4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Job 12:10 English Standard Version (ESV)
10 In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.
Our pets have grown old in this house of the level path. We recently found and buried the remains of our very good but very old cat who disappeared one day this summer past. Now my husband's dog, our funny, faithful rescue dog, is suffering from lymphoma and we know we will have to put her down before long. I believe it is good and right to grieve over our animal companions but also to trust God for their care and keeping.
33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
I've stayed up too late working on a Youtube video again. Now I must sleep. I'll be glad to do so, because it's been a hard day. As I lay my head down I want to take heart knowing my God has indeed overcome the world. He is my Sustainer-In-Chief and I am thankful.
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Matthew 9:13 New International Version (NIV)
13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 22:9 New International Version (NIV)
9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’
John 7:37 New International Version (NIV)
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.
I spent eight hours today, tethered to a phone by way of a headset, answering all callers. It was work! My appreciation of God's communication system has grown even more. I am old enough to remember the black rotary dial phone in my childhood home's dining room. Then there was the other wall phone at the top of the stairs that was shared by my whole gang of siblings. There was no individual cell phones, no texting and no privacy. The contact list was what was scribbled on the as yet not painted wall next to the phone. It was also our time keeper. We could call the Time Lady to hear her say, "At the tone the time will be..." The times have changed, although I'm still catching up. (One day I will learn how to text.) God's word, on the other hand, never changes and I will never catch up. He still has much to show me in His word. When He calls, it is for me, as it is also for you.
I'm wondering now if they're will be my dream of a pink princess phone of my very own in my mansion in Heaven.
11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
I feel pretty confident that the above Scripture had to be a part of God's word because He knew just how hard it would be for us to just "work for the man." I fully expect tomorrow will be a very busy work day, so I had to stop tonight to think on Colossians 3:23 to prepare myself. It wouldn't hurt to hide this verse in my heart also. Now this is a song for all of us working in our own coal mines. Thank God it's Friday.
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Romans 10:13-15English Standard Version (ESV)
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?[a] And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
Mark 16:15 English Standard Version (ESV)
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
Sometimes I talk myself into believing that rheumatoid arthritis gives me a pass on going into all the world and happily settle into being what my husband has called, "a well-adjusted introvert." All the world, however, doesn't necessarily mean the far ends of the world; and it may just mean my little world or as far as I can go on my painfully beautiful feet.
15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
Hebrews 13:3English Standard Version (ESV)
3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.
We've been singing the song, "Multiplied" by NEEDTOBREATHE in our Sunday morning worship services at my church; and my fondness for it grows with every singing. I've been wanting to upload it to Youtube for some time, but have hesitated because it's already been loaded officially and unofficially many times. Today, however, I did it, because praise to our God can and should be multiplied.
It reminds me of the paper doll chains we made as little girls. Using repeated folds of paper one doll becomes many and they're all holding hands. It is possible to worship and follow God even isolated from others, they're are many persecuted Christians who prove that truth; but there is also a special sweetness to worshipping together. So remember those unseen members tomorrow as you worship, they are part of the chain, part of the body of Christ. Our praises will be multiplied.
Multiplied - NEEDTOBREATHE
Carl von Bergen (Gernan, 1853–1933) - Two Girls Playing with a Paper Garland
Isaiah 7:11-14
11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and[c] will call him Immanuel.
Matthew Henry says about this passage that nothing is more previous to God than distrust. Here we have Ahaz saying that God should not put Himself out by offering a sign of deliverance, but he really doesn’t want one because his focus is horizontal, viewing the approaching enemy. That field of vision excludes God, so his faith in God is also outside his field of vision.
Don’t you like God showing you that He is there, that He cares, that He will deliver, that He will provide? I like signs like that. It reassures me. But if I get too absorbed in worry about the present problem, well, I’m like Ahaz, too busy worrying to believe God.
Ahaz would have left the sign on the table. God knew that, so He decided to provide one anyway. This sign eventually prophesies the Messiah. Good thing God acted anyway. beanscot's husband
2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.
Sometimes I approach this blog without a clue as to what to write. I pray for inspiration, but I've got nothing. Then I turn to ask my husband if he has something to write. Sigh. He's working late tonight. At least we have work, something that was hard to come by after the Great Recession. I spent some time tonight listening to the Republican candidates debate. (Do I hear another sigh?) I would love to see a great leader emerge, someone who stirs us with hope, courage and a sense of right. That leader may be there; but God so far is keeping him or her under wraps. I'll trust that God has prepared someone for such a time as this.
13 “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
William Cowper wrote the hymn, "There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood," after a major bout of depression, an illness he would deal with all his life, leading to suicide attempts stayed by God's hand. It's amazing how he was used of God to write great hymns of our faith. Then again, perhaps it should be expected, because, as Cowper himself wrote, "God moves in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform." Today I uploaded MercyMe's version of his hymn "There Is A Fountain." The imagery is vivid the writing anointed. I'm sure Satan did tremble when he wrote it.
There Is A Fountain- MercyMe
There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more, be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save,
I’ll sing Thy power to save,I’ll sing Thy power to save,
Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save,
Lord, I believe Thou hast prepared, unworthy though I be,
For me a blood bought free reward, a golden harp for me!
’Tis strung and tuned for endless years, and formed by power divine,
To sound in God the Father’s ears no other name but Thine.
1 Corinthians 10:23 English Standard Version (ESV)
Do All to the Glory of God
23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.
James 1:13 King James Version (KJV)
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
Romans 13:10 King James Version (KJV)
10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Mark 12:30-31 New International Version (NIV)
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[a] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] There is no commandment greater than these.”
Because I too often let my curiosity turn me into a busybody I need to read what God says about it. If He wants to fence me in, He has good reason.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Isaiah 55:2 New International Version (NIV)
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
I was required in college to take a semester long course on The Sermon On the Mount. I was thinking about that today as I uploaded another Sidewalk Prophets song to Youtube. I do pray that I would hunger and thirst for righteousness, rather than what will never satisfy, and filled so that I would feed others also.
I'm so old I can remember doing homework like this, surrounded by books and with paper and pen or pencil. Someday will I have grandchildren who won't believe me? I probably will. Back then we also didn't take selfies of everything we were doing either, so I have no proof.
2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,
Colossians 2:8-10 New International Version (NIV)
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces[a] of this world rather than on Christ.
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
John 1:10 New International Version (NIV)
10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
2 Corinthians 11:14 New International Version (NIV)
14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
I was surprised to learn that there was such a thing as New Thought Center, which functions in form and style very much like a Christian church. If man is divine, as they believe, who are they gathering together to worship? For whom are they singing? Who are they following? I guess themselves. To spend a life worshiping what can never satisfy is terribly sad indeed. New Thought will never stand against the Almighty God, the Ancient of Days.
As I write the dog that belongs to the young man who's living at college is barking at the front door impatient for his master-in residence, my husband, to come home. A Dog needs a master. A soul needs his maker. There was a line in a summer television show I enjoy watching, The Last Ship, that said, "Every soldier needs someone to salute." In the same way every sinner needs a Savior; and only those who have been truly redeemed know the desire to love, serve, and glorify God that cannot be filled by another and never by yourself. The hymn I'm hearing in my head right now is, "In The Garden" by Charles A. Miles.
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
John 8:32 New International Version (NIV)
32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:36 New International Version (NIV)
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
We may not be free of physical or mental illness; we may not be free of consequences; we may not be free of the evil in this world; but we are yet free if we have the Savior. Our ransom has been paid. Our sin is forgiven. Death has been conquered, all through the blood of Christ. Our bodies may be chained but not our souls. Yes, we are free indeed.
I'm Amazed - Jason Crabb / The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 English Standard Version (ESV)
24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment[a] in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him[b] who can eat or who can have enjoyment?
...we have Labor Day. This bear looks like how I felt after finishing my day's work on Saturday, not sure what hit me and wondering how I survived. (It's always good that I have Sunday morning service to catch up on my rest.) So it will also be for all who have to work tomorrow, Labor Day, civil servants and retail servants taking care of the rest of us. I pray that they will have adequate reward for their labor and rest for their souls. We may have shut ourselves out of Eden but we can enjoy a last hurrah of summer.
But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path. Eccles. 7:29 NLT
1 As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. 2 For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation. II Cor. 6:1-2 NLT
The concepts of sin and salvation are not limited to the Book of Romans or a gospel tract, as the verses above testify. I find it refreshing to come across examples such as these in different places in the Bible.
Today I read an article by a sportsman who was advocating that fishermen try fishing at night. He said that was actually the best time to catch really large fish, and went on to describe why. (If you want to know why, look at the article in this year's Old Farmer's Almanac). He said it is more risky, since one can't see the obstacles in one's path as easily, and one may accidentally snag a bat while casting. But he espoused trying it for a refreshing change.
I think God wants us to be somewhat spontaneous when sharing the Gospel. Maybe He wants us to discover verses like these and use them. beanscot's husband
13 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. 2 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. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 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. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 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. 12 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.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
I got myself in a snit today over a perceived wrong; actually I've had two successive days of anger over wrongs, not the same wrongs, but the anger, yes.
Why do I think I'm entitled to justice when my Savior bore the cross? Why do I think like a child when my gray hairs betray me? I'm wearing sensible shoes not mary janes! It's good that God put this Sidewalk Prophets' song in front of me today, a reminder to love like a grown up.
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the Lord have created it.
It rained today and we are both surprised and thankful, for it has been an unusually dry summer. Rain we understand here in western Washington but sun is a little harder to explain. So it rained and all is good in our corner of the world. God's grace is in the rain. May He be praised.
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Sometimes I have to get through a whole song upload, before God hits me with what he wants me to know. Today's upload was that way. This bit of the lyrics spoke to my heart:
and if I'm still, let me hear You speak
Not the tone of my transgressions, but the song of the Redeemed Yes, it's not my sins that matter but my redemption; and Jesus is my redemption song.
13 ‘Yet these things You have concealed in Your heart;
I know that this is within You:
14 If I sin, then You would take note of me,
And would not acquit me of my guilt.
15 ‘If I am wicked, woe to me!
And if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head.
I am sated with disgrace and [a]conscious of my misery.
Job is honest when addressing God. The only problem is that his opinion of God is colored by the lens he's looking through. Of interest to me is that target shooting eyewear can come with many different colored lenses. Some lens colors are more vision-enhancing than others for a given kind of environmental light. You might be best to use a yellow lens for some light and a vermillion lens for another. The goal is to be able to see the target as clearly as possible and be successful in hitting it. Choosing the right lens can be important. Job's lens he's looking through is his own pain. When he sees God, he sees Him as the cause of his pain, hence his take on God is that He is just a big, sovereign faultfinder. If I had Job's pain-filled glasses on, I might see the same thing. It points out how careful we have to be in blocking our immediate situation from becoming the lens through which we assess God, especially when the situation is painful.
There are lots of people around who are believers in God, in so far as they do believe He is an all-seeing God. But that is it. They do not become trusters, to coin a word. Without the lens that has Jesus' cross and the Bible in it, they stop at knowing God is just, but not a loving God one would confide in. The lens makes all the difference. --beanscot's husband
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
Psalm 27:4 New International Version (NIV)
4 One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
Luke 10:42 New International Version (NIV)
42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Psalm 46:10 New International Version (NIV)
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
Today I got to enjoy a tiny puppy who couldn't hold still. I even took pictures, all blurred, with the exception of one. There are people like that with energy and drive to burn, who never seem to stop doing. As for me, I can put on a good show if needed, but rheumatoid arthritis has allowed me to enjoy my more natural state of contemplative rest, with a strong lean toward laziness. The ability to multi-task may look good on a resume to every employer except for God and laziness never. He wants to be our focus, our heart's song, neither too busy or too lazy in our walk with him.
The late Rich Mullins sang about God being our One Thing.
