My Condensed Story for a presentation to our ladies at the women’s group – republished for this amazing season of Easter.

My Conversation from Soda Bread to Yeast-Leavened, 10MAR2015

While preparing for Communion this evening at UMW – I remembered back to a couple of years ago when I forgot to purchase the bread – oops – well luckily I had made Irish soda bread for the snack that night (was a recipe from my non-Irish but east European-heritage mom) – luckily we still were able to break bread with Pastor. So, yesterday, preparing for today I thought – I wonder if I should make Irish soda bread?  I checked with Pastor and he said sure – if there was enough time to make it  – well I never have enough time for anything – but I have learned how to make time – so I made some bread this morning – couldn’t find the recipe – but I got one off the web that said  “on St. Patrick’s Day, save a spot on the table for Irish soda bread to remember how far the Irish have come from the days when it was the only thing on the table to today when our tables are filled with good things to eat and thoughts of the Famine years (An Gorta Mor) are long forgotten.”

Yes – we shouldn’t forget how far we have all come from our famine years – but for me that meant something different – it also means I forgot that yeast bread is traditional for communion

Yes – I remembered that I taught a Sunday school class – years prior – that used yeast as an example – used it for the living organism used to make bread and wine – and that Jesus was living and he was the one we are to remember when we break the communion bread –

The act of communion is to remember the last supper and the time just before Jesus was crucified, died and was risen – all for us – for each and every one of us…  see Jesus was sent by God to show us the way to Heaven and to show us the way to Peace here on Earth – by LOVE – the greatest commandment is LOVE

Well, I knew that – but I forgot that – and I forgot that until I was thinking about Irish soda bread… I forgot that  Sunday school lesson of using yeast bread as an example of Jesus.  and baking soda is man-made – not alive…  Irish soda bread represents man-made leavening… not God-made leavening…

Well, I also taught you a bible timeline and used yeast as an example of Jesus as a catalyst – where the addition of yeast to hydrogen peroxide and dish soap caused it to foam and overflow – and that this related to the spread of Christianity – that God sent Jesus to be the catalyst for change – to make the reaction go faster…  and now I am going to tell you that when I taught that experiment about a year or more ago – that that experiment changed me – not just the chemicals – but it actually changed me –

Yes – that experiment is how I became a Christian…  now, please believe me that I always loved God – and I even believed in the Holy Spirit – but I had a mental hang-up on whether Jesus was real – yeah I know, your president of UMW – a Sunday school teacher – person in charge of vacation bible school – I didn’t know if Jesus was really real – I didn’t know if he existed – if he was just another prophet with a good publicist…  none of this cast doubt on God – but I doubted man-made stories – how could I really trust the new testament to be real..

Well – that yeast experiment opened my brain and I said – hmm…  maybe God did send Jesus to be the catalyst of change – and I meditated on that – I prayed – I started to ask questions of my own belief system – you see – I had most everything in my head – but I didn’t’ accept it – I had it in my heart – but I didn’t allow my brain to believe it – and I was stuck – I needed help – I questioned myself – and I questioned a few trusted souls…  and one day – three months ago today – Dec 10th – I wrote a 5 page diatribe out – I only shared it with one person (now a blessed and trusted friend) – for whom I asked to be non-judgmental – someone from whom I listened to guest sermons – in the safe sanctuary of my car – sermons that touched my heart AND my head – and made me think. And he always said at the end – “Don’t let this opportunity pass you by, to be changed by the Holy Spirit” – and offered at the end of the sermons to pray with you if you had any questions and movement in your heart…. so well, I took him up on that offer – and I sent him my 5 page diatribe – carried it out of embarrassment for a week hidden in my car and then I got up the nerve and sent it as well as two other pieces, Christmas Flood (Dec 17^th) and Lego Christianity (Dec 18^th), to him – and soon he replied that it was “very honest and intense in a good way” and that we would talk soon – and guess what? – literally the NEXT morning I pulled out of my section from a completely different entrance onto the main road and guess who was right across the street at the car repair shop – outside? Yup, our cars recognized each other -there he was… God placed him there I am sure… And in our 10 minute conversation, and in one a few days later…in those conversations I was able to be so honest about how I did not question God but I questioned what man may have made up… questioned what I believed in… that started a month of continued conversations with so many people from all sides of my life… including both scholars who showed me the data and the writings of the new testament…this led me down and up the narrow path…right into Jesus.

Yeah – that started a series of God-sightings, unexplained interventions in my spiritual life – Christmas – a flood of good things – I had so much going on that i had to figure out how to process this all – and I started to write – and guess what? I haven’t stopped writing since – I have written and written – I have over 150 pages – Dec/Jan is all processing and Feb is all praise…  March is more processing and praise.

I have listened in my car to so many sermons (both from our guest sermonist and from Pastor (whose sermons do speak to me now – so differnt than before because my ears were CLOSED) and now I listen to others sermons, and of course praise songs in my car – my Subaru, that is my temple – I have read and studied the bible in it – especially when a verse of a song points me there… I listen to all the clues God places in my path. I am in a feeding frenzy – I have shared with first one person and then three and then a dozen – and now 100. I must say that my biggest vocal pep band leader-cheerleader – you name it …to reply to EVERY single one of my early essays – all 150 pages – was/is Pastor S…she has encouraged me like no other. And “K”, my pocket counselor, had been the most carefully conscious and concerned for me…truly a great friend…

and then, finally, on Jan 25th- I finally got a quiet moment to talk to Pastor – and he said “I KNEW!!”  – you cannot imagine how blown away I was…  what a joy for both of us! And that joy continues … New conversations, about faith, science, relationships,  I am, we are, so blessed with an amazing Pastor!

With an original admission that was embarrassment and questioning – I grew into a sincere seeker – and GOD IS GOOD – He is so good – he has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams ever since – the small miracles and god-sightings i have seen – I have been a part of – well, I don’t’ have time to tell you everything now – but Praise the Lord, I have been writing them!

Yes, over 150 pages for this story. I would be glad to send the whole packet to anyone. I am not embarrassed now to tell my story…I have been empowered to tell it- I have been put here for a reason – and I don’t know why this was God’s timing – – I am 45 years old… God said now is your time to shine, so let’s fix this, let’s throw so many God sightings your way that you have no choice but to believe, and no choice but to tell your story, which is really God’s story, not mine.

When God put a mountain right in front of me and told me it was time to climb – well I had no choice to go anywhere else – I had to start climbing – I had to accept that this is where God was taking me -from skeptical cynic to sincere seeker in just over 50 days…I got to 99.44% pure, like ivory soap.

Then, I FINALLY GOT IT – and Feb 1, – Superbowl Sunday – after I had lunch with the women’s retreat planning women – which was immediately after I was blessed to hear from a wonderful friend part of their story of becoming a Christian. So, after lunch (where we saw an American Bald Eagle in flight), “K” offered for me to come for a cup of hot cocoa and decompression at her house…  But I got lost and found my car near the 911 reflection garden – never been – that’s where I stopped and I went to hold the trade center steel beams – I held them and prayed for the 3000 lost, prayed they were found – and prayed for the evil doers in the world- I then went from 99.44% believer in Jesus to 100%. There were coins filling the inside of the beans and I flipped over a plastic gold coin that had John 3:16 on it – God so loved the world that he sent his only son – on superbowl Sunday – a scripture always tied to athletic events because of the signs people hold up – and for the first time ever – I KNEW I believed it – 100% . I was filled with warmth – I really believed it… first time ever…I became Christian 100%.

So – back to the soda bread story – I realized that I WAS the soda bread – leavened by man-made means and not risen to the level that GOD wanted me to be – I was not there – I am SO there now –

See I am half Irish but my other side is from a place I’m going to journey home to in only 2 weeks, over to Europe.  My mother’s maiden name is xxxxxx which means CROSS… this speaks to me that I am not complete without Jesus… BOTH  sides I need  to be myself.. I need the cross of Jesus to make me whole.

I am so humbled to have God work on me and send the Holy Spirit to me. I am now the yeast bread…leavened by Jesus as the yeast…created by God’s will…filled with the Holy Spirit…And ready to share wherever and whenever God’s good news.
I ask that we have communion with both breads…Have two pieces….yeast for those accepting, and soda bread for those who were like me, a few short month ago, pray that they become sincere seekers…Please pray for them to find their way.

I am in Pentecost – I am in thanksgiving – Christmas – a new year – Valentines – St. Patrick’s – lent – Easter and most definitely in Pentecost – the Holy Spirit is coming strong and sure – and blowing me to places unknown – and sending his energy and fire through me and into whomever I can see – I can talk to – and I can inspire – and yet – this is not any of my doing – I just let it happen – and all this is due to GOD… and if anyone is getting any ripple effect from this it is because they are just witnessing my witness, and then they themselves are allowing God’s Holy Spirit to work in them. It is not my doing….and I take no credit.

Praise God and may Jesus receive the honor He is due!!!

Amen

I used to be superstitious a little about Friday the 13th, full moons (except I truly once was in an emergency room once on a crazy full moon night), and just the phrase “Beware the Ides of March” – for March 15th – because the phrase itself I could say in deep foreboding tones…  funny or fun or fundamentally wrong? Back luck is not a thing but certainly feels like a thing. Good luck is thought to a thing if you think of it as blessings. but luck is no luck at all – and the Ides of March only pertains to you if you are Greek, named Caesar, and have pre-meditating friends – yeah I fail at that in all 3 categories…

There is ONE thing that DOES pertain to the Ides of March – it is the birthday of our dear friend Miss Bonnie – crafter, glitter gem and Jesus lover extraordinaire. I remember distinctly when she was so proud to be bewared because she was born on the ides of March. Yeah she beware her bewonderful scarriness. Glitter everywhere…

I must say I miss her greatly, but am so glad she didn’t have to live through covid fear times… just no AC with her uncontrolled asthma was bad enough…

So a memory of sweetness… She loved the Lord and often wore a Jesus Reese’s peanut butter cup orange shirt… She visited elderly just as much as the kiddos… She KNEW Jesus was the Way through – through to Heaven – and Heaven she went to – sleeping from a diabetic coma but now dancing with Jesus. 

Amen. Love you my Miss Bonnie!

Here is my glitter devotion: https://debbieupper.blog/2022/09/02/glitter-and-gods-glue/

Be at PEACE 

Peace 

Ease

A-OK

Calm

Enveloped

…

Be HIS 

Hopeful

In

Salvation 

…

BE STILL 

Best

Effort

Sit

Tight

In

Long

Love

…

LOVE

Life

Of

Valuing

Everyone

…

Amen

For with God all things are possible – specifically salvation YES – and life – and even finding interesting ways to correct my oops-es! And I am guessing that me seeing the elephant (an actual image) in the room (over and over) was probably a sign that I completely missed the meaning of something small and yet BIG – yeah – yeah I did. Yeah – elephants AND camels are big.  So – I had just finished my sermon writing for that Sunday – printed, closed the laptop, and turned around to see this cute elephant figurine in my house – well cute because I have an elephant theme going this day – I thought – and even later I saw an elephant photo on a store wall – hmmm…  WELL, my elephant in the room was that I wrote the scripture of Mark 10:25 as an elephant not a camel – oops… It is easier for a camel [not elephant] to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Yeah.

Where did I learn this? That I had mis-spoke and even mis-posted? Not in the sermon or parishioners, but later in a car with me recounting my sermon scripture to my wienermobile-travelling friends who certainly knew best on this one. Oh how we laughed – because the reason I have such a wienermobile connection with my friend is that I messed up previously and gave her a candy dish that I was so excited to give her and it was a peanut not a hot dog – OH! my brain switched the peanutmobile and wienermobile, oops… maybe someday we can ride in the peanutmobile for me, LOL. My mistake made a better more fun history of our hot diggity doggedness of friendship. Well, my switch of an elephant for a camel was just my brain being, you guessed it, HUMAN!

This connection with others, others who know their scriptures, is one of those great opportunities for iron to sharpen iron as I was simply wrong, and I (we) do need correction and polishing – and it is no big deal and the elephant in the room for me is that probably I was too distracted by worldly things anyway. Now, here is some folklore not in the bible: some say that the “eye of the needle” is a passageway or gate to Jerusalem and camels had to be unloaded to enter – thus a rich man would have to unload his wealth too… Hmmm… yet there are just as many credible sources that say the opposite – that there is no proof of a gate or passageway like that…  Oh well – I guess we will have to ask the Lord when we see Him…

Three of the four gospels carry this story – and in Luke, Jesus says: “Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches…” TRUTH – it is not just a warning against riches – it is a warning about trusting any money over trusting HIM. We get focused upon the money aspects of that story but really it is all about TRUST – it is if we TRUST the Lord with directing our days – pointing the Way – and having His say. 

One more BIG elephant in the room is me needing to get back to my Jeremiah scriptures – and in one chapter I find 2 BIG elephants – one is that Babylon is going to fall – such strong language by the Lord’s prophesy to Jeremiah in chapter 50 – and the OTHER BIG blessed elephant, in the room of my scripture immersion, is that the Lord is sending a Savior – verse 34 “Yet their Redeemer is strong; the Lord Almighty is his name.”  It would have been such a comfort to those in Jeremiah’s time that the Lord had this under control. And it should be for us today too. Where are we in believing that too? I pray we all do see the Lord’s control and gifts and promises. 

May we not see the elephant in the room but instead focus on the Lord in our view – Let Him lead us – Salvation is His to give. May we ever be faithful enough to TRUST. Trust is the key to this scripture – trust not in riches nor your own understanding – trust in the Lord.

With the Lord it IS Possible.

Amen

Amen

—

Luke 18:22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

—

Mark 10:21-27 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

—

Matthew 19:21-26 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

—-

Jeremiah 50:1-34 A Message About Babylon
This is the word the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians: “Announce and proclaim among the nations, lift up a banner and proclaim it; keep nothing back, but say, ‘Babylon will be captured; Bel will be put to shame, Marduk filled with terror. Her images will be put to shame and her idols filled with terror.’  A nation from the north will attack her and lay waste her land. No one will live in it; both people and animals will flee away. “In those days, at that time,” declares the Lord, “the people of Israel and the people of Judah together will go in tears to seek the Lord their God. They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.  “My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place. Whoever found them devoured them; their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they sinned against the Lord, their verdant pasture, the Lord, the hope of their ancestors.’

“Flee out of Babylon; leave the land of the Babylonians, and be like the goats that lead the flock. For I will stir up and bring against Babylon an alliance of great nations from the land of the north. They will take up their positions against her, and from the north she will be captured. Their arrows will be like skilled warriors who do not return empty-handed.  So Babylonia will be plundered; all who plunder her will have their fill,” declares the Lord. “Because you rejoice and are glad, you who pillage my inheritance, because you frolic like a heifer threshing grain and neigh like stallions, your mother will be greatly ashamed; she who gave you birth will be disgraced. She will be the least of the nations— a wilderness, a dry land, a desert. Because of the Lord’s anger she will not be inhabited but will be completely desolate. All who pass Babylon will be appalled; they will scoff because of all her wounds.

“Take up your positions around Babylon, all you who draw the bow. Shoot at her! Spare no arrows, for she has sinned against the Lord. Shout against her on every side! She surrenders, her towers fall, her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the Lord, take vengeance on her; do to her as she has done to others. Cut off from Babylon the sower, and the reaper with his sickle at harvest. Because of the sword of the oppressor let everyone return to their own people, let everyone flee to their own land.

“Israel is a scattered flock that lions have chased away. The first to devour them was the king of Assyria; the last to crush their bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.” Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria. But I will bring Israel back to their own pasture, and they will graze on Carmel and Bashan; their appetite will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead. In those days, at that time,” declares the Lord, “search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare. “Attack the land of Merathaim and those who live in Pekod. Pursue, kill and completely destroy them,” declares the Lord. “Do everything I have commanded you. The noise of battle is in the land, the noise of great destruction! How broken and shattered is the hammer of the whole earth! How desolate is Babylon among the nations!  I set a trap for you, Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it; you were found and captured because you opposed the Lord. The Lord has opened his arsenal and brought out the weapons of his wrath, for the Sovereign Lord Almighty has work to do in the land of the Babylonians. Come against her from afar. Break open her granaries; pile her up like heaps of grain. Completely destroy her and leave her no remnant. Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter! Woe to them! For their day has come, the time for them to be punished. Listen to the fugitives and refugees from Babylon declaring in Zion how the Lord our God has taken vengeance, vengeance for his temple.

“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who draw the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her for her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets; all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,” declares the Lord.  “See, I am against you, you arrogant one,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
“for your day has come, the time for you to be punished. The arrogant one will stumble and fall and no one will help her up; I will kindle a fire in her towns that will consume all who are around her.”

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah as well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to let them go.  Yet their Redeemer is strong; the Lord Almighty is his name. He will vigorously defend their cause so that he may bring rest to their land, but unrest to those who live in Babylon. 

A Poem for my Prayerful Pal who loves “P”

P

A Pause

A Parking Car

A Prayer

A Pursuit

A Pointing out: PBTG Praise Be to God

A Pause against panic

A Point

A Post

A Perhaps

A Petition

A Prompting

A Powerful Push

An aPPropriating

A Plan

A Pastoring

A Proposing

A Purpose

A Plea.

I don’t know how the Lord did it, but ONCE AGAIN, He processed me through a day FULL with many OVERLAPPING activities that I didn’t know how it would all fall in place. Well, they did. He did. And I even had extra time. Weird. Wonder. Weird. Wow. Not that strange a set of circumstance, sure, so even less a problem for the Lord to lead. But I couldn’t see it. (He could.)

There’s a song with the lyrics that essentially says ‘I am lost exactly where I should be’. Yup. It actually says: “maybe aimless, maybe lost, right where I need to be”… Yup…

May I always have days that He pieces together, even if it’s just in the timing… May I start with Him first. 

If I’m lost – may I look for the Lord.

If I’m confused – how about I ask the Lord. 

If I just don’t know – let me pray to remember that the Lord knows. 

If I boast, let me boast in the Lord. 

The Lord is wise.

The Lord is strong. 

The Lord is rich.

The Lord is kind.

The Lord is just. 

The Lord has righteousness. 

I don’t have own any of these attributes except to understand (and may I always understand) that being lost in the moment brings the hope and hammering out of life, which comes from the Lord. 

The Lord IS.

We delight in His Insight. 

Amen

This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23-24

We love the scripture encouragement from Jeremiah 29 – where God states: He knows the plans for us – keep us and give us hope and a future. REALLY, I could and should READ this everyday!  And especially because He is talking about knowing where we are supposed to be: today, tomorrow, and ALWAYS.   

I’m reading about the RAPTURE in David Jeremiah’s book “The Great Disappearance” AND isn’t his last name cool “coincidence” because I am also in the Book of Jeremiah. It is fitting as I ponder that we are technically exiled here on Earth – not yet in God’s full Kingdom come – but that we WILL be – we will return to be with Him as Jesus returns to be with us totally in forever. Yes, due to our blessed REDEMPTION in Jesus. “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. 

So – I sat down into a wonderful situation – a welcoming of friends at a dinner – and I saw their amazing welcoming faces, great view from my end of the table – it was SO INVITING that I had to take a photo of these friends.  I knew as I thought about it later, that God was setting me up for the best. Not just for the best dinner and it was really good, not just because it had been paid for and it had, but because it reminded me that He has plans for me. Plans that are refreshing and rapturous to be back with Him.

I will tell you that I recognized just in that dinner and in the faces of friends, that it was how I thought I would sit down at HIS TABLE in Heaven – welcomed, paid for, well-fed. Yes, just in one dinner I could tell you that we are all blessed to be the guest of the Lord – oh just at that moment how God was rescuing me from the worry of the world, the worry of work, the worry of wanting. Just like I knew at dinner that the Lord gives me (us) people to take care of me in friendship, He gives us foster-ing care when we find ourselves in failing places too.  Yes, we are to be led to see that we have been in this place before, realizing that the Lord sets us up again and again for great RECOVERY.

SO – dinner and a show? Will it be rapturous for us in these times of the Lord – I am sure it will be – so then since we are refreshed with this look at our futures – let us get back to inviting the others to dinner and speaking how the Lord is making a place setting appealing for them. We know that God doesn’t want anyone to be left behind – keep preaching, teaching and reaching

Listen to our Jesus’s speech (one of 3 main scriptures starting the David Jeremiah book): Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:1-3

AMEN

Jeremiah 29:1-14 NIV 

This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. (This was after King Jehoiachin[a] and the queen mother, the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.) He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said: 

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “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.”

—

(from the book: 2 more scripture references)

1 Corinthians 15:51-58

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.  When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”  – “Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?” – The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

1 Thessalonians 4:14-18

For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.  According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Well, Whom am I to whine – I can read and write just fine.

But Jeremiah is SO LONG – I am whining and that is WRONG.

And truly I am excited to finish soon – like the number of chapters is making me swoon.

I see in just a few verses, that I should not be spouting out my terses.

Jeremiah dies in the end, for that I can not make any amend.

And what is the last chapter number when my reading will be through? Ah, it’s 52.

Hush, quiet, calm down and think of our reading mission. Yes Lord, my bad – I will shut up and listen.

Ok – more chapters today and into next week – and now Lord, I approach them not mighty but meek.

Jeremiah, what do you have to say? OH – that God always gets HIS WAY!

Amen

So many things I think of where I could be snide. 

But instead God says ‘just let it ride…’

.

I often wish I had a snappy comeback. 

But it’s just better to shut my yak trak.

.

Stay calm, remember you’ve been around the block. 

Take a step back and take stock.

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Quiet strength is from relying upon our ROCK. 

Jesus calls us to give an apt reply – just listen for His Knock.

.

Minding your P’s and Q’s is quite fine,

But listening to the Lord? Now that’s Divine!!!

Amen

Had the most wonderful faith conversation with a new friend. It was purposefully placed by our Lord for sure. What would be goosebump-raising in coolness was that next level up of open faith conversation, agreement of His timing and opportunity. We had discussions of plans for listening to the Lord’s tapping on our shoulders. Others tell me of appreciation of my openness, which shines naturally they say, but I know it has taken me years of Armor of God building to fortify my base confidence and wiggle my life open. (*The wise woman builds her house*). We can appreciate that when work is traditionally hush hush to the openness, that this is a new era of opportunity, one with one conversations. Our kitchen tables and our work tables are the Lord’s Table when we remember Him!

Same awesome God, new era. This is our era other strengthening each other, of shining His Light, even if in small fractured ways. It’s still Light. And pockets of opportunities, like this lunchroom hour of openness is one of these places of refuge that the proverbs speaks about. When God shows powerful enough to open the opportunities, fear the unspoken over the spoken. Take the opportunity and listen more than speak.  Smile the willingness to want to learn. Appreciate God’s Placement and Protection. 

In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death. Pvb14

I used the example of a diamond more beautiful when cut, the light hits facets in all ways. Our brokenness too seeps light out in healing,  from HIS source, and what doesn’t speak out of our mouths can still be felt in our souls via prayer. In other words, if you don’t normally put a basket over a light (your light of HolySpirit), then surely the fractured light beeming in all directions out of one’s brokenness (but still glued together) is too confusing and complicated for the devil to try to knock it all down. Let us be on the pivot plan to beam away from the blockages. Let us keep shining and light-shifting to minimize devil-sifting. 

Ah, is it that the Lord needs us to reflect Him like a mirror, a fractured mirror that shows much flaws from the devil-sifting? (Because we all have then) OR is it our Living God lives inside of us in order to SHINE OUT of the holes, WORK OUT of our hands and feet, and therefore one never sees nor focuses on the fractures, that are ever humanly present, but on the Light. That’s it, we see and feel our brokenness, but have the ability to shine anyway. So we need to devise and develop our plans of how we share this Light from the Lord, and watch His set up the opportunities. Yes.

– those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.  – mercy and truth belong to those who devise good. Pvb 14:22b NIV, NKJV

AMEN !

—

Some more good from Proverbs 14:1, 6-8, 26-27 NKJV

The wise woman builds her house,

But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.

…

A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, but knowledge is easy to him who understands.

…

Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.

…

The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is deceit.

…

In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge.

…

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death.

THERE’S A PROCESS,

God has a Process.

.

We have participation in the process.

We have a plan because of the process.

And we have a pursuit because of the process to make the process work to plan.

On occasion you have to prod through the process.

Pause at the plateaus.

Peer at the pinnacles.

God has a Process.

.

Sometimes there’s phlegmatic purging,

Sometimes there’s pinpoint problem solving,

Often there’s purposeful petitioning.

Proof in the pudding.

Playfulness in the patterns

It’s a Prayerful Process. 

.

Sometimes you push in the process. 

Sometimes you pull and sometimes you do nothing at all but be PATIENT. 

Yes you must be patient in the process but you MUST participate.

Participate in the process. 

Pursue God’s process.

.

Plan to work with HIS PLAN.

Process! 

AMEN.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God!

It was the fresh memory of my neighbor’s chimney fire the previous week which sparked my actions without second guessing to help my troop leader with the smoldering ashes from the fireplace, it wasn’t a big thing to do, but it had to be dealt with. We leave the place better than we came. Plus it was a great use of leftover lemonade anyway. A double plus was the best “cartoon character” of the weekend: the Smokey the Bear massive sign, which I passed 6 times during this camping trip. It was invaluable to remind me and teach new campers that you don’t leave things to chance. “Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires” !!! Yup!

And plus plus plus, the girls were watching, they learn by watching. So even though I thought we could go hiking one more time, I found myself digging through a trash bag of plastic spoons, uneaten French Fries, plates, and the occasional lump of blackened coal/wood, cooled down in a soup of lemonade. Yeah, the ashes thought to be cool were not. No, not a problem to dive in, cleanest trash I think I ever picked through (and you know I love trash picking). There was thinking time, since we were safely outside, so I had grabbed old reuse of reuse big aluminum trays from my car, the type from sterno use and we dumped the trash into those to douse with lemonade (the girls said ‘where did she get the tray?’, ‘she’s science debbie, that’s why she has them’… funny…well at least they didn’t call me trash picking debbie…  But there’s treasure in that trash! 

Teaching moments!  Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Realizing a teaching moment, I paused holding a carbon ash chunk at the end to explain that wood burns back to carbon chunks. In other situations, diamonds also come from carbon, carbon that is stressed, pressured, compressed and made of the same molecules just realigned. The scouts looked at me weird, but that’s normal, and I’m serious, there’s diamonds in the rough of every moment we have on earth. The teaching moments alone, me and our troop leader saying we aren’t worried about trash sifting, we aren’t worried about getting dirty (especially knowing that at home the shower, the washing machine is awaiting), and that we aren’t afraid to look at a situation for its advantages over disadvantages. (Just wash your hands later!)

That’s looking for DIAMOND DAYS, diamond moments, in the rough, awaiting to be dug into. Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust. Burnt charcoal-ed in life, even the worst days in our lives can be found looking for the support of the treasure of the Lord. Even completely taken down here on earth we are renewed in.Heaven to meet our Savior Jesus who covers us white as snow… 

Our Lord God realigns our dust into wonderfully made creations, then we become dust again. God makes us His Valentines. We celebrate and remember that He loves every piece of our dust, even if we are humanly crumbled on earth.

Time is short, on earth, at camp, in life, so let us make the best of every diamond moment. 

Smiling in the coal is life’s goal. Dig for those Diamond Day moments everyday!

Amen 

—

Psalm 139 Of David

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit. Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn,  if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand when I awake, I am still with you.

If only you, God, would slay the wicked!  Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

—-

Genesis 3:17-19 (The fallout from the fall.)

To Adam God said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ – “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Eventually, after a Saturday 3am wake up at scout camp, I got more sleep. Yeah, I had been captive on the mat, awake 3am to 5, asleep until 630, and in a few minutes from then, sunrise, and then I would be free to move. 

Oh, minor captivity on the mat, quiet in the lodge, in comparison to the version of how prophet Jeremiah was in captivity and how he said the Israelites would be captive in Babylon’s hands for 70 years. Minor comparison and of course I couldn’t complain, I was under the warm covers. 

Then I was UP!!! The sunrise was behind the clouds, but it was there somewhere! The lake beautiful, the peace breathtaking and crisp. Boots not needed, lake was that close. Another fresh day…. Even in life’s troubles we are to appreciate fresh days. And the ability to see the sunrise, even if you don’t see that sun, it is believing that God has this all under control. He does.

Oh yes, Jeremiah, the prophet of the old testament, instructed the people of his time to believe in what they could not see – that the Lord was speaking to reassure them as well as warn them. 

Specifically, Jeremiah had to prepare the king of Judah, Zedekiah, that even though it was ominous, he would still be a revered master to his people. However, the people turned their backs again against God’s instruction (to free the slaves every 7 years), and God then caused/allowed the overtaking from the enemies.

There were one set of peoples, however, whom we are told obeyed God by obeying their forefathers who followed God’s command, and this Jeremiah tested, but they would not drink wine and they vowed they must always live in tents. God said: “you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.” The Rekabites were an example of God’s people who LISTENED. They were nomadic but they were CAPTIVE to God. And God promised their line of people would always serve Him, an honor privilege and blessing to be captive to God, Lord Almighty, maker of all.

SO, let us all captivate ourselves to God, feel His wishes and know His Wisdom. And let’s be captive to serve Him, for His ultimate blessing to us is to be our Master.

God knows best.

Amen

—

Jeremiah chapter 34 – While Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms and peoples in the empire he ruled were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding towns, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. You will not escape from his grasp but will surely be captured and given into his hands. You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes, and he will speak with you face to face. And you will go to Babylon.

“‘Yet hear the Lord’s promise to you, Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword; you will die peacefully. As people made a funeral fire in honor of your predecessors, the kings who ruled before you, so they will make a fire in your honor and lament, “Alas, master!” I myself make this promise, declares the Lord.’”

Then Jeremiah the prophet told all this to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah that were still holding out—Lachish and Azekah. These were the only fortified cities left in Judah.

Freedom for Slaves – The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom for the slaves. Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage. So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free. But afterward they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said, ‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.’ Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me. Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name.  But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again.

“Therefore this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the Lord—‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth. Those who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces. The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf, I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.

“I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them, to the army of the king of Babylon, which has withdrawn from you. I am going to give the order, declares the Lord, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, take it and burn it down. And I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.”

The Rekabites – chapter 35 – This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: “Go to the Rekabite family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms of the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink.”

So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole family of the Rekabites. I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God. It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the Rekabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.”

But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab son of Rekab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.’ We have obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops. We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab commanded us.  But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?’ declares the Lord. ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me. The descendants of Jehonadab son of Rekab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’

“Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.’”

Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jehonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’ Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail to have a descendant to serve me.’”

HAHA – so much extra time – and both teams get their hands on the ball – and I am not just talking about tonight’s Super Bowl. The 52 (my God-reminder number saying to be quiet) on the ref’s uniform reminds me that this game is not decided yet – stop predicting the next move – (and especially the grid that I am NOT winning). Stop predicting and just watch the game.

WELL – life is like that too isn’t it – don’t presume to understand each play in the game – except know that there IS One who IS in charge of it all – and it is NOT a game to Him. And there IS ONE Way – One Whom is driving us down the field.

Day to day play but we hold our breath when the game is on the line. Let’s look at our Coach – let’s let Him make the call – and then Trust Him when He hands us the ball.

We know that He will never let us fall.

Amen

I KNEW I was at camp when I walked in the door and saw that loudspeaker karaoke music machine. 

I TASTED camp when I got to the beloved cheeseballs (which we nearly polished off in one night). (And the container I absconded with – for great storage of random things.)

I felt the IMPORTANCE of camp when driving, listening to two 10 year olds in the backseat squeal in delight at the 20 common things they learned about each other. A short 45 minutes of a drive is a dream of being away but not too far. These campgrounds are remote but yet 10 minutes from civilization, awesome. 

I bowed my heart TO THE LORD with an internal tearing up when I sat for a photo this evening with camp moms and with our camp girl who recently lost her mom, our friend, who mom-ed us all to know how important this was to continue camp and be there for each other. THIS WAS MY CAMP MOMENT. 

Camp life, wouldn’t trade it for anything. We ARE family. Love our photo memories too.

Our fearless leader is not without fears or concerns, but the moments of camp are a blessing beyond description – loving the time away – the joy of being together – the appreciation that others “just don’t get it” but WE DO – that moment when you can’t even remember there was a global pandemic, couple years back (we only missed one year in our over 10 years camping) – and the blessings of realization now that we take these very moments of THANKFULNESS. 

(I even ate someone’s abandoned cheeseballs, yum, as I too sat down to paint a seashell with moms and older girls.) People look at me funny when I say I’m going to camp, aren’t I good for helping, but who wouldn’t want to be here?!?!

I even now appreciate this 3am totally awake moment – not sure why but God always has a hand in this – 4hrs sleep is sufficient for you(!)… and I sit writing only to hear and see a young 10 year old come downstairs, give me a thumbs up “all good”, and go directly to her mom for an inhaler puff, which her mom had right at hand, only seconds after being awoken. Back upstairs and all good. Camp life brings the awareness of life that continues even with the bumps and bruises of life. Just keep going, thumbs up!

Another girl here has Cerebral Palsy and I learn by watching her. (I love when God tells me to be patient, watch, pray, and learn). I learned while crafting, of what things are tough for her, like using both hands to twist a rubber band when one hand holds her steady upright at the table. We worked through it, plenty of time at camp, let the kids learn. And I learned that this girl DIDN’T take to complaining. So when so many of us take to complaining normally about everything, that’s us taking a crutch of life, but she doesn’t. That’s the moment that got me realizing to being more humble of so many things I take for granted. Be aware and keep living. I’m so glad God finds time for this in my schedule. I know camp is special and set aside. 

What’s the connection to a Bible lesson? At 3am, now 4am? Jeremiah- Jeremiah was instructed by the Lord to live a life that said “God’s got this” – just live – ups and downs – captivity or free – just live and do as God instructs and lays out ahead of you. 

Here Jeremiah (chapter 32) buys a field, land for future use well beyond his years. It’s a land the people of God will come back to, and it’s a reprocessed repromise that things will be OK someday. His purpose and purchase is to go ahead, be the prep-man and messenger, secure the future no matter how long (and in this case God tells them ‘how long’). Assurance and achievement- hmmm, sounds like Jesus doesn’t it, in miniature, prepare the way, tell others about it, be making the space available and welcoming when it’s time for exiles to go home…. yeah, cool… I’ll take that 4am Revelation…

 Let us consider this field of TODAY, and prepare it and today’s peoples, even ourselves, for a future time. Live in the moment and expect long time good things. Campfires are kindled and rekindled, and so is our future. Ask Jeremiah, the Lord HAS a Plan. Accept the thumbs up for that!

Jeremiah Buys a Field – chapter 32 NIV

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.

Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape the Babylonians but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the Lord. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’”

Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’

“Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’

“I knew that this was the word of the Lord; so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver. I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy— and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

“In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’

“After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord: “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them. Great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord Almighty, great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind; you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. You performed signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day, in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown that is still yours. You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror. You gave them this land you had sworn to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law; they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster on them.

“See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague, the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said has happened, as you now see. And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign Lord, say to me, ‘Buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed.’”

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? Therefore this is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it. The Babylonians who are attacking this city will come in and set it on fire; they will burn it down, along with the houses where the people aroused my anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods.

“The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my anger with what their hands have made, declares the Lord. From the day it was built until now, this city has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove it from my sight. The people of Israel and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done—they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. They set up their vile images in the house that bears my Name and defiled it. They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek, though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mind—that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.

“You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.

“This is what the Lord says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, ‘It is a desolate waste, without people or animals, for it has been given into the hands of the Babylonians.’  Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord.”

The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him;

though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

What are we to do when we do things we don’t know -and even if we do know – TRUST THE LORD.

What are we to do when we go somewhere we don’t know -and even if we do know – FOLLOW THE LORD.

What are we to do when we learn things we don’t know -and even if we do know – APPRECIATE THE LORD. we learn things to protect us and warn us as well as delight us and motivate us.

What are we to do when we try and fail at things we don’t know -and even if we do know – LOOK UP TO THE LORD FOR GUIDANCE.

What are we to do when we try and succeed at things we don’t know -and even if we do know – LOOK UP TO PRAISE THE LORD.

What are we to do always? REST IN THE LORD!

But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him.

AMEN

—

Psalm 37 NKJV – of David

Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.

For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

The wicked plots against the just, And gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, For He sees that his day is coming. The wicked have drawn the sword And have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, To slay those who are of upright conduct. Their sword shall enter their own heart, And their bows shall be broken.

A little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken. But the Lord upholds the righteous. The Lord knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish; And the enemies of the Lord, Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away.

The wicked borrows and does not repay, But the righteous shows mercy and gives. For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed.

Depart from evil, and do good; And dwell forevermore. For the Lord loves justice, And does not forsake His saints; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever.

The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, And his tongue talks of justice. The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide.

The wicked watches the righteous, And seeks to slay him. The Lord will not leave him in his hand, Nor condemn him when he is judged.

Wait on the Lord, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.  I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself like a native green tree. Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; The future of the wicked shall be cut off.

But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him.

Could Should Would. I could live for myself, but I should live for the purposes of the One Who would give me life. Could,  should, would. I would live for the Lord because I should. 

I would choose to garden, but I am not the best Gardener of my life. I should till the soil when spring has sprung, but I should also rest when it rests. I could listen better for clues of all this. I would choose to rest.

Lord, give me purpose, give me rest, give me life. I could walk these steps even if I didn’t lay the stones. I should trust the steps because I do trust the Mason, Map Maker, Mover, Motivator.  I would like to know the path, but realize He is in control.

I will take a time to listen in this life to live. It’s living life for things for now and sometimes things never, but it is ALWAYS listening for the benefit of our and others’ FOREVER. 

AMEN 

Amen 

Blessed to share this sermon Sunday: Jesus walking to where He needed to be – recalled by John chapter 4:5-14

So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”  (His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”… story continues in John 4

So there’s this story in the Bible of Jesus going to a well, a particular well at a particular time – as Jesus knows this particular woman will be at the well going to draw up yet ANOTHER  bucket of water – again and again.  And they start a very witty conversation (especially since she realizes He is VERY bold in asking something out of the norm – asking her for water as a Samaritan woman. (Jesus often talks to us and get us thinking too, doesn’t He?)…  WELL, Jesus asks the woman questions and He is leading her to learn something (Jesus does that, lead us) – Jesus will explain to her that someday we all, the whole world, will worship in Spirit and in Truth. He is leading her in this conversation to learn that people will be blessed to drink in SPIRITUAL LIVING WATER. She, knowing history of Jacob – their great fore-father – and knowing prophecy, could recount that she was expecting a Messiah coming. She has her eyes opened in during this witty and all-knowing conversation, she is led to understand that He Himself is the Messiah – this Living Water is Jesus… and He is right in front of her! And He knows she will spread the Word. 

Jesus says to her (and us): “a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Jesus wants us to go to Him first, with questions, anger, frustration, sadness, and especially love. He loves for us to praise God our Father. He even teaches us to pray, giving us the words too – all we need.

Have you even been thinking (internally) about “Why am I here?” – like in this circumstance, this moment I did not choose? I prayed for an answer, especially I thought I have been down this road before – Well, one of these times – I went directly to the Lord – with like: “can I have a scripture, a sparkle of hope or an answer of obviousness – anything like a CLUE!” And we can’t always get an easy clue, can we? – and often we get something that makes us ponder even more rather than the quick fix of a pat answer. So we have to realize that God DOUS have a good reason even if we can’t comprehend what’s good about it in human terms.

“Why am I here? What’s in it for me?” – or “why am I stuck here?” – well it’s not about you is it? That’s what God could say to us – the Spirit reminds us – but seriously Lord – either way Lord – please give me a clue…  The vision I got was fuzzy, colors or static like a TV signal that needed to focus and like someone sharpening a camera lens – then I was finally getting a clearer picture – a well – the Samaritan woman’s well. Hmmmm… surely the well itself. But why?

Once out of the situation, I kept thinking about “Why the well?” (And yes I was happy to be out of the circumstance). WELL! Well, WELL – I went to read the scriptures in John 4 about the well – I was sure it was not just about the woman (although it could have been) – it was about the Samaritan’s well but it was Jacob’s Well – which drew lots of people – not just water. It was like I focused on that imagery of “drawing” – cranking – doing something to pull in the needed source – And the people who had to draw the water from the very deep – and the people had to KEEP drawing water over and over again – a daily chore – as Jesus pointed out – they will be thirsty again – and will keep coming to find some water from a well. 

SO  – it is not that I was thinking about being the Samaritan woman – although that’s volumes of lessons there –  but I was thinking that when we draw from Jesus – we are replenished – and replenished enough that we can offer it to others – and that sometimes (even in the circumstance I was in, mentioned above) that others will come back to you – keep coming to you – keep trying to draw from your water source – not that they couldn’t draw it themselves but they may have not brought a ladle let alone a bucket or anything to keep hold onto that water. And do we have to keep giving them water – perhaps we can help teach them “WHO” is our source and hope they can start drawing from this strength too.  Of course, there will be many in life that never make the connection – Jesus is waiting waiting waiting by their well – they never see Him.

SO, imagine they ask for some of your water – or at least look at you wondering “where do they get their water? their energy? their source of strength? (and sometimes they wonder – how can I source some of that? even if they don’t know that your source is not human water but living water).   Let us hope they say – how can I draw on that kind of water too!?!

Now, you can’t pour from an empty cup – but are we ourselves getting our water from the right source? And handing out water (or other stuff which we will might run out of)…  If we are getting Living Water from Jesus – then who are we to not keep it flowing it thru us? Maybe we simply need to appreciate that is why we are called to help – why God has us sitting in that situation – in that chair – can we focus on water flowing thru us that still hydrates us and alleviates thirst – and then pour from a full cup – from a fulfilling cup – a water that Jesus would say needs no ladle to get. 

And that spring? – that becomes a fountain in us? Jesus put it there to be like a geyser of springing into everlasting life…

Let me get back to that woman at the well scene – and there is another older tale in Genesis about God’s angel coming to Hagar (servant of Sarah and Abram/Abraham, future mother of Ishmael (older brother to Isaac) and after the Hagar is comforted  she calls the well :”The place where God has seen me” – God sees each of us – doesn’t He. He does!

I started thinking about a silly connection of Jesus picking her  – that Samaritan woman or any person – but exactly her – the song – a Broadway hit – “One, singular sensation – every move that she makes…”    it’s the lyric from a Chorus Line- where they are all auditioning for a part in a Broadway musical- all vying for the perfect moment to sparkle and connect and the director is looking for that special someone,  exact for the part.   (And this was something glamorous portrayed, but in reality, it took long work to get the ground work of skillset plus that spark…) Yet it was not that she had to work or any of us have to work to be chosen by Jesus = because He already chose each of us to be us, from before time.

It is NOT that the Samaritan woman at the well was at all-knowing or trying or anything. She encounters Jesus on an ordinary day that she doesn’t realize is NOT ordinary. She is picked out, probably from beginning of time, to be her normal self, then have this encounter with our Almighty Lord. She is at the middle of the hot day, when “normal” people don’t normally go, so MANY scholars and sermonists point that out, she alone at noon was avoiding a possible gossiping crowd in the morning, etc etc… yeah we get that… Yet Jesus judged her perfect for this moment and not just for who she was, but whom she would tell, what would happen next, and everything in between. One – ONE just like the Chorus Line – but also another song lyric: “A cog in something turning” as favorite singer Joni Mitchell would write as a lyric for “Woodstock” – this woman – and us – we are all cogs in something turning…

And Jesus told this woman of so much – it is said to be the longest conversation in the Bible – and Jesus was creating and drawing Living Water out of her stagnant life – so she was ‘drawn’ to say: “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” – “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”   The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”  Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

Wow WOW – He says what she needed to hear – so that she believed Him. Jesus does say: “My sheep know My voice.”

Then she ran to tell the others – she said what they needed to hear – Her fountain of new life overflowed. Jesus also sends us our, TRUSTING in Him.

God has a Process – let us go to Him first… reach to Him as the first option…

So my neighbor’s wood stove chimney was on fire (they are OK and the house is OK). This was earlier in the week… I use it as an example that There is a process in firefighting, protocols and always communication – to the stations and fire fighters also lined up as backup… 

SO that night, I saw fire trucks go by, maybe 930-10pm. My neighbors are about 7 doors down, great people, missionaries actually, it was their chimney from their woodstove, it was over doing it with heat.. too hot. I walked down to them, stood with them, watched the fire company be very methodical. Five in their uniforms with spike tools in hand waiting at the front door for instructions. No one moved without instructions. House was fine but the chimney became compromised. Yes, after a few holes in the garage wall and the upstairs bedroom wall, then it all seemed “done”, it all seemed OK and I went home. Now sitting in bed, now midnight and wide awake, I saw another few fire trucks come back, hmmm. The Fire Marshall had still been there doing paperwork and he saw the chimney flare up again, it had a blockage so severe that apparently it flared back up… So then more holes, a chain down the chimney when they could get the ladder truck up on the neighbor’s driveway… A process.

At this point, the neighbors were in the house with the fire marshall and invited me in as well to the back addition, because the new firefighters were just working on the chimney – well in another space. But looking into that room, it was a great image: 4 firefighters arm to shoulder backing up the situation. When the guy pulled the stove pipe out from the wall, which was cool by this time, he had back up as well as curious onlookers). They were there to back each other’s back. And there’s a protocol.

Later, the dreaded words, yeah they were going to have to pour down water… Fire boss said family should head out, so I brought the neighbors over to my house, 130pm, fed them pizza. Fire Marshall cleared house for them to return at 230am…  all was ok, house too… except moderate water damage in the garage. Don’t worry, insurance will pay – there is a process.

What if the people tried water first? Well they say you could build up so much steam and pressure that the chimney to break open. And you would be on the ladder ON the chimney, not good… Best to call in the professionals. Well, let us switch this back to scene of the woman and the well – and for us living our lives – we DO want to go to Jesus first, Living Water!  Well yes!  He would call in the professionals and the angels, even might prevent our mental fires with mental reminders of us cleaning out our systems on a regular basis (chimneys and us) with His help. And so importantly, Jesus would want us to TRUST Him. And Jesus would also tell us there is a process. And if something were to go wrong, Jesus also has our back. Forgiveness comes for our forever.  Jesus has a process – and Jesus has our back…

Please pray with me – Lord – Jesus, You are Lord – You are the process – the alpha and omega beginning and end and all the small steps in between. Teach us, show us, and even clear our fuzzy brains with your visions –  if only we go to You Lord Jesus first and get our Living Water from you – worship You God – and depend upon You – You will lead us thru this life and to HOME. There is a process… Jesus You are the process and the processing and the answer too.

Amen

I was watching (and listening) to the inspiration of the musical Jonah, Sight and Sound.  And the people who throw Jonah overboard and see the waves calmed, say “I’d be a fool not to worship a God this powerful.” Amen to that! 

Can you imagine the absolute contrast between a near shipwreck and boom! an instant cleared situation and calm water?  What if we would experience that kind of power then forget to rely on God again.  It happens. It happened to David when He was saved from the lion or Goliath, then he wavered at times. it happens to us.

And yet, how awesome is God to forgive and keep showing us miracles of His POWER, and mercies of His choosing. 

Imagine the power of God taking care of us so big. If we experience God’s little things, Imagine how elaborate big things are too. If we trust God’s got us in an afterlife, then can we trust His council for everyday things? I hope so.

Jonah overboard journey was a big step for His faith physically, being prepared to die and sacrificing his own life for the sake of others, yet knowing full well his disobedience brought God to severe extreme all while still being in control. Jumping overboard to jump on board with God’s Plan. It’s miniature to Jesus sacrificing His Life, Jesus knew what He was accomplishing yet He was of human nature to cry, question, suffer. Gratefully Jesus was Divine nature to put the plan together with God. You have to recognize that level of trust. 

What about the people of Nineveh? They were staring death in the face and realized it – that in itself is amazing that they didn’t disregard Jonah’s prophesy. They had to jump on board with God – by jumping away from their disobedience and disregard. God said “all aboard” – and thankfully they took Him up on His offer.

Well, let’s all try some more trust for God’s I’m control. Let’s try to walk by faith and not by sight, and still keep our eyes on moving at God speed… if God is on board with a plan, why shouldn’t I be…

Life should be knowing that God knows every hair on our heads, then handing Him the comb.

A poem:

God parted the Red Sea, 

He will help me! 

God caught a jumping Jonah with a whale, 

I imagine He can catch me with the wind’s gale,

Especially since I will put up my God windsail.

.

Jonah went the wrong way, 

Let us instead ask God to steer our day.

Move me Lord, move my fear to Hooray!

At least I try to watch my steps as You plan my day.

Amen

I keep digging further into the old testament and the small passages reflect God’s whole plan. It’s not getting lost in the Word, but getting found through the Word, God HAS a Plan and we are living in the midst of it.

In Jeremiah 30, God told him to write down His Plan, prophesy of Jeremiah, into a book. Jeremiah 31 continues, and Jeremiah realizes God’s plan is reassurance, even gives Him pleasant sleep. There are hard days in the present for Jeremiah’s fellow men, but easier days ahead … Jeremiah had to write it, believe it, live it. 

Jeremiah is writing about a NEW COVENANT (that’s Messiah Jesus), and God says: “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

We hear these familiar terms: Lord of Hosts; Everlasting Love; Lovingkindnesses; sing with gladness; their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, and they shall sorrow no more at all; heir souls shall be like a well-watered garden, And they shall sorrow no more; For I will turn their mourning to joy; There is hope in your future, says the Lord.

And although I wonder why so many years this has to pass of wandering, wondering, and exile, for the israelites, I think God was reminding that He was in this for the Long Haul.  I am also reminded that it is a long time people have been living on earth and they needed and needed a renewed hope and a renewed reminder. God doesn’t change but we have to re-realize of His faithfulness. FAITHFULNESS EVERY MORNING. Thus we feel blessed with Good sleep – not just for our bodies but for the reassurance that God is in control and we can get some rest.

God also reminds every new generation and multiple times that we are saved by Jesus. We accept saving grace when we look to our Messiah to cover our sins, and those of the past. Compliance for the past people was in certain obedience,  and with us now, in A NEW COVENANT, we simply need to believe and walk with Jesus always (sometimes/always He will carry us too)… Let us keep walking all of these days…  and sleeping in all of these nights…

Amen

—

Jeremiah 31 NKJV

The Remnant of Israel Saved – “At the same time,” says the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.” Thus says the Lord: “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness— Israel, when I went to give him rest.”

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice. You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria; The planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food. For there shall be a day When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’ ”

For thus says the Lord: “Sing with gladness for Jacob, And shout among the chief of the nations; Proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘O Lord, save Your people, The remnant of Israel!’ Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the ends of the earth, Among them the blind and the lame, The woman with child And the one who labors with child, together; A great throng shall return there. They shall come with weeping, And with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they shall not stumble; for I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.

“Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’ For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, Streaming to the goodness of the Lord – For wheat and new wine and oil, For the young of the flock and the herd; Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, And they shall sorrow no more at all.

“Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, And the young men and the old, together; For I will turn their mourning to joy, Will comfort them, And make them rejoice rather than sorrow. I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.”

Mercy on Ephraim – Thus says the Lord: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.”  Thus says the Lord: “Refrain your voice from weeping, And your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord, And they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope in your future, says the Lord, That your children shall come back to their own border.  “I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself: ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like an untrained bull; Restore me, and I will return, For You are the Lord my God. Surely, after my turning, I repented; And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh; I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated, Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’ Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For though I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still; Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.

“Set up signposts, Make landmarks; Set your heart toward the highway, the way in which you went. Turn back, O virgin of Israel, turn back to these your cities. How long will you gad about, 0 you backsliding daughter? For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth – A woman shall encompass a man.”

Future Prosperity of Judah – Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: ‘The Lord bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness!’ And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”

After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was sweet to me.

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. In those days they shall say no more: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

A New Covenant

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, and its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name): “If those ordinances depart from before Me, says the Lord, then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever.”

Thus says the Lord: “If heaven above can be measured, And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel For all that they have done, says the Lord. “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that the city shall be built for the Lord from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the Lord. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever.”

I took a moment to stop at the cemetery of my friend, a fellow girl scout mom. I wondered between the snow melting and the rain now pausing, in 4 days time, was the plot OK???… Well, of course it was fine, but I rearranged the wind-fallen flower piles anyway and made them look nicer. I thought at the very least the children who might visit their mom’s grave may have a better view, even if it’s the worst view. And even if they don’t come for a while, others will see devotion, just like I saw other places of graves of beloved mothers with dozens of angel statues, artwork,  holiday decoration and flags, even Christmas trees. Devotion. So, perhaps it’s just the mom in me to “mom the situation”, clean up what is not my mess, and appreciate simply that I was putting the work in for my friend’s sake, and for mine too I will confess. I just liked it better. I just humanly needed to feel that earthly feel of ‘doing something’, when I knew already that God had already done everything, the Heavenly EVERYTHING. 

“Beloved Mother” – the ribbon loose but the sentiment true. I anchored it with rocks. This mother was beloved as a mother by her children – and she was beloved that she mothered those children, admired and beloved by those she knew. She maybe sometimes put the smother of mother on thick – but that’s who she was – SO thick in mothering – to all she knew. Me too. I have clothes and food still from last year. She would mom me with snacks for our car trips. She mom-med thicker than the peanut butter she would bring. So thick is what many mothers do, to help us be covered in mothering long after they are gone. 

Mud – I carried out the work then later saw the mud – the smother of mothering now the smother of mudddddd-ering … mud… felt good (even looked good I thought for a photo,  the contrast of my pink fuzzy crocs as if happily dipped in mud). – Well… 

We have to remember, mud will wash off, don’t be afraid of mud. Life is muddy, don’t be afraid of life. Carry on the work and wash off the mud later – simply switch shoes and keep marching. Mud makes the moms, it’s very beautiful to mom.

Keep mom-ing Moms. Keep dad-ing Dads. Keep traipsing through mud to mudder through life. Will the kids see it? The mom-ing by moms? Does that matter? Maybe, but just know it’s God’s way to make headway into life’s fray. “My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.” Jeremiah 30:14

Keep mom-ing moms. Mud and all.

Amen 

Always a joy to revisit my awakening story – this is an “elevator speech” version – long elevator – but in brief – written to a new friend pastor.

I know that God has given me a gift for writing. I never asked for it, but I would NOT now trade it for anything. 9 yrs ago I tried to beg God to not “make me write” – but He didn’t let up – I always knew He made me an encourager in general,  plus my sanguine ENFP personality, and has been refocusing me for working in His Way… I take little credit except for APPRECIATING the Lord in everything. Yeah!

In my blessing of an awakening 9 yrs ago, which to my human view felt like a 0 to 60 speed ramp up, I actually now know this came from His never-ending pursuit of me, of us, for not just our sake but for serving others… Like Jarius’ daughter, Jesus just said “she’s not dead in her faith, she’s just sleeping.”… Jesus held me in the MOST gentle of wake ups all the while God was like rolling STRIKES against the bowling pins of my disbelief system that I tried to keep resetting up. Smash! GOD IS IN CHARGE! He made me realize I was on His Plan at His Dime. He took my head and I actually had to write write write, 2am 5am etc through my whole awakening. Oh, how I was SO embarrassed and confused about this writing, hid my first 20 writings in a box in my car, I thought I was going nuts… God’s plan not mine… but now I know in true Holy Spirit fashion, that He lined up the people to help me open up, He laid His ground work for me to see it was Him, like a Bread Crumb trail. And yet, not led by anyone who noticed my “lukewarm-ness”, so that I could see it was God and God alone who called my number, and my head, and never let go… I was 50:50 on Jesus, even as a lifelong Catholic then Methodist, Sunday School teacher, VBS leader, UMW leader… was maybe Jesus a prophet with a publicist? How did I REALLY know He was God’s son? So, it was over the course of 2 months that God knocked my socks off and got my head on straight, and got me educating myself.  Feb 1st is coming soon, my 100% with Jesus day 2015. It brings me to tears to think of “what if” – but God had me, never letting go…

So, for the writing,  after opening up to 2 friend pastors, then more trusted people, I started emailing my writings as more general blog-like. After 50 writings in 2 months I was 100% with Jesus. After 200 writings I was like: “Lord, can I please stop now?” NOPE… I said, what am I gonna do with all these writings? They will just sit here like my unfinished sewing machine pile. And that’s when I also was Holy Spirit led to put them into a blog post page where I’m over two thousand writings now. A daily devotion safekeeping, until I figure out what else to do with them (yes, I need to publish many people tell me). Right now I am writing my way through the Old Testament. I don’t need to write for anything but the Lord. I don’t need the income or the fame. Yet I’m so curious why I write but I know all will be revealed someday… I’m just trying to go with the flow. Eventually I could imagine myself doing public speaking of women’s groups et cetera – but it is not about me but about God using me – using us – to be encouragers – encouragers of the Word.

I’m at debbieupper.blog  because I am not a debbie-downer at all…

That’s my long-winded elevator speech of my awakening and my writing. I kissed the blarney stone twice, but it’s not all blarney. I’m a scientist and blessed that I’ve expanded into science blogs too. And I recently signed on as communications lead for a work multi-faith group. I just simply hope it helps people. I know it has helped me find God in everything… I’m even sharing sermons on occasion as a “pinch-hitter” while we are inbetween pastors at our community church. 

We are all so different but we are also together in God’s plan for His Purposes..

I’m understanding that His Net is woven, strand by strand, strengthened and restructured. And some of us are on the fill in the tiny threads section that captures Thinker-ers like me, one at a time.

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. 

This crazy overdone yard of inflatables inspired me to see how we really had craziness in the year and also to see it in me. Think of the sad scenes but also our excessive blessings – how crazy the haves and have nots – and those who lost it all in war and more… It was like I was feeling JOY of blessings – driving thru beautiful countryside – and yet then realizing that I was forgetting that so many suffer day to day. May I always, Lord, be more thankful to You – to remember to count my blessings and yet suffer your suffering of sorrow as motivation. Ride in Joy but suffer in sight. Pray to You Lord, to make all things right.

Here is an ode to an Old Year goodbye, where we failed to see excesses and failed to be humble. Lord, help me, help us next year to be better than we were in 2023.

Suffering to SEE, what was 2023

Sometimes we are suffering to see, others who pull in excesses but want more and still say “what about me?”.

Many suffer, us too, we see, From a worldly view where we can’t break free.

Stuck in a sin of self-inability, We frustratingly think others should do more, but then they also say “who? me?”.

Some buy into the fable, that they are born unable. But God says you are special capable. I know, I made you from before your cradle. 

And whom are we to judge those missing our mark, whom we see, But yet we do see it, oh ache and suffer to see human shortcomings. That feels truly like such suffering Jesus crying through me.

I get it, Jesus, and You died for them, and also for me. We ALL are as human as human can be.

Jesus suffered then, indeed, seeing others who didn’t know Him as Holy THEE. And He suffers now from these (us too) who fail to get past the “whoa is me”. 

We don’t stay humble well or remember it’s not “all about me”. So Lord, when I hoard, Or when I seem bored, Or lie myself, when I don’t appear above board, Please find me the correcting convictions that give me vision of You, seeing YOU more clearly is a suffer-based reward. 

Excesses, digresses, regrettedness-es.

We are the forest of every broken tree.

Let us leave 2023 now and grow out of it, FLEE.

Let us put aside grumpy grudges and every non-culpability plea.

I explore MORE, for 2024,

To see You Lord, MORE.

As You stand at MY door, help me walk with You MORE. 

Let us get into 2024.

Amen 

Jesus said: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” John 15:1-4

 “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Jesus in John 16:33

When madness is darkness,

Who brings the Light?

God is our Light, darkness takes flight.

May satan’s power be kicked away, out of the fake night. 

Because God IS the TRUE Light!

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See the Lord. See Him.

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When life feels less sparkle-able, 

Who brings us back to life remarkable?

God shows us His Glory, the angels sing hark-able.

May satan’s meddling be inaudible. 

Because God’s Glory sings to us most audible!

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Praise the Lord. Praise Him.

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When new challenges come,

Remember Whom has already Won.

God, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Three in One.

May satan step down, he is DONE.

Because God Almighty has been, IS, and will forever be Number One!

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Know the Lord. Know Him.

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All under the Sun,

God has Won.

All through the Son,

We forever become.

All in the Spirit,

Our Steps and His can be ONE.

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Walk With the Lord. Study His Walk. Study Him.

Love Him

Because God is the LIGHT.

Amen!

What part of our Christmas experience does not expire, or go half off instantly when the stores reopen on the day after Christmas? It’s not the candy or ribbon or even cards, those are half off and moved out of the store. Why is it something so precious, timely and expensive is offloaded quickly, cheaply in the time less than it takes to wrap and give them as gifts. 

Today even the expensive hallmark ornament collection plus candy plus plus was 50% off… Is it because no one wants to store it, or commerce industry is only financially looking out quarterly for success??. I bought today, 3 days after Christmas, a few things, like blankets 75% off, and more cards because I didn’t actually finish my 2023 ones yet. I also got cake mix with red and green sprinkles for only $1 that has a shelf life to 2025. (Isn’t that scary that something that can last until 2025 with all the preservatives?)

SO, aside from these things, what part of our Christmas does NOT expire, that’s the part I wish we stocked up on: the JOY, the PEACE, the HOPE plus the politeness, the forever gratefulness, and the FRESHNESS. 

Something that does NOT last is an evergreen tree cut off. Needles turn brown and fall off and those branches get brittle. They aren’t even good to burn. Only some goats get “expired ” $100 trees to eat like caviar. WE ALSO might fall into an expired existence if we don’t stay connected with our living vine Lord. We must stay green, hydrated, humble and hopeful. We can be the fresh scent of living well spent.

Christmas decorations are packed away, but the LIGHT of the Spirit will always SHINE bright. Let’s share this like it’s going out of style, better yet let’s give it away freely. Shine Jesus Shine – like Your Light is Mine and my Light is Thine.

Christmas SHINE Don’t Cost a Dime.

Amen

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16 NIV

Those who are wise shall shine
Like the brightness of the firmament,
And those who turn many to righteousness
Like the stars forever and ever. Daniel 12:3 NJVK

Happy Joyous Christmas to you my friends!!! Happy are the People whose God is the Lord. Psalm 144:15

Christmas Eve was filled with mystery and marvelousness, and now Christmas Day is a Gift of the babe Jesus born – and we are blessed with having Him grow in us each day and today too, a blessing knowing Jesus as our Shepherd, Jesus as Lord.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. Isaiah 9:2

He will take care of his flock like a shepherd: He will gather the lambs together and carry them in his arms; He will gently lead their mothers… Isaiah 40:11

Today, Christmas, is a beautiful opportunity to share from the prophet Isaiah, and oh what a blessing to ask to have child-like AWE everyday and imagine that view of the Heavens FILLED with God’s Glory.

May we all appreciate the creation anticipation of a child Savior, like Isaiah did, and also the expectation of a King. Isaiah wrote hundreds of years before Jesus came and there was yearning for this fulfilment. It was shared first with Mary and her family, then in the distant Bethlehem, city of David, shepherds who knew to tend their flocks were called in to first see this Christ child. Our Lord, is a Shepherd to His Own children, that’s us, our Lord knows how to tend His Flock, rebuild His Kingdom people and Restore all to Himself.

Isaiah wrote sweetly of the coming of the King, a new covenant and HOPE. Isaiah wrote of God being Almighty Creator. The Lord Himself holds us and our collective futures together. Let us all be grateful and satisfied as much as we are curious. Let us call Him our Wonderful Counselor and Prince of PEACE too. 

Isaiah 9:6-7

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Isaiah 40:26 ESV

Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.

AMEN AMEN AMEN

MERRY CHRIStMAS!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

There’s something I was NOT been worrying about, an unusual something. My son’s doctor saw it and wanted it checked out – probably nothing but a specialist doctor would have to see it to know that, with all their fancy instruments. Did I take any time to worry about it. Certainly I did not prepare for it (paperwork so last minute too), but it was something for which we proceeded one step at a time. EARLY morning, down in the city, a VERY EARLY appointment. Our praise is that we have great doctors and their knowledge base. It is funny how the early-ness of the appointment distracted from the potential situation. Well, it all went very well. THANK GOD!

I was not worried because the doctor was not worried, and I was especially not worried because I never took it out of God’s Hands. Maybe later I thought I will worry, but I prayed that not to happen either. I was sure there was nothing I can help with by worrying, so I didn’t. I DO PRAY, I do walk this road, drive it actually, and focused moment by moment – was more worried about parking in center city but probably not a problem at 6am. Now I could have been worried about the impending rainstorm but I have good tires and maybe the rain would chase away the traffic. I also could have complained about leaving the house at 5am, but I was not going to complain there either, those doctors start even earlier.

Anyway, prayers were appreciated but worrying was NOT. 

We especially pull close to God when we pause to pray.

We don’t and won’t have to put something in God’s Hands if we never took it out of His… And honestly, everything IS always in GOD’S HANDS.

Amen

PS – these are prayers I request for others – to help pull them and us closer to God: friends with covid, including an ICU-bound mom, who passed away, of a college friend. Prayers for people with illnesses and challenges. Prayers for a friend who lost their dog recently.  Prayers for all the people in Israel and Gaza and Ukraine, which barely makes the news anymore, and all the sickness, famine and wars including human trafficking which never makes the news… May the Lord intervene. 

And… Prayers in a positive way appreciated for all to see the wonder and hope of Christmas and to know the Lord, for their sake and His.  Amen

Hung up our green elf “Hider” today – a blessed memory I cherish 8 years now. It brings tears to my eyes remembering…  I love my big son, 19 now, and I miss the little boy of course… so blessed at this memory…

Yes My Elf on the Shelf, There is a Real Jesus, 30 NOV2015

It’s quite often lately that I bump into a conversation about God and Jesus – and tonight I have to pause to tell you that I got to share the REAL meaning of Christmas with one of the most important people in my life – my son.  My son IS my elf on the shelf – my director of activities, my wisdom-speaking genius – the most thoughtful kid ever known to man.  He is my baby boy, 11yrs old now, – he and my daughter are my joys – they are my purpose, they make me a mom, my job is to raise them. 

And tonight, over a conversation about an elf on the shelf I witnessed a miracle after I told of a miracle…  See, we are Jesus’s purpose – He came to help us know and tell of HIS mission in life – HIS purpose – and that is connecting us to GOD forever – yes, to give us eternal life, in the home of OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN… over the course of a couple years, Jesus caused a change in me in stages and Jesus is the One who is helping me help others find their way to our true Father. It means I have to be bold and challenge myself to act and speak in truth. 

SO – elf – my elf is adorable, 11 years old, a thinker – a gentle and sensitive soul .. he can explain a sunday school bible lesson to me better than anyone after hearing it just once – he takes it to his heart – he truly believes in Jesus and God.  But as any eleven year old – he still needs training – he still needs guidance – he is still a product of our society robbing children of their child-like wonder and making them grow up too fast.  

My elf wanted to clean (yeah unheard of), he wanted to clean the living room area so that we could start our Christ-mas village and especially the nativity scene and he wanted his robotic dinosaur to be looking at the baby Jesus. He patiently waited for me to get off the phone – and sure, it was a very important phone call, but he was waiting and he is much more important than anything else swirling in my life right now.  So yes, I shut my phone off and refocused all my attention to him – I only have my little ones for a few more years – and I need to focus – my plans are secondary….  God will put me where HE wants me, and not where he doesn’t, and I am not sad at other lost opportunities because God’s plans are MUCH better than mine.

So, my adorable elf paused after setting the baby Jesus into the manger scene and then he asked the age old question – “Mom, people say Santa is your parents – and people say your parents move the elf on the shelf”  – pause – pregnant poignant pause –  what is mom going to say – “Well…  what do YOU think?”  He answers that “I think Santa is God and Jesus and the presents drop from heaven” – pregnant pause – but I of course felt blessedly empowered to explain this: “Well, that is a great thought, but why did God send Jesus to us? – it wasn’t for toys and presents – so why is Jesus God’s present to us? ”  – my son says “to give us forgiveness for our sins” – “Yes, but why did Jesus have to forgive us”  – “Ummm…”  – it is now that I know my mission is to teach why – “Jesus was a gift from God to us – to forgive us from our sins so that …., why?”  – “Ummm…” – “Jesus wants us to have ETERNAL —-”  – – – “LIFE!”  he finished my sentence… Yes! – I knew that bible lesson was in that 11 year old head somewhere – and I hope and pray it stays in his heart and grows there –  “Jesus came to save US by forgiveness to give US ETERNAL LIFE with God in Heaven”  – silence – pause – thinking – processing… And absorbing ones faith takes time – takes repetiion – takes teaching but most importantly reaching and nourishing conversations to achieve understanding that Jesus IS REAL…

“So Mom – what about the elf on the shelf – can you tell me if parents move him?”….   Ok – time to come clean – I know that it is important to tell the truth and so I said: “Yes – your parents move your elf” – silence – pause – thinking – processing…

See…  our elf was not intended to be that elf on the shelf- he is a GREEN elf – an ornament from the 40’s? 50’s?  well before this “elf that moves” myth started and I was not too pleased to hear the hoopla about it – sorry folks who have fun – but it’s quite a feat to generate even more work for yourself moving it, just due to a successful movie etc – yeah i wasn’t going to buy into it…  but my then 9 year old wide-eyed and precious boy discovers this ornament in the box and declares that we have an elf on the shelf – and thank you God he didn’t know that the elf moved every day because neither did I – whew!

At the end of that first Christmas with the elf, he was safely whisked away to Santa land at the end of the season – and my then ten year old waited patiently for his return…  Ummm…  where did he go?… Ummm – “Hider” – my son is named him “Hider” – lost – hmmm…  now what – – oh dear – and I looked and I looked – and Hider was in the safest spot to keep him – and he was so safe that i forgot where he was…  rats…  crushed hopes for a patient young soul… So my son writes him a note – about how he is the best hider in the world and how much he loves him – sigh…  mom has failed – mom never wanted this myth anyway and now mom is caught in the middle of a sad boy longing for his elf…  

Sigh…  tonight – tonight I came clean with him about Santa, elves – a natural progression of an eleven year old’s questioning – but before that it was first the MOST important conversation about God I have had this year – reinforcing that God sent Jesus to be real – to be real for each and everyone of us. So, now in peace that I came clean about the elf and that I shared the Good News, it was THEN I saw this random tin can – I don’t know why I picked it up – I felt something draw me to that can – and poof – there he was – “Hider” – our elf – over two years LOST – LOST I tell you – and poof – within three minutes of sharing Jesus – of knocking that elf myth down a notch – there he was – Hider – hidden in that can for two years…  my son hugged Hider and said: “I am going to put him in the nativity – he is going to watch baby Jesus for us” – yeah – my tears – “YES MY Elf on the Shelf, there is a REAL Jesus.”

There is no better blessing than to witness Jesus being born everyday in people – especially your own children… See, Jesus is often born in stages – only enough understanding each time that that indivudual can process at that very moment…  And so yeah – Jesus is this miracle gift – I understand this in JOY and tonight in tears, when I was stilled by God.

I thank YOU God for YOUR hand on my life – on my thoughts – on my family – guiding me everyday is a miracle because God IS REAL – Jesus is REAL – trust me – I know this – I just do – I really really do…  

Jesus came to save YOU – to save us – in order to reach us into God’s eternal life – in order for US to reach the others – we can preach all we want and plan all we want, but if we aren’t REACHING the others near and far then we have more work to do – and our Father wants us to work at it – and He will reward us when we do – it’s not silly – it’s just God watching me and knowing me – knowing how to reach me – thanks God…

Thank you God for reaching me today – I long to work for YOU always…

Your loving child,
Me

Down to Earth is easier when we stop trying to elevate ourselves. People like “down to earth” people,  God knows that we do. Christmas’s backhouse stable manger birth for Jesus was the gift of as much “down to earth” as imaginable. Jesus could come. Jesus would come. Jesus DID come. Immanuel, God with us. Let us be down to earth too.

Hidden Gems, people love Hidden Gems like in places to visit, restaurants to try, nooks and crannies of goodness, and yes the gem of beauty reserved for only a few spying eyes. The most beautiful Hidden secure open space we can retreat to and spring from is that private place where God and we meet. Let’s meet Him there, every day. God with us, Immanuel. 

There’s a praise song that ponders the mind, sings of a chapter of Jesus’s life we don’t hear about, when He as a child was securely taken away to Egypt by His parents, Mary and Joseph, to prevent discovery of him as a baby to be killed, as that generation was when Herod tried to eliminate any prophet-predicted earthly king to contest his earthly throne. The song, by Rich Mullins, is “My Deliverer” to represent the scattered Israelite community in Egypt (and everywhere) knowing about their Deliverer coming to deliver them (deliver us). Jesus hears them, He hears us. It’s a hopeful song, catchy to us too, envisioned yet it’s a real thing that people seeked their Deliverer, of devoted scripture readers and prophesy believers, cries of the oppressed and depressed. Visions and education given to the chosen few whose Holy Spirit hopes kept them waiting for the Savior, not just earthly but divine. And then teaching others about the delivery deliverance,  Deliverer. Like Simeon, old man in Temple visits choosing to praise God in anticipation of beholding our/his Deliverer, our/his Savior, our/his Hope and the Hope of the nation, and of us all. Prayer delivered and answered by seeing Jesus Babe, his own Deliverer, down to earth. 

“My Deliverer is coming” – He Came, He will Come Again.

This Christmas, let us be seekers for our Deliverer too. Our down to earth, hidden Gem, personal Savior, Who came not to judge us, but for us to be Saved through Him. John 3:17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him“,…. the Only Son of God.

Amen

…

Here’s the catchy envigorating song:

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=HxPlrvrE0uU&si=xCllvG8vTWDw9jE3  My Deliverer is Coming, “Jesus heard the whole world cry, for the healin’ that would flow from His own scars. The world was singin’: My deliverer is comin’, my deliverer is standin’ by…”

Friends and I were talking last night about how each day is going to get a little longer in daylight from here on out. We do get some depressive feelings in the darkness – and yet that is where the Lord can show us His Light to follow. 

I know recently I have marvelled at these early mornings to see the Morning Star, and appreciate how constant it is. It IS a marvel in how the seasons work, how coordinating the calendars and time tries to match and interpret how the world spins, the sun heats, and even the moon gets in the act with ocean tides and being a nightlight. imagine those sailors on the endless ocean voyages thousands of years who studied the stars and moon and most importantly got comfort from them!  I mean Who could set up such an intricate system where the system works year after year but also put into play what it influences – how that still will work, modified to adapt. Amazing, and if it were anyone other than God could plan it, it would not be so coordinated nor so much diversity in the system.

And yet the Morning Star moves. Constant and constantly moves.  It does. It was higher and higher in my window these past few weeks, but I failed to notice that it was moving  (or that I was) until I had to lean lower to see it so high, out of my window frame. Well of course it does move, gradually yet measured, and it’s a planet not a star, that reflects the sun SO brightly that we think it’s a star. And guess what? all the components of the universe move. Really… amazing how to allow it to be measured and yet easily looks like it could be chaos. Amazing. 

A conversation I had with a Hasidic Jew (from Brooklyn) on an airplane once, on one European trip, included a discussion of how God makes things, holds creatures and people, and holds them in His Hand until they are placed onto the Earth and into the system we see, that we only see them when they are revealed to us, and yet they always exist in God’s Hand and eye and vision. That is an intriguing thought. We do have such a finite view of each moment let alone eternity planned, that we really make preliminary conclusions of how things work. We make conclusions but don’t have enough longevity to pull in all the data. And yet, it’s a moving system, how could we. It is a Moving System – imagine God Moving it all.

How we each are held is something we think about from our vantage point and often can’t see past our vantage point, we are incapable from seeing it ALL from God’s vantage point, yet with the Holy Spirit to move us we are a part of this immense immeasurable Plan. Just like He sees so BIG, ALL THINGS, He also sees so small, every person, every hair, every tear. And before we know it He will have moved the wind or the circumstances around us, of us, with us, to freshly start a new day or new attitude or new life.  

If we are in bad straits, let us wait it out, change it out, shift the cards we are played for a better deal, pray our way into our walk – walk into a problem or away from it – but pray it thru. If we have to move a situation forward, let us move it (for us or others). If we have to take a step back, let us just not trip over the past and build upon it. Remember that we and especially God can wait out how HE aligns the times and the people. This may not be the quick fix – but in the fullness of time, we will forget the small stuff. The great song lyric from Psalm 30 is  ‘There may be pain in the night, but Joy comes in the morning’.

Even the Morning Star moves, and we move compared to it. Let us let God make His Way in our lives, today, forever, and pray to know that You Lord, in Your Joy, will move us more Your Way.

Amen 

Psalm 30 – New King James Version – The Blessedness of Answered Prayer – A Psalm – A Song at the dedication of the house of David.

I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, BUT JOY COMES IN THE MORNING.

Now in my prosperity I said, “I shall never be moved.” Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. I cried out to You, O Lord; And to the Lord I made supplication: “What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me; Lord, be my helper!”

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

There’s so few pages left for 2023, in my devotion book or on the calendar. So few and yet does that matter except that we remember time goes so much more quickly now. Ending 2023 means Christmas of course, and how did we ever put our most rushed season at the end of the year? Really Lord? Well maybe it’s because if we focused on Him it might go smoother, or at least we would find more peace over panic.

I appreciate most that God reminds me what I need the most: TIME WITH HIM. And today’s devotion from the Jesus Calling book is spot on to what God reminds: “Take time to be Holy”.

This is so important, not only do we get distracted by glitz, we get distracted by gloom. Our time with Him, in His Word, learning, and our time in His Work, loving, is the best time spent.  

I’ve been reading and writing not just to keep up with Him, but to allow Him to catch me up to Him, in awe and praise, and peace and purpose. 

Here’s to your end of the year wrap up, remember that the book and calendar starts over, no lost pages or moments with God in charge of time.

So good to focus on the Lord – and to remember He is above it all – and that thought that the whole rest of our eternity will be worry free and with Him  – so we should try that more and more now…  Here as in Heaven….

Amen.

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, Dec 13th –  “Take time to be holy. The word holy does not mean goody-goody; it means set apart for sacred use. That is what these quiet moments in My Presence are accomplishing within you. As you focus your mind and heart on Me, you are being transformed: re-created into the one I designed you to be. This process requires blocks of time set aside for communion with Me. … The benefits of this practice are limitless. Emotional and physical healing are enhanced by your soaking in the Light of My Presence. You experience a nearness to Me that strengthens your faith and fills you with Peace. You open yourself up to receive the many blessings that I have prepared for you. You become a cleaned temple of My Holy Spirit, who is able to do in and through you immeasurably more than you ask or imagine. These are just some of the benefits of being still in My Presence. 

…

2 Thessalonians 1:10 ESV 

when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

Psalm 27:4 ESV

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own

Ephesians 3:20 ESV

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

This was interesting, watching a woodpecker at a bird feeder (with a camera) freeze in sort of hidden security behind the feeding post while a hawk came close… (photo attached and video link posted below):

It’s instinctual for the bird, would you do the same? Be very quiet and watchful? If this bird could pray, I bet he would. Pray away the prey. I don’t even know if that hawk would attack, but this woodpecker stood still. 

We often are thoughtful in either taking steps to taking flight… We all have been in opportunities for fight or flight, and prayer. Praying is acknowledging that God is bigger than our troubles. Worshiping is acknowledging that God is in charge of all. Praising is acceptance of good and bad – praise God no matter what for God is God and we are allowed to participate in watching Him work. 

I sort of did this when I saw what looked like a crazed woman trying to cross the street on a busy road, yelling at each car, and finally crossing and screaming at them. I was headed into the convenience store and hoped to avoid her, I did mostly, she was quiet in line behind me, no idea what would take place, I both wanted to run and yet also to hear if she switched into a normal conversation mode from this scary state. You know, I didn’t stick around for listening but as I zipped away, I prayed for the clerk, the situation, and her too with that: “geez Lord, what is going on with her?” unknown… My nervousness avoided the fight (not that there would have been) and I chose flight. We pray God’s got our backs (and every moment). I was stilled silent (and smart in my opinion) to keep moving. 

The woodpecker spying the hawk was smart to stay still. Are there moments that we get so stunned that we can’t act? Are there times that silent vibes help or hurt? Some say passiveness is poor participation and yet each situation is unique and we must decide whether to keep the peace or do something to make it through, then return to our peace. 

If we take it into our own hands, we could SHOULD rely on the coaching of the Lord, knowing He knows best, and trust mini situations and big ones to Him. Too often we don’t consult Him, even if it’s to say ‘sorry, I’m going to not deal with this situation right now.” And when we act or fail to act, of our own decision making process, may we return to say to God, ‘sorry and please help me turn to You first.’ This helps us think BIG picture at God’s plan. 

In Jeremiah 7-10, God had Jeremiah tell the people to worship Him, consult Him, rely on Him, ONLY HIM. The Israelite people had drifted (again) and as individuals and a divided nation Judah and Jerusalem, they were worshiping false gods and not asking forgiveness to the One God Whom could give it to them. 

Jeremiah takes this dictation directly from God: “this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’”

And Jeremiah records both God’s Wrath, his own sorrow, and the ultimate pretold plan to “refine” the people and ‘I will scatter them also among the Gentiles‘…

God said: “No man repented of his wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his own course, as the horse rushes into the battle. Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times; and the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow observe the time of their coming. But My people do not know the judgment of the Lord.”

Jeremiah mourned the situation, like watching a train wreck travesty: “Is there no balm in Gilead, Is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery for the health of the daughter of my people? Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Oh, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place for travelers; that I might leave my people, and go from them!”

God continues:  Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

I agree and hope you do too, I believe I’m God’s lovingkindnesses mercy forgiveness and direction.  Jeremiah says:  “the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King.”

Yes, I will be smart and stilled and listen to the Lord best I can. Open up my ears Lord to hear and my eyes to see and my heart to know. Amen

Amen

…

https://youtu.be/EDn8Ekti4Lc?si=fjFrHGyr9S4Nm4jB  “Hairy Woodpecker Freezes In Place As Cooper’s Hawk Perches Nearby – Dec. 7, 2023” on YouTube

Here is all of chapters 7 to 10 of Jeremiah:

What a surprise to find a whole classic movie on Youtube – The Bells of St Mary’s – 1945 – Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. I remember it was a favorite of my Dad’s – really so many classic movies were (except It’s a Wonderful Life – he detested that one – I don’t think he was a fan of Jimmy Stewart… but I digress).

So, I don’t think I remember watching (start to finish) this Bells of St Mary’s – and it has so many good spiritual moments – as well as contrived ones…  but moments that do stick out were scenes of the extension of Grace that had to be given over and over. It has comic elements too – even kittens and doggies get into the mix – and oh the most precious little kids doing the Christmas play – singing Happy Birthday to Jesus.

The final scenes find the lead school-master sister (Ingrid Berman) struggling to not hold onto bitterness for an assignment she didn’t understand – it was unrevealed to her later that she was being sent away to a dry climate for a little while to improve from the beginnings of tuberculosis. We see her praying “Please Lord take this bitterness from my heart” – and the final scene shows her joy – that she knew the Lord did – that she knew what was causing this trial and all was being done in love. She didn’t pray to reverse her situation but to tolerate it. She wanted to obey the Lord and the direction that the organization of nuns and priests were directed (they took an oath of obedience – to symbolize their obedience to the Lord.) Another great scene was when the sister was explaining that you don’t give up things to be a nun – but you take on a bigger love, bigger role, bigger gift being gifted the Lord.

In LOVE – that is truly how the Lord can explain things to us – how He deals with us – how He wants to bring us under His Wing – and how we can move from disappointment and bitterness into acceptance and understanding. There ARE times in our lives where we are being asked to comply – to stay still for a bit – to BE. Let us let the Lord explain the reasons behind things to us (some day) – and let us listen for HIS Bells in our heads and hearts…

Here is the video – thanks YouTube: https://youtu.be/mPkBwJiN4-M?si=B5gIF_4XN0Q8lo3E

and here is the Wikipedia synopsis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bells_of_St._Mary%27s

It’s an interesting thing, a boiling pot, because it means something is cooking, something could simmer for a while, something could boil over.

And then again, someone could tip it over too… 

Boiling water could surface cleanse, like baby bottles, or could cook, like dumplings, or could scald, like skin. And as for the Lord’s story to prepare prophet Jeremiah, He gave him imagery of a boiling pot of the northern enemies – that was about to spill over into attacking His chosen people, on purpose and in measured punishment – another exile. (Old-Testament-correction of the re-wandering people, yikes)…  Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality. How then have you turned before Me into the degenerate plant of an alien vine? 

Times were about to change, the Lord’s long term plan was on the move, like tectonic plates shifting – hold on. And surely that’s happening today as well. Sometimes tectonic plates shift slowly then WATCH OUT) Aren’t we blessed to have Jesus to cling to?! Savior and Fulfillment of  the Law!)

The Lord’s Word rumbled through Jeremiah in late times of a divided kingdom, Judah and Jerusalem. God sent His prophet for His people, and as we know from scripture that over and over again the people were not just disobeying the proper sacrifices, they were also worshiping false gods. They were building their lives on active tectonic plates and the Lord’s boiling pot was being rumbled. Splashing. And therefore this prophet became the steaming streaming mouthpiece for God. WARNING. If anything, over and over again, GOD DOES TELL US what’s going to happen, tells us to be braced in Him, “times they are a changin”. And HE tells us that HE will handle it. 

If Jeremiah (or we) said to the Lord: ‘Things are not good. My path is tough’, then how or what would God help and remind us? He surely would say: ‘I’m already ahead of you. Stay close to Me.’ … ‘I’ve got this.’…

God prepared Jeremiah, prepared Israel’s peoples, and prepares us today, to STAY CLOSE TO HIM. These Prophets and their Psalm songs reminded there’s a seed planted of His kingdom line (Jesus Messiah) that God rooted INTO the Line of Jesse to David, sprouted and nourished. Not an alien Vine but the True Vine. 

God’s Promise made this clear but the people themselves lived cloudy lives. Even the priests fell short, forgetting how God delivered them – unable to fully see Jesus coming into the fulfillment of the Prophets… to deliver them and us – in order to bring us back to fulfillment with God. 

Let us keep looking towards Jesus,  remember Him. God got us this far, under His Wing. The Holy Spirit fills us anew with HOPE. Jesus is the PROMISE, we praise that He gave His All

Amen 

—-

Jeremiah 1:13-2:13, 19, and excerpts all the way to chapter 6

New King James Version

And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north.” Then the Lord said to me:

“Out of the north calamity shall break forth on all the inhabitants of the land. For behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord; “They shall come and each one set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around, and against all the cities of Judah. I will utter My judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, Because they have forsaken Me, burned incense to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.

“Therefore prepare yourself and arise, And speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, lest I dismay you before them. For behold, I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land – Against the kings of Judah, Against its princes, Against its priests, and Against the people of the land. They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”

God’s Case Against Israel

Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I remember you, The kindness of your youth, The love of your betrothal, When you went after Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holiness to the Lord, the firstfruits of His increase. All that devour him will offend; Disaster will come upon them,” says the Lord.’ ”

Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord: “What injustice have your fathers found in Me, that they have gone far from Me, Have followed idols, and have become idolaters? Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, through a land of drought and the shadow of death, through a land that no one crossed and where no one dwelt?’ I brought you into a bountiful country, to eat its fruit and its goodness. But when you entered, you defiled My land and made My heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me; The prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

“Therefore I will yet bring charges against you,” says the Lord, “And against your children’s children I will bring charges. For pass beyond the coasts of Cyprus and see, Send to Kedar and consider diligently, And see if there has been such a thing. Has a nation changed its gods,

Which are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory for what does not profit. Be astonished, O heavens, at this, And be horribly afraid; Be very desolate,” says the Lord. “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.

—

Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backslidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God, and the fear of Me is not in you,” says the Lord God of hosts. “For of old I have broken your yoke and burst your bonds; and you said, ‘I will not transgress,’ When on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down, playing the harlot. Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality. How then have you turned before Me into the degenerate plant of an alien vine? For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, Yet your iniquity is marked before Me,” says the Lord God.

“How can you say, ‘I am not polluted, I have not gone after the Baals’? See your way in the valley; Know what you have done: You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways, A wild donkey used to the wilderness, that sniffs at the wind in her desire; In her time of mating, who can turn her away? All those who seek her will not weary themselves; In her month they will find her. Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst. But you said, ‘There is no hope. No! For I have loved aliens, and after them I will go.’

“As the thief is ashamed when he is found out, So is the house of Israel ashamed; They and their kings and their princes, and their priests and their prophets, Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ And to a stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’ For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Arise and save us.’ But where are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, if they can save you in the time of your trouble; for according to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah.

“Why will you plead with Me? You all have transgressed against Me,” says the Lord. “In vain I have chastened your children; They received no correction. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a destroying lion. O generation, see the word of the Lord! Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are lords; We will come no more to You’? Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number.

“Why do you beautify your way to seek love? Therefore you have also taught the wicked women your ways. Also on your skirts is found the blood of the lives of the poor innocents. I have not found it by secret search, but plainly on all these things. Yet you say, ‘Because I am innocent, surely His anger shall turn from me.’ Behold, I will plead My case against you, Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’ Why do you gad about so much to change your way? Also you shall be ashamed of Egypt as you were ashamed of Assyria. Indeed you will go forth from him with your hands on your head; for the Lord has rejected your trusted allies, and you will not prosper by them.

—

Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord. I am weary of holding it in. “I will pour it out on the children outside, And on the assembly of young men together; For even the husband shall be taken with the wife, The aged with him who is full of days. And their houses shall be turned over to others, Fields and wives together; For I will stretch out My hand  against the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord.  “Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even to the priest, Everyone deals falsely. They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace.  Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; Nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;  At the time I punish them, They shall be cast down,” says the Lord.

Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’  Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’ Therefore hear, you nations, And know, O congregation, what is among them. 19 Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people – The fruit of their thoughts, Because they have not heeded My words Nor My law, but rejected it.  For what purpose to Me comes frankincense from Sheba, and sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.”

Therefore thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people, And the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them. The neighbor and his friend shall perish.”

Thus says the Lord: “Behold, a people comes from the north country, And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth. They will lay hold on bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice roars like the sea; And they ride on horses, As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion.”

Here is more chapters 3 to 6:

Let the Lord Handle it – but be willing to be in his cooking pot.

Let the Lord be in control – but be willing to be on His schedule.

Worship Jesus first – and be willing to wait on Him.

Be still – but still be.

Amen

How does God start His day? By fortifying us and others as part of His Way. To strengthen speech and sharpen wit. To accomplish His Word’s fulfillment, bit by bit.

Jeremiah was called to be a prophet, to speak on God’s behalf, be part of the delivery of God’s Word, prophetic-style, to then be verified by events set forth, placed by God to fulfill. Prophets could deliver truth. Prophets pre-educated the people. Prophets and us can know the WHAT and WHY, and not worry about the HOW.

What can we learn from the life of prophets? KEEP MOVING. Gotta do God’s Work. (God said to Jeremiah: don’t be terrified by the people, or else I will terrify you.) Gotta worry less and live anyway. Got to stop worrying about the “Hows” and trust the “Whys” (Jeremiah had to trust and so do we). Serve the Lord and serve others with the understanding that we share LOVE because He LOVES.

I am not a prophet, never will try to be, but I try to share a gift of encouragement to re-publicize, re-advise, re-direct, and remind HOPE is renewable. HOPE is like Rudolph and his glowing nose through the fog, making a way more tolerable. Better yet a LIGHTHOUSE that warns and welcomes and weathers the storms to keep shining. Hope helps.

Jeremiah had bad news to share, but Good News too, that God was intervening, and even if it’s dark for a moment, God has a plan. Light will, Light does, Light did overcome the world. 

Just keep not being afraid or resigned, don’t worry about the HOW. Find those first words and actions God wants you to serve with. Like Jeremiah seeing an almond tree in a vision, as a “test test – 1-2-3 – can you hear me now” of the system, then getting the bigger picture description from God (big changes for Israel), let’s keep refocusing our own eyes on His Path.

They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”

God IS with us. Keep the Hope. God is doing big things in His Plan. Keep faith in God. He IS the Holy How. Just be ready for the Holy When. 

Amen

………

Jeremiah 1:4-19

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” – “I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied. The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”

The word of the Lord came to me again: “What do you see?” – “I see a pot that is boiling,” I answered. “It is tilting toward us from the north.” The Lord said to me, “From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the Lord.

“Their kings will come and set up their thrones in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem; they will come against all her surrounding walls and against all the towns of Judah. I will pronounce my judgments on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshiping what their hands have made.

“Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. 

It’s amazing, I was told today by Google metrics, that my most active Google Maps photo is a snapshot of a DIRTY ENGINE, haha. It has over 50000 views in connection with a review I gave for my local oil change place (great place). But it’s my old car, gone, mourned over and I’m 2 Subarus further than that now. I even have replaced the blueness with red then new blue. But I loved that car, it served me well, then it leaked, one could smell oil or something inside, and the a headgasket classic crack was the death nail of my life with it. We all wear out. Then again it drove great, wasn’t ready to go. Too bad my photos of a shiny blue car with decorations doesn’t have over 50,000 views… but I digress…

Where am I going with this story? The old photo has more views and so does old rehashing, old complaining in our lives, old stuck in the rut feelings, that in our lives gets more traction and attention, especially by us. But when things are going right, do we remember that we got past the old? Sometime yes and Sometimes no. Sometimes we need to be reminded of how God found a Way. Sometimes we have to admit our hard paths make the easier paths easier. Oh we should remember that God has a way that is not necessarily easy but true.  Well, I survived some stuff and moved forward, Thank God. I pray my voice now and in the future to speak more about God’s save than my life’s craze.

(Maybe we all need to find the right person to vent to, share dirty car engine photos or worldly angst, to spill the beans of frustrations but then go and move forward with life. We could/should walk through that door of the future and even though we carry the photo album of past ughs that keep rebooting up in our (my) brain, as we are as human as them all, we can choose to keep the photos in our back pocket – just between Jesus and us.)

So, I know scripture reinforces that there’s a remedy for humanness, because Jesus came to take not our humanness away instantly, but take away the sins of the soul and unstick the stickiness. We are washable in Him (and our photo albums of sins are wiped clean on our hard drives AND in the cloud). Jesus came fully human and “became sin” so it would be taken away. Paul, a sinner too, wrote: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

And in scripture, we have been gifted the reminder that Jesus asked humanly (for a moment) to not have to drink that cup of suffering sin, but “in His Will” He did comply, taking that cup of suffering which He took all the way to abandonment from God. Divinely Jesus took it upon Himself to do so. He became human and He became our sin and He became abandoned. He complied over complained. He took the hit so that we all have the potential to move forward. He made a Way because He came as the Way.

“My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” Jesus prayed. (Matthew 26:41)

Could Jesus have stepped away? He had the power to, but chose the Way.

He took the old engine, in you and me, and we don’t have a photo to hold, but know He allows our old engines to be renewed. He moves the past away, and it passes away. God promises this new body, new life, new forever and gives Himself as a down payment, His Spirit in us, to know what awaits. God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come – that new me new you SHOULD get 50,000 views times a million.

A new view – without sin – or cracked headgasket. We WILL get more mileage out of forever life with Jesus. Accept His cleansing today.

Amen

—-

Paul in a letter to the 2nd Corinthians Chapter5:1-5,17-21

Awaiting the New Body

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.  For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

…

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

“Assume best intentions” – that’s what a friend of mine reminded us to do, in a management pep talk. He does help us move forward. And if we assume best intentions, we can step aside from mind games that plague us. That’s a crucial part of life, tell mind games: “Game Over.”…

This friend could do those “Ted talks” – those inspiring motivating business and people-saavy videos to ponder… Big rooms thinking I’m going to learn something, and they do, if only to remember what they already knew. Thinking of it, I could give Ted talks too… I could distill life lessons for those who want to verify theirs against others experiences, and yes, as I once sat in a motivational talk and said, “I could do that!”, I could should would actually do that, both as a talker and helper and thinker. Most importantly I know that my source material should be what matters, not just my reaction. 

So, for now I will write when the morning is new and the mouth is quiet, it’s easier for me to LISTEN then.  What am I listening for?  My quieting down first and foremost. This WILL take a while, probably forever… Whom am I listening to? Ah, this is the good best question, as I wonder: am I listening from within for me to help me or others? Am I listening to come up with the answers in life? OR am I listening for the Fountain of Wisdom, the Judge of Justice, the actual Absolute Truth that gives temperance and self-control, AND the Creator of courage.

Yeah, I need to listen for my Lord. As He told prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;” Yes – as Jeremiah was picked by God and then strengthened and empowered, we too can be tools for Him.

In other words, I’m not a Stoic but I have the desire to be the recipient STOKER of the FIRE, set inside of me.

I only have heard piecemeal parts of the philosophy of Stoicism put together, but I have lived long enough to understand it, where that might come from in people’s desires to know self. So, knowing history, I do have desires enough to be in philosophical discussions about people’s philosophical stances, gauging their spiritual stance (or kneeling). It’s good to hear about what others are influenced by, and yet hold tight to that thick shield guarding my own heart. Yup. (God grasp me in Your gentle unbreakable grip).

Here is what I learned from googling: “If we were to describe Stoicism in one sentence, it’d be this: A Stoic believes they don’t control the world around them, only how they respond—and that they must always respond with courage, temperance [self-control], wisdom, and justice.” … OH!!! Now I see the connection and the disconnect too. These are virtuous and fine, but I’m sure they don’t totally or even remotely define my own relationship with the Divine. 

It’s good to educate, and to hold street smarts, yet then it’s even BETTER to not edify self but to appreciate a personal place in a Plan BIGGER than me than us. I am going to choose a choice gifted to me, a desire to know God. If He feeds me wisdom I don’t have to memorize and control my conversations for a world that is worldly, a people who are imperfect, a dialog that debates, or a gain that is gated. None of those. And yet understand others to meet the people where they are.  Jesus, the Truth, the Word, comes to save the people from our brokenness. I’m not going to be stoic if I can be Spiritual. I’m not going to not know my hope helps. It does because God IS. 

I desire me to be me, to be movable (I pray) by “virtue” of the Holy Spirit, to accept in a miracle of my brokenness, that Jesus came to heal. I will pray and because of Christ’s Spirit Who chooses to move in me, yes, because of Him, I will live in HOPE.

JESUS loves us, Hope in his HOPE.  God with us – Immanuel.

Amen 

—

Jeremiah learned from God who he was to be: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.  Jeremiah 1:5-8

Christmas? Not bah humbug but humbahbug, not yet bit by the Christmasbug?… nope, me neither, until….. until my Christmas “receiving’…

I wasn’t ready, for Christmas decorating or colors. And I didn’t/don’t have to be, it still early. And yet, after a recent personal tirade about Thanksgiving colors in my life needing more time, I saw my own collapse of my curmudgeonness, it happened just tonight. And I’m not fully in, but Christmas happened, I crumbled to both the secular AND the Spiritual, yes to the cookies then to the colorful lights, then to the conifer tree, and then to the carrying down of decorations – but the lifting aspect of Christmas is the receiving of the gift of Christmas itself. Alleluia. The gift of Christmas Spirit is in itself RECEIVING it.

Let us see gifts of His Glow. Let us receive the Spirit of receiving.

Ah – the tree. The cat looked genuinely concerned with the decoration boxes, but ah that tree smells so good, that now I will add lights and I’ll be crumbling my way into Christmas more and more – for it IS a process. And Mmmmm…. it’s the gift of friendships and cookies that got me rolling today, rolling dough became rolling out decorations for church and assembly of cookie trays as a donation to a charity. Beautiful and many hands make light work. Christmas creeped in more as I started putting up snowflakes on windows, a gift from a friend that I could embrace…

We got the tree after we had gone out to dinner, celebrating my son’s new fulltime status at his job and a raise too… YAY! Driving home from the restaurant we stopped at one house which had an unbelievable amount of Christmas lights and inflatables… WOW!!! I took a selfie with Santa. OK, Christmas curmudgeon was crumbled in cheer. It’s not just that people need more time for Christmas, it’s that people need more Christmas time in Christmas spirit. I do too, and I really always need more Christmas curmudgeon CRUMBLING – a take over of my holding back.

A crumble to not Christmas GIVING but RECIEVING… OH OH OH not HoHoHo. Christmas RECEIVING is receiving Spirit. We must be realizing more that we have been gifted more moments, friends, futures, forever, and accept them.

Our openness to receiving gifts of wows and ohs. Christmas doesn’t just necessarily mean big things in little packages. But opening and receiving and appreciating that we have been gifted.

And I especially mean RECEIVING of Jesus. The Gift.

It’s a sacrifice of praise, God’s that good to give us the gift of RECEIVING Him. 

Amen

I am no expert in the scriptures – but I can hear God’s anger when I read it. God gives comfort to his people but consequences to the contrarians. In other words, I would not want to be in God’s fury –  It’s worth the Walk with Jesus. Oh, I only want to be covered in the sacrificial shield of Jesus Lord God – and to do that I have to repent for myself and even for what happened via the fall of man via Adam and Eve. I wasn’t there but I must be aware.

Is it tough to repent? It takes humility over pride, it takes brokeness over braisen entitlement. Repentance is a heart yearning to heal and requires believing giving control over to God is worth it. A conviction convinces and JOY rejustifies. In opening the door of our hearts to Jesus, we find repentance is the acknowledgement that we DO need a Savior and can’t go it alone, meaning we can’t get life fulfilment in temporary life. Truly, isn’t it best to step away from God’s Fury and into His Fold? 

I know that God has rallied (over and over) against people who say they speak for Him – but really don’t. And God has made a way for His sheep who don’t say a peep – as well as those who stand up and are struck down. Martyrs and many, and more to come.

In Isaiah 66, we have come to the last chapter of prophetic promises – it is NOT a pretty sight of what happens to those enemies to God. I appreciate the promises of God fulfilled, which the old testament BC people  only could hope for. Imagine the faithful then who waited and waited, they say half a century of generations after Isaiah until Jesus came. Temple-faithful. We now wait again, worship Him and His Promise. 

“Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” 

God gives delivery – and gathers His people… Let us wait on the Lord with hopeful praise, repentance and restoring Joy.

Jesus comes again, God DOES deliver. 

Amen

—

Isaiah 66:5-end 

Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word: “Your own people who hate you, and exclude you because of my name, have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy!’  Yet they will be put to shame. Hear that uproar from the city, hear that noise from the temple! It is the sound of the Lord repaying his enemies all they deserve.

“Before she goes into labor, she gives birth; before the pains come upon her, she delivers a son. Who has ever heard of such things? Who has ever seen things like this? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children.

Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” says the Lord. “Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?” says your God. “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her.

For you will nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you will drink deeply and delight in her overflowing abundance.”

For this is what the Lord says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees. As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”

When you see this, your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass; the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, but his fury will be shown to his foes. See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For with fire and with his sword the Lord will execute judgment on all people, and many will be those slain by the Lord.

“Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs, rats and other unclean things—they will meet their end together with the one they follow,” declares the Lord.

“And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.

“I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels. And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.

“As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord. “And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”

I used to be competitive in life, I still am somewhat, and then I realize, when I feel it as grandstanding, that I am to scale that back because I need to remember and understand that JESUS, not me, WON EVERYTHING WORTH WINNING, FOREVER. Jesus shines light on everything that should be important for me and the rest will fade away. I can’t take credit because I didn’t even win the winning, He won it.

But we can feel the blessed feeling of JOY. So, with a blessed feeling that He allows me to feel: 

I don’t have to compete even while looking competitive; 

I don’t have to whine even when obviously I have been overlooked;

I don’t have to look behind when I’m looking forward;

I do have to wonder what the blessing is in the bungled world, but when I can only see Him then I can see Him as the only thing going right;

(And I do have to mourn what He mourns.)

I DO have to stand up for myself as a child of God, but I don’t have to climb over people, put them down, stand on them or in their way when Jesus already made me a new Way; 

and I don’t have to knock anyone down to be picked up, especially because I don’t have to compete if I am not running the right race, His race, a good race where He leads. 

I do have to realize that the WORLD doesn’t see eye to eye right now, it won’t, but should remember that IT WILL at some one glorious day when Jesus returns, because then all, on their knees, will bow down. In that day I still won’t have won myself but be filled with wonder that He has given me. And I will then really wonder why I worried so worldly. 

Jesus forgives worldliness and brokenness when we repent with open hearts wanting to heal. Let us open them now and keep working in His Way.

Amen 

Isaiah 66:1-2

Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,” Says the Lord. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.

Many don’t know that Jesus is coming back – but even more don’t know that He came the first time – or maybe they know the Christmas manger story but don’t know WHY He came. Then also they may not know He was prophesied to come – and thus BE the fulfilment of the law (of Moses by satisfying the law) – and fulfillment of the Prophets (by doing everything predicted and by being the Christ).  Jesus Came, Comes, Will Come. Jesus crushes the crisis of sin separation. Jesus saves.

Isaiah 65 talks about the righteousness that we need in Jesus from Jesus as Lord – and the whole new beginning that was foretold from the beginning, this is a matter of His Hands and His Coming and knowledge of His Promise and His Hope. Jesus saves. Hope in Jesus. 

Peter, beloved disciple, in his 2nd letter urges the reader, including us, to be found “at peace with him” – with the Lord. Urging us to remain within His peace by understanding that His ways are above our ways – make a sacrifice of praise because His return is imminent and like a thief in the night. So let us be ready to be with Him – stay close – stay watching and stay wanting Him. . .  With Him, the acceptance of Him as Lord comes first, the fixes next. Always the repentance before repair. Repair in His Righteousness. We all need repair. Jesus saves. 

Since we don’t know the hour, I pray we are patient to just keep applying Christ forgiveness in all our situations – be open in our concerns and corrections but be filled with the opportunity that Jesus DOES want us to come to Him… LET US ENCOURAGE THE CONNECTION… My friend always says,  in prayerful concern: “I pray the blood of Jesus over: (whomever we are talking about).” Of course that applies to us too, because none of us are blameless, we can’t achieve that, only GRACE and MERCY save us too. 

Here are 2nd Peter and Isaiah 65 scriptures – crucial for our Christmas Spirit – remember that the beginning was begun with the end in mind – and the end is ended with and for the New Beginning FOREVER. ALL will become CLEAR in the LIGHT of the LORD – Jesus Messiah – fullness fulfilled – full fulfillment.

Amen

—-

2nd Peter 3:8-18 

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

.

——-

Isaiah 65 NKJV

The Righteousness of God’s Judgment

“I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by My name. I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; A people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face; Who sacrifice in gardens, And burn incense on altars of brick; Who sit among the graves, And spend the night in the tombs; Who eat swine’s flesh, And the broth of abominable things is in their vessels; Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, Do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day. “Behold, it is written before Me: I will not keep silence, but will repay – Even repay into their bosom – Your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together,” says the Lord, “Who have burned incense on the mountains And blasphemed Me on the hills; Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

Thus says the Lord: “As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, For a blessing is in it,’ So will I do for My servants’ sake, That I may not destroy them all. I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, And from Judah an heir of My mountains; My elect shall inherit it, And My servants shall dwell there. Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, And the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, For My people who have sought Me.

“But you are those who forsake the Lord, Who forget My holy mountain, Who prepare a table for Gad, and who furnish a drink offering for Meni. Therefore I will number you for the sword, And you shall all bow down to the slaughter; Because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not hear, But did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.”

Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, My servants shall eat, But you shall be hungry; Behold, My servants shall drink, But you shall be thirsty; Behold, My servants shall rejoice, But you shall be ashamed; Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, But you shall cry for sorrow of heart, And wail for grief of spirit. You shall leave your name as a curse to My chosen; For the Lord God will slay you, And call His servants by another name; So that he who blesses himself in the earth Shall bless himself in the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Shall swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My eyes.

The Glorious New Creation

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying.  “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord, And their offspring with them.

“It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.  The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” Says the Lord.

I don’t always like what I see, Lord. 

I don’t like what I hear, what I know. 

How can I live in a situation that I don’t like? How can I love in a situation that I don’t like? 

How do I? (not without You – without You, I can’t)  Oh, not about me, it should be all about You, Lord. You have this power to overcome me and my motionlessness. 

How do You, Lord, love? Oh, You ARE love, unceasing, painful love. Oh, You are fulfilling, purposeful LOVE. You are LOVE and Love is YOU. 

You also, Lord, don’t like certain things, attitudes, influences either. You Lord put up for now, quietly, but You won’t forever, like You didn’t wait for the flood forever, it came. You didn’t wait for Moses’s people to wander forever, You delivered. You won’t wait for us forever but for us to see forever. You will take care of the scene in Your Way.

We simply are to pray. Pray unceasingly. Thank You unceasingly. Love You unceasingly. Love others unceasingly. Love them in sacrificial love,  even without the like.

Be at Peace with You handling the situation, speaking the words, the corrections and what not.  How do You be at Peace, Lord? Oh, You are Peace. 

You Peace without the worry. I won’t Peace without You. Let me worry less, let me love without the like. Let me live a life worthy of Your Love.

Amen 

Oh. What an interesting, glorious, necessary and timely thing to do: WAIT.

Wait. We wait for Christmas, but do we actually actively participate or just wait. We wait for Christmas goodies, or do we make them? We wait for Christmas glut to pass too – way too much!!!.

With Christmas maybe we should hope that we can savor small bits of gratefulness without as much of the glitz. As sometimes we wait for the glitz to get us into the mood of Christmas, maybe we should refocus on Christmas meaning. Where is our Christmas spirit? Are we always waiting for more? Do we not stop to know already? Jesus at Christmas came to be God With Us,  IMMANUEL.  Solved our Salvation Situation. And Jesus will come back.

There IS more. There is MORE. More Jesus Evermore.

I’m not there in a Christmas glitz spirit, won’t be for a while, but I’m ready for the Spirit of Christ in Christmas and everyday for sure. An awe with angels overhead. I am ready for JOY. And yet am I letting myself inti His Joy? Do I even know the fraction of JOY that He brings? Well, I wait, I wait upon myself to absorb if just the crumbs of Jesus’s Whole Loaf, and piecemeal myself to rest in Him, to focus, to know. I need to whole loaf rest in Jesus and remember that Hope. Jesus came to me in a Christmas Flood – how dare I not lift my head in Praise and WOW… I never want to grow cold to His Fire. And He won’t let me be frozen out. He always holds us close. He is our MORE.

I do know that the Lord wants us to set aside the world for a time to focus on Him, learn in His Word, then lean on Him for ventures back out and through the world. Jesus doesn’t just stay in a box, wrapped under the tree, Jesus is out in the world with us. May we only hear His voice, feel His Spirit, be in His Arms. He is OUR MORE.

I love these chapters 63 and especially 64, of Isaiah, prophet of the ending portion of old testament times when the Israelites have seen so much from God, and yet wait for more. They won’t yet see the 1st coming of Christ, but their prophets foretell of Him, of His Hope and Salvation, the Arm that saves because God Himself Whom corrects is also Mighty to Save. Chapter 63 reminds of the price of judgment and when God hardens hearts. But God also said “Surely they are My people”...  and is sending of Himself a Savior: So He became their Savior. In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the Angel of His Presence saved them; In His love and in His pity He redeemed them. Chapter 64 brings a remembrance of our need and the nation of Israel’s need (and all gentiles need) for a Savior.

You meet him who rejoices. How often does God ask for our sacrificial Praise even in adversity? ALL THE TIME!  The Israelites of Isaiah’s time were looking at ruins from the temple and the people God set aside and Isaiah on behalf of the nation acknowledged their sinfulness. He begs but saw the salvation Arm of God in the midst of the fury. We EXPERIENCE what he FORETOLD, SALVATION of Jesus forgiveness and a bride to His Bridegroom, a healing for ever after. 

Isaiah says that amazing truth: “O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.”

If we take time for Christmas, let’s not neglect the time we take for (and spend with) Christ. Let’s not judge the world, lest we be judged. Not demand but encourage Christ in Christmas. Especially we ourselves could fully open the gift of thoughtfulness, sacrifice, holiness, wholeness, wholesomeness, and Praise. Let us remember what angered God of those generations turning backs on Him, from those left behind after Noah’s Ark to generations spoken of by Isaiah, and NOT do that. Let us remember our clay is molded after Him and our lives are moldable by His HANDS and Jesus’s Hydration – and we are directed to turn towards Him. Let us hear our Shephard’s assuring Voice.

If God waits patiently for us, let’s not make Him wait and more for us to turn towards Him. Piety is pursuing our Prince of PEACE. Praise Him.

Amen 

—

Isaiah 63-64 NKJV 

The Lord in Judgment and Salvation

Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this One who is glorious in His apparel, Traveling in the greatness of His strength?—

“I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”

Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? “I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, And trampled them in My fury; Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, And I have stained all My robes. For the day of vengeance is in My heart, And the year of My redeemed has come. I looked, but there was no one to help, And I wondered that there was no one to uphold; Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; And My own fury, it sustained Me. I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, Made them drunk in My fury, And brought down their strength to the earth.”

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God’s Mercy Remembered

I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord And the praises of the Lord, According to all that the Lord has bestowed on us, And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, according to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses. For He said, “Surely they are My people, children who will not lie.” So He became their Savior. In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the Angel of His Presence saved them; In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; And He bore them and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, and He fought against them.

Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying: “Where is He who brought them up out of the sea With the shepherd of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them, Who led them by the right hand of Moses, With His glorious arm, Dividing the water before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, Who led them through the deep, As a horse in the wilderness, that they might not stumble?” As a beast goes down into the valley, And the Spirit of the Lord causes him to rest, So You lead Your people, To make Yourself a glorious name.

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A Prayer of Penitence

Look down from heaven, and see from Your habitation, holy and glorious. Where are Your zeal and Your strength, The yearning of Your heart and Your mercies toward me? Are they restrained? Doubtless You are our Father, Though Abraham was ignorant of us, And Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O Lord, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name. O Lord, why have You made us stray from Your ways, and hardened our heart from Your fear? Return for Your servants’ sake, the tribes of Your inheritance. Your holy people have possessed it but a little while; Our adversaries have trodden down Your sanctuary. We have become like those of old, over whom You never ruled, Those who were never called by Your name.

Chapter 64

A Prayer for Help

Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence – As fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water to boil – to make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence! When You did awesome things for which we did not look, You came down, The mountains shook at Your presence. For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him. You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned – In these ways we continue; And we need to be saved.

But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like Filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself up to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us, And have consumed us because of our iniquities.

But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter;

And all we are the work of Your hand. Do not be furious, O Lord,

Nor remember iniquity forever; Indeed, please look—we all are Your people! Your holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and beautiful temple, Where our fathers praised You, is burned up with fire; and all our pleasant things are laid waste. Will You restrain Yourself because of these things, O Lord? Will You hold Your peace, and afflict us very severely?

Have you ever thought about trying to unpack a life suitcase of trauma in your personal history? So brave to start opening the hidden buried compartments, so many just never want to do that, never will. Others can never close the old wounds that just won’t heal or go away. But in a desire to at least explain where we are in life, and attribute these weighted experiences to life-long pain and shame, we often are found on the airport floor opening up a mess of a suitcase and trying to close it again. Tough.

Maybe no one died in these life experiences, but we still hold onto the trauma. Often the past has been blocking development of the future fully – and this is currently cramping our style – or the continuous carrying of these memories is costing extra to have the excess suitcase weight. Heavy stuff. Then how best to shed the dread?

Others can help, but don’t always know what they are looking at. Yet outside sight is clearer for big picture reflection and reframing – and that is not always done without the blaming. We don’t have to unpack alone, but remember not everyone involved in your circle of circumstances wants to unpack their own suitcases simultaneously with you unpacking yours. Might never happen and perhaps it’s not presented easily to you for processing… and you can’t force open any suitcase without breaking the lock or the handle, a mess might never be whole again. If you can’t put together a wholeness from pieces (laundry or life), then perhaps that outfit won’t ever be made again. You can’t live your life trying on old pasts. We must move forward.

Also, lo and behold, like dirty laundry, once you start the wash, you have to finish the job, you’ve got to lift the heaviness to the dryer. It can’t just sit and get more moldy on top of heavy. Fabric of life softener will but be careful if it just covers up rather than cleans. Wash and rewash. Lighten the load. 

Might want to replace rather than repack the same old stuff. Lighten the load.

Eventually our hidden laundry of life might get threadbare and see-through and better given up to be a rag that is tossed. Lighten the load.

Best to toss outdated and expired toiletries or medicines and refresh yourself for new adventures. Lighten the load.

You can’t carry around souvenir treats that go bad either. Enjoy in the moment then be done. Lighten the load.

Perhaps the best unpacking is done with an eye to forgiveness – the survival in an angry-packed world is not easy but is doable if you forgive more and linger less. How? with a forgiving peace.  

Forgive to forge forward. Forgiveness is the only way. It might be the best part of your day. Then Walk away – the Load is Lightened.

Amen

 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. 2nd Thessalonians 3:13

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” from Isaiah 43:18-19

It was good to unpack, I put everything in the wash, including the totebags themselves. I am thankful for fresh water and home convenience. Thank You Lord for the trip. Thank You Lord for being home.

In my suitcase this time, I packed my pint-sized JESUS plush doll, it just gets smooshed under paper piles, so thought time for a car ride, why not, the fresh face is so inviting and this particular doll has an unusual appearance with an arm always held up rather than by its side. Jesus extends His guidance, He points the way. If anything, the doll is just a reminder of squishy huggable Jesus to His children, us. Joy in the Journey. 

I certainly also packed my pocket-sized “Jesus Calling” devotion book, that I read each morning both for personal strength and ead for conversations in a small Bible study group each week, it’s good to unpack how each set of scriptures (spoken in Jesus 1st person) was pertinent that week, joys and challenges. A safe space Zoomed to wherever I am, physically and mentally, for an hour each week. The scriptures are to stick with us all day, of course, so each morning, the Lord is urging us to be accepting of a safe-space, God Given, to read His Word and talk to Him. God wants to unpack some life items for us, not rehash them but rewash them and make them fresh and new again. Often Jesus will throw away old hurtful things, saying you don’t need them, let’s move forward.  He does this because His nature is forgiveness for repentance, I know, Lord, that You know best. Jesus can reformat our life to pattern after His, and take the yoke, helping us walk freely ahead.Thankfulness in adversity… current adversity (one could be writing about old adversity too, but let’s focus on today)

I appreciated one particular page this 4-day weekend, in the JesusCalling book, oh a good reminder for myself: TO PRAISE IN ADVERSITY, to ask “what blessing can come out of this?” Yes. Often we say it is good ‘life experience’ – it is if only it’s that we pull closer to God. 

Then I know God got a good laugh from the angels at the repetitive lesson that next day (thankfulness is a way to pray without ceasing), because both He wants us to know this lifestyle each day and the angel laugh because that same sentiment arose in the crossword puzzle later that day. Oh yeah, clue 52 (fittingly a special number to my earthly distractions), “UNCEASINGLY” – and the answer is “ETERNALLY”. Cute God, cute.

That thankfulness, even in adversity, done unceasingly, surely refocuses us on His Joy. Joy is different than happiness, which can be fleeting, but Joy returns with Jesus-focus, a servant heart, a sacrificial spirit, a forgiveness force.

Jesus is our JOY – let us never forget to bring this to each day.

Amen

…

I’ll unpack more later, but meanwhile here is that text, from Sarah Young’s envisioned writing, like Jesus speaking directly, from the scriptures, Jesus Calling:

Nov 24 Jesus Calling: “Thankfulness takes the sting out of adversity. That is why I have instructed you to give thanks for everything. There is an element of mystery in this transaction: You give Me thanks (regardless of your feelings), and I give you JOY  (regardless of your circumstances). This is a spiritual act of obedience — at times, blind obedience. To people who don’t know Me intimately, it can seem irrational and even impossible to thank Me for heartrending hardships. Nonetheless, those who obey Me in this way are invariably blessed, even though difficulties may remain.

“Thankfulness opens your heart to My Presence and your mind to My thoughts. You may still be in the same place, with the same set of circumstances, but it is as if a light has been switched on, enabling you to see from My perspective. It is this Light of My Presence that removes the sting from adversity.”

From: Ephesians 5:20 ESV giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

Psalm 118:1 ESV Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 89:15 ESV Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,

—

Nov25 Jesus Calling: “Thank Me frequently as you journey through today. This practice makes it possible to pray without ceasing, as the apostle Paul taught. If you are serious about learning to pray continually, the best approach is to thank Me in every stiuation. These thankful prayers provide a solid foundation on which you can build all your other prayers. Moreover, a grateful attitude makes it easier for you to communicate with Me. When your mind is occupied with thanking Me, you have no time for worrying or complaining. If you practice thankfulness consistently, negative thought patterns will gradually grow weaker and weaker. Draw near to Me with a grateful heart, and My Presence will fill you with Joy and Peace.”

From: I Thessalonians 5:16-18 KJV Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

James 4:8 ESV Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Romans 15:13 ESV May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

One month to Christmas?

Need a real Christmas message amid the red green blitz that’s now overtaking stores and galore? Isaiah prophetic chapters 62 on… Real. Amazing. Truth. 

Old Testament Message of a Mighty Messiah. 

Salvation of a Nation. A Zion zenith for worship and praise.

Christmas Coming of a Christ. JOY of Jesus. 

A ready-ment for then, a realization for now. A reality for the future coming.

A Christmas Christ for eternal glory of God – with His Own Arm He Saves.

A Coming Christ for Peace hold and loosed and established forever.

Peace is a comin’ – holding Peace is our Savior.

Amen 

—-

Isaiah 62 NKJV

Assurance of Zion’s Salvation

For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the Lord will name. You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God. You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. The Lord has sworn by His right hand and by the arm of His strength: “Surely I will no longer give your grain As food for your enemies; And the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine, For which you have labored. But those who have gathered it shall eat it, And praise the Lord; those who have brought it together shall drink it in My holy courts.”

Go through, Go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; Build up, Build up the highway! Take out the stones, Lift up a banner for the peoples!

Indeed the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the world: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.’ ” And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord; And you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.

Indication: you’re so tired you snapped at someone. It means you’re tired. It means you are human. 

Contradiction: you snapped at someone you loved because maybe they deserved it, in your opinion, or at least you are comfortable enough to speak your mind, or you are simply tired and without a filter.  It’s seemingly a Contradiction with your conviction to not snap at people, but we are all human and our skin is thinner than our patience sometimes. 

Conviction: you realize the snapping anger was human and God’s grace would have been better applied. It’s not that one didn’t feel warranted to snap, or even realize that the snap meant preventing future bigger explosions, but conviction sees the fragility of human emotions and asks forgiveness. Forgiveness of one’s self for not forgiving others, an ask. 

Repentance: asking for that forgiveness and asking for help of the Lord to forgive what you don’t want to but need to do. Repentance is the avenue to Renewal.

Repentance is acknowledged need, human requirement, HolySpirit-urged, and God-petitioned.

Renewal is God Gifted. Recharged, Refreshed, Restored. Realized in God of God from God for God.

God has been leading His people and will always lead us. A Salvation Solution Saves Sinners. 

Continuously. Askingly. Available.

Amen 

I have the quiet time now, savoring what was a gift of a gathering with family and friends. yesterday. Blessed Thanksgiving – and I hope yours was too.

The photos can capture “foodie” pics before it all disappeared, and yet how double blessed to have leftovers in the fridge. I had more brussel sprouts for late night snack. (Late night was 7pm haha)… I drove up home in time and I sat and enjoyed the whole of a family moment. Whew. Crashed at 8pm. Hey it’s morning now – maybe leftover pie for breakfast!

I did pause in praise yesterday because I achieved my pursuit of making dinner on time. What’s funny in one photo is seeing how my fork slipped into the middle of the plate and I simply piled around it. Only the shiny fork tines stood out. The food was constantly being passed around, so only later I could actually eat my meal by digging out the fork. I thought there’s got to be a SAVORING devotion in that picture, I knew it. Something about waiting but knowing the Lord’s ‘pick me ups’, seeing the fulfilment, and of the gift of the tools to partake in life. 

Here is the best pick-me-up: the blessed chapter of Isaiah 61, that I’ve now reached in my reading writing. It is Jesus Jesus Jesus. An Old Testament testament to His coming, His Salvation, His Hope, HIS PURPOSE. An Old Testament PROMISE of His people raised up in His righteousness, a HEALING of brokenhearted, His consolation yielding BEAUTY from the ashes.

How we remember and savor will benefit how we decide to live our lives, in the knowledge of the end promised as a new beginning, then realize that the bumps in the road here and now mean there still IS a road. That our temporary pain will yield eventually to eternal JOY. That under our burdens is buried the birth of God’s Ways of getting us out. Freedom in faith. FAITH in the following. 

Back to the fork, I knew I could get it out, stealthily wipe the handle, and start the actual meal, but 1st I just looked at my full plate. And I looked at the family I was blessed to be in – a time to just relax and be real.  Satisfied in advance. Yes, nice to savor that thought of: “I made it to dinner” – plus: “I’ve been gifted this time, these opportunities, this life pause to take it all in.” – Yes, and then really DID dig in, fork and all.  I made it to dinner and now I actually got to eat. I had a plate set for me – as I slid in 10 minutes later than my hope but still in time. They held the meal for me. I felt special that way.

Let us all look at life that way. Let us continue to be in Thanksgiving and realize that we can take this life pause reflection time to see what God has done, see where we are going, and know how much He boldly loves us: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,…” Just like the savoring of the dinner time. The Lord, through Isaiah, has told the Israelites of His Coming and the Lord has extended gifted Salvation to the Gentiles (even the crumbs off the table are more than sufficient) – and the Lord has helped all His people to realize HIS FEAST. He is holding that dinner place in Heaven for us – we need to follow His Way there.

Righteousness is the Right amount of coverage over our sins, the ring of blessings after our repentance and the “welcome home” of our travels. Enjoy the savor of the Savior. 

Amen and enjoy in JOY the continued feasting on God’s blessings. 

Amen – in JOYful Thanksgiving.

Amen

—

Isaiah 61 – New King James Version

The Good News of Salvation

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But you shall be named the priests of the Lord, They shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast. Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double;.everlasting joy shall be theirs.

“For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant. Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, That they are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed.”

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Ah…. Thanksgiving… Happy Joyful Thanksgiving, my friends… Joyful always for you all, such a great support I appreciate.

Thank You, Lord, for Thanksgiving. Peace. A pocket of peace behind and in front of me, a pocket of peace just now. There is Peace in the Lord, not in the World, let us rest inside His Pocket as He carries us, knowing His Peace. Let us continue on God’s Team. 

Ah… Thanksgiving. Here is my Thanksgiving reflection poem.

There was a time when God remade my rhyme.

There was a time when I had more and thanked less. There were many times I’ve said: “God get me out of this mess.” One Thanksgiving I do remember, was not gathering anything but tears. God prevailed and God got me through those frustrating fears.

There was a time in my life when I spent too much money on too much stuff, not that I needed all that FLUFF. Take out food, ugh overpriced, when eating more economically at home would have sufficed.

Life up to this moment is now in the past. Some survives, some never could last. But I lived, I did, I dodged, I made it through. I tried always to keep stress from showing too.

There was a time when God remade my rhyme.

MAKE PEACE WITH YOUR PAST, GIVE IT TO GOD AND FAST! MOVE FORWARD! MAKE PEACE A PRIORITY TODAY AND ALWAYS, PRICELESS PEACE IS THE ONLY THING TO LAST.

Love, we say covers all wrongs, TRUE, as in HOPE we CHOOSE to see God over all. He covers our collective tracks big and small.

So now, Thanksgiving, TODAY, Love is most priceless, no matter which way the money’s spent. Counting BLESSINGS to make new moments with great intent. 

So now let’s go, travel, drive, dream and make some Holy steam. But may I, may we, always pause and appreciate, may we be THANKFUL for WE ARE ON GOD’S TEAM. 

Amen

Happy Thanksgiving.

I am THANKFUL, 

I got some rest.

I am THANKFUL, 

I had Turkey Tuesday, a dinner with my son that fulfilled my self-emotional commitment to Mom-ness.

I am THANKFUL, 

To listen and to take time to invest. 

I am THANKFUL, 

I had made pie, some trimmings and we had no need for the rest.

I am THANKFUL,

It was well worth good exhaustedness.

I am THANKFUL, 

Each time I remember and decompress that I am BLESSED. 

I am THANKFUL LORD, for YOU bless, YOU give rest,

That IS my grateful thankful-giving witness.

Amen 

…

When Will Jesus Return? 

Some folks are looking at the world with pre-Rapture vision, wondering when Jesus will return. “End times” we say, “closer every day”. Well, YES… And YET, should folks ONLY be wondering how bad is bad  enough? Be watching evil as the barometer? Or instead watch for more opportunities to LOVE?… LOVE… LOVE!!!!  Yes, we are distracted by our outrages sometimes: how corrupt is corrupt enough? What’s evil enough or widespread enough? When does the end start? Has it already started? Hmmm… LOVE has always been enough to right wrongs. 

I’ve been watching TV of some sensationalized situations that need deeper delving now that sealed info is unsealed (like the Cuban Missile Crisis in a new documentary on the History Channel about JF Kennedy). I’ve been reading history that is hush hush too, lately intrigued and saddened about the hidden persecution of a particular race of gypsies in Europe, pre and post holocaust, which I was totally unaware of. I heard of the concentration camp-like place when traveling, and crimes of the recent past, not just long past, so sad. All times had evildoers and outrages, so very sad. I’m not going to make any prediction of the end times based on current times, because I only see current times on the surface and have only a small glimpse into surface history, which would surely show the continuous evil influence was deep spread, quite wide and sadly since the near beginning of time. Yet I know it must be coming soon… We need peace. Peace eternal is not by the hands of man, only the Lord God “will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” We need LOVE and LIGHT to overcome.

End times, it is said by Jesus that agape love by the people will wane, but of course I am sure this is an observation of knowledge and Jesus doesn’t hold this barometer to measure – His only cause is to Know – to Love. – and God will not yield this judgment, to destroy evil, with any joy – these times ARE and WILL BE as painful as they always were for Jesus riding in on a donkey to Jerusalem,  in tears for the lost. It says in the book of Revelation of some quite time in Heaven when end times comes – solemn and sad. And therefore we are to work hard to reduce the lost numbers – it is not like Jesus is figuratively watching some countdown clock until His Father, our Father, says “Time!”. Rather, Jesus, always, is continuing to WATCH HIS FLOCK, to go after them, speak until they hear, LOVE them and send His HolySpirit forth. In this “holding time” waiting, JESUSis NOT idle, Nor should we be. We need to LOVE even more. 

Jesus doesn’t hold out, He HANDS OUT the solution to Save: HIMSELF.

So, RAPTURE and end times isn’t about the wicked clicks of time, it’s about the save-able Sands of children slipping INTO Jesus’s Hand. May we focus on LOVING, NEW BEGINNINGS and Salvation as a Season God continues to cultivate. Don’t grow cold, grow BOLD in LOVE. 

I’m grateful Jesus was and is announced, speaking by Isaiah’s proclaiming prophesy hundreds of years prior to His 1st coming (read chapter 61 below): “He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives”… “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation”…

I don’t propose any magic calculator for us to decide when God is ready, we are supposed to WATCH WHILE WE WORK, not watch idle like Jonah resting under the shade – warn and wait. We must continue to LOVE with AGAPE, continue our marching orders to proclaim JESUS, the Good News Name…

 “OH when the Saints go marching in!”… I want to be in THAT number…

Amen

—

Isaiah 61, NKJV

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But you shall be named the priests of the Lord, They shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast. Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs.

“For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant. Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, That they are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed.”

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

—

From Matthew 24:3-8, 36-37

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

…

Day and Hour Unknown – “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man…”

Hey, how can you keep a light under a basket? You can’t. Especially if there’s fuel, fanning, faith. Keep shining.

Spirituality is NOT a Cult. Spirituality comes from faith-filled walking and listening. Do we have a cup, a collection, a condition to want our emptiness to be filled? Can we then both overflow or tip our our cup to share the flow? Can we relate to “I’ve Just Gotta Be Me” even if we are still trying to find out more about me? We should both keep asking questions as well as keep putting questions aside to simply BELIEVE.  Growing is in the Going.

It’s sheer JOY that of all the new employee groups they are starting at work, they (we) are starting a global Multi-FAITH group. WOW! I am jumping right on board. Never in my 20 plus years of work did we barely mention FAITH, no, except keeping holiday traditions and festive feels. On the flip side it could be so hush hush, as it probably is in most workplaces, due to the fear of exclusionary discrimination or insulting behavior. So now it seems crazy for us to open now. And yet the driving force of the group,  open to non-believers too, is to truly be non-discriminatory and take a stand against discrimination at work, where in the past Hush Hush was to prevent Push Push, and well-meaningly so.

Hush Hush. Now I’m NOT saying that it was dark – no, because SO MANY peoples baskets have been glowing in faith at work – for LOVE SHINES THROUGH – for a LIGHT will continue and can’t stop melting even a small hole in the lampshade or basket – for a light even tiny, hidden under a blanket, gives immense light – and I’ve witnessed great faith and the loving expression of acts of kindness in faith at work, I’m sure many of us have.

Push Push or Pull Pull, Spirituality is NOT a Cult. I say that in a comical way to me, because maybe to others my (our) enthusiasm is sometimes misinterpreted. I even joke that my love of Subarus is a cult, but it’s not either, because the performance of the fundamental basic system (I can tell you all about the benefits) is noticeable, not forced, not showing up as fake fundamentalism. Sadly, we probably HAVE seen sad occurrences of cults that ask too much, have to control with oppression and have had people taking advantage of other often enthusiastic lonely “lost” people, young and old. Sadly power corrupts the leaders whose heads grow bigger than what they present as a mission. As a 50plus aged person, I can remember news coverage and visualize the sensationalized outcomes of the Waco Texas compound fires, stories of cults turned prisons. Sad, scary, hidden and horrible. So for us now – and many around the world to our open lives to admit freely, live freely, be free in faith expression, then let us pray that no cults should be cultivated. Everyone should double check the teachings of their “source material” against the knowns of norms. 

(And let us pray for those who are persecuted for their faith, worldwide pockets of oppression.)

The fundamental principles of FAITH do allow expression, even experience-driven exploration – that “I’ve Just Gotta Be Me” opportunity to spill enthusiasm or puzzle in pondering… But are we ourselves educated with our knowns? What are the principles that we hold to? Do we “look under the hood” or ‘behind the curtain’? is it wizards or wowing?  Do we feel free and even compelled to go to the source material? Bigger than principles or written or rewritten norms, do we experience a FAITH FLOW that is MORE than from self-flow generation. It’s not “I’ve got to be me, cause I say so”, in an allowance of ourselves to flow, it’s accepting AND FEELING KNOWING the accessibility of a flow of faith from a higher power. 

Higher Power, like the song lyric I love to hear: “Let it be known, there is a fountain, that was not made, by the hands of men.” (Jerry Garcia, Grateful Dead, “Ripples”)

In an opportunity to share at the end of our work ERG organizational meeting, I got to share my faith with 40 plus folks, I could tell the Lord’s calming presence to speak of a journey, bringing in both my movement as well as what moved me. Sometime it is not always what we say that strikes our own chords but what is said that strikes chords in others. We are all on our own journeys. I appreciate the group for our bold initiative to encourage others to be walking on their journeys too all while staying in the warm fuzzy of getting to know each other. 

Cool… And yes Burning Bright Light True…

Growing is in the Going. 

Amen 

Wow – Thanksgiving week – time for thankfulness and hope and even some pause to the commercialism that is coming soon – bearing down our neck like Black Friday forecasts…  Let’s take a few days to bask in the need to NOT give any gifts – NOT impress people – NOT get caught up in frenzy and simply be thankful…  Things might be better but they could be far far worse.

Now is a great blessing to slide into the last few chapters of the Prophet Isaiah – and lo and behold we DO have a Christmas Miracle appearing not early but right on time – Isaiah 60 plus is direct talk from a Servant Savior – yes Messiah – Jesus the Christ – and yes the Kingdom – what a GIFT – this is not of the work of our hands but of His. “The Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.” For this we can be in much thanks giving. 

If you are like me – the enormous book of Isaiah took me months to read (and write thru) – it brought in a lot of conversation and consolation about the wicked and those not listening. God gets our pain because He Himself experiences the dealings with the wicked from the worldliness and fallen evil prince of the earth –  both in old testament scenes and those current and futuristic times described. Was thick Word, but SO worth reading through all these 60 chapters – and yes any long journey has that great feeling of “being in the HOME stretch” – and this one does. Especially as this incredible future prophecy is laid out, we ARE going to God’s Home – Kingdom – Forever.

So, to help get through the enormous journey of pages, I found that a tremendous video series from the Bible Project on YouTube was SO helpful – with quick talking wit that summarizes so succinctly. Part II of Isaiah was presented to see the wicked left behind and the good servants of the Kingdom let into God’s Forever – especially into the New Kingdom of Jerusalem. WOW. THAT’S US!!!  It is a THANKSGIVING and yet I can barely wrap my head around it. If you need some Good News today – and everyday – think of the Kingdom already won – and the Servant of a Messiah gaining us entrance. Think of how we can serve as a thank you – giving thanks. 

In Isaiah 59 then 60, we start to hear about this redeemer – this justice – this SALVATION. “Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him“… These next chapters are a promise to Israel and to Gentiles alike – God’s Servant is due all praise and honor and glory –Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Here IS some GOOD NEWS – THANKS BE TO GOD!!!

“I will make peace your governor and well-being your ruler. No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.”

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Isaiah 59: 16-21 The Redeemer of Zion

Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay. So shall they fear The name of the Lord from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. “The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” Says the Lord.

“As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”

…

Isaiah 60 – The Glory of Zion

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
.
“Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord. All Kedar’s flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple.
.
“Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests? Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your children from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.
.
“Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion. Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations – their kings led in triumphal procession. For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined.
.
“The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the juniper, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place for my feet. The children of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
.
“Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations. You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts. Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones.

I will make peace your governor and well-being your ruler. No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.

Then all your people will be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor. The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.”

God said it: the Wicked perish, those who turn their back on Him. He also restates His Salvation over and over, because there is always a time and place for repentance. The Redeemer came, then for now, now for later, before and after, Alpha and Omega.

Wicked? That’s not you nor I, as far as I know, because we let our Redeemer redeem us. Wicked is so wicked that we can’t even imagine. I know we don’t turn our backs on God, God has our backs, why would we? He would never let us, with Holy Spirit conviction and Jesus mercy in our sight and might. We might have weak wearied moments, but to God’s righteousness we return. Because God loves all sinners saved by Grace.

So, is earthly life made that temporary by God on purpose? No longer 900 years but max 120 years of life? And even 90 is rare. With a prophetic word from Isaiah, we are reminded of God’s Peace in Rest. Maybe we can be remembering the Prince of PEACE awaiting us to hold His peace in this present. We slow down in life to catch up with God’s Peace. Perhaps that fear of death and fear of life has been ingrained in us falsely. I’m in NO RUSH, Lord, but I’m glad You tell me not to fear it and that it is for Your Peace. And You tell us it is for protection against evil. The Redeemer lives and loves to save us.

The wicked, on the other hand, not a good outcome. No one will get away with anything, as we are reminded again and again in the Old Testament to let God handle the wicked. Isaiah 57 and 59 remind that false idols will blow away, but we can repent. We HAVE A REDEEMER:  “But whoever takes refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.”  God watches and we can learn from past rebellion to know God redirects and recovers and rescues and accepts repentance. “I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating praise on their lips.” REDEEMING is REAL.

Why does God remind us of all these things?  BECAUSE HE HIMSELF IS OUR RESCUE. Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear…. “Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”… God saw the problem and so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head;… 

God came for us and still does. If we want to be closest to God, let us be BLESSED, be protected and whole. Let us already know His Peace – and keep pursuing it by sharing His Word, Jesus, our Redeemer.

Amen

—-

Here’s all of Isaiah 57, 59, God will reach for us.

57 The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.

“But you—come here, you children of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes! Who are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue? Are you not a brood of rebels, the offspring of liars? You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags. The idols among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion; indeed, they are your lot. Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings and offered grain offerings.

In view of all this, should I relent? You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill; there you went up to offer your sacrifices. Behind your doors and your doorposts you have put your pagan symbols. Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed, you climbed into it and opened it wide; you made a pact with those whose beds you love, and you looked with lust on their naked bodies. You went to Molek with olive oil and increased your perfumes. You sent your ambassadors far away; you descended to the very realm of the dead! You wearied yourself by such going about, but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’ You found renewal of your strength, and so you did not faint.

“Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have not been true to me, and have neither remembered me nor taken this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent  that you do not fear me? I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you. When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The wind will carry all of them off, a mere breath will blow them away. But whoever takes refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.”

Comfort for the Contrite
And it will be said: “Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.” For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry, for then they would faint away because of me – the very people I have created. I was enraged by their sinful greed; I punished them, and hid my face in anger, yet they kept on in their willful ways. I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the Lord. “And I will heal them.” But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

—

Isaiah 59 

Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things.
No one calls for justice; no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
Their cobwebs are useless for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands.
Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood.
They pursue evil schemes; acts of violence mark their ways.
The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks along them will know peace.

So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead.
We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves.
We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away.

For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us.
Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities:
rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression, uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.
Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.
He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
According to what they have done,  so will he repay wrath to his enemies
and retribution to his foes; he will repay the islands their due.
From the west, people will fear the name of the Lord,
and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory.
For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the Lord drives along.

“The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”
declares the Lord.

“As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

I have a friend recovering from shoulder surgery – repaired rotator cuff – just like I had 7 years ago – seems like a lifetime ago now…  Now, as she is starting swinging the sling and doing things around the house, I am reminded of the immobility that we TRY to keep – the sling and pillow are there for a reason – and we are supposed to be not overdoing it – so there is time for repairing parts as well as setting the stage for the vigorous therapy to stretch and rehabilitate. You have to have repair before you can stretch.

In my own shoulder repair, I had lots of scar tissue develop in recovery, I had the need to break through it – 76 physical therapy visits – just a distant memory now – and I had achieved almost full restoration after a few months but needed one more surgery to simply cut away the duct-tape like wrapping of scar tissue that formed all around my inner shoulder parts – I was cushioned from movement but also you could say tissue-scarred to keep myself from injuring myself in recovery.  God really was bubble-wrapping my life – then and now – and I appreciate that.

The “Jesus Calling” book devotional (Nov 16th) is so fitting for EVERYDAY – let God open and reveal the day WHEN He feels we trust Him – He will keep the fog of protection, the darkness of stillness, the simple “follow me” one set of steps at a time. And we WILL get to the other side of this day. It is not that we can’t wander down the day or race ahead of our best interests, it is simply that Jesus wants us to be led – for our sake and for others. 

Please read the devotion below – full of spiritual wisdom, written in 1st person as Jesus DOES speak from the page.  Even now, taking the morning time to remember God’s faithfulness will help us (me) the rest of the day, whether we remember these quiet moments or not –  hopefully by the end of today we (I) will have trusted His leading and realized His faithfulness.

One step at a time.

Amen

Jesus Calling: November 16 by Sarah Young
     As you look at the day before you, you see a twisted, complicated path, with branches going off in all directions. You wonder how you can possibly find your way through the maze. Then you remember the One who is with you always, holding you by your right hand. You recall. My promise to guide you with My counsel, and you begin to relax. As you look again at the path ahead, you notice that a peaceful fog has settled over it, obscuring your view. You can see only a few steps in front of you, so your turn your attention more fully to Me and begin to enjoy My Presence.
     The fog is a protection for you, calling you back into the present moment. Although I inhabit all of space and time, you can communicate with Me only here and now. Someday the fog will no longer be necessary, for you will have learned to keep your focus on Me and on the path just ahead of you.

Psalm 73:23-24 English Standard Version
Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.

1 Corinthians 13:12 English Standard Version
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

I was tapping into some clever writing the other day when I started to write a Call to Worship for a Sunday Service, but it felt clunky and not right. I set it down. I rewrote it – and eventually I cut out all the clever parts. God needed me to simply listen and speak in awe – and just let Him put in the bright spots. Not bright wit but bright SHINE. It was a “Call to Worship” not to impress. The AWE of God is what I needed to take in myself and return from my mouth. Multiply or amplify, none of it will  happen until we worship Him first. 

Originally writing, I knew I wanted to tap into LOVE and PEACE, JOY and HOPE. And those are all things He does for us. But when I set myself back to figure out what I was missing, it was the AWE and the WORSHIP, the aspects of faith we are called to do for HIM. Worship, and Love. And so I went more simple: God added the sparkling Word of SHINE on my heart and head and tongue. SHINE. And it WAS sunny that day, and like as a day dawns, cold and crisp. The type of sunny which asks to burst out of us, like the SHINE of Jesus. This sunshine was the motivation and reward – I had woken up, ventured out, I had faith that God would help me wing it on His Wing. Faith is a far bigger reward for keeping us moving. 

I intro-ed the Call to Worship about the sunSHINE and spoke about how I was able to visit the Miracle of Christmas production at the beautiful Sight and Sound theater, my first time, it was just so cool to be there, and the WOW of the SPARKLING scenes of the angels flying over. We were, in faith, taking the moment to be transformed as an audience into AWE with action all around us. The sparkling SHINE had twinkling like the sparkling SUNSHINE lighting up the morning frost as I was driving… simple SHINE. 

Here is the rest of my text, what I realized later in all other aspects of the service was that SHINE was the main theme. I didn’t know that necessarily, didn’t figure it out ahead of time. God knew that cohesive theme. God in us is to SHINE the SPARKLE – LOVE the LOVE- Know to Listen – WORSHIP. 

“May we Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Above all, may we worship HIM as He IS worthy of our praise. And we seek Him because He sought us first. We are to multiply His Love in HOPE LOVE PEACE and JOY.

We worship Him for bringing His ultimate Love here to us on earth. So now like a shining bright morning, let us be called to SHINE JESUS.

Especially let us place an emphasis in how:

we 

HONOR

we

SERVE

we

TRUST

we

SHARE HIS TRUTH

With the

WORKS of His HANDS

FAITH of His POWER

JESUS is the JOY that the WORLD needs to SEE and to HEAR and to HOPE and to KNOW through us. 

As we are called to worship Him this morning and always, let us demonstrate how we are to TRUST HIM, to LOVE Him. And to SHARE HIM WITH A SMILE. 

LET US ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR AN ASSIST TO WORSHIP GOD IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH. Amen”

Amen and Awe in God, All in All.

Amen

Who Made the Sea?

Who made the beauty that we see?

The Lord of hosts is His Name. 

HIS DESIRE to hold us forever in His Hand is truly humbling, NO it is not His game. 

The ocean ROARS, and it is the Lord Who set them tumbling.

I believe in this moment, I can hear God’s familiar rumbling:

I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared… 

I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand,

that I may plant the heavens,

and lay the foundations of the earth… 

Thou art my people. 

(From Isaiah 15,16)