Psalm 33 ~ He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast Love of the Lord.

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Psalm 33
רַנְּנוּ צַדִּיקִים, בַּיהוָה;    לַיְשָׁרִים, נָאוָה תְהִלָּה


English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
he puts the deeps in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
16 The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.

18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.


Today, listening to the Scriptures is a good thing. Caroline Holland in Notebooks of a Spinster Lady, 1919. Holland attests Queen Victoria said, "We are not amused."  And of course, Queen Victoria was talking to some lout who had offended all the ladies at the Court. She actually was a better sort than we give her credit for being.

Listening to the Scripture today gives us a different feeling. A collective feeling. People joined together to praise Him. 

And of course the LORD is way above us in all respects. So, what would the Big Bang have sounded like. Perhaps it is where the idea of Thor's hammer comes from. Now is it sacrilegious to think of a lesser god? No. The Scripture refers to sons from heaven having children with the sons of men. So many wonders and mysteries. Powers and principalities. Wonder stretches us. As we stay rooted and grounded in God, soaking in the love of Jesus Christ the LORD.

As I listened to the Psalm today, it reminded me of the Big Bang Theory. As a 4-ish year old child, I used to love the cadence of words. And I used to repeat them, savoring the sound. Until. One Day. The word DON"T absolutely exploded within me as violently as an atomic bomb, not even leaving a scorch mark. And it followed with a very gentle. My Child. And boy howdy, never again did I repeat words. 


I believe this is what the Big Bang sounded like. Different from Elijah's still, quiet voice. Yet the same. My Child. Except perhaps, except, for the Author, the words would be in small letters. However. It was. Comfort.  And where was I standing? In our garage and with bare, summer time, gritty feet. My next thought, as I reached for the garage door handle to the house, was we'd have fun tonight; my godparents were coming over, Bill and Jim with them. But over the next few days, I thought of it -like while eating ice cream. Not a care in the world. I never even felt the need to tell anyone. Huh. It was pretty comfortable. And maybe the LORD wanted me to be interested in all His words and not just getting stuck on one. At the time, I didn't even put thought to it being God. We didn't go to Church much.


What would we, together, compare this to? This memory from 4 decades ago. It would be similar to Exodus 19. What would the Children of Israel have that would have been louder than a trumpet? Not even a gun. They make a difference between the noise and lightning. We might compare the noise to something like a terrific explosion. God told Moses not to let the people through and not to go up the mountain. Instead.

Exodus 20:18 

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance.

Exodus 20:19 

and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."

Remember, with me. This was before God decided to dwell among us. And we'd say, but God is omnipotent. God longs for us. To Love Him. Yet. He Loves us first. And always best.

1 Kings 19:12

And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Let us stand in the gap with Elijah. The gap that is filled by the prayers, the Love and the mediation in Jesus' sacrifice. And say silently or a loud.

Psalm 95:1-7

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.


 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is Good,
     for His steadfast Love endures Forever.
 Give thanks to the God of gods,
    for His steadfast Love endures Forever.
 Give Thanks to the Lord of lords,
    for His steadfast Love endures Forever!


Blessed are You, LORD GOD. Father and God Almighty. Sharing Your Love with the Generations. In Jesus Christ, Your Son. Our LORD. Amen.


Forever and ever. Aaaaaaaaaaaameeeeeeeeeeen.


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Matthew 12:1-8 ~ what David did

Matthew 12:1-8

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. ² But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” ³ He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: ⁴ how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? ⁵ Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? ⁶ I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. ⁷ And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸ For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

(Wonders and symbols. Like the shape of heart. For many years people thought, maybe until Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simon's dissections this was the shape of a human heart. And now we know it is the shape of a pig heart. And we've known it collectively for about 700 years. And yet it has Such Appeal. What if we are responding in wonder to the shape of our souls? We cannot know this. But our soul is all we have that we carry into eternity. And even to believe in eternity we have to Believe in Jesus Christ. )

God tells us something in Matthew 12 about the Grace of God. David built Israel up. Yet God placed David in Bethlehem to grow up quietly. The youngest of 8 sons, not even called when Samuel showed up to and asked to see all of the children. David relied upon the LORD to be merciful to him and he relied upon HIM best in need. 

Ephesians 6:4
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” 

David trusted God when trouble arrived. He trusted the LORD was not merely provoking him.  Aaron's sons died when they did not sacrifice to the Lord correctly. David trusted God. And God gave him leeway.  Why? It was Love. 

Yet when God did punish David, it was for acting without Love. 

Micah 7

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
from the days of old.

What was David - the builder of his relationship with God.  He built with so much trust. He built himself. His father's family. His city. His nation. And sacrificed his family. Because he was flawed. Yet God redeemed that.

Titus 1:1-15
To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.

Titus 1:7-9
For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Romans 3:22-29
The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

And how shall we know.

Micah 6:8

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God. 

John 15:22
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you

 




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Psalm 89:1-18 ~ For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?

Jericho, once a “Biblical problem” a seeming disagreement between archaeology and the Bible. However, now we know the archaeological evidence supports the historical accuracy of the Biblical account in every detail.

Psalm 89:1-18

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio

A Maskil  ^{[musical, liturgical term]} of Ethan the Ezrahite.

 I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever;

with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.

2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever;

in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”

3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;

I have sworn to David my servant:

4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever,

and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah

5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,

your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!

6 For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?

Who among the heavenly beings ^{[the sons of God or the sons of might]}      

is like the Lord,

7 a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,

and awesome above all who are around him?

8 O Lord God of hosts,

who is mighty as you are, O Lord,

with your faithfulness all around you?

9 You rule the raging of the sea;

when its waves rise, you still them.

10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass;

you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.

11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;

the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.

12 The north and the south, you have created them;

Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.

13 You have a mighty arm;

strong is your hand, high your right hand.

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;

steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,

who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,

16 who exult in your name all the day

and in your righteousness are exalted.

17 For you are the glory of their strength;

by your favor our horn is exalted.

18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,

our king to the Holy One of Israel.

It's interesting how Scripture comes up when you are thinking about it. Today I was thinking of Rahab, 3rd great grandmother of David. As the Children of Israel left Egypt, with the riches the Egyptians were glad to give - to get rid them,  prophecy came forth of Rahab.

Isaiah 30:6-8

An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb.

Through a land of trouble and anguish,
    from where come the lioness and the lion,
    the adder and the flying fiery serpent,
they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys,
    and their treasures on the humps of camels,
    to a people that cannot profit them.
⁷ Egypt's help is worthless and empty;
    therefore I have called her
     “Rahab who sits still.”

⁸ And now, go, write it before them on a tablet
    and inscribe it in a book,
that it may be for the time to come
    as a witness forever.

The Children of Israel do not have lives that please them in Egypt and God hears them. Then 40 years later, they finally enter into the Promised Land because they didn't follow the advice of God, but their own fears. So they enter Jericho first. Jericho is the land flowing with milk and honey. It is fabulous. They are told how Jericho will fall. It seems absurd and hopeless. And today we see, the Bible has once again, told the Truth.

[ According to Bryant G. Wood PhD 

 Excavations at the outer (lower) fortification wall by the three major expeditions to Jericho. At the north end (numbers 1–5), a portion of the mud brick wall (shaded) atop the stone retaining wall survived, demonstrating that the city wall did not fall in this area. Nothing remains of the mud brick city wall at other points investigated, showing that it had collapsed everywhere else (numbers 6–13). Remnants of the collapsed city wall (shaded) were actually found still in place in three places at Jericho: number 11 (German excavation), number 12 (Kenyon’s excavation), and the 1997 Italian-Palestinian excavation extending Kenyon’s south trench at number 8.

According to the Bible, Rahab’s house was incorporated into the fortification system (Jos 2:15). If the walls fell, how was her house spared? As you recall, the spies had instructed Rahab to bring her family into her house and they would be rescued. When the Israelites stormed the city, Rahab and her family were saved as promised (Jos 6:17, 22–23). At the north end of the tell of Jericho, archaeologists made some astounding discoveries that seem to relate to Rahab.

The German excavation of 1907-1909 found that on the north a short stretch of the lower city wall did not fall as everywhere else. A portion of that mudbrick wall was still standing to a height of 8 ft (Sellin and Watzinger 1973: 58). What is more, there were houses built against the wall! It is quite possible that this is where Rahab’s house was located.]

How does Isaiah 30 fit into Psalm 89 recorded as being written by the Holy Spirit and Ethan the Ezrahite? Just as Psalm 89 points out this was written, from knowledge of her family,  Rahab's 4th great grandson.  Psalm 89 says Rahab was crushed. 


Now we can draw from tales of sea monsters, and names of water, but this Psalm was published, verified, sung by her 4th great grandson (Solomon) in the Temple. Written by one of his wisest councilors. Truth being told in the LORD'S TEMPLE and trying to honor a story working for the LORD. If you wanted to honor your heroic great, great, great, great grandmother in the Temple of the LORD - how would you delicately refer to her profession and her salvation? Perhaps to point out God is greater and to say she was crushed in her life...

Who was Rahab? We find out from.... Joshua 6

Rahab was a prostitute. God has moved Rahab's life along like Job.

 Job 9

 ¹⁰ who does great things beyond searching out,
    and marvelous things beyond number.
¹¹ Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not;
    he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
¹² Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back?
     Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’ ¹³ “God will not turn back his anger;
    beneath him bowed the helpers of Rahab.
¹⁴  How then can I answer him,
    choosing my words with him?
¹⁵  Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him;
    I must appeal for mercy to my accuser
¹⁶ If I summoned him and he answered me,
    I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.
¹⁷ For he crushes me with a tempest
    and multiplies my wounds without cause;
¹⁸ he will not let me get my breath,
    but fills me with bitterness.
¹⁹ If it is a contest of strength, behold, he is mighty!

Rahab might have failed to perceive God. Her life gave her direction and motivation to want to work God's plan for her life and it fit into His Plan.  Who were the helpers of Rahab who made God so angry? Perhaps it is the clientele.  God wouldn't have been angry with the two men from Joshua. We see in the passage, Rahab stood over the hidden men of God hidden under the flax of her roof. 

Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe He exists and that He rewards those who
seek Him  


Rahab's actions were that of Joshua. Being brave and courageous. Rahab appears in the second chapter of Joshua. Joshua has just been commissioned by God to do HIS work

Joshua 1:7-8
Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Perhaps. Perhaps because Rahab is listed in Matthew 1:4-6...........

 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah

..........we can say Rahab was like the Gospel.

Matthew 13:17
For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

We are telling God's story. We can draw from  Job, Joshua, Solomon, Solomon's advisors, David, Rahab, Isaiah and we are telling of flawed people. Doing what they can. Abiding in God, seeing like Paul....Philippians 2:19-24 ~ how it will go with me, and I trust in the Lord
.

Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
16 who exult in your name all the day
and in your righteousness are exalted.
17 For you are the glory of their strength;
by your favor our horn is exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.

You have to be what God wants you to be. Believing what He wants is important. Teaching those around you with genuine care. Being flawed, but going forward in the LIGHT.

Give justice with mercy. Walk humbly with the LORD.




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Mark 4:26-34 ~ sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how

Mark 4:26-34

 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

It is rare when I read a Scripture and it's as if I am seeing it for the first time in the New Testament. The Old Testament continues to surprise me regularly. In this passage, I am far and away more familiar with the second part of the parable. Matthew Henry had such a warm love for the Scriptures and he explains v.26-29 as the wind when the Holy Spirit searches a man (mankind) and turns his heart. 

 John 3:8

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

My Uncle Tate loved to say indeed. Very comforting, indeed. We are not in charge of God's plan and don't always have to understand which way God's hips are moving. God's plan will unfold like the grain, like the harvest. Like the grain of mustard seed. We did an entire study of the "Top 100 Bible Stories" and each one was to point out; We accomplish God's plan. The good add to the good of God's Plan and the evil add without intending to help the works of God.


We give our hearts to the LORD and allow Him to be KING.

Psalm 103:19
The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all

1 Corinthians 10:26
For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”

The next portion of Mark's Gospel is Jesus asleep in the boat. Jesus was not afraid, He dwelt securely. Knowing His Father was in charge.  A reminder to all of us. Life will offer us waves of emotion. Waves of circumstance. Waves of situations. We are to remember time unfolds God's plan. Rest. In knowing God is in charge.





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Psalm 103:1-5, 8-13 ~ bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits

Psalm 103:1-5, 8-13

 Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless his holy name!

2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits,

3 who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

5 who satisfies you with good

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9 He will not always chide,

nor will he keep his anger forever.

10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our iniquities.

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

so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,

so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

13 As a father shows compassion to his children,

so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

Let's bless the Lord together. So, today we'll clean the house as much as we can. And we'll make sure the rest of the family does too. And work as hard as we can at our jobs. That blesses the LORD.  When our attitude is our efforts are for the LORD.

Well, it does. But the best way to bless the Lord, God Almighty - is looking at the Scriptures to find out what He loves to be honored with. Believing what He says and waiting upon HIM. Giving Him Thanks. Taking the blessings of the day and resting in them.  Looking at others around us with compassion.

Believing all things are possible with God. Believing the way things are, this is arranged by God.  

God never does expect us to earn His Promises.  He wants us to remember He benefits us. Renews us. Redeems us. We all want people to accept us for who we are. And not be loved for just the good things. In this passage, God reminds us, it is a blessing to remember all of the benefits of God.

2 Peter 1:4
by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Moving to The Woodlands, continuing to rely upon HIM


Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

For me and ours

Matthew 11:28-29
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Resting in HIS promises.

Philippians 4:19
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Even when we mistake situations. Our talents of discernment are not enough. We needn't fault ourselves. God is still the One in Charge.

Romans 8:37-39
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We can rest easily, like lambs.

Proverbs 1:33
but whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.

Even when we acknowledge, just in a glimmer of temper at life and situational imperfections. We do not baby ourselves by imagined perfection.

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

People will always let us down. We must realize it is God who is Good. Saved by God. Not by ourselves.

Romans 10:9
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

When all is dark and dishonest, times of trouble. Or just not completely honest.

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

Even in times of fellowship, joy, integrity. God is still the LORD.

Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God

Gifts of God are our reason, our preferences, our determination, our insight, circumstance, accident and illness. Receiving insight from others. Discernment from within and from the Scriptures. Signs and wonders. And sometimes the plain Ewwww factor.


1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Freedom from living in fear of offending God.

Jude 1:24
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.




1 Corinthians 15:3-10
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.


Paul, a former murderer of Christians, was concerned with works and grace.

Peter, the rock of God's Church spoke of the way people fall, suffering for right causes as a Christian with hope.

2 Peter 1:5-8
5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Peter says with the gift of faith we should have brotherly affection with love. And be careful of lawlessness. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Believing:

1 Corinthians 15:57 

 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19 ~ for this reason I bow my knees before the Father

Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19

To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

Ephesians 3:14-19

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family [fatherhood] in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

We always think of Joseph when we see images, like the one we are using today. In Genesis, we are told man is the image of God. So today, this image reminds me of God looking upon His Son being born to journey in this life. 

When Jesus chose to live our life, He made it possible for all of us to have access to Him. Like the Holy of Holies we read about in Leviticus. Aaron's sons were killed for not sacrificing correctly. People longed to place God's power behind a veil, in a Temple. 


In Jesus Christ, all we have to do is - ask  - God to hear us. It doesn't say, in this particular chapter, we have to have perfect faith. It says we have boldness and access with confidence in our faith. And we being imperfect, rude and self-centered, the God who created all things will Listen. 


It says the Church will be part of knowing God. So many people would like to skip that step. The Church being imperfect isn't new. Even in the last chapter of John's Gospel, the disciples want to know what blessing Jesus has for John. Before we even get to The Acts of the Apostles. Before Jesus has ascended. Asking how long John will live. We take what we have learned from Church (the unborn Church Jesus told His disciples about in Caesarea) and we will live it in eternity. Eternity, beginning now. We carry those family names into Heaven. It says something about the importance of the people God gives you. It says the Church is important.


Jesus goes so far as to tell us, the Church is His Bride.


And then... it says you will need to be strengthened with Power through His Spirit in your inner being. Why? You'll need it. And God will do more than listen, He will dwell within you.  Only in Father God, in the amazing love of Jesus Christ, will we know how GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, THE MAKER OF THE UNIVERSE loves you. Calls you by the name He has bestowed upon you. 


And believing the name given to you is from Him, you just begin to glimpse something else:

may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

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Psalm 40:3-4, 10-11 ~ a song of praise to our God

Psalm 40:3-4, 10-11

Of David

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio

He put a new song in my mouth,

    a song of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear,

    and put their trust in the Lord.

⁴ Blessed is the man who makes
    the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
    to those who go astray after a lie!

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio
              

¹⁰ I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    from the great congregation.

¹¹ As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
    your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
    ever preserve me!


 Let's compare this to Psalm 111, unrecorded as to author, other than the Holy Spirit:

Psalm 111

 Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
    in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

 
² Great are the works of the Lord,
     studied by all who delight in them.
³  Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
    and his righteousness endures forever.

 
⁴ He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
    the Lord is gracious and merciful.
⁵ He provides food for those who fear him;
    he remembers his covenant forever.
⁶ He has shown his people the power of his works,
    in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
⁷ The works of his hands are faithful and just;
    all his precepts are trustworthy;
⁸ they are established forever and ever,
    to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.

 
⁹ He sent redemption to his people;
    he has commanded his covenant forever.
     Holy and awesome is his name!
¹⁰  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
    all those who practice it have a good understanding.
    His praise endures forever!

Is it a Psalm of David. God didn't ask him to record this. Instead we find David doing what he did for almost all the days of his life. Remembering God's gracious works. What did David build? He is remembered for building up Israel. David, which surprised me in the last few years, wasn't automatically king upon Saul and Jonathan's death. David had to deal with a time when it looked like the last 22 years hadn't led up to the anointing meaning anything.

I suppose it is like my father-in-law purchasing a failing brokerage firm at a young age and being told by the older chairman of the board, he was too young to run it. Like David, my father-in-law had to seize his blessings, force the older man to accept it and live his blessings. Which he did.

This isn't meant as a brag, it is meant to do with advice a clerk at Sam's told me recently. Each day we are responsible for our own blessings. We have it within us, as a gift of God, to seize the day!  As Jesus told us in the Lord's Prayer. Or we can not. We have to be grateful and do the work to look for the blessings of each day.

We all have around us and within us .... a Lucy in the Charles Schultz Peanuts Comic Strip.

Okay. Hopefully, as a reader, you know this comic strip. If not, Linus (who describes the birth of Jesus with an integrity and sincerity to rival the Gospel of Luke) has an older sister.  Who is a know it all and has advice for everyone.  She frequently leans on pianos.  And of course, Lucy is the villain.  But she isn't.... because we either are Lucy or we have a parent we loved who is like her.

Lucy is, of course, is us. Fixing the world. Well. She is me.

David is more like Charlie Brown. Why do we love Charlie Brown. He is forgiving. And contemplative. And he listens. Yet really Charlie Brown is a talker. As he talks, he is figuring it all out....

And of course this is all just an analogy!  We are all Lucy and Charlie Brown. We just hide the knowledge from ourselves.

One of the most appealing things about David; as he became the anointed one, he knew it. And he welcomed the men at arms, who had done nothing for him. Making them part of the team.  Just like God. And David was like Charlie Brown. Loyal and loving.

Except for the days when David was like Lucy. So smart. Taking a census. Hoping God wouldn't notice him on that day..... and .....

on that day. We will need to remember Linus....



David really did one thing really well. David built up his faith in the LORD. Along the way, he built up men. He built a city. A nation. The apple of God's eye. And was humbled to find God blessed him.  Today, he brings us knowledge there is more to it than us.

He put a new song in my mouth,

    a song of praise to our God

  Praise the Lord!

 His praise endures forever!

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Psalm 4 ~ Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

Psalm 4

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
    You have given me relief when I was in distress.
    Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

² O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
    How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah

 
³ But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
    the Lord hears when I call to him.

⁴  Be angry, and do not sin;
     ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
 

⁵ Offer right sacrifices,
    and put your trust in the Lord.

⁶ There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
     Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
⁷ You have put more joy in my heart
    than they have when their grain and wine abound.

⁸ In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
    for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

  

How often are we told in Scripture to be angry? Anger issues are talked about 358 times. One of the great things about God's word is the Truth. People get angry. It is our ability, as my grandmother Anita said, "To rise above it."

The day after our last post on climbing trees; we were all home and all four of us opened the windows to enjoy our Tuesday late afternoon, early evening rain. And as my husband sat by the window, he said, "A tree fell over." I said I didn't think so. Our 100 year old plus Sweet Gum had fallen on the neighbor's chimney and roof. And.... after Hurricane Ike, our 130+ year Grand Old Lady Oak had fallen on their home as well.

We had some angry words over the first Grand Old Lady Oak. And to be frank, our minister, our Church family and some of the neighbors were not happy with the significant way our older neighbors had dealt with us over the Grand Old Lady Oak. And from time to time, we have recalled with some anger and, later, some bitter humor over the first event. 

So how did we react. Not great. And the grown/almost sons acted like the parables. One was set to help and one said no.  And he didn't show up. Thanks, there. But we pulled it together. My husband decided the men would lead the way. He called, we went, we called on more of our very kind neighbors to bring outdoor/green leaf trash cans and tarps. So 6 very wet people stood in the house with 3 recent death losses. And we felt awkward.  With a pause. And then we all decided we had other issues to deal with and we had enjoyed one another in the past. And heave to. The men went up into the attic, the women rolled up the rugs. And we sat down to discuss loss. 

I know my neighbors all felt at the end, it wasn't a good situation, but good people help each other.  Act in LOVE.

 You have put more joy in my heart

Faces that were awkward became....

 Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord

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James 4 ~ quarrels and fights among you

The James Ossuary. Lots of controversy, the ending basically unpublished. The Louvre expert and CIA expert testimony expressly gave their opinion on the lid being the actual ossuary of James, the brother of Christ for antiquity carbon dating and the location of the find. The Israeli judge listened to testimony for over 2 years and decided to declare it all to be a matter of faith.

James 4

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers ^{[brothers and sister]}. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

For 4 centuries Roman Emperors persecuted Christians and destroyed Scripture. (See the list of Emperors recording their own persecutions of Christians.) The earliest fragments of the Epistle of James are from the 3rd century. However, Saint Hegesippus (Ἅγιος Ἡγήσιππος) (c. 110 — c. April 7, 180 A.D.), was a Christian chronicler of the early Church and records the Epistle of James being written by James the Just, brother of Jesus. Paul records in Galatians 2:9:

Galatians 2:9

and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

Another Biblical correlation would be the Epistle of James records Christians meet in the Temple and in Synagogues, which is confirmed in the Book of Acts as well.  And in Josephus's Jewish Antiquities, (xx.9) "the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James" met his death after the death of the procurator Porcius Festus in 62 A.D.

So, this boils down to this crucial point. Once again the Scriptures are historically accurate proving again, God does not lie.

And moving on to our passage, let's compare it with this:

Luke 12:50-53
  “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! ⁵⁰ I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! ⁵¹ Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. ⁵² For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. ⁵³ They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Increasingly, we are a nation with divisions in our families. And in the Christian community,  sometimes it's because we are divided in our beliefs, in our values, in the time we spend together & over Christianity and money issues. I know in our Church community, we were told to tell our small children - when you date, look to see if your love interest respects their parents, likes their siblings and cares for those around them. If they don't be prepared to find, they will leave. 

I was talking this week to our Buddhist friend, who is from Taiwan, and took great care of their parents. We would see the older couple walking our paths; Japanese style with the wife walking behind her husband, head bowed. Our friend said the reason her family honors the older generation is simple - Respect. 

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

James lived in a time he knew to be dangerous. John lived expressing the evil he'd been eyewitness of.  James knew what it was to be the brother Jesus said, "Whoever does the will of God, is my brother."  And James is recorded in the Book of Acts as repentant and daily gathering with the disciples and his mother Mary to pray daily. James is recorded as being one of the ones JESUS appeared to after His resurrection. 

To often we throw up our hands and forget to pray for our loved ones. Too much separation. Too little respect. We let Luke 12 be the Word of God we place upon our families. Yet we have forgotten something important. The first century lived this division, we do not need to repeat it and sigh. Rather sigh in the Holy Spirit and pray, pray, pray. I was challenged to pray for a portion of my family in 2009. So I started to every day. Just praying the Lord's Prayer and "Jesus, please" while picturing their faces. And Dear God. It got So much worse. And I told our Pastor Clark. Thanks for that (figuratively speaking!).  And he replied, "Yes, that happens frequently with real prayer. Keep doing it." (okay great....) And I have to tell you,  results have been rather amazing to me.  I pray for my family in its entirety when I take a vitamin. I pray for their whole (holy) health. 

I have a dear friend at Church, I've seen her take her adult child's children each weekend. The adult child was not living a godly life. Using, I suspected, soft drugs, living with a man who wouldn't legally marry her or put his name on their children. Driving a far direction to get the kids. And giving them all their love and support. Taking the kids each week to our Church and Church special events. That blended family has bloomed. A marriage, children who glow, an adult baptism, children baptism, parents who went forward in Church to say "I will love the LORD", grandparents who feel blessed beyond compare. Because they lived LOVE.  Did the adult child honor her and love her for these years? Not really. But they lived the LOVE anyway. The results are only of GOD.

Mark 11:24

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours

We ask Father God, for Your will to be done in the name of JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. Thank You the blessings You have provided and the ones still to come. Amen.

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