Psalm 1 ~ Delight

 

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

His delight is in the law of the LORD, 

and on his law 

he meditates day and night. 

He is like a tree planted by streams of water 

that yields its fruit in its season, 

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 

5 Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, 

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 

6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, 

but the way of the wicked will perish.

When God says, "No withering, all prosperity." 

I'd have to tell you - in my childhood, my family planted 6 tiny trees to grow into massive trees in my childhood, newly, built house in the 1960s. The Trees met different fates. One hit a chalk rock in the soil and died.

One was stunted to just never grow. It sat while the other trees grew 40 and 50 feet tall. My father and I would look at the Oak tree and wonder. Maybe it's because it's near the swing set, and it thinks it should be a child tree. My father said, could be, it needs iron, it looks a little yellow. So iron was applied. Perhaps, it needs water. Or it's a dwarf. My father went to the library and said no such tree variety. We wondered if it was a variation of the regular tree variety, and we should propagate it. 

My brother was born. My father said maybe the tree, arborist, people should see the Oak Tree. That year it grew some in the spring. A lot, about 3 feet on the 10 feet of a 16-year-old tree. And the next year, it doubled. Now.... we started complaining about how to move the swing set. People! 

And in the next four years, we were telling bored people about the amazing growth of the tree. Uh-huh. And if someone showed up who knew about the dwarf Oak Tree, we all got very, very excited and the story went on and on.

Knowing Jesus,

I think Psalm 100 is never, ever, ever intended 

to make us feel poorly about seasons in our lives. 

I do not believe Jesus would tell us a Psalm story 

and, then, say ... and then there is ... - - - you.

Sea of Galilee looking East

We'd assume the trees in the photos were Psalm 100 - never hit by drought, fire, famine, beetles, disease and timber harvest, bird feeders with nails and screws, girdling/mulching the tree, staking the tree, concreting the holes, over fruitfulness, tying an animal's leash to the trunk, power lines, overcrowding, over salt/pesticide. The tree has a very 'Jabez' life. Blessed and nothing to report.

Instead, these are possibly the Tree of Life, Trees of Heaven. Perhaps it is us, learning to use our Spiritual Gifts, hopefully becoming the Spiritual Tree of Heaven, the Parable of Jesus.

Using the gift, but then not fully understanding the gift

I was at a lovely and large, fairly dressy, engagement/wedding party in 1991.

There were about 75 people and a man came up to me to give me - - -  the Christian Prophetic Word. The 35-year-old man started out telling me facts correlating with my life at present, with my living grandmother, and thoughts for far down the road. Conversations and things a charlatan, would find out and repeat, but we were strangers.  Then the message became harsh. He snarled with sarcasm and said we would not be friends. It surely was a drastic, temperature change.  And in fact, what he had to say, came to be true within 30 years.

As the evening closed, about eleven p.m., his friends were saying, he just loved to find believers and pump them up with false prophecies. He said he loved to do prophecies to people who are Christian because of the utter belief on their faces. I asked him how he could pick out a believer - you know - he had, absolutely, no response and for a moment became speechless and shrugged.

He was so uncomfortable - he pointed at a pal and said, "Remember the time, I said that to Robin, and, unbelievable, it came to be true!  And two or three of his other friends, laughed in after the party wine glow - in the kitchen laughed so loudly - and remembered other times, the joking "prophetics" came to be true!!! Hilarious.  It was so memorable to see these men, sitting in the kitchen, surrounded by working caterers and not knowing they were in the way of the caterers.  Talking about creating scenarios for fun.  The caterers were dodging them to work.

 We went to another entirely different engagement/wedding party, given by my mother

A young couple arrived and said they were the heirs to the local milk farm (we lived in a huge city.)

I could tell they were telling about being wealthy and people were melting all over them. I was having a conversation with an old friend, and this was much more fun. Later in the evening, I was introduced to them and came to find out they were saying their fortune was from the Dairy Huge, Huge Farm belonging to my mother's good high school friend.  

I called out to my mom to come and meet them. 

I said, "That's great, you are the child of ----. You must love Santa Fe!!! How fortunate you are to spend so much time in your new house there! Tell me all about Santa Fe!!!"

 The whole room became aware by their utterly horrified faces - this was Not True At All. 

And the pretenders promptly departed in about 1.5 minutes. 

I don't know whatever happened to the good-looking 35-year-old prophetic guy. But the pretenders were good friends of friends and were said to have settled down and done quite well in life - not pretending to be other people again. Interesting.

Look at that: One group found it hysterical a man goes around compelled to give "prophecies." Which turned out to be true. 

The other group pretended to be wealthy, and they ran like the Police would be called.

It's funny how we respond to the gifts God gives us - because what he said to me is absolutely true. He responded to an urge to prophesy and not care about the soul or the emotion of what he puts down. 

That gift can be prophetic and even self-prophetic in the absence of Spiritual mercy and the desire to shelter or pray.

When you are in the room with Believers of Jesus Christ, they will tell you of answered prayer. Warm assurances when faith is needed. Miracles that just become part of life. Prayer requests. Dreams led them to peace and a new understanding of their soul to Jesus. And if you know them well, they will tell you if they actually hear Jesus. Some people are blessed, like Abraham.

I knew a very, very bible study and a virtuous woman cried out to God and asked Him about misfortune. He replied with what was then learned to be Psalm 50. And that was VERY UNLIKELY. "It came to pass." The phrase occurs again and again in the Old Testament. "It came to pass after four hundred and thirty years that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt," and, "It came to pass."


I believe that to God - Peter had a pretty good idea. And just as shade trees begin to give us thoughts about patios and hammocks, cushions and places to read and bbq - we have this:

2 Peter 3:8-9

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. 

9 The Lord is not slow 

to fulfill His promise 

as some understand slowness, 

But is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, 

but everyone 

to come to repentance.

Revelation 2:7

To the one who is victorious, I will give the right 

to eat from the tree of life, 

which is in 

the paradise of God.

Revelation 22:2

Down the middle of the great street of the city. 

On each side of the river stood the tree of life, 

bearing twelve crops of fruit,

 yielding its fruit every month. 

And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Revelation 22:14

Blessed are those who wash their robes, 

that they 

may have the right 

to the tree of life 

and may 

go 

through the gates 

into the city.

Redemption. Sweet, beautiful little girls grow into unlikely teenagers. Drug addicts recover. Sponsors make wonderful friends. Grandmothers come from the wise, who remained with solutions. Old men tell young men. Young men listen to middle-aged men who listen to older men.

Abba, Father,

Let the Circle Be Unbroken

Lord 

And it came to pass.

To live and move and have our being

in

Jesus Christ the Lord.

When the Liturgy Prayer cycle says

this is the week to pray for Israel,

the Church of Jerusalem and priests

and laity. The week of Israel is attacked, horribly.

When the daily prayer is a Compline Collect:

Be our light in the darkness,

O Lord,

and in your great mercy 

defend us from all perils

and dangers of this night,

for the love 

of your only Son, 

our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The evening we make the evening news preempt broadcast

for a Tornado Warning with almost inch sized hail.

For our neighborhoods.

And we are safe indeed. 

We come together to pray 

and ask You to be present, 

hear this prayer, please,

in Jesus Christ.

Dwell in me,

Dwell in us,

Dwell in those we Love,

Help us to seek You first.

And we will finish well, in Jesus Christ. 

Help us to find and bring

to become

 more Heaven

to this earth.

Your Plan, Your way,

Your Son is best.

Establish us on your path,

help keep us near You

and on the path.

Your Wonderful Plan.

You Include All in Your Plan.

Encourage us in Love

Encourage us with Your Joy.

Jesus, teach us to follow You

more closely in Your Word.

Correct us in Your Love

to remain with You.

Help us when the path isn't seen

Protect us to remain with You.

Your Love is

where I want to be.

Forgive me for my 

flaws, weakness and sin.

Because You are God of Love

and I need you in my life.

Help us with our needs

today

and You will help us tomorrow as well.

Bless Israel with peace,

Bless families with living, loving hearts,

Reawaken God being first.

Bless this Nation.

Bless the Nations who need You.

In Jesus,

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Lord Jesus 

1 Corinthians 15:51-58 ~ Mystery

Anglican Church of Canada Online Lectionary 

 

1 Corinthians 15:51-58

Behold! I tell you a mystery. 

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. 

For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 

53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

55 “O death, where is your victory?

    O death, where is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 

57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, 

be steadfast,

 immovable, 

always abounding 

in the work of the Lord,

 knowing 

that in the Lord 

your labor is not in vain.

Mystery. There isn't an adult alive who doesn't have a memory of a spectacular night sky with some adult we love, looking at the stars and wondering what life will bring. What spouse, what children, what path, what Plan? 

When I was just a little, I asked my mother, what will I be? Will I be pretty? Will I be rich?

Here's what she said to me: Qué será, será, Whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see.

There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 

41 There is one glory of the sun, 

and another glory of the moon, 

and another glory of the stars; 

for star differs from star in glory.

1 Peter 4:10

As each has received a gift, 

use it to serve one another, 

as good stewards 

of God's 

varied grace

Hebrews 4:14

Seeing then that we have a Great High Priest, 

that is passed into the 

Heavens

Jesus the Son of God

Let us hold fast 

our profession. 

Mystery.  12 gates of Heaven. 

2 Corinthians 12:2 

I know a man in Christ 

who fourteen years ago 

was caught up to the third 

Heaven

—whether in the body or out of the body 

I do not know

God knows.

Gates of God

The Second Temple exists above Temple Mount,

yet below the Muslim

Haram al Sharif Al-Aqusa Mosque

And explored in 1856 by photographers

giving Photos to the Library of Congress

Charles Wilson, Police, Scotland Yard

1864, Wilson's Arch

Why do we have 12 Gates of Heaven? 

We know Scripture tells us everyone will meet Jesus. The Almighty God, our Father, created, maintains, upholds the entire Universe. He is capable and all knowing to call Jesus, "The Gate." Why would He have 12 gates?  We could guess the mystery. We might say 12 Tribes of Israel. 12 Apostles.  We don't know. This is a mystery. Not probably, but ... 12 levels of Heaven, only Dante's, "Inferno," calls Heaven 7 Levels. 

Let's take time to cloud gather, and pull down mists of ideas about the 12 Gates of Heaven.  A teaching analogy, a parable, a teaching tool, but not concrete Biblically based. 

We will hold on to these actual Scriptures as we just put forth guesses.

Genesis 1:2

The Spirit of God was hovering 

over the face of the waters.

Matthew 6:33 

But seek first the kingdom of God 

and His righteousness, 

and all these things will be added to you.

Hebrews 10:24

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love 

and good works

Malachi 2:5

My covenant with him was one of life and peace, 

which I gave to him; 

it called for reverence, 

and he revered Me

 and stood in awe of

 My name.

When we consider Heaven, we are in Scripture to remember this verse:

2 Corinthians 12:2 

I know a man in Christ 

who fourteen years ago 

was caught up to the third 

Heaven

—whether in the body or out of the body 

I do not know

God knows.

Gates

and

Gates

and Gates

with some Trumpets?

When we chose the path, the gate:

We decide in preschool if we are caring, huggy, huggable. 

We decide to be honest in about 2nd grade. A trumpet era. 

We start deciding, about 3rd grade, who will be our friends. And again in 6th grade. And in High School. And, again in college or work.

About 10th grade, we learn about substances for ourselves. Then again, after High School is finished. 

In our early 20s, we decide what sexual morality is guiding us.  And face some life-changing decisions. Even today, High School decisions are a smaller group. Life is changed, how our parents instructed us in the increasing volume of water type information, data of new ideas. 

In our 20s, we are deciding about philanthropy. From varying degrees of compassion to corporate.

In our mid-20s, we look at our parents, deciding if their parenting style is one we respect. Again, but with more mature life skills.  About in this time frame, we decide again about substance and appropriate levels.  This time in life, we should begin to disassociate with a peer pack and have some individual thoughts. Or not.  If we feel more comfortable rowing in the same directions.

In our 30s, we have responsibilities we will begin to face forever, or fade out. Comfort or stability becomes an issue. The age group is beginning to worry they are in their mode for life. About now, people are asking themselves how to parent about belief, sex and substance. Children are adorable and a huge joy.

In our 40s, we begin to worry about aging.  Are we old. Have we tapped out in our potential. Do we want the same things the group, the herd, want? People are surprised to realize, life is not as surprising with events and news. Nesting era is established.  Now is the time we have dreams rise, fall, shatter or settle.  But 40s are not usually at the aging age. It's an illusion, along with the finish line of dreams.

50s are an adjustment of growing or grown children. Prepare for empty nest. Extended families become smaller, usually. People are moving to their type of Tepee in finances, ideals, luck, success, work ethic, athletics, interests and hopes for life span. Careers are either easier or work is being sought, to find a job or better job.  Parents begin to look scary in health needs.  About the time, people begin to decide Who God is ... to them.

And from here, it's a grab bag. Will you continue to exercise. Read. Pray. Hope. Try.  Will your Spiritual Life lead to more Hope? Will you take from Heaven, give to Heaven, be more Heaven on earth or takey takey shakey shakey moi.  Will you take vitamins, keep regular hours, continue keeping the yard and house upkeep. Find Joy in life that has had routines and patterns. Hope. Love. Faith. Give. 

If, with if,  and if if. We want to summarize this: 

The question would be.... what is fueling you?

Why?  Along the way, we will have less or more self-esteem. Not always from within, there are some pretty unpleasant aspects to humankind. Jesus said, "He knew mankind and He did not trust Himself to them." Abuse. And abuse doesn't jump up and down saying mean, mean. Sometimes abuse is the blunt truth, used to really get to the deep down gut. And then will give you a nice hug.  To help control you again, later. For grins or self-promotion.  To take a beautiful trust and make a lie.  Rick Warren did a powerful sermon on looking at what is the truth in our intimate lives. 

Which brings us back to - What is Fueling Your Soul. 

If we find God to be unpleasant, have we really fond... The Lord?  Or maybe, we had the idea God would cramp our control and comfort.  Then The Lord has Not been discovered.  The Lord is Love. Compassion. He wants your life to recognize the gifts He loadeth upon us daily.  Sometimes this is, in difficult times, the spine... to believe goodness is there and will return in full throttle.  Sometimes we find comfort in Love from our past. Sometimes, we are the Comfort God brings to others. Useful and meaningful lives.  Not the tide of ebb and flow, but the journey, making us find inlets, harbor, deep water sailing and the Direction. The Direction is Jesus Christ The Lord. 

People get bored, then unhappy, then they want a solution that is not going to benefit themselves in the long run. And damages the good soul of "self steam." Depleting the Fuel that gets us to look to the Lord. With God, we worry for this and that, but God keeps telling us, we are going to find He daily loadeth us with benefits. We will be able to sometimes suffer through and then understand in hindsight what we learned. With sobriety, willingness to look at all the seats of the table, God gives to everyone, we learn God is providing us with solutions to be the solution. God is comforter, Comfort, Help and Helper. We become this to help others. Helped people of God help others. 

God gives Gifts, but they are like Easter Eggs. These gifts don't show up, necessarily, when we look. 

The Pond. No matter what level in life one achieves - - - there will be as many struggles as the Scriptures.  I promise. Orcas will hunt whales. Not just shrimp, shrimp find what is nearby to eat.  Whales do this as well, we call it krill.  

All of this applies to all of us. 

All fall short of The Glory of God. 

Oh, but who really changes?  What can we possibly hope for? 

Winston Churchill was a grave disappointment to his famous father and mother. And he took all their sorrow, to find the time to find his real interests. He found bravery, courage and determination. 

Lincoln failed up until he was needed.  Lincoln could have stopped trying. 

My uncle hated Christians. 

The stuck up, the false righteous, who are intolerable. And my grandmother said she would never give up praying for her son. A decade and a half after my grandmother went to Jesus' Heaven, Jimmy decided to flip channels one Sunday morning and found Jesus was talking to him, to his heart and soul. All the unhappiness he had from being special needs, unwanted first adoption and knowing he was different, fell away and he found Joy. No more shaking with anger. 7 decades. 

A man we knew for 2 decades. 

Told us after years about, divorces, divorces, divorces. Discos. Stupid purple hat with a feather.  Bars. Bars and bars. Deadbeat dad. Ruined lives of women who trusted him. Children woke up to find themselves, without a home or father. Child in a terrible cult, just as a career was about to happen.

And crying out to God for his sorrow in his miserable life and choices.  His anger, he finally found a career and realized, he had plowed under, under, under - -  all in his life who had loved or trusted him.  The emptiness, after full was found.  And God loved him. Loved him as he would weep and weep, reading the Bible as God forgave, even Ahab.  His last wife, who helped him gather up the children. Grown. Some refused and, literally, spat on him.  Praying every day to hope for Heaven.  The joy in learning to parent, adult children, who would forgive him.  The giving. The cooking.  The Jesus Redemption.  Expanding into step-grandchildren. Stepson who went into the Ministry. The branches of the Tree of Heaven, offering shelter under the branches. Where all the birds could come and have rest. 

The bitter, divorced and deserted Navy wife. 

Realized she would never have children, due to her deadbeat, Navy husband.  After a decade and a half, found a homeless man sitting on the doorstep of her small apartment. To find it was her ex-husband, who had burned his bridges and was dying of brain cancer. How she hated him.  And then found all the love she ever had, to help her ex-husband die in Jesus.  Remarriage to an older man, took her 5 years to understand she was in a user, slavery, lying righteous, slave woman worker.  Then, just exactly the same, as when her Navy husband left, just a little apartment and the workers with her who had seen every opportunity dry up and blow away like tumbleweed. Always a Christian. And one day, a man walked into the office and started telling her about an idea he had, that week, to make a career. In her forties, she married, as a woman who had no living husbands, to her forty-year-old husband - never married. Began a hugely, successful mortgage company, and surprise, had a son!  The life a Christian woman had hoped for as she married at age 19.

All of these new lives, with Light. Jesus holds us when our knees - won't.

Abba, Father, 

We come together to pray 

and ask You to be present, 

hear this prayer, please,

in Jesus Christ.

Dwell in me,

Dwell in us,

Dwell in those we Love,

Help us to seek You first.

And we will finish well, in Jesus Christ. 

Help us to find and bring

to become

 more Heaven

to this earth.

Your Plan, Your way,

Your Son is best.

Establish us on your path,

help keep us near You

and on the path.

Your Wonderful Plan.

You Include All in Your Plan.

Encourage us in Love

Encourage us with Your Joy.

Jesus, teach us to follow You

more closely in Your Word.

Correct us in Your Love

to remain with You.

Help us when the path isn't seen

Protect us to remain with You.

Your Love is

where I want to be.

Forgive me for my 

flaws, weakness and sin.

Because You are God of Love

and I need you in my life.

Help us with our needs

today

and You will help us tomorrow as well.

Bless Israel with peace,

Bless families with living, loving hearts,

Reawaken God being first.

Bless this Nation.

Bless the Nations who need You.

In Jesus,

Amen.

Psalm 118:24

This is the day that the Lord has made; 

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Colossians 3:17 

And whatever you do, in word or deed, 

do everything 

in the name of the Lord Jesus, 

giving thanks 

to God the Father through Him.

Psalm 136:1

  

Give thanks to the Lord, 

for He is good, 

for His steadfast love 

endures 

forever.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Thank You Lord Jesus