Luke 1 ~ An account of the things that have been fulfilled among us

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, painted by Liz Swindle

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.


5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion

. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”


 


26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

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

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”




46 And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord
47
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.




57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?”

For the Lord’s hand was with him.





67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

68
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70
(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72
to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

76
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

Psalm 104:4
He makes His messengers winds, His ministers a flaming fire.

Cellphones and hall monitors caught the picture of this Angel when Chelsea Barton was healed at Christmas time in North Carolina. The hospital saw so clearly that a dying teenager Immediately lived - they went on National News to say an Angel had come to their hospital.

Hebrews 1:7
In speaking of the angels he says, "He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire."

My family and I saw this most enormous cloud stay exactly in one place, for almost 2 hours over Lake Texoma in 1988. This did not dissipate, this fill-the-sky Angel vanished.

Ezekiel 1:13
The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it.

Psalm 148:8
lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do His bidding


What would possibly make this season, 6 Sundays from now is Christmas week, the Happiest Season on Earth? The Most Wonderful Season of All? Joy to the World the Lord has Come?


Jesus did not drag Himself to this Life.

Jesus did not force Himself to dwell among mankind.

Jesus did not force Himself to be the Light lighting all of mankind.

John 16:13
I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

Father God,
We thank You most wonderfully for Your mercies renew each day. You Lift us. Father God, some of Your Beloved struggle because they have been told their bodies live and their minds will not. Father God, be merciful to sustain us all or our days and take us quickly to Live in Paradise with You.

Let peace rule in our hearts. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

You are God and by Your Word alone Life is sustained. We lift up those we love in Expectation of Your Goodness and Hope soars like Eagles. We lift up the People You have given us, with Glad Hearts. We look to You as Salvation of Your Beloved and this Nation. And all people of the world - Your creation - You find Good.

We lift up our children for Your many blessings! To shine, to rise, to trust Jesus all of our days You have blessed us with. To be strong and courageous in all circumstances, even with Wild Winds of Life.

We look to You. Your Forgiveness is needed and great. Let Your Face shine upon us. We look for Your Graciousness and Your Peace. We lift up these Holy Days ahead. We go forward in faith. In the Highest Name of Jesus. Amen. 

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

John 6:16-24 ~ In search of Jesus

John 6:16-24

 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. 

By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”

21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

Which part should we start with?

Jesus has no trouble walking on water when the waters were rough. The Sea of Galilee is prone to sudden rough seas brought on like a wind sheer phenomena caused when cool air off the West mountains falls down into the Jordan river flowing into the Sea of Galilee. Hot air trapped around the lake rises suddenly and the waters become very turbulent inhibiting westward travel over the water. The severity and suddenness of these storms are compared to an earthquake storm. I'm guessing Jesus is really not using the water as a foot path. God healed the widow of Nain's son - with His Word. The Word of God is Living and Active. Something for this generation to think of - how Jesus walked on Stormy Ocean. In the dark.

 immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading


Einstein's Theory of Relativity - Space Travel - Warp factor ~ Tells us about the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Dimensions melt. Theory for some - Word of God for Jesus.

Ephesians 4 tells us of the Company the Son of God maintains -

Ephesians 4:10
He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.

"God knows" something about the Universe. And "God knows" something about Science.

2 Peter 3:8
Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

Isaiah 40:26
Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing.


Now more of the excellency of God's Very Word.

Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

In search of Jesus?

Jesus of the Gospels and Jeremiah must know each other. They speak alike and David and Isaiah both knew Father God named the stars.

Jeremiah 24:7
I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

In Jesus we have access and confidence we can go to Jesus Christ the Lord.

Ephesians 3
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom 
every family in heaven and on earth
is named.

Jesus Christ will dwell in our hearts with faith.

Colossians 2:6,7
Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord,
so walk in Him,
having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

Now, where was Peter when Jesus gave him the keys to the 12 Gates of Heaven???

Father, We hear You.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His Name. Jesus.

Psalm 145
One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of Your majesty And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate. 6 Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, And I will tell of Your greatness.

Our Father God is God of ALL Things,
Ancient of Days,
A Wellspring,
Living Water.

We in confidence and jubilation lift up our Loved Ones and their care to You.
The People You have given us shall know Our God Reigns.

We ask this Nation Rise up in the Name of Jesus for His Glory and our Hope.

We pray of the Goodness of His Creation to Proclaim the Love of Jesus and His Saving Mercy.

And we shall know the Greatest of All of God's Miracles - The Salvation of Jesus - for me.

And we proclaim Thanks! Dear Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Luke 7:11-17 ~ He said

  Capernaum - Adult Hometown of Jesus

Luke 7:11-17

11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

14 Then he went up and touched the table of the body they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

16 They were all filled with awe and praised God.

 Mosaic of Israel

So what happened to all the dead bodies in Israel? We know  to be buried was of extreme importance and it's a curse to be unburied and left as a carcass to be eaten by birds. But the dead are missing in Israel. What happened to the tombs that opened as Jesus was Resurrected?

One cannot say. We do know that after a body was taken down to a skeleton of bones on the shelf, then a sarcophagus was used for the bones.

Does this mean there was a rapture. No, it does not. The Bible would record that.

What is sure is that this man was dead, Jesus did not touch the body, Jewish Law said this is a defilement. Although Elijah thew himself on the widow's son to raise him - instead - Jesus is the Word made manifest - and Jesus speaks the Widow of Nain's son back to Life.

Jesus, the Way, Truth and Life.

Bible History Daily -

What archaeologists have not discovered that may provide the most insight into Israelite beliefs.

Tombs and evidence of ancient burial customs are rarely found among the Israelite settlements of the hill country, as observed by archaeologist Avraham Faust in “Early Israel: An Egalitarian Society,” in the July/August 2013 issue of BAR. As Faust explains, this “lack of burials phenomenon” is unique to the early Iron Age; in both the preceding Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 B.C.E.) and the later phases of the Iron Age (eighth–seventh centuries B.C.E.), tombs are common and ancient burial customs well known. How then can we explain this striking gap in the archaeological record of Biblical Israel?

Given that neither cremation nor exposure to the elements are supported by the archaeological or Biblical evidence, the most likely explanation is that in Biblical Israel the dead were buried well outside settlements, in areas where archaeologists rarely excavate. These burials were simple inhumations without grave goods or adornments. But while this explains the lack of Israelite burials known to archaeologists, the more difficult question is why the dead were buried so simply in Biblical Israel in the first place?



Jewish Virtual Library ~

There is also abundant positive evidence for the importance of burial. Abraham's purchase of the cave at Machpelah as a family tomb. Many examples. "Bury me with my fathers," Jacob's request (Gen. 49:29)

Archaeology reveals no distinctively Israelite burial practices during almost the whole of the biblical period. It follows that it is risky to draw firm conclusions about Israelite religious beliefs on the basis of specific burial practices, e.g., the provision of grave goods or lack of them, communal or individual burial, and so on, since any or all of these may have been dictated by immemorial custom rather than by consciously held conviction. 
 




We know from the New Testament and the burial of Jesus, the most about burials. For the wealthy, the tomb most typical of the Israelite period is a natural cave. Bodies would be laid on rock shelves provided on three sides of the chamber, or on the floor, and as generations of the same family used the tomb, skeletons then are put into a side chamber and "to be gathered to one's kin" (Gen. 25:8) probably refers to the few sarcophagus found.

The 5 year Israel Sarcophagus of James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus was never declared. The seasoned well-known Israeli Judge burst into tears and said it was a matter of Faith. The Louves Antiquity Director said this is a valid find. So did the Chief of Forensics of the FBI.

Herod's Sarcophagus was found recently. And that of Caiaphas in the 1960s. In my lifetime Pontius Pilate was said to be a myth, before the stone Pontius Pilate dictated signs of his authority were found. God is leaving us message after message.

So why are the majority of bones not found in a dry climate? God 'probably' does leave clues found and missing clues to create thoughts, ideas and wonders of God Almighty, our Father as the gift of Jesus Christ.


Ezekiel 37:1-14

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

What possible reason is there for God to have hidden bones and remains and evidence of people?

Revelation 7 has a idea for the reason:

we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,

from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,

from the tribe of Gad 12,000,

6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000,

from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,

from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,

7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,

from the tribe of Levi 12,000,

from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,

8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,

from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,

from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
 





 


9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb

Father God,
In the name of Jesus the Lord, I believe You are the Lord, You have spoken and You will do as you have said and declared.

Let us open our hearts to You and pray for our loved ones and people You have given us to know each day how much they are Loved.

We lift up all people in all nations and this one - to raise high the name of Jesus - bringing more of His Heaven to this earth. In Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Acts 27:33-44 ~ And so it was that all were brought safely!

Acts 27:33-44

33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength,[a] for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” 35 And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. 36 Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 (We were in all 276  persons in the ship.) 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.


39 Now when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. 40 So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. 41 But striking a reef,[c] they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. 42 The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, 44 and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.


Have you ever had hurt feelings with Father God, King of Kings, Lord God Almighty?
Best to tell Him.


Why the shipwreck GOD??? Why 3 Times a Shipwreck???
If I were Paul I'd have said, "Did I make You mad?"
I'd have hurt feelings.

But if you look,this is more rollercoaster ride than anything else.

And Paul gets to say,"I DID THAT. I Lived Through That!"










Look at Paul's list:


2 Corinthians 11
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.

That list right there, will put hair on your chest.
Wake you up in the morning.
Put grit in your stance.

But you know, after all those efforts for Father God, I'd have hurt feelings over the shipwrecks.
THREE SHIPWRECKS??? Worse than Charlie Brown. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy???

Evangelism, News, Attention, Curiosity. Stamina... the answer is... God's Purpose.

Isaiah 46
3 "Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have been borne by Me from birth And have been carried from the womb; 4 Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you. 5 "To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal and compare Me, That we would be alike?…

Paul with his great Love and power and Will and Joy and Faith and Hope...

Paul sees alllll this trouble and he has lived
7 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—

What will he do with this Will to do God's Will?

The last of 2 Corinthians 11 says, Paul will Boast.

57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

Proverbs 21:31
The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD.

Blessings like faith, can be unseen. It's the only answer to Paul saying he rejoices in all these troubles. To Overcome!

Romans 8
The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.

Father God,
The Lord's Prayer is Perfect and Complete.
The Apostle's Creed tells us of faith.
But the "Help Lord Jesus" Works well.

The Highest Name of Jesus
will carry us out and up
or we will walk through this and learn
or we will suffer and be changed to grow again.

Jesus is going to have the Victory.
The highest name gathers us to rest in His Love.

Father God, Let me be led in Your Mercies and not be the one reined in.
Comfort and enfold and grow the ones I love. Uphold and Protect the People You have given me.

Lead and Guide the Nation trusting in You. Empower all the People trusting in You. IN Jesus, the Victory. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Psalm 86 ~ Be gracious

Psalm 86

1 Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am godly;
save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.

3 Be gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.
7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
for you answer me.

8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like yours.
9 All the nations you have made shall come
and worship before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.

10 For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.

11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.

12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
and they do not set you before them.
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant,
and save the son of your maidservant.

17 Show me a sign of your favor,
that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Because I am a human being, not a number bible counter - Edward and I were married in 1986 - this Psalm always reminds me of marriage. Please remember I've been reading the Bible for decades and have used lots of memories to find and remember Bible verses.

This Psalm is not the part of marriage created by lovely wedding planners, but regular life. Marriage, if you've been married for any amount of time, you know, isn't just about the feeling between two people, but also the way two people encounter life events together. Sometimes life feels like a storm on the ocean with two people in a row boat.

The two people in this row boat have something secure to hang on to. They believe God is listening when they pray. They believe their small part in life matters. Even when that boat is a good place to be, they know life rocks the boat. They believe God is their answer. When difficulties come, they believe they will be continue to hope in God. Because He alone is God. In this life and the one to come.

Edward has a diagnosis of a terminal illness. And for many years Father God has given Edward a willingness to say Heaven is with Jesus and is Paradise. We are praying for healing, for Edward to have his soul sustain his Brain with the Lord's Word, but not to have his brain quit and have a vegetative state for a man who has done Youth Ministry, Sacrificial Father Love to his two sons, enduring Love to his wife and a determination each day to exercise his mind and body. With good cheer at what is accomplished each day.

What is the Good News here? Edward does not get very forlorn. He gives calm opinions, mostly. God is equipping Edward to do what God asks of Edward. Your continued prayers would be appreciated.

I've noticed His results, what is prayed for is the Holy Spirit comforts. Casting our cares upon Jesus is Jesus tenderly holding this.

Father God, I am asking for the gracious goodness of this Psalm be Your Blessing.

“The Lord bless Edward
and keep you;

the Lord make his face shine on Edward
and be gracious to you;

the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace
and give you peace.

So they will put Jesus' name on the Edward, and I will bless them.”’

Thank You, Father God. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †