John 16:16-33 ~ In that day you will ask nothing of me.

Luke 8:25
"Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."



John 16:16-33

A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 

22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

What would it look like to overcome the world? It's easier to see what Jesus had to overcome in life. During Jesus' ministry, He is recorded once as crossing the Sea of Galilee three times, that is 13 miles, 3 times. To see various people. Jesus did not sail or row around aimlessly.

One day Jesus had the crowning experience - going to mountain top to be greeted by Moses, Elijah and His Father; His reward coming down from the mountain- from this amazing experience - hearing His disciples could not, were unable, to overcome a boy's spiritual and physical battle. The crowd was again pressing in on Him.

At one point, the Herodian Temple sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus. They could not. Jesus was being completely Himself and the guards were amazed by Him. The Temple power knobs then declared they couldn't take Him down, the crowds followed Him with too much awe. How did Jesus take all this popularity in the numbers - His public opinion polls were astronomical. Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee saying they only want what they want.

Jesus knew coming down from the Transfiguration - the path He was on, all too clearly. And what did He look forward to?

Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Jesus has been asked as one from God. Continually. They pressed in on Him. A miracle worker. Only the disciples were openly saying the Messiah. The Scriptures quote no one was openly declaring Jesus as Messiah. The Highest Name being Jesus. The people wanted miracles and food and entertainment with a new teaching. Now Jesus says He looks forward to - this - upon His Resurrection - In that day you will ask nothing of me.



John 20:11-18
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”

Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 

18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

I once, decades ago, was challenged by a religious leader who did not really believe Heaven exists in the Biblical proportions of Heaven, and she said we only believe the Lord for His reward. That is not true. We love the Lord, honor Him because He first Loved us.  Pray unceasingly; and say with gratitude - Thank You for Your Promises to me. This trust is what God called - righteousness in Abraham.

Mary's love and trust lead her into relationship with Jesus Christ the Lord. And He is blessed by her. Blessing, in turn, Mary receives more than any of us could ever deserve.


Genesis 15:1
After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.




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Mark 8:11-26 ~ The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.

Mark 8:11-26

The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

14 Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod^[Herodians].” 16 And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”


Power came to call on Jesus. He sighed. We all sigh from time to time.

Romans 8:26
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

It seems superfluous to add, yet where Jesus did dwell in understanding is in this beautiful passage:


1 Peter 3:4
Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

Luke 2:52
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Jesus progressed, as His Son, in Grace.

Romans 5:5
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.


You have to love the confusion of the disciples, Jesus was doing things so quickly, with so much impossibility, they were having to confer among themselves to understand the many miracles Jesus was continually doing. Jesus trusted the disciples to come to the same page after saying, "Really?"

Jesus continues the lesson, the patient repetition with His work. The blind individual is healed in a way understandable to that unique - to God - person. This is one of my favorite healings of Jesus, my brother was so excited to read about the blind man who required further brain adjustment in the healing. He said there is no way 2,000 years ago it would be known this would require two healings. Making this passage alive and vibrant to him. Me? I think Jesus could have done fine with one healing, HE left us to discover this healing with wonder. And awe.

This is so like Jesus. Letting us discover something fresh in this miracle.

Jeremiah 23:29
"Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

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Psalm 58 ~ The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.

Psalm 58
Miktam of David.

Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?
Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands deal out violence on earth.

3 The wicked are estranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.

6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7 Let them vanish like water that runs away;
when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime,
like the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!

10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges on earth.”

My first thought at looking at this is the various ways lions are used in Scripture.

However, more importantly we should compare and contrast Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. I don't know about you, but foot washing is not my favorite thing. Much less feet of sandal wearing men walking through the city where sanitation is iffy.

You can fully understand Peter saying during supper, "Um Lord, you don't want to wash my feet." Jews following kosher rules lived well into their fifties, even in the time of David, when un-kosher countries in the iron age where dying in their 20s, if they were lucky.

Jesus is really entering the fray to un-kosher wash their feet during the meal. And you have to hand it to Peter, he knew meeting Jesus when he said - paraphrased "Oh my God! Get away from me. Not only are you scary, I'm not that good a man." Now, Peter's house in Capernaum tells us Peter was next door, front and center, good real estate, next to the Synagogue. Peter owned a fleet supporting the house  - with the grand view of the Sea of Galilee. Peter, not only was astute, he was literate, and he knew what God and the Ark of the Covenant did to sinners. You have to smile at the idea of being in a boat with Jesus Christ HIMSELF and seeing other boats begin to sink. And he says "Oh my G o d, get away from me, I'm not that great. Bye." Of course, Peter seeing the boats sinking says this with a mind to make this GOD happy:

Luke 5:10
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

When you think of prosperous Peter sitting in the middle of his fleet and business is so good the ships start to sink. You realize you've just witnessed an X-Men Movie type of really fine analogy to God's Church. And Peter is astounded. How can you help but smile. Me, if I'd been sitting there I would have been open mouthed and said, "Cool! Jesus, I'm in." And had the smarts not to hold on to the new Ark of the Covenant. I might have been worried that if He looked too hard, I was sunk.

So Peter is repeating this astuteness, saying - don't wash my feet. Jesus is saying He is willing to wash our feet. And wash the pollution we wade in from our lives. He is going to serve us - to sever the muck from us. This is more important than Jesus walking on the water. This is far more costly to

 Jesus Christ, the Messiah, The Son of the Most High GOD.


We take our pollution and we see David, who understood this portion of life so well. And we think about how God is willing to answer our prayers. And the criticism of God being judgmental. How many of us are willing to get on a cross and die for humanity. We are a lot like lions. We take care of our young and provide for them. And on any given Sunday, we look pretty cute doing that. Then we rush off to little league and act like the lion willing to eat the other lion's son for getting in the way of ours. David knew both what it was to have our prayers answered like Psalm 8 saying we are lower than gods. What is man that Thou art mindful of him. And we act like lions.

1 Samuel 17:36
"Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”

Solomon used lions on his throne.

1 Kings 10:18
Then the king made a great throne inlaid with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them.

Life is like a lion roller-coaster. How unworthy we are to judge HIM for judging us.

Only in Jesus Christ the LORD, do we find utter goodness. We forget there was time when some of 72 disciples walked away. It was too difficult. Peter was more honest.

John 6:68
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

Revelation 5:5
And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Like South Africa, and others Rwanda, peace is found in the forgiveness. Only available in HIM.

Isaiah 11:6
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.

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<>< The Words of Life !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Psalm 62 ~ They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. Selah

Psalm 62

For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

3 How long will all of you attack a man
to batter him,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse. Selah

5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah

9 Those of low estate are but a breath;
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no trust in extortion;
set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

11 Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
12 and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
according to his work.


Actually this morning this was said to me. Bless with their mouths and curse you behind your back.

I was speaking to a friend at a birthday party and we were discussing the Kennedy family. She knew one branch of the family in a small way. She had seen the Jackie Kennedy documentary films done within six months of President Kennedy's assassination. Jackie had not cared much for Rose.

Laurence Leamer wrote a book called "The Kennedy Men." He adored Rose Kennedy, daughter of the Massachusetts Governor, and wrote of example after example of Joe Kennedy's brutal ideas of success. Beginning with his mother's rise from domestic daily employee to liquor store owner in the poor and harsh part of town. As a banker, Joe used bank information to send men from said that area to beat up business men, gaining their business. Rising to owning the defunct (depression era) large American distilleries and playing the ivy league education connections rising, becoming the American Ambassador to the U.K. Rose was a shuffled, with her 8 children, to a rural NY area without a real place in the small town for her. She was isolated with the children - for the children to be her only objective. Joe Kennedy was busy building the Empire and having an affair with actress Gloria Swanson. Joe was diligent to check with Rose on the children's grades, tutors, discipline and weight. Rose was carefully writing down all the children's details to give to Joe and attending Church each day.

Diligent. Capricious. Devout. Plotting. Lecherous. Determined. Philanthropic. Justice. Equality. Relief. Self-centered. Loving. Devious.

Moving ahead 80 years. If you seated all of these people, we have heard of all of these years, at the dinner table - you end up with the Documentary Rory Kennedy did of her father, Robert Kennedy  (who died before she was born). All these faces talking about Daddy. Ethel rose quickly past her husband's death. She had so many children to raise, causes to attend to. And, I'm sure, hurt over her husband's noted infidelities. Yet you come back to the point made at the end of the documentary, Rose worked hard on with Rory. "Sure, we know all about Daddy, he raised us. We are not unfamiliar with his flaws. We choose to remember Daddy in the ways he taught us about his aspirations, his ideals, his strong beliefs, the character he was coming to the dinner table every evening, telling us about what he hoped for his children, this nation. We choose to remember the best parts of Daddy."

So, if you did seat these people all at God's table, you would see the view changes from every seat. And a man at Church, Paul, says that you need to be kind to people. It might just be the only word of kindness they receive that day.

Diligent - Joe Kennedy was a victim paralyzed by stroke for many years. Capricious - Jackie Kennedy was a stunned, hurting widow when her realizations/documentary came to light after her death. Devout - Rose Kennedy sent away Joe' nurses and left him to the people she chose, as she began to go out at night with Joe's friends before his frozen years. Her fate was similar to Joe's, living to be 103. You have to hurt for the hurting woman. She really did not understand the character of the man she married, nor forgave easily.

Plotting - would be Joe who taught his children to forgo their inclination for private lives giving to the United States an example of philanthropy not matched in any other family in the United States. We have Special Olympics because Rosemary Kennedy was lobotomized by her adulterous father instead of cared for, over Rosemary's adolescent interest in the opposite sex in her debilitated IQ state ( probably cause by oxygen deficiency during her birth). Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Sargent Shriver started the Special Olympics purely for the need to overcome Rosemary's hidden condition and the nations' attitudes for special needs.

Lecherous. We tend to talk about this more than the many achievements, including a family willing to gather through all the terrible events befalling this family. Determined. To overcome.

Justice. Equality. Relief. Does the dinner table of any other family strive further? Self-centered. Loving. Devious. Aren't we all.

Liberal. Conservative.

Power belongs to God,
and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
according to his work.

Father God, give us this day. Each day you give us, we build something. Help us each day to put out our hands, using the drive to live You have given us. Use our desire to be blessed as a blessing to YOU. In seeking You first, in righteousness, all these things are added to us to Your glory. In the name of Jesus Christ.

Lord Jesus. All things work together for good for those who love you and work according to Your purpose. You called us into fellowship with You, through Son Jesus Christ our Lord. And You, oh Lord, are faithful. Jesus, be our Christ, the power of God and our wisdom of God. You bless the eyes, Lord ,that did not see You, but yet believe. Increase our faith. We walk by faith, relying upon You. In Your Name. Amen.


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Matthew 21:23-46 ~ the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes

^{Jesus discourses with the Pharisees, painted by James Tissot}


Matthew 21:28-32, 42-44


28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.



42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”




Compared to  

John 7
After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers ^{[brothers and sisters]} said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not[c] going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private.


With what authority did Jesus pursue peace?


Matthew 21
 ²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.


Matthew 5:9
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

Without Jesus to willing open His arms on the cross, we would not be worthy to be called to God in His Holy of Holies.

John 3:17
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.






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2 Chronicles 34:1-7 ~ Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign

Naphtali, in their ruins all around - still there today.

2 Chronicles 34:1-7


Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images. 4 And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the incense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the Asherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.

5 He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around, 7 he broke down the altars and beat the Asherim and the images into powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Mark 10:15
Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.


Ephesians 3:11-12
This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

So many Kings in the Davidic Line before Jesus Christ

Consider the Kings before this 8 year old boy. David. Solomon. Jehoshaphat. Uzziah. Hezekiah. These were grown men. The others wobbled a bit more.

How would an 8 year old boy fulfill the Throne of David when grown men could not carry the responsibility. God knows something about people in real need calling upon Him in earnest. Josaih has seen a coup in the nation of Judah, his father was murdered. Josiah is calling upon HIM with all of his might.


Psalm 145:18
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

Josiah is living David's Psalm, with the Holy Spirit, Psalm 26

1 Vindicate me, Lord,
for I have led a blameless life;
I have trusted in the Lord
and have not faltered.
2 Test me, Lord, and try me,
examine my heart and my mind;
3 for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love
and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.

Josiah has been so diligent to please the LORD something quite unusual is going to happen to him. He will discover the Word of the Lord. Christians sometimes call this portion of Genesis the Big Bang Theory. Genesis states this more clearly and says His Word was "Let there be Light." John 1 says the Light came into the world.

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.



During Josiah's 26th year the Word of the Lord is found:

2 Chronicles 34:18-21,22, 27-33

18 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it before the king.

19 And when the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes. 20 And the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, 21 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

22 So Hilkiah and those whom the king had sent went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter) and spoke to her to that effect.

27 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 28 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 its inhabitants.’” And they brought back word to the king.

29 Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the Levites, all the people both great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. 

31 And the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.

32 Then he made all who were present in Jerusalem and in Benjamin join in it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 

33 And Josiah took away all the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.





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Romans 9 ~ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’

Romans 9

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers,^{[and sister]} my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,

“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”

27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons ^[children]  of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted,

“If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,
we would have been like Sodom
and become like Gomorrah.”


30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written,

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Truth, Sorrow, Anguish, Adoption, Glory, Injustice, Mercy, Compassion.

We can condense a lot of our opportunities, successes and failures into angles and labels called winner, loser. To be called people of God. To be counted among God's beloved. To be, behold, A Child of the LIVING GOD. Our Victory does not rest on changing angles of life. But the eternal, where true meaning is developed. In Him, we are always assured of the Victory.



What does that look like to be a Child of God?

Meet Noah. Famed for living in the ways of God. In the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. He cursed his own grandson - Canaan, recovering from a hangover. What happened to Canaan. Abram settled in the land of Canaan.

Meet Deborah. Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She had a can do attitude. And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.

Meet Barak. Barak the son of Abinoam, sought to have a woman beside him in battle. The Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. Behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple.

Meet Judah, who sold out his own brother. Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?" Had to apologize to the Vizor of Pharaoh. And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord's servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.”

“Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
your father's sons shall bow down before you.
Judah is a lion's cub;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He stooped down; he crouched as a lion
and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
Binding his foal to the vine
and his donkey's colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine
and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk."

Saint David, a man who believed God, never regained his first wife and put her away. Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife. But when Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him, Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy continually. David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish.

Meet Isaac and Jacob.  Patriarchs. Not your best example of father/son.  A godly man who wanted to refuse his son, Jacob, a blessing. They lived to be old men, these patriarchs who dwelled in tents in their promised land.  Living hard lives, they believed to their death beds they were blessed indeed.



What did these people have being Children of the Living God?

They cried out to HIM, I have faith, help me to have more.

Mark 9:24, 27
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

In the face of a tumultuous crowd, failing disciples, coming down from the Mountaintop Transfiguration:

But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 


Luke 17:6
And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.


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Isaiah 49:1-12 ~ Thus says the Lord: “In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people

Isaiah 49:1-12

Listen to me, O coastlands,
and give attention, you peoples from afar.
The Lord called me from the womb,
from the body of my mother he named my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
in his quiver he hid me away.
3 And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my right is with the Lord,
and my recompense with my God.”

5 And now the Lord says,
he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
and that Israel might be gathered to him—
for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength—
6 he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

7 Thus says the Lord,
the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,
the servant of rulers:
“Kings shall see and arise;
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
The Restoration of Israel

8 Thus says the Lord:
“In a time of favor I have answered you;
in a day of salvation I have helped you;
I will keep you and give you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages,
9 saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’
They In a time of favor I have answered you;
on all bare heights shall be their pasture;
10 they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
11 And I will make all my mountains a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
12 Behold, these shall come from afar,
and behold, these from the north and from the west,^{[from the sea]}
and these from the land of Syene.”

Abba,
Your Word is beautiful. Your Grace knows no bounds, Your Love is Limitless.

Your wind and Your Spirit reach out to us in our Soul. Your wind bends
to us and reaches us.

In Your time of favor, our hearts are open and our eyes see - You answer us.
In that day, Salvation touches us.

You keep us and establish us. And Your victory over death is a Covenant to us.

Jesus, Lord God, You are our Living Bread and in You, we neither hunger nor thirst.

You, Lord God, pity the very dust of Zion.

Springs of Living Water guide and lead us.

In that day, nations shall come to You and we will know the Your Mountains as
as Road and Your Ways as a High Way.

We give You Thanks and Glory. In the Highest Name above all, Jesus Christ the LORD. We pray. Amen




Psalm 145:18
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.


John 14:17
The Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

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



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Genesis 48 ~ he bowed himself with his face to the earth

Genesis 48

After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. 3 And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty ^{[El Shaddai]} appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’ 5 And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

8 When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, “Who are these?” 9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.” 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” 12 Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him. 14 And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). 15 And he blessed Joseph and said,

“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
and let them grow into a multitude ^{[let them be like fish for multitude]} in the midst of the earth.”

17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,
‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’”

Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover, I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”

Genesis 41:46,38-40
Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.”


Attitudes of Gratitude. For the Vizier to Pharaoh. After the hardship of his life, Joseph and his father are able to say, "I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.”

In perceiving the blessing they are able to bless:

So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,
‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’”

Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers.

Judges 13:19-20 Announcing the birth of Samson
So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching. 20 And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground.

Joseph, triumphant did this before God:
Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.


1 Samuel 1:27-28
I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there.

Isaiah 6:8
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”


Luke 1:38
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Isaiah might have been in complete communion with God, seeing His Heaven. Mary, it is likely, knew the trouble ahead and was obedient. Paul looked at Jesus and said,"Depart from me, Oh Lord. I am a sinful man."

Romans 9:21
Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?


Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
 
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding








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