Numbers 17 ~ to be kept as a sign

2/28/10

Numbers 17

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers' house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. Write each man's name on his staff, 3 and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers' house. 4 Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. 5 And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.” 6 Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And all their chiefs gave him staffs, one for each chief, according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. And the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. 7 And Moses deposited the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the testimony.

8 On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. 9 Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the people of Israel. And they looked, and each man took his staff. 10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.” 11 Thus did Moses; as the Lord commanded him, so he did.

12 And the people of Israel said to Moses, “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. 13 Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, shall die. Are we all to perish?”

Millennial Generation (18-29) young adults do not love the Church, but love the Lord. Numbers 17 would indicate, it's best to stay out of the herd. They just complain and jump to conclusions. The Children of Israel were constantly in knots. They always were in need of something.

The Lord is not telling the Children of Israel to go their own way, to make camp on their own.

The people of God cry out for gifts of the Lord to meet immediate need, yet in all of the books of the Bible, when Father God gives a miracle - a gift - awe of the Lord, need for more instruction occurs. Isaiah saw only the hem of the Lord fit in the Temple. Isaiah realized he was unclean compared to the Lord. Peter, when first meeting Jesus, asked to be left alone because he was just a man.

We seem to be much more comfortable with the fruit of the Spirit, instead of a definite sign of God. Spiritual fruit occurs over a season of time:

Galatians 5:22,23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Aaron could have been given just an Almond branch. Aaron was given a gift, God was with them all - in every seasons. The bud, the blossom, the fruit. God was involved with Moses, Aaron, and the needs of the people. The steadfast, enduring love of God for the entire community - as a Church community, not each person to interpret the signs of God for themselves.

Father God, we pray for the Churches believing in Your son, Jesus Christ. We pray for Your Word to be taught and believed with truthful, tender love. We pray for Your Church to reach out to all your children and to become a Church family. We pray for this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

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2 Chronicles 30 ~ with gladness

Passover in Israel - 50,000 people attend at the Western Wall

2 Chronicles 30

1 Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. 2 For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover in the second month— 3 for they could not keep it at that time because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem— 4 and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. 5 So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. 6 So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the Lord God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. 8 Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. 9 For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”

10 So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. 11 However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord.

13 And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great assembly. 14 They set to work and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away and threw into the Kidron Valley. 15 And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. 16 They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the Lord.

 18 For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than as prescribed. 

For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone 19 who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary's rules of cleanness.” [not according to the cleanness of holiness]  

20 And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. 21 And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with all their might [with instruments of might] to the Lord.  

22 And Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the Lord. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

23 Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests consecrated themselves in great numbers.

 25 The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven.

Passover in the country of Israel, in Jerusalem, at the Wailing Wall.


Deuteronomy 6:4-6
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

Imagine your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents being told the country of Israel was to be reformed after World War II. They would be incredulous. We live in an amazing time.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.

Even Israel has been reformed from exiles flung all around the world before.

We are told in Jesus Christ we are grafted into God's family by adoption. Israel fought the countries surrounding them for generations:



Moab – child of Lot's daughter

Edom - Essau - Jacob's brother who gave up his blessing for red stew.

Philistia – Philistines - Canaan - Noah's son

Cush - Babylon - Noah's son

Perhaps if we were to honor and love the Lord more, we would have more of the peace Hezekiah miraculously found even as the Assyrian Empire chose not to enter into Judea. Peace in the face of danger.

I had no idea so much Christian art was in the Capital Building. Nor did I know that the building was used for Church services for over 100 years.   Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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2 Kings 22 ~ the king commanded

Model of the Temple Solomon Built - by Alec Gerrard

Model of steps to the Temple - Alec Gerrard

2 Kings 22

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1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the Lord, saying, 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money that has been brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people. 5 And let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the Lord, repairing the house 6 (that is, to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons), and let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house. 7 But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly.”

8 And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 9 And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.

11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. 12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, 13 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter), and they talked with her. 15 And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. 18 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, 19 because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.’” And they brought back word to the king.

There is a journey we walk in our Spiritual life. The more we travel with the Lord, the more we learn. Josiah wants the Temple of the Lord to be in good repair. He has done well for the Lord. Josiah is like the servant of the master with talents; Josiah has been trusted with much and more will be given to him. The Word of the Lord will be discovered.

Hilkiah, the high priest, discovers the book of the law, this is assumed to be the Book of Deuteronomy. Hilkiah has trusted the men repairing the Temple. The Lord honors men of integrity and honesty.

For so long the Lord has been placed behind a curtain in the Holy of Holies. Josiah hearing the truth is immediately convicted God is the Most High God and wants to honor Him. Josiah is honored by the Lord for being repentant.

There is another Scripture that relates to someone looking to honor the Temple of God with his trust, who received great physical and spiritual reward:

Acts 3:1-16

1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

The man at the Beautiful Gate was placed at this entrance to the Temple because he expected to receive (alms) from God and God's people. Just as we go to Church to honor the Lord on Sunday. Instead of the usual blessing, the man encountered much more. Walking and leaping, his life forever changed, he praised God.

In the same way, Josiah and the people of God were blessed as they honored God. In the same way we are blessed with one touch of God's favor. When we look expecting to receive, when the favor of God is upon us....

Numbers 6:24-27

24 "The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

27 “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

Abba, we ask You to strengthen us each day that we may walk in the plans You have for us. All honor and glory to You, Father. In the highest name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Psalm 73 ~ All day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning

Psalm 73

Psalm of Asaph.
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1 Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them. [the waters of a full cup are drained by them]

11 And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.

18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20 Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.

23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength [rock] of my heart and my portion forever.

27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.

It's good to be King. One wouldn't be weary with jealousy. No, this Psalm isn't written by David or Solomon. This is Asaph, a friend of David's appointed to many tasks within his government.

Chronicles 16:7
Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the LORD by Asaph and his brothers.

Chronicles 16:37
So David left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD to minister regularly before the ark as each day required

1 Chronicles 26:1
As for the divisions of the gatekeepers: of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph.


Asaph knows envy gives strife daylong and it is wearisome. Bitterness is hard work. A bitter heart causes people to be brutal and unkind. He's honest - admitting these things.

The media reports we are increasingly becoming a two class economy. Bill Gates writes the largest problem this country faces (not unemployment) are college costs will cause us to become an indentured society to debt - he suggests if we are Republican or Democrat we find a solution to our country's need for education without financial ruin. Why aren't we addressing it - embarrassment to admit need at a personal level. Unless in a crowded auditorium of parents and students seeking financial aid. In my area - we are called a bubble for being a place for safety and prosperity - our High School college placement Counselor said in our affluent area, children will take upon themselves an average debt of $110,000 in 2007 ($600 per month for 30 years) for their own education. It makes sense - very few people have a small house just given to them. (I wonder about households with two people getting married with this type of debt - all of this before a mortgage.)

I graduated from Texas A&M University in 4.5 years. The total cost to my family was $12,500. That doesn't quite pay for a semester 25 years later. Why the increase? We were told college costs would rise like this 20 years ago - the government quit subsidizing college costs. Not subsidizing anything else, just college costs. Who benefits from the debt now being racked up for college costs? This is the first year college debt is greater than all the credit card debt. Where are we headed?

The United States now ranks 12th among the 36 developed countries in comparing college completion rates, according to a recent New York Times article, “Once a Leader, U.S. Lags in College Degrees,” which reports on the College Board's current findings. Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board stated, “The growing education deficit is no less a threat to our nation's long-term well-being than the current fiscal crisis.”

According to the Times: “While almost 70 percent of high school graduates in the United States enroll in college within two years of graduating, only about 57 percent of students who enroll in a bachelor's degree program graduate within six years, and fewer than 25 percent of students who begin at a community college graduate with an associate's degree within three years.”

Society, movies, our parents teach us to live as if the glass is Fullllll.

How does Asaph deal with these feelings? Gratitude. He will not allow himself to stay in bitterness. He will be near God. What are things God requires of us? Honesty. Asaph is honest in this Psalm. He will not pretend to be what he is not. In Christ Jesus, we have the honesty and integrity to step out behind our masks and give our troubles to the Lord. In His time, in His wisdom, God helps us in this life and the next.

Bitterness and fake full glass mentality are the alternative, leading to the loss of our joy and the fulfilling worship of God. If we are centered on self, we cannot experience the joy in the Lord.

Asaph instead chooses to be near to the Lord.

Father God, You are the rock higher than we are. Help us draw near to You when we feel bitterness or envy. Let us remember again, the joy of knowing how well You understand and know us as we really are. Help us feel safe in the shelter of Your arms knowing You are the God Almighty. Let us rejoice in Your plans for our lives and hope in You. We ask You for a solution, in Your wisdom, to the ever increasing cost of education and ask a blessing upon the leaders of government. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.


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Ezekiel 9 ~ He said

Arch of Titus, in Rome, depicting the destruction of Jerusalem 70 A.D., the only people not killed were brought to Rome as slaves. These are the Tools of the Temple, minus the Ark of the Covenant - disappeared in 2 Maccabees 2:4-8 as Jeremiah had it hidden.

Ezekiel 9 ~ (New International Version)

Audio Link to Ezekiel 9

¹ Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, "Bring the guards of the city here, each with a weapon in his hand." ² And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³ Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the LORD called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side ⁴ and said to him, "Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it."

⁵ As I listened, he said to the others, "Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. ⁶ Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple.

⁷ Then he said to them, "Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!" So they went out and began killing throughout the city. ⁸ While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell facedown, crying out, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?"

⁹ He answered me, "The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice. They say, 'The LORD has forsaken the land; the LORD does not see.' ¹⁰ So I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done."

¹¹ Then the man in linen with the writing kit at his side brought back word, saying, "I have done as you commanded."

When we read Isaiah, it is difficult to tell if Isaiah speaks to past, present or future. Ezekiel has the same Spirit quality.

In 3 A.D., when we look at the guards speaking to the man with the writing kit, aren't we reminded of Pontius Pilate proclaiming in 3 languages "This is the King of the Jews". Not only did Pilate write it, Pilate commanded the guards to watch over His tomb. Pilate eventually faced losing his military career for sending his troops to attack & kill citizens of Judea. Sometimes his troops were hidden among the crowds for better crowd penetration - once for using Temple money to build a Roman aqueduct. In 70 A.D., when Jesus would have died a natural and timely death, Jerusalem was obliterated by Titus' troops.

In 581 B.C., Priest turned Prophet, Ezekiel had already been taken to Babylon, it looked as if Nebuchadnezzar would continue to use the corrupt Jerusalem, Kingdom of Judah as his puppet state for a long time. No one was expecting Nebuchadnezzar to raze the Kingdom & the First Temple - the one Solomon built.

When we see this passage as the destruction of the First Temple, the people who remained after the destruction of the 1st Temple were the Samaritans. The despised Samaritans. The ones Jesus declared Himself first to in John 4. The remaining people did not have a copy of the Scriptures, but until the "remnant" returned from Babylon, the Samaritans, the unclean (in the eyes of man) continued to worship on the ruins of the Temple Mount and have prayer, worship and sacrifice. What man saw as unclean, the Lord saw as compassionate! The Samaritans had DNA studies done on them in the 1960s linking them to the tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Levi.

Perhaps when the Samaritans were removed (other people without their lineage were removed as well) by the returning remnant from Babylon, this is why 2 Maccabees 2:4-8 wasn't fulfilled yet. Or perhaps God didn't want His Temple to hold the Ark until Jesus Christ was being welcomed into it.

The Lord described the condition of the remnant, struggling to worship God. Something we can relate to in the New Testament.

1 Corinthians 1:
⁷ Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.

8 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

¹⁸For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written:
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

²⁰Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²²Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

²⁶Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

Psalm 19:14

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.


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Luke 4 ~ with authority and power He gives orders

Luke 4

Audio Link to Luke 4

¹ Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, ² where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

³ The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."

⁴ Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.' [Deut. 8:3 ]"

⁵ The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶ And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. ⁷ So if you worship me, it will all be yours."

⁸ Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only. ^[Deut. 6:13^]""

⁹ The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. ¹⁰ For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
¹¹ they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' [Psalm 91:11,12]"

¹² Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' [Deut. 6:16]"

¹³ When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

¹⁴ Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. ¹⁵ He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

¹⁶ He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. ¹⁷ The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
¹⁸ "The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." ^[Isaiah 61:1,2^]"

²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, ²¹ and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

²² All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked.

²³ Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.' "

²⁴ "I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown. ²⁵ I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. ²⁶ Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. ²⁷ And there were many in Israel with leprosy [The Greek word was used for various diseases affecting the skin—not necessarily leprosy.^]" in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian."

²⁸ All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. ²⁹ They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. ³⁰ But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

³¹ Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. ³² They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.

³³ In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil [unclean] spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, ³⁴ "Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"

³⁵ "Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

³⁶ All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" ³⁷ And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

³⁸ Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. ³⁹ So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

⁴⁰ When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. ⁴¹ Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ. [Messiah]

⁴² At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. ⁴³ But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." ⁴⁴ And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea. [the land of the Jews; or Galilee]

In the 4th chapter of Luke, Luke is still introducing us to Jesus. If you are familiar with the Gospels, it sounds a little funny. Let's see how the chapter starts out, the description of Jesus being tempted by Satan. Not your typical method of evangelism. I once had an evangelist come to my door and start out his prepared speech with Hell. I cannot tell you how fast I exited. In evangelism, it is a method that should be stamped with the word - Fail.

Let's take a second and think about evangelism. The lost and the wondering, the injured and the spiritually impoverished are not going to Church. They are still unreached. And... thinking about the lessons I learned from a very gentle, successful Priest bringing the message of Jesus' love and hope - God gives us opportunities to introduce Jesus.

Why would the Gospels of Jesus Christ tell us about the devil... it's obvious mankind understood 2,000 years ago and today - there is a force of evil at work in the world. People still really do believe it - this why there are horror movies. Just as there are horror movies - - there are people who discuss them. They want to discuss them to have a venue to talk about their own spiritual issues.

What types of spiritual questions will be asked? The ones God wanted to tell us about. The ones people will ask you about if you are familiar with the Scriptures. The ones that plant a seed to be thought about - the conversations you are gentle with and you pray during and after.

What Luke 4 Teaches Us

There is a devil, he tempts everyone. There are evil spirits and they can be found in very unlikely places. The darkness pretends to not be subject to God and pretends not to recognize God.

Notice, also, Luke doesn't get busy explaining where the devil came from. The Christian witness moves away from minute discussions of evil. If they are interested in the details of the devil biblically, tell them, gently and kindly to look them up in the Scriptures.

God set the boundaries, the devil tells Jesus his boundaries have been given to him. The temptations are sometimes not effective at all, evil is not always the sinister genius we tend to think of. Darkness sometimes tries to expose good to add confusion.

Another common misconception about the Scriptures is that in the "dark ages" everyone believed evil spirits caused illness. Jesus didn't believe Peter's (Simon) mother had a demon with fever. Jesus rebuked the illness - i.e. the cells.

Another mistake is people believe the devil is the power today because miracles have died off. No, Jesus is telling us even biblically, miracles occur when God intends them. Today as well.

Yes, you may have the opportunity to bring Jesus up in this fashion, but remember what Luke progresses on to:

¹⁸ "The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

The compassion of Jesus is the real message. Just as Jesus did, this is what we proclaim. Very, very few people are against the real hope, the real love Jesus proclaimed, yet there are a lot of people who don't know of Him.

Father God, You are Love. The Scriptures tell us so. We give Your thanks for Your love & the opportunity to give Jesus to others. In the highest name You've given us. Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.



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Luke 15:1-10 ~ Rejoice

Shepherd, Beautiful Valley by Thomas Kinkade

Luke 15:1-10 (NRSV)

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."

So he told them this parable: "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

"Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

This is the Shepherd who finds the lost sheep. Rejoice.

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Luke 14:1-6 ~ which of you

Luke 14:1-6

1 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6 And they could not reply to these things.

~ Jesus responded

When we really expect the Holy Spirit to show up, there is great joy and expectation. Our Lead Pastor was a graduate law school student & his priest invited the congregation to come for a Wednesday Prayer Service, the Priest said he'd been praying about the service and felt the Holy Spirit nudge him to have the Wednesday Prayer Service. The Priest said he hoped some people would attend. Clark, our Pastor, law student at the time, felt nudged himself & he showed up. When Clark arrived, he'd expected a small service and 500 attended. Everyone was surprised.

Clark said everyone felt very excited and people were literally looking around. The Priest prayed for people for different needs and everyone could tell prayers were being answered. It was exciting and low key. 500 people in prayer, the one person being prayed for stepped into the main aisle and everyone prayed for that one person, one at a time.

Several Wednesdays went by and still 500 people came for a Wednesday Prayer Service. About the third Wednesday service, a 2 year old boy was presented for prayer. One leg was significantly shorter than the other leg, by 4 or 5 inches, the boy had been born that way. The Priest prayed for the boy and carried him up and down the aisle for all the praying congregation to be able to see the toddler boy. He explained the leg was so different the boy wasn't learning to walk well and boy's mother feared for the baby's future life. The mother stood at the aisle and wept.

The congregation was pleased to pray for the toddler boy. It was the first Wednesday the congregation felt their prayer had not been answered. People were disappointed and left pretty quietly.

The next Wednesday, Clark guessed wouldn't be so crowded. But it was. Several new people, several new prayers, the air of expectancy for the Holy Spirit to be in the church was high. Prayers were joyfully given and received. The boy's mother presented her son for his leg to be healed. The Priest walked him up and down the aisle and showed the congregation and beseechingly asked the Lord to heal the baby boy. It was fervent prayer. An answer was not seen.

Several more Wednesday passed; still about 500 people and expectation for the Lord God Almighty to reach out to all of them in love. They had experienced His presence, received a blessing and all of them wanted the toddler boy to have normal legs. The whole congregation wanted so much for Father God to let this innocent baby experience a normal life, it was one desire.

That Wednesday, Clark Lowenfield and 500 others saw a miracle. The toddler's leg grew inches in front of all of them. The love and power of God healed. Both legs were the same. A significant change took place, all at once, after several weeks of prayer. Another change took place, too, Clark decided, and knew, the only thing to do was to quit law school and serve God. Any other effort was wasting time.


Today, let's remember we have a Living God filled with mercy.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

¹⁶Rejoice evermore.

¹⁷Pray without ceasing.

¹⁸In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

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1 Timothy 1:1-11 ~ Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope

Jesus Christ Our Lord, as painted by James Jacques Joseph Tissot (15 October 1836 – 8 August 1902) was a French painter who spent years in Palestine painting over 700 watercolors of Jesus. His paintings are known for detail and the emotion Jesus would have given. This looks to me to be the sincerity Jesus had for people and the Words He gave them.


1 Timothy 1:1-11 ~ (American King James Version)


1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Savior, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;

2 To Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

3 As I sought you to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that you might charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. 5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: 6 From which some having swerved have turned aside to vain jangling; 7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; 9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for murderers, 10 For fornicators, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for enslavers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; 11 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.


Because God the Father loves you, Jesus Christ is your hope. His gospel is your trust. When we look for the sincerity of Jesus, we can follow some pretty basic things in the teachings we receive.

Luke 4:12
And Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"


Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?


2 Corinthians 13:11
Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

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Matthew 6:26 ~ your Father feeds them

7/3/2009

For the loved pets, we wish to remember, gather with our other treasure in heaven.

For Spenser, who never traveled to the beach, but is missed. Age 13, when he ran to the Lord.

Do Pets Go To Heaven? Do Animals Go to Heaven?

Scriptures never say heaven is only for humans.

Revelation 5:13
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!"

God’s covenant with Noah included both people and animals (Genesis 9:9-11). However, that covenant was not one of eternal life, but that He would not again destroy the earth with a flood.

The fourth commandment as recorded in Deuteronomy 5:12-15 includes a Sabbath rest for animals as well as people. Again, it reveals some equality between people and animals, but makes no statement regarding animals going to heaven

Psalm 148:5-6
Let everything he has made give praise to him. For he issues his command, and they came into being; he established them forever and forever. His orders will never be revoked.

Animals and man will be in harmony Isaiah 11:1-9.

Isaiah 11
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of power,

the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -
3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,

or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,

with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;

with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt

and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

6 The wolf will live with the lamb,

the leopard will lie down with the goat,

the calf and the lion and the yearling together;

and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,

their young will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,

and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy

on all my holy mountain,

for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD

as the waters cover the sea

Jesus said:

Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Matthew 10:29
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.

The passage in Romans 8:18-25 certainly does include animals as part of “the creation.”

Elijah was picked up from heaven by horses, this was told to Elijah before it occurred and Elisha saw it happen. The Lord could have sent anything to convey Elijah to heaven, but the horses came from heaven and the Lord sent them.

2 Kings 2:
11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!"

The four winds sent from heaven are on horses. The four winds are written of in Daniel, Zechariah and Revelations 7.

Zechariah 6:
2 The first chariot had red horses, the second black, 3 the third white, and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful. 4 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, "What are these, my lord?"
5 The angel answered me, "These are the four spirits of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world.


A good man cares for his animals
No one but Jesus can be called good.

Proverbs 12:10
A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal,
But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.

Luke 18:18-19
18 A ruler questioned Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
19 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

1 Corinthians 9:9, Deuteronomy 25:4

For it is written in the Law of Moses,"You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” God is concerned about oxen, isn't He; He's not too busy.

We are not told implicitly, but heaven has been told to us in verses in the bible and the verses seem to hold God’s love spreading to animals in His eternal kingdom.

Father God, You sent horses from heaven to earth. We hope you would gather our loved animals into Your kingdom. Your love never fails. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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