Numbers 6 ~ So shall they put My Name, Jesus, upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them

 

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter

it was National Winter Storm Elliott

and the 50 mph Texas Wind Gusts

making us all snuggle up

and wait for tomorrow

Good Lord! Deliver Us!

Amen!

Living in the Pine Forest Subtropics is all that Natchez is. Lovely dense forests. We pray for the trees to have shown such earnest endeavoring surviving during the two drought summer with the 3 week rain respite. 

I love gardening and feel compelled with love, and gardening budget 

to keep the long living shrubs, perennials, ferns and Liriope. We spent hours carrying in flower pots, moving others to the windows to live the covered up greenhouse effect. Today, I collected 1 Lemon and 3 Homegrown tangerines.  After studying the SUV fleece car covers available, we have added to our collection month by month. Far easier than searching all over for towels and worn blankets. When the temperatures go down into the early teens, we haul out our LED Christmas net lights, iridescent light strings and go all over with orange cords. We discovered that Christmas lights under a cover will make a cozy greenhouse.

From disaster and experimentation, we discovered thawing a Texas swimming pool happens when it warms up and you remove every conceivable lid while not running the pool for 2 or 3 days. Then the ice has somewhere to expand without harm.

This is a family tradition. 

And takes planning and lists and about 3 days. One for not getting it done, but mentioning the plan. One for complaining and getting some done. Finally, having our backs pressed to weather and putting in nine hours between us, off and on for 3 days. A dab will do ya. 

This summer mice ate the covers, we have cats now, and plenty of mothballs and ant poison.  You can throw out mice eaten car covers with rakes and shovels without touching them and putting on a mask.

It's fairly cheerful to see the Christmas lights shining from the covers. Then collapse and have a big bowl of Wick Fowler Chili.

This is quiet and restful evenings. Edward was asked to open his new super soft, Amazon favorite running pants and Sherpa sleeping jacket. If we are one of the Texans hit with 57 mph wind gusts and electricity outages, we have done what we could. Wrapped insulation and tape around the outdoor tender utilities. 

If you see any friendly pet animal strays, this is a good time to let them rest indoors with you!

Check on your neighbors! Call the family.

We will wait upon the Lord — now. 

Praying for East Texas, teen temperatures and downed electrical lines due to high wind. We know this harsh difficulty. All Texas does.

Update December 23rd, The Texas Electrical Grid is holding. We are praying and waiting on the Lord for the next 4 days. Lord God, Jesus the Lord. Amen.

Numbers 6

Abba, Father,

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

    for He has visited and redeemed His people

and has raised up a horn of salvation for us

    in the house of his servant David

As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old,

that we should be saved from our enemies

    and from the hand of all who hate us;

to show the mercy promised to our fathers

    and to remember His Holy Covenant

The oath that He swore to our father Abraham, 

to grant us

    that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve Him without fear

    In holiness and righteousness before Him

 all our days.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

    for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to His people

    in the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy 

of our God.

    Whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

    to guide our feet into the way of peace.

We pray for the Nation

suffering this storm,

God's Mercy and Blessings.

For all our families!

Blessed be the Highest Name 

of Jesus Christ

Bless the Holy Spirit as the 

Light of mankind

Light of the Nations

Light of Heaven

Blessed be our Father 

bringing us His exact nature

in Jesus Christ,

Lamb of God

Savior of the world

Forever

and ever.

Merry Christmas

Alleluia Amen!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yay Jesus

Matthew 12:14-21 ~ until He brings justice to victory

 

God would choose His Son to be born to an unwed mother in harsh conditions. To live this life.

When Christmas is not the Happiest Season of All.

We look in the Bible to find God walking the realities of this life. Jesus tells us life is Joy and gives us situations to know and remember when life is in difficulty.

Mary isn't home, she is traveled roughly and is in a barn. She is in Bethlehem with a hoard of travelers competing for food.  The Shepherds would go home. Joseph is now faced with presenting Jesus in the, "Temple in Jerusalem," with his betrothed, not yet his wife. Answering a dream from God.  Next, the Magi will explain great danger to him.

The King of Kings has seen trouble and lived to overcome.

Matthew 12:14-21

14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all 16 and ordered them not to make him known. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the 

Prophet Isaiah [42:1-3]:

 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,

my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.

I will put my Spirit upon Him,

and He will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

He will not quarrel or cry aloud,

nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets;

a bruised reed He will not break,

and a smoldering wick He will not quench,

until He brings justice to victory

Let's open our Bibles and find the time Jesus said, 

"Not today - you don't count - come back tomorrow - not Youuu, oh gosh, no."

Jesus wasn't a sidewalk hack or a temperamental star.

And Jesus could be relied upon to be unique. God's Exact Nature. Yes, He healed them all.

And yet. And yet. And yet. One day.

Jesus said - you don't really count.
Another day - Jesus was too busy to go to a friend.

I remember a lot of miracles, the ones written about in more than a few sentences. Yet, that small phrase "healed them all". Sometimes Scripture says they sought to touch Him & not just Jesus reaching out. Sometimes He physically touched them, and it also says merely, "He healed them all."

The age: slavery, war, destruction, highway robbery, people born blind & the parable of the Good Samaritan - this was a difficult time.

Not just the people who were deaf, blind, ill, but the sorrow of the people who had seen difficult things happen to loved ones. Children who died, loved ones who died in childbirth, people who were well and suddenly died of fever. There are plenty of stipulations in the Bible for the fatherless and the widow.

The hopeless, the fearful, the lonely & the cut to the quick.

These people who found Jesus had put aside the everyday of life, they sought Him. Jesus didn't stay to quarrel, debate the Pharisees, shock, anger, and create a stir - - -

Jesus - from time to time - said, "No."

No? Surely, Jesus repaired the bruised reed. Jesus rekindled the flickering flame, the light became a torch. Jesus gave hope & mercy to the word - justice.  Jesus didn't select a few, the light of Jesus Christ is for all.

Jesus stood and was asked by the disciples to get rid of the woman, to whom He said, "No."

Matthew 15

22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, 

“Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

23 Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came to Him

 and urged Him, 

“Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

God being God says what God would understand the best.

24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

The disciples came from, largely, Capernaum. A city created rather recently due to the need for food and goods by the Roman Empire. The Disciples knew gentiles and had argued for the Capernaum Centurion. NO WONDER why the disciples wanted the Canaanite woman swept past.

Aren't we glad the Holy Spirit never swept past us and left us wondering. 
Nasty ol Goy. Om. That's us. 
Shabbas goy. Gentile — goy·ish adjective, sometimes disparaging.

Funny of God when HIS mission statement is to save the World. 

What is Jesus doing saying "NO." God doesn't need to prove all the time that He is good. He is a Monarch. 

The woman Expected Jesus to do Good. She expected Him to be the "Helper."

The woman came and knelt before him. 

“Lord, help me!” she said.

He replied, 

“It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

This is justice to the Gentiles - who never did help Israel. Jesus does Not owe her.

She does not retreat from seeing Jesus as merciful.

“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. 

“Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

This Canaanite woman might have read about David. David routinely got into trouble. And the less loving prophets like Gad would come in to predict something Terrible. David would say, "Let me fall into the hands of God. He is merciful."



Mostly, no parent in the world, wants their children to have to beg them. Unless, That Parent knows a valuable lesson will be learned. He expects their heart to teach others. Jesus is returning the favor of her trust.





 

28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” 

And her daughter was healed at that moment.

We learn. Jesus intended us to.

1. Jesus does not owe us.

2. He feels free to say, "No.".

3. Jesus trusts people. The very point of Christmas - God the Almighty holding up the Universe with the power of His Word, gives His Son. And in Celebration, we receive the infant Jesus in hope and trust every year. God Believes we will want His Love and Salvation.

4. Jesus especially trusts people who trust Him for solutions and miracles. 

5, Jesus, just like His Father, wants His People to Expect Good from Him. The Ten Talents.

6. Jesus once told us the story of the persistent woman with the Judge. Jesus expects to answer those who keep asking.  He forgives us for thinking He is the disinterested and self-interested Judge. Busy Judge. 

Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

7. Jesus doesn't expect us to treat Him as a waiter. The woman of faith knew Him to be Sovereign.

Abba, Father,

Jesus gave His Father

a new Heaven and a new earth.

We know God heard Hannah. We know God helped Judith,

Deborah.

Jesus fills His life with the lowly and unlikely. 

Mary Magdalene, His own mother Mary,

we see recorded, later, in Scripture, His aunts, the Samaritan woman,

and the Phoenician woman. Jesus was changing the world, 

Bishop Barron points out, Eve to Ava.

The daughter of Jairus, only just a girl child.

The prayers of the unlikely were heard.

Thank You, Jesus Christ Lord. 

For answering our prayers. 

We will Trust in You. Amen. 

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Thank You Lord Jesus 

John 2:1-22 ~ the Word Jesus has spoken

Lithostrotos Museum Israel - Pottery from the time of Jesus found in Jerusalem

Road begins in Cana and goes to Nazareth, Vintage Photo

John 2:1-12

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 

² Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. ³ When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 

⁴ And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 

⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

⁶ Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.”

So they took it. ⁹ When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom ¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” <sup>1

1</sup> This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

¹² After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

Vintage photo of Capernaum

Synagogue and Peter's House in Capernaum

For Bible believing Christians, this passage of the disciple bearing witness to these things of Jesus, who has written these things and knows His testimony is true - is pretty familiar. Especially if you were raised in Sunday School or Parochial School. So familiar, they become words on a page.

Don't let the words stay on the page. I realized today when I read of Jesus, I see Him surrounded by people. Not saints in robes, but people you'd know from High School and College and Church. These are flesh and blood people. The kind of people you like to be with. And Jesus is warm. Laughing. He is at a wedding.

When you read the Scriptures, remember to set your table. Meaning - when it is a Holiday (Holy Day) your table is set. When you read the Scriptures, give yourself time to think of the the warmth of Israel. The texture of the jars. If they were warm to the touch. People filled them. Place yourself with Jesus.

And remember with joy. We Love the LORD. Jesus' first sign isn't just the Joy of the LORD that He would make wine (to make our hearts glad)

Jesus' first sign as God

He listened with patience and kindness to a woman (us - who do His will) asking Him to care and to provide.

Genesis 27:28

May God 

give you 

of heaven's dew 

and 

of earth's richness

an abundance of grain 

and new wine

Psalm 100

4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving

and His courts with praise;

and

give thanks to Him

and

bless His name.

Matthew 13:1-58 

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 

And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path"

What we do with our time and our lives. Our words, even the words after words spoken. Reclaimation. Renewal. Redemption. Living the real life. Doing our best. Sowing seeds and trying to make wine from water. To live the adventure and the bouquet.

How much does God Love?

Luke 12:7

Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

That is a lot of Love.

Abba, Father,

Life forever more.

Life forever more. 

When we have been there 10,000 years. Bright Shining as the Sun. Living in His Grace.

We would love to have and see and hope for more Heaven on earth. From our cares to the Love known of Father God in those we Love. Every day and every hair on our head. From what is at hand to the Nation, we want entrusted to our Father.

His Willing Blessing upon us to all the Beloved of His all surrounding the earth, the fullness of God,  hearing our prayers telling us never to lose hope. 

We ask for His Blessing for more Heaven upon earth.

The Nation to do very well to get past

this National Storm Christmas Week.

Your Mercy, Lord Jesus Christ!

In our Wonderful Jesus Christ,

 Amen.

Now to Father God, Who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 

to Him be glory in the church and 

in Christ Jesus 

throughout all generations, 

forever and ever.

 Amen.

The Mercy of Your Touch, Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yay Jesus