Psalm 128 ~ who walks in His ways! +

Psalm 128

A Song of Ascents.

128  Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
who walks in his ways!
 
 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
 
 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the Lord.

 The Lord bless you from Zion!
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
 
May you see your children's children!
Peace be upon Israel!

Yesterday I heard the podcasts discussing what family is.

Family is National Government to State Government to City Government.

Family is people we are related to. Oddly if you look in the Bible, rarely do brothers get along.Jacob, the believer that all Children should be blessed, has to really be honest with deceitful Reuben who had pulled hard to save Joseph and then conspired when he thought Joseph was not to be returned. Then having failed to save Joseph, lying, lying, lying Reuben then slept with his father Jacob's concubine. One failure deserves another failure? Right? Jacob then did bless all his sons. Perhaps his only daughter had died by the time of his death. Jacob is unique to believe all should be blessed. God named His Nation after this blessings giver.

(The story of Reuben tells us -  to encourage the good in people, have them see their virtues, they know their flaws. Jacob would probably say all people will let you down. Forgiveness matters.)

Family is - Brussels Sprouts. And Chocolate. Chocolate is mostly loved - looks good on Birthday Cakes and almost all foods, and you can put Sprinkles on Chocolate. Brussels Sprouts? Well, if you dress this up and put this on your "Thanksgiving" Table - this is quite the centerpiece.




Who demanded in Family that every doctrine be completely followed by the Head Cheese Opinion?

Let's take the most angry opinionated subject there is 
and talk about what Jesus 
and Joshua 
knew about God and being Centered?

Homosexuality and Family.
One opinion counts and one opinion is to SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN.

One if 5 people have been molested in the United States.

What is being molested?

What if you have recently lost a child and you know two women in your group are gay. Your opinion is, that is their business. And one is ok, the other is actually aware you know and she is always offering opinions that if you fall far enough, you will want to try new options. And she comments on this every time the group gathers. Eventually you are offered a three way. And you decline realizing, this has gone on far enough.

What about getting dressed at a doctor's office and a woman starts stroking your hair and you reply that you are fine getting dressed. The social implication is: Stop. Then you turn to say I am getting dressed. And she, the nurse, states, with inflection: "If you need anything, I am "Gay-le". I was a teenager. In a doctor's office in the nice part of town. Not expecting to be afraid at the doctor's office.

A young college student was told that his parents were Christian haters. He needed to be more kind to gay people. He told his friend, my parents don't hate, and the reply was, "Yes, they are Christian people and bigots called Haters." He replied I don't think so. And was assured this was fact. So the young man adopted more of a friendly attitude towards a co worker who was gay. The gay co worker asked him on a date, and the young college student replied, no he was not gay. He was told by his friend who was assuring him his parents were haters he needed to go to a gay bar and see this is just natural. He did go. He found the attitude to be more intentional than a regular bar and left.  His co worker saw him and asked and was told exactly his thought. Asked on a date again and again declined. Later that week, in front of customers, the young college student was pushed up against a cooler pinned held by his hips and the gay co worker mimicked a sexual action for a crowd of about 40 people.  The college student was told, "He would learn to be gay."



Homophobe?

Our Family has an elderly Gay person in the family. And how does That Relationship Work if you are such a "homophobe". Fine. You love that man, very dearly. And you are his heir and as he dies, you are the one to find the pain medication given. And you honor and cherish his memory.

And then he leaves his roommate behind. And you all become such close friends that as he dies of Throat Cancer in 2001, he calls for you to come to his bedside. And you rush there. Throat Cancer - you read of - is actually a form of STD. How do you know this? From volunteering to talk to people with STD's and unplanned pregnancies for 3.5 years.


SO ONE OPINION MATTERS ON HOMOSEXUALITY
and ONE OPINION DOES NOT?

What if you grew up next door to two homosexual men for 16 years?
One was friendly.
The other literally growled at the two children next door. Us.
And every Friday night was undress on the patio with the dinner guests. My opinion is that many Homosexual relationships are not monogamous and marriage should be.

My English Teacher in High School was Bill Nelson. Famous for running for Gay Rights for the Dallas City Council. I liked Mr. Nelson very much. I talked to him after class, it was the last class of the day. Mr. Nelson lost his job, was transferred,  for having sexual relations with a consenting 18 year old student on the High School Campus. I think that was unwise.

A decade later, I dreamed of Mr. Nelson one night, I dreamed he had Aids. I ran up to him and wept he had Aids. I woke up with tears on my cheeks. And The Dallas Morning News announced that day Bill Nelson had died of Aids. I had not known he had Aids. PBS did a marvelous special interviewing Mr. Nelson's mother - she was very, very real.

Aren't we allowed to be real now,
Or does only One Opinion Count?




Family. Allows what God allows.

This Altar shows The Davidic Line has a New Son. A new King of Kings. And All People Are Welcome At the Table of God. This is Thanksgiving for what GOD has GIVEN.

The Gospels are orderly.

Matthew begins with Family. A man accepts an infant as his son. Family blends together in mercy.

Mark begins with a Straight and Honest Path, Subduing a Natural Wilderness. Testing.  Prayer. and Healing

Luke 1 is the Miraculous Willingness of God to go many places in Amazing God ways. Fulfilling Promises in His Time.

John begins by seeing the Light of God in all of mankind. John sees Jesus answer prayer and being with the soul praying.

The Book of Acts tells us what happens in 33 A.D. after Jesus was victorious over death.  Thousands upon thousands received the grace upon grace of Jesus' Salvation.  There was no test. The Word of God says if you call upon the Name of Jesus - you are Saved.

Jesus tells us who is saved - sinners.

3,000 pages of Scriptures assure us - all have fallen. We need Jesus the Lord.

Are we in peril of Christianity Today?

80% of people in the USA report they pray to God and expect Him to Love.

If you ask teenagers, 20s, 30s and 40s if they are Spiritual - many will reply: "Spiritual? NO." Oh, do you believe in God?" "Oh, yes! I thought you meant spirits or something."

How many in our world are Baptized? Many. Most.


Who said this?

And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.

Why writing this is that old God of the Old Testament and an old Prophet. (The mean, fierce God was in bad mood times.)  Joel 2:32. Jesus liked writing this so much He repeated this much, much later in Romans and Acts.

Acts 2:39
The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call.

Father God ran to the son coming Home.


1 Timothy 4
10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Today we have a new way to date.
No one would get married without trying on a new pair of shoes!


The old way = "Her father will kill you."
The new way = more divorce than ever.

Today we have 28 Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Millenniums were 3 STDs.

This century is the bloodiest century we have ever had to do violence and war. We have a new way of looking at human life in many, many areas.

What you do with your life is your business.
But don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer you want me to.

God never once asked me, or you, to sit in Judgement of what your soul is. Father God sees hearts, I do not see salvation - He does.

What I know I am asked to do, is this:
Give Justice - With Mercy
Walk Humbly with Jesus, because He knows me. And He did so much for me. There is nothing I can do for Father God that He did not provide for me. I want to show my thanks by saying:

God Is Love.
God wants to save - the whole world - through Jesus.

My heart is God's hearth - I say, Welcome Father God, dwell in all of me. And the one's I love. Help this community, Churches, work places, this state and this Nation. All people who call upon Jesus. Amen.

In Optimism I pray:

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name,
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy Will be done on earth as in Heaven.
Give us this day!
Our daily bread.
Forgive me my sins,
as I forgive those who sin against me,
For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory. Amen In Jesus! 

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

John 11:1-16 ~ Light

John 11:1-16

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus Twin) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

 Incoming Storm Sea of Galilee

Jesus seemed to ignore the pressing need for His help as a Severe Storm for Lazarus rolled in. Aid was spoken of - yet the Gospels tell us the aid was too weak.

Still Jesus was in Charge. Our Lord God. One with the Father.


Psalm 97

1 The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes on every side.
4 His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all peoples see his glory.

Isaiah 54:10
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Acts 2
2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”




A Storm creates controversy. God knows about all of this.

Luke 1
1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.


God will make His paths straight.  We wait upon God. For His Righteousness and no other.

Not one thing is too hard for God Almighty. Creator of Heaven and earth by His Word.


God has always seen more than the Storm.

Isaiah 45

17 But Israel is saved by the Lord
with everlasting salvation;
you shall not be put to shame or confounded
to all eternity.

18 For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he did not create it empty,
he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
‘Seek me in vain.’
I the Lord speak the truth;
I declare what is right.

20 “Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
They have no knowledge
who carry about their wooden idols,
and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
21 Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.

22 “Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

24 “Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and strength;
to him shall come and be ashamed
all who were incensed against him.
25 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall be justified and shall glory.”

Father God,
We give our Cares UP to the Lord.
He Cares for me. His Word says so. 
We remember His Words and live them back to Him. 

Psalm 33:12
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance. 

Let us remember we are blessed and be grateful today!

Our Father, Who is in Heaven,
Holy is Your Name,
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done,
on earth as in Heaven,
Give us the Day
Our Daily Bread.
Forgive us our Sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into Temptation
Deliver us from Evil.
For Thine IS the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory. Forever and Ever. Amen.
We pray always in the... Name of Jesus!  Amen.

 

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Luke 1 ~ Go before the Lord to prepare His Ways

Luke 1

1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.


5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”


26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 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.


39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”


46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.


57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.


67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

68
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people
69
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
70
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72
to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73
the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74
that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
75
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
78
because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
79
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

All have fallen.

This is why The Son of God Almighty entered the world with so much in this infant's life of disrepair.


In Holiness.
We all want the world to suddenly sparkle with Good News and Good Will. Adam's two children killed each other over money and jealousy. Then the life left, was not happier.

Abraham followed GOD. And Lot was so stupid he moved on and stayed in trouble, where is the goodness? Later,  they knew God would bless them with Rebecca. Wow. What a blessing there, huh. So they send their son back into THAT to find the Love of His Life. Messy. Perpetually Messy.

The message is why would God send HIS Beautiful, Wonderful Son to be born into scandal and why the town would not give a first time mother a place to have a child of GOD.

The point of life is like the TV show MacGyver. Do your best with each day. Work with what you have, have God's Strength to not become weary to do Good. When we Try to Please Father God, who creates THE UNIVERSE, we please Father God when our heart is truly there.

All have fallen. Some pretend. It's like Viral Labyrinth - if we are so righteous and blessed we can be cold and standoffish to protect the border. Making the blessing very chilly. If we fall, know we are fallen and try to do good to all around us to make up for our fallen states - more than likely that amount of desperation will result in more trouble. WE NEED A SAVIOR. We need JESUS to center us. We have to recenter on Jesus all day long and have joy.

We bless God when we tell of His love, not our despair of loss or need to make up to what He has freely given.





Is past performance going to show us Future hope?
If life can unwind, why can't we trust God that Life could see an unexpected Blessing?

What will we Please Father God to expect and prepare for? Blessings? If we pray for blessings and prepare for disappointment, that is an odd combination.


John 14
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that athe Father may be glorified in the Son.

John 15
If  you abide in me, and my words abide in you, fask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.


Father God,
We lift up our culture and our Nation to You.

Hebrews 8:10
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their minds, even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding, and engrave them upon their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

We Pray God's laws will be Heeded and held up. We pray our National monuments, plaques, laws and statues honor God and His Word will be preserved.

In comfort of Your assured Love, we lift up those we Love to You for Your mercies and Promises. We lift up the people You have given us. And Thank You for hearing and answering our prayers. Amen in Jesus.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †