Psalm 91 ~ the shelter of the Most High

Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.


2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.


5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

 
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

8 You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge—
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.

15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”


My mother has been in the Hospital for 8 days. She came down with Pneumonia and then Double Pneumonia while on broad spectrum IV Antibiotics. Today was the day the physicians and family all anticipated as her last day in this life.


A good friend told me to give her all my gratitude and tell her how she blessed my life. I've seen 7 people come to her bedside and pray and hold hope for more good years here. And really this went back to what she has put in our lives from 50 and 40 years ago. Always telling us God is love and love one another with kindness and mercy.

I took Hershey Bars to the Hospital and made them bite sized finger nail clipping sized and we remembered the many, many VBS events. The one in particular said God is like Chocolate. His Goodness is enduring. And as I thought about what Mother had blessed us with, that was the message. We celebrated God calling for love and goodness. I told my mother I blessed her with every blessing I had to give her in Jesus Christ. And asked for her blessing in return. Mother blessed me and my brother came right over to get the blessing too. That Dire Hospital room suddenly smiled.

Mother is no longer non-responsive. She is alive past her estimated departure date. And has resumed interest in food and eating. And, unfortunately, still on full tilt oxygen.



We will call to Father God:


Father God,

We call to You. There is trouble here. We want the salvation of a great quality of life for my mom. For Good health in Jesus for our family. We will hold fast to You, with Love. Bear us up, please.

Rescue us from life without good quality abilities. We honor Your Abilities. The Universe exists by Your Word alone.

To Jesus, in Him, You will do more than we know or can even imagine. Jesus the Lord. Knows the stars by name and is the Lord God Almighty of all the Heavenly Host.

Your Good Will for a Hope and Future. The Blessing of being Covered by Jesus. We are the Saints of God.

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †

Luke 19:28-40 ~ The Lord has need of this +

Luke 19:28-40

And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’”

32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them.

33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 

34 And they said, “The Lord has need of this.”

35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”

40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

 

.

Do we feel unrecognized in our lives? Like Paul said, living quietly. Working for a living. Walking in faith. He created each of us to be unique, loved children. That's the real miracle. God loves us as we are.

Jesus had power presented to HIM twice. Once in the desert and again on Psalm Sunday. The second time, the Gospels record He went into Jerusalem and looked about Him. Sounds like something we all might do. Knowing He was a King, meant for Eternal Promises of God.

Isaiah 12:2
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation

So many years, Jesus lived as the Gospels record, in the favor of God and man; He knew some quiet years. Jesus lived real life. The kind we understand. Jesus' life tells us about truth.

Found it just as He had told them.  
Isaiah and Zechariah both knew of Jesus triumphant, centuries before He walked along life as glory, grace upon grace, full of grace and truth.

Isaiah 49:6
He says: "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth."

When the song of the angels is stilled.
When the star in the sky is gone.
When the kinds and princes are home.
When the shepherds are back with their flock.
The work of Christ(mas) begins:

The find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.

Alleluia! Unto us a child is born.                                                           ~Author Unknown

The Indwelling of Emmanuel - God with us. Always.

  

Father God,

Today Lord, we put out our hands again. Send me. Let my life, my words, my praise say Jesus is God.

Give us please this miracle we seek.  I'd like to have my mom healthy and have good years ahead.

Speak and Your Mercy will shine forth. We will have such Gratitude. Forever.  We rely on the Word You Speak. God bless my mom in this her serious illness and hospitalization. Bless her with restoration or an easy passage to Heaven.  I rely on You, Holy Spirit, to pray this with me.

Thank You, Abba, for surrounding us with Love. And for the gift of knowing You, my mother has given. Thank You.

Thank You like Zacchaeus, we depend upon You know us, see us and save us.  My mom believes Jesus and has peace. Thank You Abba, for the peace I see in my mother calling on You, her Father. The Peace You provide.

With the eyes You have given us, we will see Your Will and Your Glory. And Your Goodness - Your Good Will is our Hope and Future.

In Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †

Ecclesiastes 3 ~ a time to Love

Ecclesiastes 3

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. 

Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.

14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away




Proverbs 12

25 Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down,
but a good word makes him glad.
26 One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor,
but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
27 Whoever is slothful will not roast his game,
but the diligent man will get precious wealth.
28 In the path of righteousness is life,
and in its pathway there is no death.




Eternal life begins from the minute we Believe Jesus is Lord. My mother is unable to eat and drink and maintain her oxygen during Pneumonia. Her time is probably limited on this earth. And I felt so badly for her my prayers felt flat.

The Hospital put out a brochure in 2016 from 1993. Written by Susan Saint Sing - Varsity Rowing Coach at Penn State University.

Susan Saint Sing was a young college woman and one day asked God if she mattered and if He was good and expected in her innocent prayer, that God would answer, many years ago. And He did. Light filled her bedroom in the middle of the night and she Knew HIS Holiness and Goodness. Meeting the Living God changed her life.

And in a few years, her father died and she was in debilitating pain. She received excellent advice. To use her God given memory and draw upon her own faith. And in remembering that Moment, that Time, that Love Father God shared with her, she began to recover from the loss of her father and her own physical pain and grief.

Susan Saint Sing found she could pray better too. Without guilt. God is God.

1. She remembers her best time with Father God and is there again.
2. Remember a time of healing. Open your soul, body, heart mind to Father God.
3. Be in confidence and Gratitude.

4. To remember God's Will is Good. When we pray for others - the results are up to Father God. Healing is not always physical - but can be spiritual or both.

5. We can trust lifting our Heart to God. We can believe Him all things will interweave for Good for Those Who Love the Lord God.

6. We can rest in Father God and renew. Jesus and the Word of God the Father, Abba, uphold the world and life.



When we worry, and when you tug on the Hospital chapel door which doesn't open, all things look dire. But as the day had unfolded, to be told the door sticks really badly until someone pulls the door really hard that day. Our Good Father tenderly cares for His Beloved. The Apple of His eye. Here, when we put our concerns, worries, plain fear in His Hands, Abba our Father is going to use His Light to overcome all darkness. 1 John 3 assures us God's Heart is far above ours and capable to handle our worries and anxieties. We can put our Trust in God. Always.


Father God,

I am lifting up my mom to you. I would so like her back as she was in my youth. I give Great Thanks for the years my mom modeled to me - kindness, encouragement, caring of others, skills to learn art, see art, do art. Making a meal, a home, a season, a day - better in Jesus Christ. Bring her fully back Father God and don't let her suffer. We would love a miracle or a time to be healed in Heaven.

I am praying for the woman I saw in the hospital today, calling the relatives, like herself to come from far away to care for their family member. She was so very sad and alone as this elderly man asked to go Home to Jesus. I pray for him to have an easy passage and for her to have the joy of knowing she was brave to be there all alone for him.

I am so grateful I had friends, Jack, Cheryl, Edward, Alexander, Cal, Mary Jane, Judy, Dee, cousins, Facebook friends and Steven to pray for me. I honestly felt quite spineless and wanted to go home and just hide. I have had encouragement, advise, prayer and bravery pumped into me. I needed them. And they were there. I've done better to support the decisions of today - for their support. I give thanks for the nurses continual care. I give thanks to listening skill of all the Hospital. I am grateful for Jesus putting out answered prayer brochures in the Hospital from 1993.

In Jesus Christ we Live.

Proverbs 12
28 In the path of righteousness is life,
and in its pathway there is no death.

In Jesus, we see with joy He brings people to live their heart. To continue to go forth in Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †

Psalm 148 ~ His majesty is above earth and heaven

Psalm 148

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his hosts!

3 Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!

5 Let them praise the name of the Lord!
For he commanded and they were created.
6 And he established them forever and ever;
he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.

7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling his word!

9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and flying birds!

11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and maidens together,
old men and children!

13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty is above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his saints,
for the people of Israel who are near to him.
Praise the Lord!

Lord I want to be in that number!

Psalm 19
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Isaiah 49:10-11
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
And I will make all my mountains a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.

Psalm 11
In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
    “Flee like a bird to your mountain"

Psalm 97:6
The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.

Deuteronomy 32:1
Listen, you heavens, and I will speak; hear, you earth, the words of my mouth.

Ezekiel 43:2
And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory.

Revelation 21:11
It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

Psalm 19:5
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

Revelation 21:2
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

Isaiah 43
Now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. "For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior"


Father God, we are in the end stages of life. Up down. Back forth. Emotions run high. We pray to do the day as You'd have us do. In Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †

Genesis 8 ~ God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark.

Genesis 8

But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, 3 and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated, 4 and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

6 At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made 7 and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. 9 But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him. 10 He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. 11 And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. 12 Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.

13 In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. 14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out. 15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” 18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him. 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.

20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. 22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

God saw the world needed correction and He administered correction.

Let's look at this as mature people and wonder about this Scripture.

The Black Death of 1347 – 1351 A.D. killed 75 million people.

The Irish Potato Famine killed almost a million people & is sometimes regarded by historians as a genocide of the poorer Irish people. 1 million people died and a million more emigrated from Ireland, causing the island's population to fall by between 20% and 25%. "A starving population, an absentee aristocracy, and an alien Church, and, in addition,  weak executive power."

Oddly enough, when you look at the historian's upset over lack of government intervention - it remarkably resembles the Ipuwer Manuscripts Papyrus complaining of governmental failure for God's described Egyptian Plague. Solomon said the hand of God gives us blessing and the opportunity to provide a solution. Or change.

The Prophet Nahum lived during latter half of the reign of Hezekiah (8th century BC). He witnessed the invasion of Sennacherib and the destruction (2 Kings 19:35). Nahum witnessed the most glorious and miraculous time of Judah and Israel. The fear of the Assyrian Empire and Hezekiah's success almost parallel that of Solomon.

Nahum 1
3 The LORD is slow to anger and of great might, and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. 4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither, the bloom of Lebanon fades. 5 The mountains quake before him, the hills melt; the earth is laid waste before him, the world and all that dwell therein. 6 Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him. 7 The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. 8 But with an overflowing flood he will make a full end of his adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness. 9 What do you plot against the LORD? He will make a full end; he will not take vengeance twice on his foes.

The ninth verse tells us of Katrina and Haiti, the Philippines.


The Egyptian Plagues brought forth a Nation that resurrected in our lives.  And Israel exists after 2,000 years of obliteration.

The Black Death did something we clearly see 700 years latter - feudal servitude, death by starvation, illiteracy was ended when there were not serfs to bring in the crops. Freedom, reading, arts, and renewal occurred.

New Orleans was grid locked in unbelievable poverty, cruelty and generational grid lock. A second hurricane spread more people to be far flung. Haiti never received such financial support.

The Irish Potato Famine moved a million people to try for better lives. Others went Home to the Lord.

God does move. Is it up to us to judge HIM???

God's Word is far more powerful than an atomic bomb. And God can be as gentle as a mother with her children in our hearts. Man is pretty impressive with an atomic weapon - but the results of Hiroshima were not repaired by mankind. We certainly know how to blow things up. It's the power of God - He Builds. Sustains. Renews.

We the people are so wise to believe that the Big Bang Theory created the Universe, now many Bangs Theory of Creation - and Genesis One would agree. Not forgetting our current theory of illiterate "disciples" would have Peter write us telling us a Day to God is million of years.

We had a crisis in the Gulf of Mexico a few years back. British Petroleum had a spill so large that all the southern USA was effected. People who wanted to eat shrimp all over the USA were disappointed to learn this might end fishing and shrimp for years to come. Tourism ground to an absolute halt. We were told we now lived on the rim of a ruined Gulf of Mexico. And suddenly all the hazmat suits were done. Finito. It would appear that because oil is a 'natural' product the Gulf reabsorbed the oil and - voila - end of crisis. After the news reported the continuing devastation would require years of spill clean up. Many of the news had a crisis day counter.   Not one news story questioned the miraculous clean up did not occur for the Valdez in Alaska. Not one story worried about the oil spill in the Mediterranean French Coast in the 1960's. Just - oh - oil reabsorbs.


We are so quick to Judge GOD. WHO SAID WE HAVE THE ABILITY???

If your Word created a Universe and your good deeds when largely unnoticed - would you want to save the World???

God does. 

Jesus told us God is even concerned with sparrows. 

God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.


God is going with us, in good seasons of our lives and in the dire times.

If for an evening, you could place your hand upon the powerful Hand of God, you would realize, Niagara Falls could be the Canadian Mississippi River running upwards to the North Pole.  And all the Oceans could again heave up to flood all our land, but you would also have to realize God has a Plan. And we work His Plan with two choices - to do so with gratitude and wonder.  Or create a path He would hate to see, His Beloved fall into self, where His plan is fulfilled without our growth towards Him and His Promises and Kingdom.  

Of course we must be ourselves to the One Who Loves us Most.  And of course, we need to remember this is Our Father GOD - who created us and the Universe with His Word.  We are here because of this tremendous Love He has for His people and His creation. 

John walked with Jesus down the road and the disciples were filled with awe. John was asked to describe God. John did.

1 John 4:16
God is love

There is a response.

1 John 4:7-11

Father God, 

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. 

We  ask and remember our loved ones and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen!!!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †