Isaiah 40 ~ He Will Tend His Flock Like a Shepherd †

 

Today, we got up at 4 in the morning, said a sweet farewell to our Poodle siblings and orange boy kittens, leaving them with a fantastic, family friend to do all the Poodle things and cat comforts.

We flew and travelled, arriving at our hotel at 11 pm. Having landed at the ends of the earth, where rainfall is 483 inches a year. Is there a more rainy place on earth? Time and season allows. Definitely, there are rocky mountains with crags and hundreds more waterfalls than a nice, long visit would allow.

Isaiah 40

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

    and cry to her

that her warfare is ended,

    that her iniquity is pardoned,

that she has received from the Lord's hand

    double for all her sins.

A voice cries:

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;

    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be lifted up,

    and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level,

    and the rough places a plain.

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

    and all flesh shall see it together,

    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

A voice says, “Cry!”

    And I said, “What shall I cry?”

All flesh is grass,

    and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades

    when the breath of the Lord blows on it;

    surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

    but 

The Word of our God 

will stand 

forever.

Go on up to a high mountain,

    O Zion, herald of good news;

lift up your voice with strength,

    O Jerusalem, herald of good news;

    lift it up, fear not;

say to the cities of Judah,

    “Behold your God!”

Behold, the Lord God comes with might,

    and His arm rules for him;

behold, His reward is with him,

    and His recompense before him.

He will tend His flock like a Shepherd;

    He will gather the lambs in His Arms;

He will carry them in His bosom,

    and gently lead those that are with young.

When we think about Scripture we have known all our lives, some of the verses are comforting, but we aren't exactly sure.  And sometimes we want a Rock to put our faith upon. We want His Sure and Steadfast Love. And God's own Comfort.

Jesus expands His conversation about "I am Living Water."

John 6:35

“I am the bread of life; 

whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

John 4:7

Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 

11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 

13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

1 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things.” 

26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

What does this mean, Jesus is Living Water? 

We know Jesus healed the blind man by making mud with his spittle.  And sometimes, we have to be literal to let the analogies have a basis. We know Jesus walked on water, how does this signify?  The Scriptures tell us: All things are under His Feet. Ephesians 1:22

It would be best to say, with God's Word upholding the universe, all things are possible with God.  This would encompass the point God is making.  First things first.

And then we would realize Jesus is Comfort and Healing.  And then Isaiah 40 asks us to remember God Comforts, Comforts His People. 

 1 Thessalonians 4:12-14

And now, dear brothers and sisters, 

we want you to know what will happen to the believers 

who have died 

so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.

For me, my experiences in life tell me, that when I weep and have a good cry. When the crying has ended, I have been washed as Peter said to Jesus, "Wash all of me. Let me participate in Your Salvation." Living water. To have hope and know the good cry has been heard. Not to feel ashamed to have emotion in life of struggling to overcome, but to have been washed and replenished and put back on the Way, Truth and Life.

When we have a relationship with The Lord and in His Comfort of Living Water, we are given Comfort, Comforter, Help and Helper. Life is improved from knowing Christ and having a Loving Relationship. Living water within. Will there be other personal connections? Certainly, we all have differing gifts and abilities within the same Holy Spirit for All.

He will tend His flock like a Shepherd;

    He will gather the lambs in His Arms;

He will carry them in His bosom,

    and gently lead those that are with young.

Abba, Father,

In Houston, May 16, 

4 people passed on from the 127 mph clocked in windstorms,

2 people passed on in Louisiana as the storm mitigated to 82 mph into Georgia.

Houston has seen almost 700,000 people without power. My neighbors and I invited our families to stay with us, knowing, from past Hurricanes, better to share. It's probably time to share housing with our

families without power.

We ask Your Willing Blessings. There is always something to pray for. 

And be blessed You have heard us.

For the this and that of turn the next page and season, we ask Your Blessing.

For the Blessing of those we Love gathering. 

Thank You.

And in Jesus Christ to be encouraged to pray more Heaven on earth, 

we are so Blessed to be asked to pray this.

For our Nation - Trusting in You. For the hopes of the people. 

All over the world, asking You.

We pray healing upon ourselves and the people You have given us. 

The end of cancer. 

And Health and Goodness to be with us all the days of our lives.

Our Nation to be Free

and to have their voice.

Bless Israel with Peace.

Help with the Peace, Father, please

in the Name of Jesus.

Help the UN and Europe

to help Ukraine

and Bless Poland for their help.

Prayers for healing in health are being answered.

Dwell in us, Father.

Help the ones we Love to have You dwelling in them.

Help us to Seek You First.

And we will finish well in Jesus Christ.

Praise Your gift of life in Jesus. 

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Indeed, Always Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You Jesus

Psalm 96 ~ Splendor and majesty

 

Psalm 96

Oh sing to the Lord a new song;

sing to the Lord, all the earth!

2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;

tell of his salvation from day to day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples!

4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

he is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,

but the Lord made the heavens.

6 Splendor and majesty are before him;

strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

bring an offering, and come into his courts!

9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;

tremble before him, all the earth!

10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!

Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;

he will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

12 let the field exult, and everything in it!

Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy

13 before the Lord, for he comes,

for he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness,

and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Hebrews 1:3

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature,

and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high

Habakkuk 2:14

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge 

of the glory of the Lord 

as the waters cover the sea.

Abba, Father,

We ask Your Willing Blessings. There is always something to pray for. 

And be blessed You have heard us.

For the this and that of turn the next page and season, we ask Your Blessing.

For the Blessing of those we Love gathering. 

Thank You.

And in Jesus Christ to be encouraged to pray more Heaven on earth, 

we are so Blessed to be asked to pray this.

For our Nation - Trusting in You. For the hopes of the people. 

All over the world, asking You.

We pray healing upon ourselves and the people You have given us. 

The end of cancer. 

And Health and Goodness to be with us all the days of our lives.

In Jesus Christ. Amen.

Whatever trouble comes, hell or high water, we have the Blessing of knowing God is

Sovereign and He will Prevail. Hope with Jesus Christ. 

Let there be more Heaven and less evil for ALL!

Thank You. Jesus.

Our God is working. His Son,

Jesus is working.

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yes, Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You, Jesus

Psalm 97 ~ The Lord Reigns †

Psalm 97

The Lord Reigns

The Lord Reigns, 

Let the earth rejoice;

    Let the many coastlands be glad!

Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him;

    righteousness and justice are the foundation of His Throne.

Fire goes before Him

    and burns up His adversaries all around.

His lightnings light up the world;

    the earth sees and trembles.

The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,

    before the Lord 

of all 

the earth.

The Heavens proclaim His righteousness,

    and all the peoples see His glory.

All worshipers of images are put to shame,

    who make their boast in worthless idols;

    worship Him, all you gods!

Zion hears and is glad,

    and the daughters of Judah rejoice,

    because of your judgments, O Lord.

For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;

    You are exalted far above all gods.

O you who love the Lord, hate evil!

   

 He preserves the lives of His saints

    He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Light is sown for the righteous,

    and joy for the upright in heart.

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

    and give thanks to His Holy Name.

Isaiah 49:10-11

For He who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
And I will make all my mountains a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.

Psalm 11

In the LORD I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
    “Flee like a bird to your mountain"

When Jesus healed the man waiting 38 years beside the Pool of Bethesda, He knew what was what. The man would not be grateful for waiting on God all those years and would turn Jesus into the authorities. 

The Pool of Bethesda

was 225 feet long

and excavations reveal 

it had 3 sets of Steps with vast, landing portions to stand and wade.

The water is from a dam the city of Jerusalem used

from the River Jordan and Wadi Meshushim.

Found in the Bethesda Pool's Plaster

were coins of Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BC)

Bethesda probably corresponds to Beit Khesda

House of Mercy 

Jesus knew when He healed 10 lepers, only 1 would turn back to give thanks. Few of the people Jesus healed would be written into the Gospels.  We assume Simon, who carried the Cross of Jesus, had his sons later convert because the names are correct and mentioned initially. 

Mark 10:48-52

48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.

 But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

And Jesus stopped and said, 

“Call him.” 

And they called the blind man, saying to him, 

“Take heart. Get up; He is calling you.” 

50 And throwing off his cloak, 

he sprang up 

and came to Jesus. 

51 And Jesus said to him, 

“What do you want me to do for you?” 

And the blind man said to him, 

“Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 

52 And Jesus said to him, 

“Go your way; your faith has made you well.” 

And immediately he recovered his sight and followed Him on the way. 

With all the lack of apparent heart and thanksgiving, Jesus continued to walk and be grace upon grace. Bringing us not only the rare occasion of thanksgiving, but the power of prayer. Jesus did not need to be told, He had gone to Bethesda, with the intent to heal the man on the Sabbath.  Jesus could see the man was blind. And yet, Jesus wanted to be asked.

If we pray for people we see in distress or with illness, even people we happen to run into several times, and we ask God, is this redundant?  Why ask if God already knows?  The Lord God, Almighty, wants us to acknowledge He is God. He is!

Even when people are told their faith made the Hand of God move, we know God is the Almighty.  It is He Who has made us, not we ourselves. Jesus wants to see Luke 7, the Centurion who wanted his friend to be made whole, holy, in Jesus Christ.

When we pray for someone, we have tender hearts, acknowledging the Will of God to be accomplished.  And the Lord loves Love. Our leap into Light and God. 

Psalm 19 ~ the heavens declare the glory of God

Our skies have not, exactly, fully been something to rejoice always in Houston during May.  

We have the opportunity to remember Jesus and say, "Come hell or high water, me, and my house will serve the Lord."  Knowing Jesus had days that come, and should have turned out far better for the Love and Mercy of Jesus wanting to save the world. 

1 Peter 3:12

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive 

to their prayer, 

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

 Psalm 145:19

He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; 

He hears their cry and saves them

 Psalm 85:9

Surely His salvation is near those who fear Him, 

that His glory may dwell in our land.

2 Timothy 3:11

Persecutions, sufferings--what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. 

Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.

John 19:33

But when they came to Jesus and found that He was already dead, 

they did not break his legs.

Deuteronomy 4:7

What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them 

The Way the LORD our God 

is near us whenever we pray to Him 

John 19:35

He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, 

and he knows that he is telling the truth

—that you also may believe.

John 12:46

I have come into the world as a Light, 
so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness.

Meshushim Stream is from the Golan Heights

Abba, Father God,

Help our prayers be fruitful. 

Let our conversation about joy, need, praise. 

Let it be humble, let it be uplifting. 

Thank you, Father, You incline your ear whenever we call upon You. 

Heal the hurting, uplift the families. 

Especially in High Water.

Send Your vast blessings. Father God, 

You are truly are as vast as the Universe itself and as gentle as a breeze. 

Speak the Word, Father God, and we know Your healing. 

Help our Nation

to be Free

and to have their voice.

Bless Israel with Peace.

Help with the Peace, Father, please

in the Name of Jesus.

Help the UN and Europe

to help Ukraine

and Bless Poland for their help.

Prayers for healing in health are being answered.

Dwell in us, Father.

Help the ones we Love to have You dwelling in them.

Help us to Seek You First.

And we will finish well in Jesus Christ.

Praise Your gift of life in Jesus. 

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

YES Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You Jesus