It FIGures that God would select a people to Himself. ‘You shall be My people, And I will be your God.’ ” – And yet He promises Jesus’s saving Grace to both Jew and Gentile. We are all His. God sets aside a nation, the Jews, and this is throughout history and scripture.  It’s not about playing favorites, it’s about prophesy fulfillment. There is a plan and a process for recovering what and who are lost and scattered. (And trust me, reading their challenges in the old testament, knowing their challenges today, God’s Purpose is precisely His, for Whom can hold onto, control, use all the challenges of life but God). Our best plan is to take on the challenges day by day, hour by hour – WITH God to guide us.

And then there are those who like to DISAGREE with God, not go with His Plan – like in Jeremiah’s time those who refused to comply with God’s Placement of the Israelites, tribes of Jacob, up in Babylon for a spell. God called these rotten rulers and spoiled separatists as rotten FIGS!

FIGures, that God uses the items in people’s knowledge of all around His/their world. Remembering the FIG tree that shriveled when Jesus used it as an example of Israel’s lack of bearing fruit, of understanding that He was the Messiah, whom they should have been looking for, that should have been in season and in sync with His first coming. FIGures they (most of them) weren’t in sync or in season or in step. Jesus told them so. Later they (and we) would understand.  And we understand that God does till His soil to bring better fruit – Jesus in Luke 13 speaks of fertilizing the fig tree just giving it another chance to change.

God also told Jeremiah, in the days of Babylon captivity, of the fate of the false prophets and non-obliging holdouts: “he shall not have anyone to dwell among this people, nor shall he see the good that I will do for My people”,… And God says: “In the latter days you will consider it.” (Yes, we consider your prophecy Jeremiah and Jesus’s Word. We get to read and ponder over it. We get to live the acceptance and hopefully less of the strife.)

We have yet to see more and more good that God is planning for His people. This may be in Heaven for some of us before it all is corrected on earth. There is a long plan shortly coming. In the meantime, let us all stay captive to God’s Word, plan, intentions, and Grace. If God chooses us for His Plan, let’s FIGure out how to comply. (And bloom too!)

Let us FIGure out how to be mindful to God.

Amen 

—

Jeremiah 29:15-30:24 NKJV

Because you have said, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon”— therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, concerning all the people who dwell in this city, and concerning your brethren who have not gone out with you into captivity— thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like rotten figs that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I will deliver them to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth—to be a curse, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them,  because they have not heeded My words, says the Lord, which I sent to them by My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; neither would you heed, says the Lord.  Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all you of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in My name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes. And because of them a curse shall be taken up by all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire”; because they have done disgraceful things in Israel, have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken lying words in My name, which I have not commanded them. Indeed I know, and am a witness, says the Lord.

You shall also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, “The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there should be officers in the house of the Lord over every man who is demented and considers himself a prophet, that you should put him in prison and in the stocks. Now therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who makes himself a prophet to you? For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘This captivity is long; build houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens and eat their fruit.’ ”

Now Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: Send to all those in captivity, saying, Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, and I have not sent him, and he has caused you to trust in a lie— therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his family: he shall not have anyone to dwell among this people, nor shall he see the good that I will do for My people, says the Lord, because he has taught rebellion against the Lord.

Restoration of Israel and Judah

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’ ”

Now these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah. “For thus says the Lord: ‘We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see, Whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, And all faces turned pale? Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.

‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘That I will break his yoke from your neck, and will burst your bonds; Foreigners shall no more enslave them.  But they shall serve the Lord their God, And David their king, Whom I will raise up for them.

‘Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the Lord, ‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel; For behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, and no one shall make him afraid. For I am with you,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you; Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, Yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’

“For thus says the Lord: ‘Your affliction is incurable, Your wound is severe. There is no one to plead your cause, That you may be bound up; You have no healing medicines. All your lovers have forgotten you; They do not seek you; For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, With the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of your iniquities, Because your sins have increased. Why do you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable. Because of the multitude of your iniquities, Because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you.

‘Therefore all those who devour you shall be devoured; And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; Those who plunder you shall become plunder, And all who prey upon you I will make a prey. For I will restore health to you And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord, ‘Because they called you an outcast saying: “This is Zion; No one seeks her.” ’ “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places; The city shall be built upon its own mound, And the palace shall remain according to its own plan. Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who make merry; I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. Their children also shall be as before, And their congregation shall be established before Me; And I will punish all who oppress them. Their nobles shall be from among them, And their governor shall come from their midst; Then I will cause him to draw near, And he shall approach Me; For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the Lord. ‘You shall be My people, And I will be your God.’ ”

Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord Goes forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind; It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord will not return until He has done it, and until He has performed the intents of His heart.

In the latter days you will consider it.

Jesus also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ” Luke 13:6-9

Jesus laments over Jerusalem: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ” Matthew 23:37-39

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree – Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. Matthew 21:18-19

The Parable of the Fig Tree – “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” Matthew 24:32-35

Sometimes we are surprised we make it through the day. What about 70 years? That was the prescribed time the Israelites were to be taken to Babylon, in captivity, but to still live full lives there. To NOT listen to fake prophecies that all will be fixed in a mere two years. Well, God wanted the people to know that He was WITH the people and even in captivity He promised to be KNOWN to be in charge. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a FUTURE.

God always is clear: Life here on earth is not Heaven. God knows that there still will be worldly work, wrath, woes. But there is plain decent living too. So just LIVE. 

If the Lord takes time to remove a people then restore them to Jerusalem again and again (and again), with His Word being TRUE, then we MUST believe in Jesus speaking the TRUTH which is also a prayer that “the Lord’s Will be done ” EVERYDAY.  Jesus instructed in the Lord’s Prayer to petition: “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” (Matthew 6:10).  And Jesus warned about false prophets and false prophecy. Sounds like Jeremiah’s time too. God said DON’T listen to the hype.

Sounds familiar, DON’T listen to the HYPE about LIFE – LIVE LIFE – LOVE it. 

Pray on our trials here too. It was to be 70 years in exile before Restoration of Jerusalem, God told the people to make the best of it. Let’s do these SAME SANE things now,  KEEP LIVING LIFE, knowing God will bring us back to Him (and Jesus comes back to us). Don’t stop living – Jeremiah wrote of God’s command and the reassurances, Jeremiah also spoke publicly and demonstrated physically that God would handle the time and the false prophets too who were rushing the process, dictating the fight. God sent Jeremiah to warn. God uses even the evil for His Purposes. Well we should know by now that God handles His battles in His Own Timeliness… 

So let us read COMFORT in Jeremiah 29 for them and us… (and Jeremiah 27-28 for some clear God swiftness to knock out falsehood in a fake prophecy from Hananiah.)

Remember that when the going gets tough, God is tougher!! Look for God: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Amen (and read of His Plan, it sounds pre-preparing for us too)

Amen (and wait for “the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.” – be it Jeremiah then and Jesus now)

Amen to God’s Known Future for us (with HIM!)

…

Jeremiah 29:5-14 – “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” (Jeremiah 29:5-14)

Jeremiah 27 NKJV – Symbol of the Bonds and Yokes

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “Thus says the Lord to me: ‘Make for yourselves bonds and yokes, and put them on your neck, and send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. And command them to say to their masters, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel—thus you shall say to your masters: ‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me. And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. So all nations shall serve him and his son and his son’s son, until the time of his land comes; and then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them. And it shall be, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish,’ says the Lord, ‘with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. Therefore do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon.” For they prophesy a lie to you, to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out, and you will perish. But the nations that bring their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let them remain in their own land,’ says the Lord, ‘and they shall till it and dwell in it.’ ” ’ ”

I also spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live! Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? Therefore do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy a lie to you; for I have not sent them,” says the Lord, “yet they prophesy a lie in My name, that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon”; for they prophesy a lie to you. Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city be laid waste? But if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, do not go to Babylon.’

“For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, concerning the Sea, concerning the carts, and concerning the remainder of the vessels that remain in this city, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem: ‘They shall be carried to Babylon, and there they shall be until the day that I visit them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.’ ”

Jeremiah 28 NKJV – Hananiah’s Falsehood and Doom

And it happened in the same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two full years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. And I will bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ”

Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who stood in the house of the Lord, and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! The Lord do so; the Lord perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all who were carried away captive, from Babylon to this place.  Nevertheless hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms—of war and disaster and pestilence. As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.”

Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years.’ ” And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

Now the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Go and tell Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made in their place yokes of iron.” For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. I have given him the beasts of the field also.” ’ ”

Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie. Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have taught rebellion against the Lord.’ ”

So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

A friend of a friend recently handed me some of the light bulbs from the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York City (gathered in 2022). I guess certain people get to take the bulbs off and keep them because they don’t reuse them anymore… That does sound wasteful and yet I get it because they they probably need to make it VERY easy on themselves every year to light up the beautiful tree. 

It’s cool to go see it but there are so many activities at Christmas that I don’t really need to go see the tree. There are big trees here too. My friend who recently passed wanted to go see it before Christmas, asked if I was going, but I wasn’t. I am now GLAD that I DIDN’T take her. What? Would I wished to have taken her? Nah, I am thankful for not being a part of weakening her any more than she was. It was like a God thing that stopped me one trip short of guilt. The tree is cool, don’t get me wrong, but God is COOLer. God is All in All. God is in control.

This is all hindsight conjecture of course, and even if we had gone, I’m trusting God in His wisdom would have helped… But anyway I’m glad we didn’t go. I’m also glad that my friend had an “ordinary” day that day she passed, and before that a real and regular Christmas with her family that was distanced 3 weeks prior from her passing.

I am glad that she held her faith to the world like a light in the dark. See, we didn’t need to see Christmas lights as much as her and us being witness Lights! 

The bulbs are cool, but the only thing I can think to do with them is somehow to bring them to her gravestone…  I know of all things, God wants us to carry on, to shine the Light while we make do, to be faithful and true. 

I know God is the best Light. Through us, His Light shines TRUE.

Amen 

(For my friend who recently passed – but for all our loved ones gone too soon.)

It’s like multiple stages of grief in a whirlwind. For a friend’s passing, I got the stage of denial for maybe 45 minutes tops, that’s it. Reality came quickly in God’s Way. Comforting others came paramount immediately. Memories came even quicker in a processing way.

For the services, it came in an easy Hard way – on an easy Hard day. In an unfathomable way, we knew we would get to this day. But in a way, nothing could prepare us for the day. So our focus shifts from our grief to helping others with theirs. That is God’s way to make easy a hard day. Help in every which way. Help others get through their day.

The service and the logistics and sharing of the meal, (even getting the tire out of the rut of the driveway), well it was all fairly easy that day, in a very tough way. People shared a slice of God’s ultimate grace, I must say. We found ease even if it was from a hard way, on a hard day.

It was hardly an easy day, but a hard easy day. Easy in that we were taken care of. And we also took care of each other. That came easy. That’s the easy part of hard: Love, grace, mercy. 

It was easily one of the hardest days. I saw my friend’s family and that was hardest, to know only a fraction of their grief, all stages, and easy to see why they grieved. They loved her, daughter, sister, wife, mother. Loved her with an easy love, even in a hard situation. She loved them hard, that was easy for her. She lived a hard life with the seemingly gift of just enough ease over pain, and trust me she had hard pain. Her hard days ended with much pain, now eased away.

Love is easy. Love is hard. Life is easy. Life is hard. What makes hard life easy? Or easy life hard? Hard to answer that, but easy to see that our lives are gifted an ease to hardness. How else would this complicated brain, emotions, coping mechanism and complicated body survive and even thrive. If forming, growing and living life in us is not complicated enough, then nothing is. If putting the infinite spirit into a complex system, requiring us to nurture and care for each other, was and is “so easily” done by God, then NOTHING is hard for God. Nothing will be either. God doesn’t hold us together with skin or glue, but with LOVE. Hard love easily given. God is love, nothing hard nothing easy, just Love. 

Our bodies will give way, pass away.

But God’s Love will be our stay.

Let us pray for all of us today.

Love is an easy gift, even if made perfect in a hard way.

Lord, let us today, Love Your Way.

Amen 

—

“Is any thing too hard for the Lord? ” Genesis 18:14

‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts. You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for Your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.’  Jeremiah 32:17-19

“For with God, nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1:37

(One of many processing writings for my friend’s passing and her services)

At the calling hours, I could only see the back of the casket, from my church pew, and yet I could see the front of the faces of the people passing by it. The one gentleman who once shared his midnight Easter meal with me and my friend, after the 10pm-midnight Orthodox service, on the first occasion I visited this Orthodox traditional church with my friend, who was so ill for years but still so faithful, well. . . Well his face of pain spoke volumes of bitter frustration of grasping the cruelty of loosing a life so young and heartbreak of her life which should have continued to be been vibrant. Pain.

Hugs. I could see directly across my aisle to a massive supportive hug given by a young girl scout to her fellow scout, youngest daughter of my friend. Ah, both a young 10yrs old, but the strong support for each other in such young hearts is God-given and parent-taught. We ARE on this journey together… There is joy in the journey, sorrow but strength in the support, hugs in the hope, compassion in the tears shed for each other. We carry each other’s burdens. 

The hug brought this observation from our girl scout troop leader, “It Broke My Heart and Healed It at the Same Time”…

Amen to that. 

Amen to all…

—

Paul’s letter to the Galatians (6:2-10)

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load.

Be Generous and Do Good

Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

(One of many processing writings for my friend’s passing and her services)

I was confused because I could not find on the web any reason why there might be a tradition, and I’m saying ‘might‘, that you have to have new shoes worn in the casket for the friend, who is being buried today. Trust me I didn’t see her shoes, I focused on her face, her hands. I don’t know if anyone cares about these shoes. I don’t even think she needs shoes. But they did prepare her so nice. She did look absolutely beautiful and happy, with the smile on her face like I would want to remember her, as they laid her body to rest. And trust me, after her standing on neuropathy feet for a long time, she would be happy to rest. (and where did the people who brought flowers put them? all on top of her shoes anyway.)

Good shoes is what we need today for an all day event, her mass as well as interment, as well as meal after. Good shoes but also probably boots, as the snow is not going anywhere, except into slush. Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had plywood down for the family to walk on, but like one year for my aunt’s outdoor funeral upstate in 15 degrees winter, you need good shoes. 

Good shoes because we are camping girl scout moms honoring one of our own. Good camp shoes which are not new but have been through the trenches. Good shoes that you don’t mind getting wet, muddy, stuck, because camping, like life in the world is temporary. 

Yeah, wear Good Shoes for walking this world.

Maybe that’s the reason for new shoes (or even no shoes) in a casket. Cause you don’t need any of those old shoes in Heaven. Because you’ve already been through those trenches and there are NO trenches in Heaven. There are no potholes or tricky indoor carpets to trip you either. It’s got to be a smooth sailing stride… Ah… Heaven. 

Heaven. Whose coming with me? I’m in no rush but can’t wait to get there, especially to hug my friend in renewed robustness, healed and whole. She took Jesus’s Hand, and we all do have our tickets punched for His Full-Service ride to Heaven. We just want to be ready to accept His forgiveness for earthly mud on our shoes. He does. 

But really, with no slight to tradition, do we need shoes? NAH… Jesus provides all the clean garments we need, and besides, Jesus’s FACE is focusing on looking at your FACE (and seeing you looking at Him): FACE TO FACE. 

Amen

—

1st Corinthians 3:16,17 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? … For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

—

If I speak in the tongues a of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see FACE to FACE. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

—

Genesis 32:23-32

After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

I was SO relieved when I put on this inexpensive tennis elbow brace around my right arm – wow!  I had forgotten how much they help – I have been ignoring my tennis elbow to the point of pain and ugh – well – time to appreciate the relief aspect of the brace – not medicine which can help too but the simple strap which stops the constant pull of muscles attached near the elbow and instead moves the anchor point down an inch – a redirect – ah relief…

This is perfect (well at least appropriate) to represent when we are NOT to make some decisions or make the call – when we SHOULD take the opportunity for someone else to be in charge – and for us to not take a back seat but to take the hay wagon ride behind the vehicle – not back seat kibitz about driving but “enjoy the ride”… 

This is what I am TRYING to remind myself about my role as child of God –  being an empty vessel for Holy Spirit filling. Yes, enjoy the ride and not be in charge even if I am charged up!  Of course pay attention on any “Hey!”-ride, still try not to fall off the back of the wagon when it hits the bumps of life. So just know when it is not my turn to drive even if it is my road. Know when It is not my opinion to make the call when it is the Lord’s Call. 

How will I try to NOT anticipate but instead participate? Well, keep my ears open and reserve my mouth for praise and purposeful smiles. Keep my eyes on the Lord and my seatbelt on. Look for soul searching but not stressing. Keep moving the focal point of the burdens of life on Jesus’s shoulders and not mine.

And not on my tennis elbow either – give that ball to Jesus to Serve!

Amen

(A praise poem based upon “falling well” but NOT falling over.  A simple slip NOT on ice, but the wet puddle spots inside, oops… more embarrassing than anything. And I praise the saving stretch I got from the Lord – and the “watch what you boast” warning too! Just thank the Lord and keep moving.)

Stretch, don’t Kvetch

It wasn’t just the race,

  it was that I was setting the aggressive pace.

It wasn’t just about my need,

  but I was putting in my need for speed.

I doubt that I could last,

  if my future competes with my past.

I’m pretty sure my energy steps would run out of gas.

.

It’s not just a slow down, 

  but “I know better” now.

One slip and I could take a trip,

  worse yet my knee would dip.

But the catch, ah yes the catch, yes,

  The SAVE is what I will address. 

The Lord saved my life from becoming a mess.

.

So don’t ignore mini MIRACLES anymore.

Every time you DON’T crash onto the floor.

Every save, every brave.

Each time your health doesn’t cave.

Getting older means what?

That GOD helps keep you out of trouble’s rut.

Watch the ice or you will fall on your butt!

.

Exercise. Or dust can compromise. 

Stretch. And don’t kvetch!

Praise all the more! For strength in our core!

.

Accept help, before you yelp.

Skip the trial, of your denial. 

Weigh the consequences, not the nonsenses.

.

Then close the door, and purposefully prayerfully kneel your face to the floor. 

Be thankful to God even more.

.

Lord, I praise Your gifting. I praise all Your lifting. 

I will bend my ways and preserve my days.

Thank You for saving in all Your Ways.

Amen

.

Amen 

James 1:1-20 – NKJV

James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.

Profiting from Trials – My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

The Perspective of Rich and Poor – Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.

Loving God Under Trials – Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

Qualities Needed in Trials – So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

I was thinking about a friend’s positive outlook being so helpful in his many many years of illness, ailments, hospital stays, multiple transplants, etc. Some folks I know also experience sadness working havoc on their motivation, maybe more than their illness does. So I asked my devoted-faith friend: “Do you have any words of advice for looking up, for faith, when health (or life) is stressed?”

Here are excerpts of his response: 

“Hmmm, tough one! I’ve been through so much in my life it’s become a defense. My mantra is there is good in everything bad, but you have to look for it. I see life as a book of experiences and thank God for all of them, good or bad.

“Sadness… I like the comparison of a horse walking in a pasture in the exact same circle wearing a deep path. You have to get out of that circle of ruminating. I get mad at my self when depression sets in and make my self stop thinking in a negative poor me way. 

“Health issues are an experience, I want experiences so that I can relate to others in a knowledgeable way. I also look at the positive my troubles are for the doctors that are treating me. Maybe they will learn something to help some else. 

“An Alcoholic’s saying is ‘poor me, pour me another drink’. That’s the horse walking in circles… 

“We are responsible for our happiness, bottom line.

“Praying is my answer. Kick the negative out! It serves nothing. Do it enough and it become a habit….a new path for that horse to follow.”

…

Amen to all this! Thank you friend. Thank You Lord!

Special as my friend brought me a bottle of wine a week ago, one week before she passed away. I hadn’t even cleaned the table from that day, the unopened bottle is still there. Maybe now I will gather friends and we will open it to toast her and celebrate her friendship to us.

My friend passed peacefully in her sleep after a long illness. Well, she wanted (last month) to write me a Christmas card and she thought how horrible she was for not getting them out before Christmas. (Well, I never felt guilty about not getting them out before Christmas, and she was more busy than me!). Well, she certainly shouldn’t have felt guilty, and so sitting at her house around New Years, I was telling her it was fine, and she wrote it out to me on the spot (and I ended up ALSO getting SO many gifts of goodies, smiles and laughter)… Special as she wanted to gift the card and everything to me. Special as she and her generous spirit were a true gift to me. Her daughter texted just now about how much she loved me. Oh, I felt it!

Spiritual Solace to me is that she is whole, healthy, healed and held by Jesus. Spiritual and simple solace is seeing how amazing her family has grown up, how she raised them, how independent they are, and knowing people will be there for them. Spiritual Solace is knowing, feeling that she is SMILING in Heaven, I feel she is waving at me, I can hear her voice as easily as I can click on videos of her. Thank You Jesus for that.

Spiritual Solace is very often sacred. But I must say that a simple solace to me, and a SILLY one too, as we should not cling to tangible things here on earth, but it has brought me extra peace in WONDER, because the Christmas card she gave me sparkled in my eyes not only because of my favorite color blue, plus the sparkles, it is because the similarities were really evident to a card had I bought, then never mailed myself because I just loved it – they go together as a pair… Blue sparkles, a tree, a beautiful scene in each. Was going to mail it but thought, I’ll hold onto it a bit more. I appreciate it because it reflects that we were like sisters – different but with the same Light inside – the same sparkles. I also appreciated my card was taller and hers shorter, just like us. It also has a STAR. A star brings us towards Jesus. A silly solace here but it truly soothes my soul. 

Spiritual stars draw us to Him. My friend was a STAR and she always pointed me to Jesus too.

A simple Spiritual wake up SHOCK was when I went to her house, just as I heard the news, I just went immediately when I heard that she had passed. It was that I really felt like it wasn’t real (it was), I wanted to see her, but no. That suddenness meant processing via seeing her husband’s tears held back. The Spiritual shocking sight was that her purse was simply sitting silent, next to the door, ready to go but the go-er was gone. Was the purse going or coming? Was it set like “whew, I’m home – or hey, I’m ready to go.”  That image remains in my brain: the purse so simply hers but no longer needed. We are go-ers but God is the Know-er. Some things, well all things, we WON’T take with us. All we will need is that feeling that we are HOME.

There’s a Spiritual Solace here: we don’t need anything but Jesus. Jesus saving us with forgiveness and love and mercy and us believing in the forgiveness and love, then loving others. My friend believed in Jesus, oh yes, oh such faith. My friend knew love in the pain. Jesus shined through all that pain.

You may think each day to put your purse or your keys or your phone in a certain spot. You may start charging your phone, prep your mind and motions for the next day. But God decides your ultimate fate and faithful fateful timing to be here then gone. We don’t decide much more in decisions than picking out special sparkles on a card. We certainly are gifted the ability to pick friends. I’m SO glad she picked me as her friend. 

Her card says: “A wonder of Christmas surrounds us, may your spirit be renewed with special joy at the miracle of His birth.” and my card says: “Wishing you that cozy Christmas feeling of knowing that you are loved – because you are.” – which I wish I had mailed to her – well, now she knows…

Thank you Jesus, she is HOME.

JESUS SAID: “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:2-3 NKJV

AMEN AMEN AMEN

I told my friend to “enjoy the snow day” (of course I am planning to – by going to work early which is surely why God woke me up at 4am instead of 5am to write- He ALWAYS stays ahead of the weather)….

Anyway, I was thinking about my email answer to her email conversation about conversations and people (or us) bringing bad things back up. After thinking myself, I emailed back: “I’m thinking if you find yourself in that circumstance again, you don’t have to answer or explain yourself. If God knows, and He does, you are under minimal obligation to explain things to others in an uncomfortable situation or in a way that just drags on and doesn’t resolve that scenario with that person. Like it prolongs the stuff that already went under the bridge, dregs it back up. You are under no obligation to raise back up what God put to rest. No need to reopen situations except with God, for God to resolve.  I mean even Jesus was silent at times, or used the weather to explain things…”

Ah the Weather – it changes and so does our conversation style….

So best advice? Sometimes it’s good to SWITCH to talking about the weather, let some storm clouds of life blow away…  it is better to believe in the next sunny day and put our minds there… Oh use the distractions of fluffy fun flakes to silently say: “no thanks – not interested in that conversation today!”…

And then I told her to enjoy the snow day – which is a great way to let everything else slide – down the hill – in an innertube of life… bouncing all the way… 

WHEEEEEEEEE………………………………….

amen

Then I will give you rain in due season… Leviticus 26:4

… he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow. Psalm 147:18

It’s time to get back to Jeremiah’s visions. 

My grandma used to ask: “did you dream about hotdogs?” When we woke up at her house for sleepovers. She was curious about how we slept, and just about us. She really loved us. 

To be honest, I dream about so many things, it is wild, and almost never hotdogs.  I really have to hold back the recount of dreams from invading my day, but then again they dissipate quicker than steam (except a few ironed in wrinkles of weird memories). And I have to keep the day from invading this space each morning for dreaming about the Lord. It’s not a dream. I actually know this reality WITH the Lord us the most precious cherished time.  That’s why there seems to be this time of reading and writing. It’s not ambitious as a new friend said, not an achievement either, it’s just the way the Lord has me start my day. (I highly recommend it,  hold back the day with the Way)…

Let’s get back to Jeremiah, as I read and write through this old testament. Jeremiah had a vision, a placement of figs by God to check the signal to Jeremiah’s head. I’m not going to debate visions and dreams, I think Jeremiah was awake for this. “What do you see, Jeremiah?” FIGS!

FIGure out the meaning – not so hard – these figs were good and bad – we could imagine that they would understand that – didn’t take a monkey from Indiana Jones to taste the figs and know they were poison – these figs were simply just good and bad. FIGure out the meaning – God was using good figs to represent those who listened and although they were taken into captivity, they kept a heart gifted by God to know Him. Whole Hearted Believers. Whole-making God. That should be us too – we are but travelers in this world but the worldliness of it should not keep us from focus on God – the worldliness means that we are technically exiles here – out of the Garden – but of God’s choosing – and we can listen and eventually be returned to a better state. There are good things here on earth – good pockets of people and places and good reasons to put down our roots and be planted and not plucked up… make the best of everything…

And the bad Figs – FIGures that it is the people not listening – not “fruitful” – not FIGuring out the Way of God, what He requests.

I don’t know how you start your day – but I FIGure if you are reading this and reading scripture that you FIGured out God is the ONE who gives good – so let us listen to Him.

Hold back the Day and carve out time for Him – He knows the Way.

Amen 

Jeremiah 24:1-10 NKJV

The Sign of Two Baskets of Figs

The Lord showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so bad. Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.”

Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.

‘And as the bad figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’—surely thus says the Lord—‘so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. I will deliver them to trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they are consumed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’ ”

I don’t actually have a snow day, I have a work from home laptop and any day that I can catch up with work stuff at home is productive, couple meetings too. I could even go in, but nah… No more little ones to go sledding, but sipping tea (even while working) is a dream day, yay! It’s only 2 to 3 inches of snow and the Subaru powered thru it superbly, as expected, last night with road already covered, so it’s not really a real snow day.

But what if it were? What if it were a REAL SNOW DAY? What then if we adopted a SNOW DAY mentality? And what if we just didn’t worry about work or things?? What if we adopted a Saturday day-off mentality, except did less chores… What would we be best to do then? Ahhh… SPEND MORE TIME WITH GOD.

The Lord is not a task master as much as He IS a Master Tasker. He gets His things done. He sends the snow to help the ground sleep. He revs up the sun to steam us into summer. He turns the days, the earth, the seasons. Behold the sundial clocks still study His Creation, and measuring time which is not even important except for knowing His Ways better. If I had MORE time, I would want to STUDY GOD MORE. 

Let us go get that tea, and sit happily with scripture and in scripture. Let us absorb God’s Grace, and absorb His Word for helping the world, that is where we apply our knowledge and encouragement. Heading the Word for the world, not the world for the sake of the race. His Hope is not a bad slippery slope – once you know Him a little you will want to know Him MORE.

Amen

—

Jeremiah 29:11-14 records: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

It’s SO important, not to add or subtract or gloss over what God really is saying. God stands firm, and we don’t see a relaxation of God’s rules ever, but instead we see an overpowering overpowering of forgiveness by Jesus holding us in His cleansing blood. It’s believing in forgiveness that we bring to the altar rather than an escape door.

Escape doors are awesome in theaters, I just saw “Wicked” on Broadway, a joy with time with my daughter, AMAZING and AWESOME. “Defying Gravity” is stuck in my head. it’s just plain fun to be entertained. I won’t tell you that plot, but know an escape door is so cool… and the show has twists (and twisters being a pre-adaptation new novel angle of the Wizard of Oz) about being perceived as wicked as much as it is about being real to oneself… learning and growing… (Great music too)… they may fictionalize defying gravity but the real evil ways of some are never going to get past notice by false illusion. The whole twist of this story is a separate twist of the other fictitious story – we could get this “hey that isn’t how the story goes” – but remember this is all fantasy… 

God however is REAL – GOD IS UNCHANGEABLE AND GOOD!

Jeremiah is fortified by God to speak, learns to go out and speak truth and trust God’s protection to those projecting an illusion of faithfulness… We are especially to know Jeremiah’s text was written down for us to believe too. God wanted even His exiled people to LISTEN. God fortified the delivery of the message too, after being blamed for being blasphemous, they decided not to kill him then. Jeremiah told the people plainly: TURN FROM YOUR EVIL WAYS. God had planned harsh conditions to make them WAKE UP,  but it was calculated and timed. And in all this WAKE UP, He still had planned a path to Himself, re-gathering after many years, and He would bring their people back. This is not a forgetting of past sins but a FORGIVENESS to MOVE FORWARD! GOD ALWAYS REMINDS His Israelite descendants of Jacob and of David, a line reserved for a KING (Jesus) to come as Ultimate King,  that He makes provisions. 

God wanted the people to get over their rebellion by going deeper into submission under the Babylonians, captives under King Nebuchadnezzar, they needed to wait it out (70 years in Babylon) in OBEDIENCE. God told them everything they needed to know, that He would take care of punishment to the oppressors but after 70 years… That they had to wait upon the Lord.  That’s us too, WAIT UPON THE LORD. 

It’s important that if we held onto God’s hope this long, we can continue. 

God’s got this… God’s got this… It may take time but GOD’S GOT THIS!

Amen

—

Jeremiah 25:8-14

Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

“But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate forever. I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

Jeremiah 26 NKJV

Jeremiah Saved from Death

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word. Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way, that I may relent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings.’ And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you, to heed the words of My servants the prophets whom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending them (but you have not heeded), then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.” ’ ”

So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You will surely die! Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without an inhabitant’?” And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat down in the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, “This man deserves to die! For he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.”

Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying: “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city with all the words that you have heard. Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. As for me, here I am, in your hand; do with me as seems good and proper to you. But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”

So the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve to die. For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

I went to find info on Martin Luther King (Senior) MLK Sr – because surely he influenced MLK Jr. – He certainly did! Amen to that! There are Wikipedia pages SO informative on King’s father and also that MLK Jr spent a few years up in the northeast US in southeast Philly to attend a Baptist church and Jr attend a seminary. Amen cool…

MLK Sr was a Minister – married a minister’s daughter – and served years and years in churches even on the national stage – he had started his involvement in the civil rights movement many years before his son. Interestingly his parents made him work out in a field at time to reconnect the plight of their ancestors. From Wikipedia: His father James Albert King was born in 1864 to an Irish American father, Nathan King, and Malinde, a freed African American slave. Yes, the family line of MLK Jr came from Irish stock! MLK Sr had to understand toleration and standing up for one’s self his whole life. His son MLK Jr’s assassination, another son mysteriously drown, and his wife’s assassination while playing the Lord’s Prayer on the organ at church – all within a 6 year period. Fascinating life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Sr.

I appreciate digging into the family history, all highly educated and spiritually connected, all which shaped MLK Jr’s work – and I remember the reverence of MLK Jr – the history – the film clips… What is not widely shared is their pastoral work – and so there is a blessing of an archive of MLK Jr’s sermons – audio and written.

Of course – I am appreciative of MLK Jr’s sermons and the first one that I read – about “Diming Your Headlights” will be one I will share on Sunday for a sermon because we do have excellent examples of how we are to live, based upon Jesus’s examples and teachings. This one is called: “Loving Your Enemies” http://ipoet.com/ARCHIVE/BEYOND/King-Jr/Loving-Your-Enemies.html

Jesus preached: “Ye have heard that it has been said, ‘Thou shall love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.’ But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:43-48

Here is my blog from last year – love this imagery to explain how we dim our headlights and keep moving…

Not Satisfied, JAN 2023 Debbie Upper

I was not satisfied with how I thought about MLK Jr day on Monday, because I didn’t think about it or him at all, just a crazy busy day within a crazy busy season of my life. I revisit today not just for recapturing yesterdays but also by revisiting 1957 and a sermon by Dr King about LOVING YOUR ENEMIES. Thanks to Wikipedia and wonderful websites, we have a transcript and audio of many sermons and speeches. 

What a great excerpt I was led to find – that Jesus says we are to love our enemies because love is redemptive goodwill, because God loves everyone and because you have agape in your soul. As hate only brings hate, the redemptive strength of love means that when you are presented with the opportunity to defeat your enemy, that you DON’T do it. When we love, we see God’s image in each person – in our enemies too.

I’ve included the link to the whole sermon and audio, as well as more links to more sermons. If we remember that God is behind all the drive to love, that God IS Love, we also will remember that love will not, and can never fail.

Especially I like the analogy he gives about dimming the car headlights – that we are all driving where we need to dim the car headlights and be courteous and be the LOVE…  Love has a redemptive power because God is Love. We should all be NOT satisfied with the hate in the world when we are commanded to LOVE.

Amen and Please do read below:

Excerpt of the MLK Jr Sermon NOV 1957

“…within the best of us, there is some evil, and within the worst of us, there is some good. When we come to see this, we take a different attitude toward individuals. The person who hates you most has some good in him; even the nation that hates you most has some good in it; even the race that hates you most has some good in it. And when you come to the point that you look in the face of every man and see deep down within him what religion calls “the image of God,” you begin to love him in spite of. No matter what he does, you see God’s image there. There is an element of goodness that he can never sluff off. Discover the element of good in your enemy. And as you seek to hate him, find the center of goodness and place your attention there and you will take a new attitude.

Another way that you love your enemy is this: When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy, that is the time which you must not do it. There will come a time, in many instances, when the person who hates you most, the person who has misused you most, the person who has gossiped about you most, the person who has spread false rumors about you most, there will come a time when you will have an opportunity to defeat that person. It might be in terms of a recommendation for a job; it might be in terms of helping that person to make some move in life. That’s the time you must not do it. That is the meaning of love. In the final analysis, love is not this sentimental something that we talk about. It’s not merely an emotional something. Love is creative, understanding goodwill for all men. It is the refusal to defeat any individual. When you rise to the level of love, of its great beauty and power, you seek only to defeat evil systems. Individuals who happen to be caught up in that system, you love, but you seek to defeat the system.

The Greek language, as I’ve said so often before, is very powerful at this point. It comes to our aid beautifully in giving us the real meaning and depth of the whole philosophy of love. And I think it is quite apropos at this point, for you see the Greek language has three words for love, interestingly enough. It talks about love as eros. That’s one word for love. Eros is a sort of, aesthetic love. Plato talks about it a great deal in his dialogues, a sort of yearning of the soul for the realm of the gods. And it’s come to us to be a sort of romantic love, though it’s a beautiful love. Everybody has experienced eros in all of its beauty when you find some individual that is attractive to you and that you pour out all of your like and your love on that individual. That is eros, you see, and it’s a powerful, beautiful love that is given to us through all of the beauty of literature; we read about it.

Then the Greek language talks about philia, and that’s another type of love that’s also beautiful. It is a sort of intimate affection between personal friends. And this is the type of love that you have for those persons that you’re friendly with, your intimate friends, or people that you call on the telephone and you go by to have dinner with, and your roommate in college and that type of thing. It’s a sort of reciprocal love. On this level, you like a person because that person likes you. You love on this level, because you are loved. You love on this level, because there’s something about the person you love that is likeable to you. This too is a beautiful love. You can communicate with a person; you have certain things in common; you like to do things together. This is philia.

The Greek language comes out with another word for love. It is the word agape. And agape is more than eros; agape is more than philia; agape is something of the understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. It is a love that seeks nothing in return. It is an overflowing love; it’s what theologians would call the love of God working in the lives of men. And when you rise to love on this level, you begin to love men, not because they are likeable, but because God loves them. You look at every man, and you love him because you know God loves him. And he might be the worst person you’ve ever seen.

And this is what Jesus means, I think, in this very passage when he says, “Love your enemy.” And it’s significant that he does not say, “Like your enemy.” Like is a sentimental something, an affectionate something. There are a lot of people that I find it difficult to like. I don’t like what they do to me. I don’t like what they say about me and other people. I don’t like their attitudes. I don’t like some of the things they’re doing. I don’t like them. But Jesus says love them. And love is greater than like. Love is understanding, redemptive goodwill for all men, so that you love everybody, because God loves them. You refuse to do anything that will defeat an individual, because you have agape in your soul. And here you come to the point that you love the individual who does the evil deed, while hating the deed that the person does. This is what Jesus means when he says, “Love your enemy.” This is the way to do it. When the opportunity presents itself when you can defeat your enemy, you must not do it.

Now for the few moments left, let us move from the practical how to the theoretical why. It’s not only necessary to know how to go about loving your enemies, but also to go down into the question of why we should love our enemies. I think the first reason that we should love our enemies, and I think this was at the very center of Jesus’ thinking, is this: that hate for hate only intensifies the existence of hate and evil in the universe. If I hit you and you hit me and I hit you back and you hit me back and go on, you see, that goes on ad infinitum. [tapping on pulpit] It just never ends. Somewhere somebody must have a little sense, and that’s the strong person. The strong person is the person who can cut off the chain of hate, the chain of evil. And that is the tragedy of hate, that it doesn’t cut it off. It only intensifies the existence of hate and evil in the universe. Somebody must have religion enough and morality enough to cut it off and inject within the very structure of the universe that strong and powerful element of love.

I think I mentioned before that sometime ago my brother and I were driving one evening to Chattanooga, Tennessee, from Atlanta. He was driving the car. And for some reason the drivers were very discourteous that night. They didn’t dim their lights; hardly any driver that passed by dimmed his lights. And I remember very vividly, my brother A. D. looked over and in a tone of anger said: “I know what I’m going to do. The next car that comes along here and refuses to dim the lights, I’m going to fail to dim mine and pour them on in all of their power.” And I looked at him right quick and said: “Oh no, don’t do that. There’d be too much light on this highway, and it will end up in mutual destruction for all. Somebody got to have some sense on this highway.”

Somebody must have sense enough to dim the lights, and that is the trouble, isn’t it? That as all of the civilizations of the world move up the highway of history, so many civilizations, having looked at other civilizations that refused to dim the lights, and they decided to refuse to dim theirs. And Toynbee tells that out of the twenty-two civilizations that have risen up, all but about seven have found themselves in the junkheap of destruction. It is because civilizations fail to have sense enough to dim the lights. And if somebody doesn’t have sense enough to turn on the dim and beautiful and powerful lights of love in this world, the whole of our civilization will be plunged into the abyss of destruction. And we will all end up destroyed because nobody had any sense on the highway of history. Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a descending spiral, ultimately ending in destruction for all and everybody. Somebody must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe. And you do that by love.

There’s another reason why you should love your enemies, and that is because hate distorts the personality of the hater. We usually think of what hate does for the individual hated or the individuals hated or the groups hated. But it is even more tragic, it is even more ruinous and injurious to the individual who hates. You just begin hating somebody, and you will begin to do irrational things. You can’t see straight when you hate. You can’t walk straight when you hate. You can’t stand upright. Your vision is distorted. There is nothing more tragic than to see an individual whose heart is filled with hate. He comes to the point that he becomes a pathological case. For the person who hates, you can stand up and see a person and that person can be beautiful, and you will call them ugly. For the person who hates, the beautiful becomes ugly and the ugly becomes beautiful. For the person who hates, the good becomes bad and the bad becomes good. For the person who hates, the true becomes false and the false becomes true. That’s what hate does. You can’t see right. The symbol of objectivity is lost. Hate destroys the very structure of the personality of the hater.

…

Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, “Love your enemies.” It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. That’s why Jesus says, “Love your enemies.” Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to transform your enemies. But if you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption. You just keep loving people and keep loving them, even though they’re mistreating you. Here’s the person who is a neighbor, and this person is doing something wrong to you and all of that. Just keep being friendly to that person. Keep loving them. Don’t do anything to embarrass them. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with bitterness because they’re mad because you love them like that. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies…”

http://ipoet.com/ARCHIVE/BEYOND/King-Jr/Loving-Your-Enemies.html

https://debbieupper.blog/2022/01/19/not-satisfied-18jan-1365/

And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them… Jeremiah 25:4

How do we profit from the prophets? Or at least ‘break even’ over sin and death? By seeing, realizing, sharing wherever Jesus is mentioned in the old testament, and where His Way is explained. A branch of Righteousness raised. This is Heaven’s reopening play.

Jeremiah speaks what God needs His people to hear. Although the Israelites of the day will be wicked and whisked away to Babylon exile. He does mention a NEW WAY. Oh Jesus, Righteousness and Judgement to SAVE. 

Jesus, the Lord our Righteousness, is our King today.

Let’s see things His Way.

Amen

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Jeremiah 23:3-8 “But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord.

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called:

THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

“Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own land.”

FORGIVENESS INDEED.

Forgiveness we NEED, prideful fallible human lives we lead.

Forgiveness – for all our failed acts back to Adam and Eve. 

Forgiveness for when that serpent started to weave.

Weaving through peoples’ lives, trying to deceive.

Jesus, IN Jesus is where our Faith needs to be.

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Forgiveness we need, for it’s the distractible world we sadly try to please.

Forgiveness – washing sins away, Jesus, slain Lamb, crucified to set us free. 

Forgiveness ‘as if‘ Jesus reclaiming fruit, hung it back onto that Holy Tree.

Jesus, serpent-crushing Servant, New Life for believers He DID achieve.

Justification by FAITH, Jesus our Savior, JESUS IS THE LORD WE NEED. 

Forgiveness for human beings like you, like me.

I believe in Forgiveness INDEED.

AMEN

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

My friend delivered a sermon that changed my life. He wasn’t my friend back then. Only afterwards. And he didn’t know he was delivering a sermon that would change MY life. He actually was delivering a sermon to deliver a sermon, trusting the Lord had use of it somehow. God had him pegged for many reasons – and like a string art project, God wraps some paths (mine included) around His servants’ pegs on a board crafted by the Holy Spirit to “paint” a picture of Jesus’s calling.

I listened to recordings, a couple years LATER, music also but just a couple days later, that’s how distant and yet close that the string art string stretched, but the boasting couldn’t. My friend actually had his sermons recorded but not by his knowledge. The sermons were recorded due to the church’s ability and a device, which in a roundabout way I had an opportunity to support financially and in follow up with people asking my help, as it was to make copies of the sermons for the homebound (those bound to their homes) – but I had no idea it also would help me homebound (those bound for travelling Home to the Lord).  And so I didn’t know when I supported that, that it was something that was going to be supporting my own journey Home. That I would be receiving the great gift of sermons, and songs too that would change me. 

I believe that the Lord works in mysterious ways. This is true and TRUTH and I know it says it in the Bible. But I know it from my own life experience too. This history and this mystery means that I cannot boast. My friend cannot boast, none of us can boast.

I also must therefore credit the Lord (and my friend must credit the Lord), especially the Holy Spirit’s flow putting us each in the right time at the right place AND in the right place at the right time. For the Lord… For the Lord… 

It’s as if before the Lord of hosts, no one can fulfill his own boast. 

It’s not us, it’s the Lord. 

JUST ASK JEREMIAH!  Although we are not His exiles to Babylon, we are His flock to gather.

Amen

Jeremiah 30:1-3 NKJV

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8, 12 NKJV

Thus says the Lord:… “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit. … A glorious high throne from the beginning Is the place of our sanctuary.

Jeremiah 22:16 NKJV 

Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Was not this knowing Me?” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 23:23 NKJV 

“Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord, And not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the Lord; Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.

Prayers today

Are our say 

To ask God’s Way

And agree to sway our plans away

Instead to choose: His Say.

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Prayers may help us obey.

Prayers can simply be “Hey”.

Prayers are moans when we are or aren’t OK.

Prayers will strengthen our day.

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Prayers may shatter us awake to begin a new day.

Prayers will hopefully align with His Way.

Prayers for the Holy Spirit to come and stay.

Prayers may it be us praising: “Hooray”

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That’s what prayers put into play,

Seeing things better God’s Way. 

Pray Pray Pray away!

Prayers for forever and Prayers for Today.

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Amen 

Amen and God, we say “Hey!”

It’s one blessed thing to meet,

And quite the other to touch Jesus’s feet.

It’s good to see,

But better to know. 

It’s down on one knee,

Or two, we should go.

Maybe best for our eyes to meet

Our Savior at His feet.

At His feet we drop,

Such sins of living we should stop.

Crushed that snake’s head,

And all those mistakes we do dread.

Then blessedly we LOOK UP to stand NOT proud, 

But LIFTED, as up upon His Cloud. 

That’s a feeling I hope always to seek,

THANKFUL, because JESUS lifted ME to my feet.

AMEN 

So I’ve seen my fair share of MANY a Christmas Tree.

Christmases, AND Epiphanys,

But how does one appreciate a Tree?

With scents, with lights, with ornaments, maybe?

Or a cat who picturesquely poses with said tree.

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I don’t know, to be honest, maybe the appreciation is not actually the tree,

Maybe the appreciation is the PAUSE within you, within me.

Christmas overload becomes, reactively,

just a date, a season, a hectic spree.

Unless, of course, Christmas, you see,

Becomes our appreciation of INSIDE knowledge of our Holy Thee.

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It’s not just the day, the season, the tree.

Christmas is Spirit-birth in you and in me.

Christmas is Jesus-birth to fulfill prophecy. 

Jesus gave us Christmas to make us free.

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And the cat? She just likes the company. 

So together, we will ponder Jesus and His Gift of Himself, by this said tree.

Amen

Jeremiah was sent by God – whoa to the people – and Jeremiah ached… but Jeremiah also knew God to deliver. Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For He has delivered the life of the poor From the hand of evildoers.

Jesus also ached all the while knowing He was the Deliverer – and a preacher I heard once said that the scripture of Jesus being compared to Jeremiah (Matthew 16:14) – indicated the aching of both for these people they had to prophesize against – that they were both called to bring to the realization of where they had gone wrong – IF they could get thru to them – and most of them were too thick to absorb the message so that made them ache in sadness.

Jeremiah was unpopular in telling of God’s wrath – Jesus was unpopular in telling of God’s mission to send His son for salvation – and the wrath without it. But Jesus and Jeremiah prevailed in delivering the message. And both were not spared the trials but both were told who would win this war – God…

But the Lord is with me as a mighty, awesome One.
Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail.
They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper.
Their everlasting confusion will never be forgotten.

Let us keep fighting the good fight and remember Who, the Lord, has already won our war.

God.

Amen

Jeremiah’s Unpopular Ministry – Jeremiah 20:7-18

O Lord, You induced me, and I was persuaded;
You are stronger than I, and have prevailed.
I am in derision daily;
Everyone mocks me.
For when I spoke, I cried out;
I shouted, “Violence and plunder!”
Because the word of the Lord was made to me
A reproach and a derision daily.
Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him,
Nor speak anymore in His name.”
But His word was in my heart like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back,
And I could not.
For I heard many mocking:
“Fear on every side!”
“Report,” they say, “and we will report it!”
All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying,
“Perhaps he can be induced;
Then we will prevail against him,
And we will take our revenge on him.”

But the Lord is with me as a mighty, awesome One.
Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail.
They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper.
Their everlasting confusion will never be forgotten.
But, O Lord of hosts,
You who test the righteous,
And see the mind and heart,
Let me see Your vengeance on them;
For I have pleaded my cause before You.

Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord!
For He has delivered the life of the poor
From the hand of evildoers.

Cursed be the day in which I was born!
Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me!
Let the man be cursed
Who brought news to my father, saying,
“A male child has been born to you!”
Making him very glad.
And let that man be like the cities
Which the Lord overthrew, and did not relent;
Let him hear the cry in the morning
And the shouting at noon,
Because he did not kill me from the womb,
That my mother might have been my grave,
And her womb always enlarged with me.
Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow,
That my days should be consumed with shame?

Happy New Year! 2024 !

Thank You Lord, for one year more!  It’s 2024 !

Thank You for the time that we will get to explore.

Thank You for our HOPE and all You have in store.

Thank You for the Work You will do – to reach to restore!

Lord, THANKS, one year more, day more, moment MORE!!!

Let us EMBRACE 2024 !!!

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Prophets told of the times that God gave to restore His people, may we also look to Him to restore our whole soul and the souls around the world. In Isaiah, God tells him and us to LIFT our eyes to the heavens! HOPE in the Lord to renew our strength. In Jeremiah, God speaks for him and all to REPENT, so that God can RESTORE. Lord, remember us each day and encourage us to walk Your Way.

Amen

Happy New Way, TODAY !!!

Jeremiah 15:19-21

Therefore this is what the Lord says: “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them. I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you,” declares the Lord. “I will save you from the hands of the wicked and deliver you from the grasp of the cruel.”

Isaiah 40:26-41

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:  Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.