Psalm 13 ~ I have trusted

Psalm 13

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How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

A Psalm of David. David doesn't just record the history of the Scriptures or the music, the Psalms record the nature of God. Not just people observing the attributes of the Lord; people who pray and complain to the Most High. A record of hope placed in the hands of Abba.

Today I had the good fortune to go into the city with my Church group who work on the needlepoint kneelers - we are the ladies in the Church who like to work with our hands. We went to see art created by women for one of the larger city Churches.

Our time together today - it was the Good News:

Is there a website for a place to record the blessings of life? There are websites to complain.....

One of the ladies told about being invited to a wedding for a woman who has donated her time helping others put their longed-to-publish manuscripts in the proper format. The bride is 40, scholarly, a published writer, very Christian and has never worried much about romance. Last year, she met the love of her life. It was a first wedding for both bride and groom in their 40s. My friend wept with joy to see her friend wear a crown on her head, in her beautiful, white wedding gown. She is a child of the King. The groom was a one of the most joyful ever seen. If you've read the news, you know a woman over the age of 30 has a greater chance of being struck by lightning than married. Yet this won't be in the papers.

More good news, another life blessing - a minister's wife without life insurance was found to have a malignant, aggressive cancer. People rushed to find, & found, where she could be treated in the public system, for people without insurance. She received excellent care. The nurses who were Christian always went out of their way for her. She has 16 friends, she calls her "Sweet 16". Each day one of the group would bring her a card, or a Starbucks coffee & a visit, a Luby's card for her husband, food for him honoring his diabetic diet, but each day one of the friends filled a basket on her back porch for a good part of that year. She is in remission, waiting to hear she is completely healed. To hear her tell about her cancer, what she says instead is the outpouring of love and care.


Romans 12:10
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

We all have times in our lives where we are shaken. Times when we are lonely. In the Lord, in His good time, we are healed.

Psalm 37:23-24
The steps of a man are established by the Lord,when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand

Psalm 34:18
Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:15
The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.

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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Psalm 68:1-6 ~ God shall arise

Psalm 68:1-6

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1 God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
as wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
3 But the righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!

4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the Lord;
exult before him!
5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6 God settles the solitary in a home;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

Let God Arise

Semeion, a “sign”, i.e., an evidence of a divine commission; an attestation of a divine message; a token of the presence and working of God; the seal of a higher power.

Matthew 12:39
But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

Signs of healing, redemption, faith, believers coming to Jesus. Men who walked away from God's call to pursue their own free will, turn to doing the will of God.

Terata, “wonders;” wonder-causing events; portents; producing astonishment in the beholder

Exodus 11:9
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt."

Exodus 15:11
"Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?Who is like you, majestic in holiness,awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

Psalm 136:4
to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever

Acts 16:25-27
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, ²⁶and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened

Dunameis, “might works;” works of superhuman power

2 Kings 4:1-7

¹ Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves." ²And Elisha said to her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?" And she said, "Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil." ³Then he said, "Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. ⁴Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside." ⁵ So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. ⁶When the vessels were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel." And he said to her, "There is not another." Then the oil stopped flowing. ⁷She came and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest."


Erga, “works;” the works of Him who is “wonderful in working”

2 Kings 4:8-44

⁸ One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. ⁹And she said to her husband, "Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. ¹⁰Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there."

¹¹One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there. ¹²And he said to Gehazi his servant, "Call this Shunammite." When he had called her, she stood before him. ¹³And he said to him, "Say now to her, 'See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?'" She answered, "I dwell among my own people." ¹⁴And he said, "What then is to be done for her?" Gehazi answered, "Well, she has no son, and her husband is old." ¹⁵He said, "Call her." And when he had called her, she stood in the doorway. ¹⁶And he said, "At this season, about this time next year, you shall embrace a son." And she said, "No, my lord, O man of God; do not lie to your servant." ¹⁷But the woman conceived, and she bore a son about that time the following spring, as Elisha had said to her.

¹⁸When the child had grown, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. ¹⁹And he said to his father, "Oh,my head, my head!" The father said to his servant, "Carry him to his mother." ²⁰And when he had lifted him and brought him to his mother, the child sat on her lap till noon, and then he died. ²¹And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door behind him and went out. ²²Then she called to her husband and said, "Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may quickly go to the man of God and come back again." ²³And he said, "Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath." She said, "All is well." ²⁴Then she saddled the donkey, and she said to her servant, "Urge the animal on; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you." ²⁵So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.

When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant, "Look, there is the Shunammite. ²⁶Run at once to meet her and say to her, 'Is all well with you? Is all well with your husband? Is all well with the child?'" And she answered, "All is well." ²⁷And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came to push her away. But the man of God said, "Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me." ²⁸Then she said, "Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, 'Do not deceive me?'" ²⁹He said to Gehazi, "Tie up your garment and take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not reply. And lay my staff on the face of the child." ³⁰Then the mother of the child said, "As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So he arose and followed her. ³¹Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life. Therefore he returned to meet him and told him, "The child has not awakened."

³²When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. ³³So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the LORD. ³⁴Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. ³⁵Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up and stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. ³⁶Then he summoned Gehazi and said, "Call this Shunammite." So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, "Pick up your son." ³⁷She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.

³⁸And Elisha came again to Gilgal when there was a famine in the land. And as the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he said to his servant, "Set on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets." ³⁹One of them went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and cut them up into the pot of stew, not knowing what they were. ⁴⁰And they poured out some for the men to eat. But while they were eating of the stew, they cried out, "O man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it. ⁴¹He said, "Then bring flour." And he threw it into the pot and said, "Pour some out for the men, that they may eat." And there was no harm in the pot.

⁴²A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, "Give to the men, that they may eat." ⁴³But his servant said, "How can I set this before a hundred men?" So he repeated, "Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and have some left.'" ⁴⁴So he set it before them. And they ate and had some left, according to the word of the LORD.

The 4th Chapter of Kings is one of parts of the Bible that cause the righteous to be glad and sing praises to His name.


Chris Tomlin sings Let God Arise, choreography by T1R9A6C3Y




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Mark 16 ~ He appeared

8/31/10

The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulcher on the Morning of the Resurrection, by Eugene Burnand, c. 1898

Mark 16

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.


9 Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.


12 After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

14 Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.


Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

The fear of most things makes most people mostly stay home. Even just what is uncomfortable causes most people to avoid it. I had a friend in college, Suzanne, she could gather a crowd and make fun happen. She could get people to drive across the state of Texas to bring trucks and equipment so all the people she could gather from our dorm would have a day at Lake Somerville. One day she asked me to come to her dorm room at 2:00 on a Friday and not mention it to anyone. When I arrived she was so embarrassed and began to tell me she is intelligent. I agreed. She said she wanted to go to church, but when people talked they seemed to know all of it. What? The people they talk about. I was puzzled. Suzanne explained some more. I was still puzzled. Finally I had some comprehension. You mean "Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?" Right!

How difficult it is to come to Church and not know what is going on. How many people come to Church & leave because it is uncomfortable? Watching the Church Lady on Saturday Night Live is enough to cause anyone to bolt.

What about the phrase "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" ... it sounds medieval.

The first day of the New Covenant - when God decided to create Heaven and abolish death by giving us His Son, Jesus - no one was feeling peaceful. Easter Sunday had a tremendous amount of fear. All of the Saints were acting very humanly. They were hiding, filled with trembling & astonishment. The embalming of Jesus was left to the women (the disciples were so much in hiding they didn't know the body of Jesus already has 75 pounds of spices) because the men were in fear of their lives. None of the children of God had it remotely figured out.

This first day they had more disbelief than hope. And God didn't take the hope from them or punish them for their less than saintly reactions. They didn't know how to react.

What happened next is known throughout the world. This is the fear of the Lord, it is only the beginning of the wisdom. They did recover from their fear. Not because they became more saintly, but through the gift of God. With their belief, with their courage, with the overwhelming help of God's Spirit, Jesus Christ changed the heavens and the earth.

1 Thessalonians 5:23
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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John 1:1-14,17,29-35 ~ the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us

12/23/09

As the Light Shines, painted by Peter Pettegrew

The Church of the Nativity celebrates Christmas Day in Bethlehem - Link


John 1:1-14,17,29-35 ~ (Today's New International Version)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."

32 Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God's Chosen One."

35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"


This is is my favorite chapter of the Bible, John 1. The gospels written by Mark and John are sometimes compared, without kindness, to the narrative of Jesus Christ's birth written beautifully in Luke and Matthew. But actually Mark speaks of a wilderness wanting to be tamed and John speaks of light coming out of darkness. Isn't this the deepest desire for Jesus Christ?

As we move into our preparations for All Saints, Advent and Christmas it can bring forth all of our deepest longings. Matthew begins with an engagement, the most important choice in life. Luke begins with a barren priest. God addresses all of these concerns by reaching out to hear, to heal, to love and to care. For all of our seasons in life, God is part of them. Just as God watched, with love, each day of Jesus' life on earth, the Light continues to shine for us.

The Peace of God always be with you.

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