 

Christmas is coming again. 

This is as sure as the Promises of God for us in eternity who call upon Jesus. 

Speak the Word God and I shall be well. 

And all manner of things will be well.

Amen in Jesus.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You, Jesus