Psalm 103 ~ So Great Is His Love

  

Psalm 103

1 Praise the LORD, 

O my soul; 

all 

my inmost being,

Praise His Holy Name.

2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,

and 

forget not all His benefits-

3 Who forgives all your sins

and 

heals all your diseases,

4 Who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you 

with love and compassion,

5 Who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed

 like the eagle's.

6 The LORD works righteousness

and 

justice for 

all 

the oppressed.

7 He made known His ways to Moses,

His deeds to the people of Israel:

8 The LORD is compassionate 

and gracious,

slow to anger, 

abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse,

nor will He harbor His anger forever;

10 He does not treat us as our sins deserve

or repay us 

according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great 

is His Love 

for those who fear Him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,

so far 

has He removed our transgressions 

from us.

13 As a father has compassion 

on His children,

so the LORD has compassion 

on those who fear Him;

14 for He knows 

how we are formed,

He remembers 

that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass,

he flourishes like a flower of the field;

16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,

and its place remembers it no more.

17 But from everlasting to everlasting

the LORD's love

 is 

with those who fear Him,

and His righteousness 

with their children's children -

18 with those who keep 

His covenant

and remember to obey His precepts.

19 The LORD has established His Throne 

in Heaven,

and His Kingdom

 rules over 

all.

20 Praise the LORD, 

you 

His angels,

you mighty ones 

who do His bidding,

who obey 

His Word.

21 Praise the LORD, 

all 

His Heavenly Hosts,

you 

His servants who do His Will.

22 Praise the LORD, 

all 

His Works

everywhere - in His Dominion.

Praise the LORD, 

O 

my soul.

~12 as far as the east is from the west, 

so far 

has He 

removed our transgressions 

from us.

Does National Prayer Work???!!

Monday, January 2, 2023

“Monday Night Football” game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals was suspended and they knelt to pray for God's Help and Mercy
For Damar Hamlin

This time last year, we were praying for Damar Hamlin. He broke his neck. And ESPN prayed for him. National News Organizations interrupted their broadcast to say America was praying with all their heart and longing.  Prayers were heard. It's unheard of to have such a trauma and yet, Damar and his mother continued their philanthropy. Praised the Name of Jesus. And Damar trotted back to... THE NFL AGAIN. He couldn't feel his legs when Damar was carried out. And it looked very, very bleak.  We all hated this. This man took care of his mother. With Philanthropy together. And the Lord.... He was delighted to heal Damar. 

Thank You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Nothing is too hard for our Lord.  His exact nature is represented in Jesus Christ.

What else have we all been praying for collectively in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave?  Yes, we would have to agree, The Banner Yet Waves.

Prayer is an open invitation to our Father in Jesus Christ, 

Who invites us to Believe Him,

 Believe His Promises and the Salvation of Jesus Christ, 

Who paid the ultimate price for our Salvation.  

We are invited to live in His Kingdom for eternity. 

And to find out the narrow path of enriching life by living by faith.

We can be joyful, thankful, elated, eternally optimistic. Or worried that catastrophe is about to sweep away all we cherish and love.

Prayer is a picture language. An invitation to board a plane on a grey cold day and watch the plane reach up and up, until the sun shines in and all is bright and beautiful in the clear day.

We are all going to pray differently. Difficulty in prayer is trying to be saintly enough to get His Attention.  We can't flatter Him. He knows Sincere Love. My soul tells me, when I ask the Lord to know every aspect, every cell, every thought, He is always gracious, loving and pleased. And I continue by asking the Lord to know my every thought and emotion. And still His Love pours in.

Lately, I've felt more honest to begin the day by praying The Lord's Prayer. And when I am saying, in my heart, Hallowed Be Thy Name, I ask Jesus, please. Jesus is The Lord! Please...

And to be honest, I've felt for a long time in the last few years, to pray, stirs up spiritual hornets. And finally, to remember I can ask Jesus, our Father and the Holy Spirit... why? And to come to the answer, this does seem to happen, it's best to pray The Lord's Prayer and know we place ourselves in His Tower. His Strength. His Protection.

Once we have placed ourselves out of harm's way, more prayers seem to be answered.  Why would we need to do this? Because we live in the Pandemic recovery.  As the Pandemic began to start to build up, we had massive animal die offs in about 2011. Coasts littered with fish. Birds falling by the thousands in Louisiana and other states.  I didn't know why these daily die offs were happening. Vietnam fell to 47' and almost every ox in Vietnam fell to the ground, dead.  But historically, the plagues began with animal die offs. And if you look at the movies, we had so many zombie movies. The world was reacting to the uppity coldness of profit as the only motivation. Or Power.

We pray to place ourselves out of harm's way because people today tend to want to be verbal or crazy like marauding pirates. Do what I say. Think as I think. Pretend reality bends like this.  I tell you I'm stopping at the grocery, but no food appears.  Now I tell you the grocery store is gone. Yet, you drive by, and the grocery store is there. Analogy, of course. Life is definitely taking part of Pandemic Recovery and the outrageousness.  And if you don't believe me, you think inflation of historic proportions is just normal? It is not. We live in the time of extremes of Pandemic Recovery.

And after I began to first ask for His Protection, I could feel more prayers were answered, and they were. 

Another aspect we think would take us away from Jesus is our own worries. Doubts.  And this is incorrect. The Lord chose the Disciples who look like kittens who need their mother. The Disciples found the Holy Spirit to continue the Works of Jesus, but they looked worried most of the Gospels.  Thank God for the father who cried out to Jesus, "Help me, I have faith, Help me to have more faith!" Jesus understands prayers that say, I need Help. Helper. Comfort. Comforter.  And so many times He will.

When Jesus answers our prayers with No, we trust that The Lord's Will is Good.

Until we are agitated, unhappy, worried and morose. Then we have to be honest and say, Father, You have all the storehouses of every aspect of Life and unlimited resources, Jesus said I can tell You.  And so, I will, I feel You are being the Unfair Judge.  Confess any flaws or sins. Find Redemption. And then our spiritual lives, have the comfort of His Wonderful Counsel. We explain the whole situation to The Lord and He is our wonderful Counselor to listen, care, iron the wrinkles out, find a new thought, see in a new direction and be renewed. Sometimes my dreams are so colorful and don't make sense and I use this dream to work it out with Jesus like we are playing a jigsaw puzzle. Every possibility is examined with Jesus Christ. At the end of the solutions, I feel wonderfully loved, renewed and cared for. 

And when we are in the situation, this is your life, repeat. We feel dull and uninspired. And then we must remember, again, Jesus says always pray with Hope. I know my mother was healed completely and being prayed for at an Episcopal altar, of a Thyroid tumor of a good size. Her friend Pat, a Psychologist, was healed of failing blood vessels to the eyes and literal cataracts. I prayed for a woman who was attacked by a dog and her arm had become a mass of hard scars. Her husband showed up yelling at me the next day. An odd reaction. But at the end of yelling at me, he said it was time they go back to Jesus and Church again.   I know a child from my elementary school days who was born with her leg and ankle twisted at a 9o' angle. My Step grandfather and grandmother began to pray for her, every time we ate together. And suddenly, her ankle was as it should be. 

Jesus Christ is working today. Even on the ankle that was damaged for 11 years. The blindness coming in for five years and hereditary in her family. The Thyroid tumor was seen in a driver's license for more than two years.  And His Father is working too.

We are invited to climb far behind the darkened clouds of any situation. To burst into the welcome Love and Light of God and have conversation.  He invites us with all His Great and Mighty Heart. The Lord is Good. God of Love. God of Encouragement.

Abba, Father,

Praise the LORD, 

O my soul; 

all 

my inmost being

Praise His Holy Name.

Praise the LORD, O my soul,

and 

forget not all His benefits -

Who forgives all your sins

and 

heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you 

with love and compassion

The Crown of Life

is just revealed to be

Love and Compassion

Help us, Father,

Helper

and Comforter.

With Your Help, 

we will look to the Windows of Heaven in our life 

and see a blessing overflow 

believing all things work together 

for those who Love You.

With Your Help for ourselves and the ones we love, 

our prayer concerns. 

We will act justly

 and to love mercy

 and to walk humbly with You, our God.

You are our guarantee. 

For ourselves and the ones we Love. 

In the Highest Name of Jesus, we are covered. 

Please pray for Edward

recovering slowly and quickly

from an intestine puncture

and, now, Covid.

His fever went to 103' today

and then normal, climbing again on day 2.

But feeling better.

We pray the infamous day 3, won't

be too terrible. 

And Edward heals quickly.

And for Alexander's eyes to heal.

His lens is not shaped quite normally

yet, he is too young for

a permanent, implanted lens.

The Lord

is

Good.

Amen to Your Glory!

Our God is working. His Son, 

Jesus is working.

In Jesus,

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Colossians 1:1-14 ~ saints and faithful brothers in Christ

 

1 Corinthians 16:13

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

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.

2 Thessalonians 2:15

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions 

that you were taught by us, 

either by our spoken word or by our letter.

Colossians 1:1-14

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

To love the Lord and believe Him. To let the Joy of the Lord be our Strength. Fix our gaze on what is good and worthy and pleasing to God.  Have strength and dignity as our clothing, and laugh at the time to come. Let us be clothed in righteousness and be those who shout for joy. To believe the Lord and be counted as righteous.  The prayers of the friend of the Lord availeth much. Believing, we are invited to walk with the Lord in the cool of the garden. 

Abba, Father

Help us to seek You first

We want to be the Chosen of the Father, 

His Beloved in whom His soul is well pleased. 

We ask His Holy Spirit upon us, 

and we will proclaim Justice with mercy

to all.

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. 

Beloved, if God so loved us, 

we also ought to love one another.

We pray for Edward,

who now has Covid,

to recover rapidly and expediently

and spread this to no one.

Our God is working. His Son, 

Jesus is working.

In Jesus,

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yes Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You Jesus

Proverbs 19:14 ~ from The Lord

Proverbs 19:14

House and wealth are inherited 

from fathers, 

but a prudent wife 

is from the LORD.

Proverbs 8:17 

I love those who love me, 

and those who seek me diligently find me.

  

Matthew 1

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

    and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). 

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called His Name Jesus.  

Psalm 27:8 

You have said, 

“Seek My Face.” 

My heart says to You, 

“Your Face, Lord, do I seek.” 

Jeremiah 29:13

 

You will seek Me and find Me, 

when you seek Me with all your heart.

 

  

1 Chronicles 4

4 The sons of Judah: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. 2 Reaiah the son of Shobal fathered Jahath, and Jahath fathered Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the Zorathites. 3 These were the sons of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazzelelponi, 4 and Penuel fathered Gedor, and Ezer fathered Hushah. These were the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem. 5 Ashhur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives, Helah and Naarah; 6 Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. 7 The sons of Helah: Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan. 8 Koz fathered Anub, Zobebah, and the clans of Aharhel, the son of Harum. 9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” 10 Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked. 11 Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, fathered Mehir, who fathered Eshton. 12 Eshton fathered Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Recah. 13 The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah; and the sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai. 14 Meonothai fathered Ophrah; and Seraiah fathered Joab, the father of Ge-harashim, so-called because they were craftsmen. 15 The sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah, and Naam; and the son of Elah: Kenaz. 16 The sons of Jehallelel: Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel. 17 The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. These are the sons of Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married; and she conceived and bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of Eshtemoa. 18 And his Judahite wife bore Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. 19 The sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and Eshtemoa the Maacathite. 20 The sons of Shimon: Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. The sons of Ishi: Zoheth and Ben-zoheth. 21 The sons of Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the clans of the house of linen workers at Beth-ashbea; 22 and Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and returned to Lehem (now the records are ancient). 23 These were the potters who were inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah. They lived there in the king's service. 

Deuteronomy 4:29 

But from there you will seek the Lord your God

 and you will find Him, 

if you search after Him with all your heart

 and with all your soul.

Matthew 6:33

 

 Seek first the kingdom of God 

and His righteousness, 

and all these things will be added to you.

Isaiah 41:10 

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, 

for I am your God; 

I will strengthen you, I will help you, 

I will uphold you with My Righteous Right Hand.

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.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, 

whose trust is the Lord. 

He is like a tree planted by water, 

that sends out its roots by the stream, 

and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, 

and is not anxious in the year of drought, 

for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Leviticus 26:3-5

If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments 

and do them, 

I will give you your rains in their season, 

and the land shall yield its increase, 

and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 

Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, 

and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. 

And you shall eat your bread to the full 

and dwell in your land securely.

3 John 1:2 

Beloved, 

I pray that all may go well with you 

and that you may be in good health, 

as it goes well 

with your soul.

1 Peter 5:7

Casting all your anxieties on Him, 

because He cares for you.

James 1:12

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, 

for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, 

which God has promised to those who love Him.

This week, all over the United States, people are facing winter storms. Some worry about the cost of food and energy. Some worry about travel safety, personal safety and auto safety. Some worry about roof stability. Some want more insulation, no grants available from new climate czars, in the face of rising costs.  And others live in dread of water pipes causing massive damage. 

Within the week, Edward went from perfectly health at 2 pm and at 5 pm had fainted in the ER, when I finally found him, there was blood on the floor, blood on the gurney and 3 nurses looked horrified at nude Edward bleeding copiously from what turned out to be ruptured colon, suddenly.  Admitted immediately after a heart ultrasound, which went well, to Critical Care. Home in 2 days with a prescription. And so truly grateful to have had the bleeding stop and care had been given.

This is the season of concerns. When life has gone directions we didn't plan.

This is the time to look at all the words, all the events and seek His Face and Blessing. Because the Blessings are there.

John 8:12

"I am the light of the world:

 he that follows Me shall not walk in darkness,

 but shall have 

the Light of Life."

Abba, Father,

Father, we hope for Your grace and favor in Your sight, 

Bless us when we carry and proclaim 

the Light of Jesus in all mankind, 

we are pleasing to You.

We believe You are the Living God. 

We believe, no good thing do You withhold from those who walk uprightly. 

We believe daily in the Glory of Your Word 

and Will.

We will long for Your counsel and Your Will, 

to have those we love - praise Your Glory!

We believe, Your Word of Truth,

We are sealed with the Promises of the Holy Spirit.

With Your Help, we will believe, daily keeping Your Light in us.

With Your Help, we will rejoice in the Light of Life.

With Your Help, 

we will look to the Windows of Heaven in our life 

and see a blessing overflow 

believing all things work together 

for those who Love You.

With Your Help for ourselves and the ones we love, 

our prayer concerns. 

We will act justly

 and to love mercy

 and to walk humbly with You, our God.

You are our guarantee. 

For ourselves and the ones we Love. 

In the Highest Name of Jesus, we are covered. 

Amen to Your Glory!

Our God is working. His Son, 

Jesus is working.

In Jesus,

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yes Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You Jesus

Luke 2:30-40 ~ My eyes have seen Your Salvation

Luke 2:30-40

"For my eyes have seen Your salvation
that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
A light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to Your people Israel.”

33 And His father and His mother marveled at what was said about Him. 

34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, 

“Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 

40 And the Child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. 

And the favor of God was upon Him.

Jesus as a boy, the Shroud of Turin makes 3D images from the stains and the depths of the stains. The out edges are new, the inner core is very,very old and has traces of radiation.

As we heal as a Nation, this story of wondering and being polite is applicable.

The Glory of allowing God to be God.

Recently, a woman who had served the Nation in the Army said she found her new job in customer service to be well within her qualifications. She was extremely cheerful and polite to work with. She told me she was polite all the time, but found about 80% of the time, this was an act and because this was not sincere, she worried about this. Although, as she pressed on with the client, this became real, the actual, heart of sincerity. 

The thought came to my mind immediately of Revelations 1. John, the old, old, old fortunate blessed Disciple of Jesus. Placed on Patmos with a view of all the glory of God's ocean. Still vibrant with disciples. Still in controversies to protect the true teaching of Jesus. Telling us to overcome evil with patience. John had joy - reading Revelation, you can feel the joy as John connects to the Lord.

I told her, "Evil is overcome with goodness." She smiled brilliantly. And said, the Word of God is good to hear and comforting. John thought so, too. God soaked John in abiding in His Word.

Hearts are revealed by Jesus. Jesus as Light of the World - does have spectacular, vast quantities of Grace. We can never earn the Goodness and Salvation of what pure, Holy Jesus did for us. We are raised to impossible heights only by our Father God's own Goodness. Delight in how far God reaches and creates, to sit to speak with you in your heart to Jesus. How far Jesus reaches. How marvelous and how deeply and how vast is our God. The Almighty. How much HE Loves. You. Love is a gift.

Abba Father, Abba Father, Abba God,

We Bless and Thank You for Your Son.

Savior of the World.

My Jesus. Your Jesus. Our Jesus.

God is Love and His Name is Jesus

 and we are covered in Him.

Glory to God in the Highest in His Grace 

and Love 

and Favor

 to Hear our Prayers and

Willingly bless us.

Jesus the Lord. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yes Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You Jesus