We pray for Mississippi

 

The second century AD and the fourth century had massive weather and storms, frightening all the people who believed the end of the world was at hand.  Tornadoes are rare in Europe and Rome, with Europe, knew deadly tornadoes. So many were killed by sudden lightning strikes.

  Leviticus 26:4 

Then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, 
and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
  

  James 5:17-18 

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

  

  

  Abba, Father,

  

  We pray as Jesus calmed the storm, causing

  the Disciples to know the Power of His Word,

  we ask Jesus to calm the earth

  Your Good Creation

  

  We ask Jesus to speak peace to the weather.

  

  Your good will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

We ask Your Grace and Mercy

on Your Good Creation.

  

  We pray the Righteous praying, will know Your Grace

  prevails, hearing their prayers.

  

  We pray for Your Strength for the Lower Mississippi River Valley

  to heal and find Your comfort.

  Amen in Jesus Christ.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yes Lord we look to You

John 16:22-33 ~ no one will take your joy from you †

 

John 16:22-33

 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 

23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

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

28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father." 

29 His disciples said, "Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God." 

31 Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. 

Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. 

In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."

March is my birthday season. I'm sure my favorite new leaf green color comes from how much I adore my Birthday.  My great-grandmother loved to grow plants and flowers, generations were raised knowing all the trees and flower names. I loved our Elm tree, being a very dark bark with bright green leaves.

As an only child, of only child parents, being the first grandchild, waited upon for more than 5 years of grandparent and parent hopes:  my grandmothers and mother would make elaborate, homemade Easter Egg Birthday Invitations. My Birthday Party would be a miniature dining tables and miniature chairs, set up to look like a Hallmark Paper Easter Dinner Table.

The Entertainment was... Easter Egg Hunting. And the Mothers would stay to watch, to call encouragement or settle a scuttle. 

Birthdays were tremendous for me.

However, all this joy has NOT carried over to all Birthdays.  Time and situation changed Birthdays for all of us. And child birthdays of perfection can be a very tough act to follow.

Adult birthdays are more reasonable, with direct communication and tempering the expectation with the birthday-ness of those around you. Advance notification and advance warning if applicable and heeded. Some women I've done Bible Study with, put up an invitation for their family to consider planning and consideration invitation on - the - refrigerator.

This year, 

Kind and thoughtful people have been so kind, and the joy of Birthdays is here again. For those of you, who made this Birthday season lovely, God bless you. Joy is Joyful.

Is God really thinking about our happiness? Are we heathens to wonder this... again? Or include this in Lent?

The Scriptures express ideas about anger at least 800 times in various forms. Pretty formidable. Honest. 

God has emotions and plans we don't fathom or see. So, again, how heathen are we to wonder during the weird Pandemic recovery life about Happiness.

Let's ask... Moses! And throw in David too... Psalm 90 begins with a fairly dramatically observation of life in upheaval, like the Exodus, and continues.

Psalm 90

So teach us to number our days

    that we may get a heart of wisdom.

13 Return, O Lord! How long?

    Have pity on your servants!

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,

    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

    and for as many years as we have seen evil.

16 Let your work be shown to your servants,

    and your glorious power to their children.

17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

    and establish the work of our hands upon us;

    yes, establish the work of our hands!

Happiness is truly being considered when the children are included in ideas of happiness. Generational happiness exceeding self. 

In this generation, we should consider the Holiday Classic Movie from 1987, "Planes, Trains and Automobiles."  This generation may not know Robert Mitchum, Clark Gable or Ricky Nelson, but you'd be hard-pressed not to know this Holiday Classic Movie.  And in this movie, you are not going to find The Spanish Inquisition. Because you don't want to Holiday Travel with the tortuously minded.  And is God really going to want you or the grumpy or idiotic in His Heavenly Kingdom. If you are always unhappy, complaining - are you invited?  Hitler isn't part of this movie. 

If we are careful where we want to sit to travel, are we going to see ourselves in God's Invitation of Salvation? Life has a Purpose. Life has a Purpose. Life has a Purpose. 

We didn't hurl through eons of space in the cold, airless vastness of the Universe and plan to land on the blue and then green, planet earth, with earth, sunlight and oxygen. 

We didn't plan to miss the Renaissance. Or miss the deathly Spanish Flu and the insane, incredible cruelty of World War I.  

We don't create babies from apple seeds or clouds or even soil. Instead, we create life with the physical tools God gives us.  Without a doubt, undoubtably, we are subject to the Plan of God. 

We have yet to meet people who have decided they only live the Renaissance era or World War I by choice and self-determination. No one is wearing wooden dentures. Maybe we should... force wooden teeth ... this dentistry,  on children, so they understand .... modern dentistry?

Does God want us to be "Happy"

Are you the Prodigal Son or are you the Older Brother. Will you be called to be the Prodigal Father?

If we consider the Prodigal Son, we have an answer. 

Luke 15:11-32

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 

14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. 

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 

21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 

28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 

31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 

32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

The Father wants the prodigal son to be happy. Enough to give him time to depart and mature.The Father wants the older son to be happy.

We don't know if the Father is angry or upset, stewing during the ruinous years. Forgiveness is time taken. With an opportunity to act upon mercy. The Father wants the older brother to be happy. Life is arranged to bring about Eternal Happiness.  And time is given to allow the growth of maturity.

God tells us farmers, who labor, should allow the oxen the liberty to eat and participate in the Harvest. A Good man cares for His farm animals.

Jesus was separated from His Brothers, but still traveled to see them in Luke Chapter 2.

Does God want us to be Happy? Love John 14, John 15, John 16 and Jesus prays for us yesterday, today and tomorrow. John 17.

John 16:22-33

 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 

23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

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

28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father." 

29 His disciples said, "Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God." 

31 Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. 

Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. 

In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."

Abba, Father,

You have given us
Jesus
and 
He is Living Water.

Let the balm of Jesus Christ
enter into our difficulties.

Love with Sincerity.

Creating a path of peace.
Dwell in us each day,
Live in those we Love,
Surround us, we pray, to be filled
with Hope and Love
Please help us to seek You first.
And we will finish well in Jesus Christ.

Give us Your Will

and we will see
more of Heaven on earth
this day.

We ask for help in healing
in our Nation
and in Your Good Creation.
Bless You as our Living Bread.

The Blessing of Jesus
surrounds us,
open our gratitude
and expectation
we ask
in Jesus.

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yes Bless The Lord Jesus

Yes Jesus Bless Asbury

† †

John 5:31-47 ~ Witness

 

John 5:31-47

If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 

32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 

35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 

36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 

Psalm 29

The Glory of God Thunders 

The voice of the LORD strikes with flashes of lightning. 

The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;

 the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh. 

The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. 

And in His Temple all cry, "Glory!"

Job 37

 4 Then there comes a roaring sound; He thunders with His majestic voice. 

He does not restrain the lightning when His voice resounds. 

5 God thunders wondrously with His voice; 

He does great things we cannot 

37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom He has sent. 

The first day of Jesus' ministry, the entire 3,000 person town

of Capernaum

turned out to see Jesus

John 1

To all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, 

He gave the right to become children of God, 

who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh 

nor of the will of man, 

but of God. 

 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, 

and we have seen His glory, 

glory as of the only Son from the Father, 

full of grace and truth.

39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 

Matthew 27:52

52 The tombs broke open, 

and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 

53 After Jesus’ resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, t

hey entered the holy city and appeared to many people.

41 I do not receive glory from people. 

42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 

Acts 5:12 -15      
Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. 

Acts 5

And they were all together in Solomon's Portico.

 13 None of the rest dared join them, 

but the people held them in high esteem. 

14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord,

Acts 5

multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them.   

Mark 16

What is clear - 

Pontius Pilate wrote to Emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero. 

Something extremely odd about Crucifying Jesus of Nazareth.

Tertullian and Justin Martyr refer 

to an account of Christ's Passion sent by Pilate to Rome. 

The letter is lost today. Fake letters abound of the Crucifixion. 

Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 

47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

The number of Jewish pilgrims to the Temple was computed by the governor Gesius Florus (64-66), who counted 256,500 paschal lambs at one Passover festival. The average of fifteen or twenty persons for each lamb, based upon the remark of Josephus (War li, vi, 9, 3) Pilgrims went to Jerusalem to offer the paschal sacrifice were all full-grown and able-bodied men, and every company of twenty such persons, when the Jews were in their own land.

The calculations of Josephus match the Roman accounting for the number of pilgrims in Jerusalem. In the millions. 2 million people at least. 

When we celebrate St. Patrick's Day, I can remember being so young, I thought we were celebrating all the snakes in Ireland being done in. St. Patrick was going into Ireland as an escaped slave, determined to end Druid human sacrifices and wild theology.  St. Patrick had no reference for help in being a missionary.

Then again.  John's Gospel, 5th Chapter.

As we sit down to Easter, to share Jesus Christ, what will we say? Jesus is thinking about this as well, in John's 5th Chapter.  

How to explain Jesus, the Christ of God.

Jesus says back up is a good thing. 

Jesus then discusses His cousin John the Baptist as a co-witness. Jesus says be one unit, joined in harmony in this discussion and don't go off topic. Did Jesus say this?   He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 

Your own life testimony.

Why do you believe in miracles of God? How has God touched your heart and your life? What works has God done in the lives you know? What touches you in your exact favorite Scripture?

You Teach Us. 

Not to yawn.  Favorite Scripture question? What is the name of the young man? The young man in Acts 20:9 seated in a window was a young man named _____________, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead.

Not to slay the audience. His name is Eutychus. You Teach Us. Not to be bored! "The Right to Be Heard," is a golden rule in Youth and all beginner ministry.  Jesus, in John 5, has been ASKED to Speak at an important Jewish Festival. Why is this important? Teachable Moments are the anti-millstone of, "Please, don't tell us again."  The Easter table, hey, it begs for a moment of Jesus Christ. 

My favorite miracle. My mother carried her 1978 Texas Driver's License in her wallet. Where she found she had an Adam's Apple for 2 years. A Thyroid Tumor. And when she and her prayer group went to Church of the Resurrection, Episcopal Church in Garland, Texas, led by Father Ted Nelson, she found she would die of embarrassment to be seen slain in the Spirit. Father Ted held on to her at the altar for dear life for about 15 minutes. Mother said she felt she was being microwaved. We prayed in the pews for her. 2 days later, the X-Ray Technician could find zero tumor. And it was about 2 inches by 2 inches, showing clear, protruding, definition. Mother lived until 2021 and never had another Thyroid Tumor. 3rd Generation Thyroid malfunction. 

One of my favorite people on earth has turned from avid belief, into making dire choices and now atheist with no Heaven. He was scolding me for my faith. I said, you know what I believe exists? The illness of being color blind is real. It is not the hysteria believed in past centuries. Some people are legitimately color blind. He asked me how this was parallel. Because anyone who can't believe God is even possible, with the Universe, Heaven, and the miracle of life is Color Blind. Narrow minded. Finally, the door wedged open. 

Someone in my life is a decades-along-atheist. He says when he is alone, sees the stars in the sky in rural areas, he is compelled to pray. Because to understand the vastness of a gentle Creator brings in worship and awe, he is filled with the Holy Spirit.  The Light of Jesus is in mankind.

Jesus tells us He does not need people to give Him Glory. 

And we interpreted this as not many people knew about Jesus during His life.  Nothing is further than the truth. Jesus, left Israel, went to the country of Tyre. He didn't even tell people He was going. Immediately, Jesus Christ needed to be inside a house to have privacy. And then a woman from another country wanted her child to be healed. Jesus was Known. The Dispersion from the Greek Isle of Crete invited Jesus to come to live with them and escape Herod. 

Then we see the Millions who knew Easter was real in The Book of Acts of the Apostles. This isn't even the level of Glory for Jesus.  Greece has a 4th Century Home Church. England has Churches with bricks going back to the 6th Century.  Papyrus 46 is 85 intact Chapters of the Bible not disputed to be 1st Century until the 'new wisdom' of this century - on verb usage. 

The Glory of God isn't in any of this. The prophecy that all the world will know the Scripture has not been fulfilled. And yet, new generations find Jesus. The Glory of God is our heart to Jesus' heart, and His giving Salvation. The world has infinite layers of problems. Each generation continues to find and love Jesus. Because He first loves us. His heart calls to you and to me. Today.

The meek inherit the earth!!

Because of Jesus,

we know,

families live together

on earth

and in Heaven!

Abba, Father,

Like Gideon's Father

we hope You have a Good Lent.

Because...

We will come to Our Father. 

 And while we are still a long way off, 

Our Father sees us, you and I

 and He is

 filled with compassion for us.

You will run to us,

Your Child of God,

threw Your arms around me and You

and kiss me

and you!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yes Bless The Lord Jesus

Yes Jesus Bless Asbury

† †