Matthew 1 ~ Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.

Matthew 1

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 

19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us).

24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son.
And he called his name Jesus.

Psalm 96
96 Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!

2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.

6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!

10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!

Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it!

Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Acts 1
1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

 
 A Christmas tree is a sign - a Tree pointing to Jesus returning to Heaven - to His Holy Father's Kingdom to live. All Christmas ornaments have a holy story behind them.

Jesus chose to live among us as truth and grace to be beheld. Jesus was born in difficult circumstances, not what any parent hopes for. A time of despair for parents anticipating the life of the next generation. This sign was given first to a king, long before Jesus chose a narrow path born to a carpenter, building a house for his future bride.


Isaiah 7
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask a sign of the Lord yourf God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 And heg said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

Joseph proved himself a royal father to care for God's Son. Even leaving the country to Egypt before doing the difficult task spoken of twice in the Gospels - blending back into Nazareth.

Jesus could have been born in a palace, and instead chose a narrow path. A path of great meaning. Part of an earthly family recording sibling goading and sibling rescue and sibling abandonment to sibling reclamation. Eventually Jesus knew His Brothers would travel the world to spread the Good News of God's Gift of Salvation.

What other way was Jesus going to Heaven? He could have disappeared - Jesus is recorded as doing this in life. People would have looked for him. He could have walked off into the distance. People would have looked for Him. So, God makes a bold statement - Jesus has gone to Heaven.

Jesus is the Light of the World. Mystics record that the star didn't shed light, Jesus by being born, brought forth Light. John called Jesus the Light of the World.


Job 1:21
and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."

Light from Light. True God of True God.

1 Timothy 3:16
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

1 Timothy 1:14-15
The grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners

Father God, let us honor, cherish, nurture and grow those You have given us. Telling them of Your Faithfulness - Higher than the Skies. Father God, may we have power, of Christ dwelling in our hearts, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. We pray this in Jesus, may we partake of Your Goodness always. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

<><

2 Corinthians 11 ~ The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever

2 Corinthians 11

16 I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. 17 What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool. 18 Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. 19 For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves! 20 For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. 21 To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that!

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 2 6on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food,b in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, 33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

I was given a new ring tone for my phone - "Pirates of the Caribbean" - and I am Enamored with the idea upon waking up - the first thought runs the course in my brain saying, "GIVE US THIS DAY."

We lose sight of the Adventure Paul was living for Father God. Saints are dour in robes with judgment? Noooo. When you look at all the ways Paul loved those he was telling about God's Love to - Paul LOVED! We posted all the ways Paul wrote of his love. If you missed the post, take a minute to go back and see how many lovely ways Paul says his witness is for the beloved people.

Now, if we take Paul literally, that we should imitate Paul - verses 25-28 we would think Paul was dour. Instead I think Paul fit in well with the Italians - the Joy, the indignation, anxiety over loved ones. Today, at the bright old age of barely being 50 years old - I discovered - if you darken your facial hairs with hair dye - well - it doesn't stay Clear. Am I clear in saying this? Yes, after deciding that the face hair had to decide if it was white or blonde to be lasered to gone - (I'm trying to say dark hair lasers off better) - I found in the doctor's office - I had arrived with vaudeville style goatee and mustache.

And that went actually fairly well - the doctor's office and I fell over!!! And that at the age of 50 - I had never experimented with hair color and didn't know what goes on clear - doesn't stay clear.

And I'm here to tell you today - I rejoice in my sufferings! Laughed all day. Can you imagine with me - Paul rejoiced in that shipwreck!!! Nothing like surviving! And I got to tell about the fire several years back during Altar Care story. An opportunity to share a public Oh Noooo and to say how nice everyone was that the Church didn't catch fire during the service and on my watch. A memorable witness to the Love God has for us in the witness of Christian kindness. So... My day was pretty complete! If you're chatty and you know it, raise your hand! Thank You, God, for kind people,  everywhere you encounter goodness!

1 Peter 4:12
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

I was listening to Rick Warren Daily Hope last night; Rick Warren said expect God to do something NEW in your life...

God does tell us not to put too much of a "beard" on. We are better at being our best self than a poor best fake. To have your honest self revealed and to be able to say "I Survived!" Is a Mighty Fine Thing.

OF COURSE, I realize the fiery trials of Paul were indeed NOBLE. I'm saying, when you pull out all the aspects of Paul, writing in the Holy Spirit, about love - you are learning - this man could bounce with the Strength of the Lord - which is indeed JOY. It is one of the few ways to understand rejoicing in sufferings!

Just Maybe. Paul would have liked the song, "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple. Smoke on the Water like the Holy Spirit in Genesis, and Fire in the Sky of The Book of Acts. A day to God is millions of years - we just aren't that far apart in the eyes of God. Imagine that! Dusty robes don't necessarily mean dry dusty sense of humor!

The mercies of God renew each day - my mercy for today is - I will never appear in public again with a full painted beard. Amen.

Genesis 1
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness

Now, the blog post is sort of fluffy today - and perhaps it seems light to you. One - our faith is something we don't put on a lofty shelf and say "Holy, holy, holy" - (and label that) - "For Other People. Lofty Nobility." Faith, my new friend and I discussed today is - taking what God puts in Your Soul to Your Father God and calling that "Abundant Life." We do NOT know what others have going on - we do know - what God gives to us to put forth in our unique talents and abilities. Let's run from calling that talents and abilities and instead call it "Heart."

Paul is comfortable saying see Jesus in him and imitate him. I'm, personally, not comfortable with that. Rick Warren pointed out something that completely grabbed me and held me. Peter says in Matthew 16 a re-announcement of the Divinity of Jesus. And just as Jesus turns to this human man, Peter, and says Peter will for - all time - be honored in Heaven and on earth as Seeing and Knowing and Serving God. Peter then Proves he is fully human and not God's Son, by saying Jesus shouldn't die and for Jesus to proclaim only Life and Glory. Jesus goes so far as to say - evil. To try to cut into God's Plan.

I'm saying with all my heart - God is God. Jesus is God's Son and Lord. My relationship with Father God is to Love Him for the Love HE has bestowed on me. I don't want to say I'm good enough to be imitated. I want to point to His goodness. And bask in the gift of salvation. I want the people I love to know Father God Loves and is Marvelous. When I have a glimpse of "rejoice in sufferings," then I will share. Because Jesus said He came to make Life Abundant. The Lord sees transparently all of the world and universe HE created and calls good - yesterday, today and tomorrow - and HE sees us just as we are. His response? He wants to save us. Give us His Son and Salvation.

His Mercies renew each day. Count on His Promises.

Luke 1:4
so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught


Father God, in our new day, we open our hands to You. Lord Father God, if You will bless us with the blessings of Abraham, Jabez, David, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Daniel, John, Luke, Mark, Titus, Timothy ~ we ask in the Name of Jesus for Your glory. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

<><

1 Thessalonians 3:1-13 ~ For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord

1 Thessalonians 3:1-13

Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ, 
to establish and exhort you in your faith,
that no one be moved by these afflictions. 

For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.

6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you— 7 for this reason, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith. 8 For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord. 9 For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, 10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?

11 Now may our God and Father himself,
and our Lord Jesus, 
direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, 
as we do for you,
so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, 
at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

James, the Brother of Jesus. The man who ate dinner with Jesus. Bothered Jesus sibling style. Goaded Jesus in life recorded in His Word. Lived to Love Jesus. James said this Word of God - We ask Father God to give wisdom. The result is - He will.

We want to say to Jesus when we arrived at our Heavenly Home ~ "I stood for Your Great Love, Jesus."

Our standard is Jesus.
He is the one to look for. 
Would Jesus do this?
This is the frame of all reference.

And Easy to Remember.   

1 .Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Our standard agrees with God's Word. God's Word stands very firm. God does not need our belief for God to be God.

2. We want to be in daily relationship with God and read His Word. Expecting His Word to make a difference in your heart. Spiritual roots. Prayer. Small group Bible Study recorded in Book of Acts - encouragement.

3. Open mind to God and His Will. Not our established pride. 

Believing God would want to have a good plan for you. We ask God to be Open to Him. Give HIM time each day to let His truth soak in us and have truth established in our soul. More than emotion. To be like Jesus moving to Capernaum to be near the faithful.

3. Speak the Truth. God's way says follow Him.

4. Solely self or doing God's Will. He gets you out of trouble. He puts you on your path of His.

5. Do what is just and right in integrity. We put forth God's way and let Him decide the fate of the seed. God is sovereign.

6. This would please Jesus as His Child. Jesus called us His Beloved. When we trust God, His plan for for us is good.

7. Bring thoughts to Jesus. Pray constantly, casual conversational prayer, to be centered in Jesus, to please Jesus and in firm expectation that He is going to help.

8. Bitter, hurt, grudge envy and selfish ambition is not from God; creating a cold heart. Let it go. Avoid what isn't good for you. Like bad TV or fuzzy noise. Peace, loving, considerate, impartial and sincerity is from Jesus.  Do the Good Will God has for your life. Work in His Will.

9. Record the truth. Write this down. Not to be choked out by the concerns, glories and riches of life. Be still to know God.

10. Trust God when we don't understand.

Father God, we just ask would this please God. 

Asking Your blessings. Your forgiveness. Grace to others. God guide our nation, state, city. Our Church leaders. Our family. Our friends and loved ones. Help us best do Your will for our day and lives. Your mercies renew and repeat. Help our open minds see You at work, Father God.

Let us let go of distractions and trust in You, Father God.

Open our eyes each day to see Your blessings and remember the blessings. Let us live each day saying Give us this day. Knowing as we rest this evening - we did please You. In Jesus let Your Will be done. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

<><

Psalm 23 ~ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.


I'm not sure that I'm good about this, better as a adult,
however with these assurances,
we can put down our worries, cares and irritants and Let God have our lives.

We are so used to the pictures of young lambs scampering. With God, even the late seasons provide green pastures. I have a personal part to my life, right now, - God has seen a situation develop for thirty years, and God has helped me to rest - just as a I need to rest. Allowing goodness to happen and allowing me to see Father God is shaping the path. He has coaxed light to come from shadows and made a better and more clear path establishing facts. Honest conversation flows at home, with opportunities for forgiveness for decades of hurt. Conversations put off for nearly twenty years occur and are released to be spoken of.

What did God do with the times of unspokenness? Taking each day to make a path. Bloom where you are planted. My Great-aunt Eloise and Great-uncle Cary loved to make paths up the hills of their home. Making a path actually takes a lot of work. Hands and backs hurt. And eighty years later, the paths are still there. To be enjoyed today and spoken of.

Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

Still the next paragraph in Matthew 12 has to do with an attitude of deliberate living and intentionality instead of carelessness.













Matthew 12

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”

46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”


My grandmother lived seeing her very small family grow up, in, around, and away. Sometimes she watched people make very unfortunate choices. I asked her what she thought about her son in his fifties. It was after a very vivid argument. He had moved home to be the one choosing to be taken care of. And impose an adult male way on the household. His belongings cluttered all rooms and hallways. My grandmother no longer had order in her own home. When confronted, the argument was loud, strident and made memories for a life time. He was not pulling his weight in painting, cleaning, laundry or attitude. I told her that perhaps she should give up praying for her son.

And she raised her eighty year old fist and held it high. She said, "I will never forget to Pray For My Son."

He had chosen the wrong works, attitude, conversations, and wanted to be an adult child without bothering to assist her. And my grandmother - decided to get assistance - and then when the areas were clean. After one amazing fight. She proceeded to do the best she could with what she had to work with. And Pray.

In her son's 70s, Joel Olsteen giving copies of "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren changed a soul to believe in Jesus Christ.

You can always pray. And choose to be like my grandmother - she would say her life was BLESSED. When she didn't mutter about being oppressed. However to be blessed, you have to be honest about your honest emotions. Or it's just old boot straps and not Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11
32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—

who through faith
conquered kingdoms,
enforced justice,
obtained promises,
stopped the mouths of lions,
quenched the power of fire,
escaped the edge of the sword,
were made strong out of weakness,
became mighty in war,
put foreign armies to flight.
Women received back their dead by resurrection.


Praying for her son?
Got him to faith in Jesus Christ
conquered a kingdom sized severe dislike of Christians
Justice? He was adopted as a severely abused child and handicapped. I'm glad for his salvation - he was A LOT OF WORK.
Obtained promises? Oh yes, HE did.
Stopped the tremendous mountainous lion of a mouth? Yes, actually Salvation did that.
Escaped the edge of the sword - believe he did.
Strong out of weakness - My Dear Good God, my Grandmother Is Strong
Became a mighty prayer warrior
I've seen a fully grown man or two run from my eighty pound Grandmother.
Thank You, Jesus, Yes Grandmother did - receive her dead back by resurrection.


Father God, Give us the Day. We give You great thanks for Your Name and Glories. Help our words and life to have good fruit. Pleasing and acceptable in Your sight. Forgive us our sins and we ask assistance to forgive those who sin against us. Help us to have wisdom in our choices as well. We ask blessings for opportunities. Protect us and the ones we love when we allow what is unwise and unholy to dwell around us. We pray Jesus the Lord as a Protection, Joy, Love and Light. Surround us with those Doing Your Will and help us to bring the ones given to us back to You nourished and loved. In Jesus the Lord, we pray His Will and His blessings. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves † 

<><

Psalm 1 ~ The Congregation of the Righteous

Psalm 140:13

Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;

the upright shall dwell in your presence.

Psalm 126:6

He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.



Revelation 3
3 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.

4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Imagine being the Disciple John in old, old age.

John arrived on Patmos after surviving an event recorded on papyrus fragments and also a complete history. This papyrus (interpreted by Victor of Capua) might very well have originally been written by Polycarp, the disciple to John.  According to Dr. Bob Thiel, of the Washington Post, these fragments are John's disciple Polycarp - recording the cruel boiling oil as an historical event from John to Polycarp as John's own account.

A Historian, lawyer and married to a Christian wife - Tertullian disliked mysticism and wrote this was fact that John was boiled in oil and unharmed by Emperor Domitian intended the death of a man worshiping Jesus as God. Tertullian's book is The Prescription of Heretics. The precise written event - John was banished to Patmos after being plunged into boiling oil in Rome and suffering nothing from it. Tertullian wrote the whole audience of the smaller games area than the Colosseum was converted to Christianity upon witnessing this miracle. The smaller arena was used because, first, the dogs refused to attack John in the larger Colosseum.  Dogs were deemed less grand than lions. The smaller arena was packed for the second oil boiling event.  This event would have occurred in the late 1st century.

John's cave and the view were far from being an unpleasant place.

Polycarp and Tertullian wrote of John's grave as a fact containing John's body. They wrote of seeing a High Priest in the town near John's new grave. A High Priest was seen and both men did agree - John was indeed a High Priest. It would be more likely they had seen something of what Abraham encountered in Melchizedek. Or the people who awoke after the first Easter.

We recognize, without doubt, we are to follow Scripture. Yet we ignore our brains not to be stirred by what Tertullian wrote about in building the faith of the believers.

Faith stirs us to acts of Faith. We follow Jesus Christ the Lord and His Acts - not people. Scriptures give us examples of people, all show flaws and weaknesses. The majority of the Words are about God and His encouragement of His People.

Faith stirs us to acts of Faith. We follow Jesus Christ the Lord and His Acts - not people.

Communities of faith are called for. If we remain safely at home, not being buffed and rubbed, hassled and cajoled by the faithful, we surely are not growing. My dog was mistakenly injured by me as I trimmed his nails. I was advised by a physician to place his paw in Diatomaceous Earth. This product is put out to kill snails, it is made up of tiny flour like fossils. We are healed to be challenged, not condemned.


How does  Revelation 3 affect us today? For one, you'd think people would run from calling anything the name "Sardis." My grandmother lived near a Mississippi Lake Sardis and I had one near us in College Station, Texas.

Which is exactly why places are named Sardis, today. John wrote of the problems of the beginning the Church continuing to the end of the age. John wrote the Truth. Of course, of course and of course the Holy Spirit was teaching John from the lessons he would understand. Heaven is a glimpse we can comprehend - God is the Creator. So Revelation is True of God and taught to John by what God could teach John from  John understanding his soul to his brain. God does not change. We need God.

Genesis 15:6
And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith.

Romans 4:3
"Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

This Salvation is only from God in Jesus Christ.

We must only depend on the Lord Jesus. No one escapes needing Jesus. Not one of us is righteous enough to raise our hands and say "I'm Good as the Gospel."

We want to be on God's upward path saying to God in prayer "I believe You Lord Father God and want the Promises given to me by Your Son Jesus Christ. Forgive me my sins. For the sake of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen. Help us, Father God, to live to stir others to understand how Loving You are. Please guide, lead and protect us to go further to please You in Love. Amen."


I am so blessed to be part of a community who believes Jesus is Lord. God's Word is written for us Today. God forgives sins and calls us to live in His Grace and offer back to Him belief, gratitude, prayer and our hearts. 

♔ Lord Jesus Saves † 

<><

Matthew 8:5-20 ~ He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.

Matthew 8:5-20

When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 

10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.


14 And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. 16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 

17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”


Isaiah 4:2-6

2 In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious,
and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel.

3 And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, 4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.

5 Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy.

6 There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.

You have to love Matthew 8. Jesus realizes He has no adult home and chooses His dwelling. Jesus is saying He dwells where He has found faith. My heart finds such joy when we see Jesus making decisions we all make. When we see Jesus making choices we make today.

Maybe we see this as millenniums ago - The Word of God assures us millions of years is a day to God.

Bethlehem stables a hundred years ago.

God does amazing things. According to the Word of God - Genesis 7 destroyed the Garden of Eden - the Flood. So there is Exile.

And yet, several centuries later after the Flood, Abraham hears God and follows His Word. Jesus always sent out His disciples in pairs. And Sarah did laugh. So where was Abraham's ministry support? God sent Abraham support. And Abraham did recognize this support! We are told perhaps there was again a garden - a branch - beautiful and glorious. Abraham's pride and honor in surviving being a sojourner in life. In a mighty Holy Spirit event.

We find a restoration of man speaking with God.

Hebrews 7
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

The truth is people get very bothered by this High Priest Melchizedek. Yet the Scriptures repeat and repeat to comfort believers. David contemplated and wrote of this High Priest. Abraham found Melchizedek to be Comfort. The Holy Spirit is called the Comforter, the Teacher. God tells us about mystery beyond our knowledge:

1 Timothy 3:16
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.

What would Abraham have seen to have been so taken with this High Priest?

The disciple John saw this as well:

1 John 4:16
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love.
Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

Moses proclaimed with such a voice, we hear 3 Millenniums later:

Exodus 34:6
The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness"

The brother of Jesus Christ gives great witness:

James 1:12
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Father God, so many things in life and in Scripture are beyond our comprehension. What gives comfort in the experience is knowing the ones You love are comforted. To be able to put our work of faith in the arms of Jesus who comforts. Lord Father God, when we are not comforted, come to us and uphold us again.

Mystery, Father God, would be why the Nativity Story is so complex. With the burden being put in Your great heart and will. Knowing the answer is Your willingness to experience our complexities. We see in simplicity, Jesus was put in the arms of Joseph, a man who knew in a dream to show comfort. God is Love.

Help us in our journey to do the Love and Work You give us to do. You give us the Words of Life Father God. We ask that Your Love surround us, heal and guide us in all goodness. Strengthen and encourage us in Your Holy Spirit we pray in the name of Jesus the Lord. We will rest in You. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves † 

<><