gen 01 stretch-resist-move
ex 02 side arm side
lev 03 hands
num 04 shoulders
dt 05 head
jos 06 u kneed
jdg 07 to keep on stretching
ru 08 horizontally
1 sa 09 +vertically
2 sa 10 ankle all is done
1 ki 11 press and
2 ki 12 push and
1 ch 13 u lift and
2 ch 14 sit and
ezr 15 squat and
neh 16 heave a row up and
es 17 hurl curl hear and
job 18 hind here hurl and
ps 19 pray until special somethings heavenly happen here
pr 20 Now hear this grace for every age call wherever you are
ec 21 tis a gift to be simple so join in the dance -
so 22 you know there ain't one dream that doesn't Fly as high as his goes -
isa 23 let it go - give it up - join in his dance -
jer 24 3n1 3n1 3n1 what can I say
lam 25 I will sing I will dance till forever one day,
eze 26 I give up all I've got and get forever with you
da 27 tis a gift to be simple so sing and dance
hos 28 Conjunction, noun-marker,
joe 29 adjective, noun, adverb,
am 30 verb, preposition, pronoun, interjection,
ob 31 capital, comma, quote mark upper case,
jon 32 period, quote mark - check left-hand rule and speaker spacing,
mic 33 colon, semi-colon,
na 34 switch, underscore, switch, hyphen, dash,
hab 35 exclamation, question mark,
zep 36 goal-post, 3-in-1 apostrophes.
hag 37 ooc oops oh no crash, tri partners and erasers and teachers for overtime if you do mighty skill will be assembled
(oo c, there goes a peer editing proof reading caring observant person now!)
zec 38 fs fix something funny sounding, use a full sentence that sounds like the question
mal 39 nc needs completion or needs correction
mt 40 double post P, new paragraph please
mk 41 px punctuation is wrong
lk 42 spx your spelling is wrong
jn 43 vvx voluntary vocabulary wrong, you spelled a word well but you used it all wrong, please fix this misfit before it’s to two too late
ac 44 ooc(like)ofdh - like obviously forgotten double header
rom 45 ooc(like)omum - like obviously messed up margins
1 cor 46 ooc(like)omommie - like oh my oh my, massive indentation error
2 cor 47 ooc(like)qpgm like quote problems get misconduct
gal 48 ooc(like)fifff - like - oops oh no crash- formal/informal fault finding failure (please fill in both sides of this review sheet)
All over the world the Spirit is moving,
All over the world, as the Prophet said it would be,
Deep, down in my heart, there's a mighty revelation, of the Spirit of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea,
eph 49 s-m-h-e-o-l-u-v - b-q-p-c-a-k-w - g-i-j-f-t - y-r-z-d-n-then-x
php 50 Maritimes, Lowlands, Golden Horseshoe too,
col 51 Prairies Rockies, Arctic, Coastal Cordillera...Alaska, Hawaii, and all the USA are really quite Nice neighbours, now let's be on our way!
1 th 52 Mexico, Central and South America,
2 th 53 Caribbean cujabar berbahi, Panama Canal,
1 tim 54 Africa, India, Southeast Asia too
2 tim 55 Russia, China, Middle east and Holy Land
tit 56 Italy, Spain, France Great Britain too.
phm 57 Scandinavia, Norway to Newfoundland
heb 58 Don't forget IcÎ/Greenland Arctic Alaska (includes Baffin and Ellesmere Islands and Hudson's Bay)
jas 59 Hawaii Tahiti Antarctica Australia
1 pe 60 Indonesia Philippines Japan ann' Siberia
2 pe 61 Ural Mountains Germany Europe and Greece
1 jn 62 Gobi Nile Sahara Congo Kalahari
2 jn 63 Sierra Nevada Amazonus Atacami
3 jn 64 Pampas Patagonia Atlas, Pyrenees and Alps
jud 65 Balkans, Zagros, middle eastern desert in Arabia
rev 66 And last but not least, don't forget:
NFLD, PEI, NB, NS, Pqwho,oo,oo,oo,oo,oo ONT, MB, SK, AB, BC, territories.
He is a ram for Abraham, it’s full of beginnings, it’s Genesis
poC tastiness in Gen 22(CEV)13-17
key tastiness in Gen 31(NLT)1-2)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 1 – Ephesians 5:16 – Make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
rufrushu@Proverbs 3:4 - Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man - with roots(spiritual gifts)/fruits(fruit of the Spirit)/shoots(character)
Surge – hidden in the hollow, of his blessed hand, never foe can follow, never traitor stand, not a surge of worry, not a shade of care, not a blast of hurry, touch the spirit there, stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest, finding as he promised, perfect peace and rest.
Genesis (NLT)31:1-2
Jacob Flees from Laban
1 But Jacob soon learned that Laban’s sons were grumbling about him. “Jacob has robbed our father of everything!” they said. “He has gained all his wealth at our father’s expense.” 2 And Jacob began to notice a change in Laban’s attitude toward him.
Genesis 22(CEV)13-17
13Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took the ram and sacrificed it in place of his son.
14Abraham named that place ""The LORD Will Provide."" And even now people say, ""On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."" [] 15The LORD's angel called out from heaven a second time:
16You were willing to offer the LORD your only son, and so he makes you this solemn promise, 17""I will bless you and give you such a large family, that someday your descendants will be more numerous than the stars in the sky or the grains of sand along the beach. They will defeat their enemies and take over the cities where their enemies live.
A passover lamb before an exit, that’s two things for Exodus
poC tastiness in Ex12(NIV)5
key tastiness in Ex 3(NLT)21
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 2 – Ephesians 5:20 – Always give thanks for everything to our God and Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
"Administrava's rufrushu@ Psalm 35.27 Let the Lord be magnified."
Pursued – And can it be that I should gain, an interest in the Saviour's blood...Died he for me who caused his pain, for me, who him to death pursued. My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose,went forth and followed thee. Amazing love, how can it be, that thou my God should'st die for me.
Exodus 3(NLT)21
21 And I will cause the Egyptians to look favorably on you. They will give you gifts when you go so you will not leave emptyhanded. "
Exodus 12:5 - The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.
Offerings, feasts, the coolest high priest,
that’s what’s in Leviticus
key tastiness in Lev 23(NASB)37
poC tastiness in Lev 21(NIV)10-12
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 3 – James 5:16 - The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Angerella's rufrusu@ Ephesians 4.26 – In your anger do not sin.
Doxology – Praise God from whom all blessings flow...Praise Him all creatures here below...Praise Him above ye heavenly host...Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
"Leviticus 23(NASB)37
37'These are (A)the appointed times of the LORD which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present offerings by fire to the LORD--burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, (B)each day's matter on its own day-- "
"Lev 21:10-12 (NIV)
10 "" 'The high priest, the one among his brothers who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair become unkempt [] or tear his clothes. 11 He must not enter a place where there is a dead body. He must not make himself unclean, even for his father or mother, 12 nor leave the sanctuary of his God or desecrate it, because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil of his God. I am the LORD.
A cloud by day and a pillar by night,
why do the numbers wander so much?
poC tastiness in Nu 9(NIV)16
key tastiness in Num 32(NIV)13
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 4 – Ephesians 1:11 – Because of what Christ has done we have become gifts to God that He delights in. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Aposelena's rufrushu@ Proverbs 3.4 – Win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
Ordaineth – Praise ye the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation...Oh my soul praise him for he is thy health and salvation...Hast thou not seen, how thy desires e'er have been...granted in what He ordaineth.
"Numbers 32:13 New International Version (NIV)
13 The LORD's anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the desert forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone.
Numbers 9(NIV)16
16 That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.
A refuge city in Deuteronomy,
don’t forget the second law
poC tastiness in Deut.4(NIV)42b
key tastiness in Deut.31(AMP)24-30
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 5 – Ephesians 1:4 - Long ago, even before He made the world, God chose us to be His very own. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Beau'n'andy's rufrush@ Ecclesiastes 4.2 – A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Interposed – Here I raise my Ebenezer...Hither by thy help I'm come; and I hope by thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, wand'ring from the fold of God, He to rescue me from danger interposed his precious blood.
Deuteronomy 31:24-30 (Amplified Bible) – see H6 – some deletion problems – print G6 and check with real amp Bible
Deut.31(AMP)24/30 - And when Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book to the very end,
25He commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord,
26Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against you.
27For I know your rebellion and stubbornness; behold, while I am yet alive with you today, you have been rebellious against the Lord; and how much more after my death!
28Gather to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to witness against them.
29For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.
30And Moses spoke in the hearing of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song until they were ended:
Deuteronomy 32:1-43 (Amplified Bible)
1GIVE EAR, O heavens, and I [Moses] will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2My message shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the light rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb.
3For I will proclaim the name [and presence] of the Lord. Concede and ascribe greatness to our God.
4He is the Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are law and justice. A God of faithfulness without breach or deviation, just and right is He.
5They [Israel] have spoiled themselves. They are not sons to Him, and that is their blemish--a perverse and crooked generation!
6Do you thus repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Is not He your Father Who acquired you for His own, Who made and established you [as a nation]?
7Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations. Ask your father and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.
8When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the children of men, He set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the Israelites.
9For the Lord's portion is His people; Jacob (Israel) is the lot of His inheritance.
10He found him in a desert land, in the howling void of the wilderness; He kept circling around him, He scanned him [penetratingly], He kept him as the pupil of His eye.
11As an eagle that stirs up her nest, that flutters over her young, He spread abroad His wings and He took them, He bore them on His pinions.()
12So the Lord alone led him; there was no foreign god with Him.
13He made Israel ride on the high places of the earth, and he ate the increase of the field; and He made him suck honey out of the rock and oil out of the flinty rock,
14Butter and curds of the herd and milk of the flock, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and he-goats, with the finest of the wheat; and you drank wine of the blood of the grape.
15But Jeshurun (Israel) grew fat and kicked. You became fat, you grew thick, you were gorged and sleek! Then he forsook God Who made him and forsook and despised the Rock of his salvation.
16They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations they provoked Him to anger.
17They sacrificed to demons, not to God--to gods whom they knew not, to new gods lately come up, whom your fathers never knew or feared.
18Of the Rock Who bore you you were unmindful; you forgot the God Who travailed in your birth.
19And the Lord saw it and He spurned and rejected them, out of indignation with His sons and His daughters.
20And He said, I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness.
21They have moved Me to jealousy with what is not God; they have angered Me with their idols. So I will move them to jealousy with those who are not a people; I will anger them with a foolish nation. 22For a fire is kindled by My anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol, devours the earth with its increase, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23And I will heap evils upon them; I will spend My arrows upon them.
24They shall be wasted with hunger and devoured with burning heat and poisonous pestilence; and the teeth of beasts will I send against them, with the poison of crawling things of the dust.
25From without the sword shall bereave, and in the chambers shall be terror, destroying both young man and virgin, the sucking child with the man of gray hairs.
26I said, I would scatter them afar and I would have made the remembrance of them to cease from among men,
27Had I not feared the provocation of the foe, lest their enemies misconstrue it and lest they should say, Our own hand has prevailed; all this was not the work of the Lord.
28For they are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them.
29O that they were wise and would see through this [present triumph] to their ultimate fate!
30How could one have chased a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and th and none remains, whether bond or free.
37And He will say, Where are their gods, the rock in which they took ree Lord had delivered them up?
31For their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies themselves judge this.
32For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of [poisonous] gall, their clusters are bitter.
33Their wine is the [furious] venom of serpents, and the pitiless poison of vipers.
34Is not this laid up in store with Me, sealed up in My treasuries?
35Vengeance is Mine, and recompense, in the time when their foot shall slide; for the day of their disaster is at hand and their doom comes speedily.
36For the Lord will revoke sentence for His people and relent for His servants' sake when He sees that their power is gonefuge,
38Who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise up and help you, let them be your protection!
39See now that I, I am He, and there is no god beside Me; I kill and I make alive, I wound and I heal, and there is none who can deliver out of My hand. 40For I lift up My hand to heaven and swear, As I live forever, 41If I whet My lightning sword and My hand takes hold on judgment, I will wreak vengeance on My foes and recompense those who hate Me.
42I will make My arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh, with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired heads of the foe.
43Rejoice [with] His people, O you nations, for He avenges the blood of His servants, and vengeance He inflicts on His foes and clears guilt from the land of His people.
44And Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Hoshea (Joshua) son of Nun.
45And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel,
46He said to them, Set your [minds and] hearts on all the words which I command you this day, that you may command them to your children, that they may be watchful to do all the words of this law.
47For it is not an empty and worthless trifle for you; it is your [very] life. By it you shall live long in the land which you are going over the Jordan to possess.
48And the Lord said to Moses that same day,
49Get up into this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan which I give to the Israelites for a possession.
50And die on the mountain which you ascend and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people,
51Because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin and because you did not set Me apart as holy in the midst of the Israelites.
52For you shall see the land opposite you at a distance, but you shall not go there, into the land which I give the Israelites.
Deut.4(NIV)42b - He could flee into one of these cities and save his life.
A scarlet thread in Joshua,
and a conqueror too,
poC tastiness in Jos 2(NIV)18
key tastiness in Jos 21(NLT)44
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 6 – Philippians 3:1 - Whatever happens, dear friends, be glad in the Lord. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Bolderrick's rufrushu@ Psalm 138.3 – thou hast made me bold and stouthearted.
Perplexed – o may this bounteous God through all our lives be near us with ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us and keep us in His grace and guide us when perplexed and free us from all ills in this world and the next. Nun Danket
Jos 21(NLT)44
And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies.
"Joshua 2:18
New International Version (NIV)
unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house.
He’s the judge of all our cycles,
Stick with him you’ll never wipe out
poC tastiness in Jud11(AMP)27
key tastiness in Jud 2(NIV)18
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 7 – 1 Peter 3:10 – If you want a happy, good life, keep control of your tongue, and guard your lips from telling lies.(TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Carenkaren's rufrushu @ Proverbs 12.10 – A righteous man carees for the needs of his animals
Oppressing – we gather together to ask the Lord's blessing, He chastens and hastens His will to make known, the wicked oppressing, now cease from distressing, sing praises to his name, he forgets not his own.
Jud 2(NIV)18
Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them.
Judges 11:27 Amplified Bible (AMP)
So I have not sinned against you, but you are doing me wrong to war against me. The Lord, the [righteous] Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites.
The book of Ruth is a love story,
He is our kinsmen-redeemer
key tastiness in Ruth 4(NIV)14
poC tastiness in Ruth 2(NIV)20
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 8 – Ephesians 5:2 - Be full of love for others, following the example of Christ Who loved you.(TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Cheerful charlie's rufrushu @ proverbs 15.15 – the cheerful man has a continual feast.
Rapture – with all the angel choirs, with all the saints on earth, pur out the strains of joy and bliss truee rapture nobelest mirth rejoice rejoice rejoice give thanks and sing
Ruth 4(NIV)14
The Message (MSG)
The town women said to Naomi, ""Blessed be God! He didn't leave you without family to carry on your life. May this baby grow up to be famous in Israel! He'll make you young again! He'll take care of you in old age. And this daughter-in-law who has brought him into the world and loves you so much, why, she's worth more to you than seven sons!""
Ruth 2(NIV)20
""The LORD bless him!"" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. ""He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead."" She added, ""That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers.""
He’s a trusted prophet in 1 Samuel,
See-saw Saul with half a heart,
poC tastiness in 1 Sam 3(MSG)19
key tastiness in 1 Sam 16(HCSB)22-24
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 9 – Isaiah 40:11 – He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by CommittedEd's rufrushu @ 2 chronicles 16.7 – for the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strenghten those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
Tempests – there's not a plant or flower below but makes thy glories known, and cloulds arise and tempsests blow by order from thy thorne while all that borrows life from thess is ever in thy care and everythwere than man can be thou God are present there.
1 Samuel 16:22-24 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse: ""Let David remain in my service, for I am pleased with him."" 23 Whenever the spirit from God [troubled] Saul, () David would pick up his harp and play, and Saul would then be relieved, feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him. "
1 Sam 3(MSG)19
Samuel grew up. God was with him, and Samuel's prophetic record was flawless. Everyone in Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, recognized that Samuel was the real thing—a true prophet of God. God continued to show up at Shiloh, revealed through his word to Samuel at Shiloh."
Sing like David in 2 Samuel
He’s still at trusted prophet,
poC tastiness in 2 Samuel 24:10-12 (The Message)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 10 – Philippians 4:4,5 – Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice!… Remember that the Lord is coming soon.
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Considerandy's rufrushu @ proverbs 17.4 – drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.
domain – holy God we praise thy name, Lord of all, we bow before thee, infitien thye vast domain everylasting is thy reign
2 Sam 6(NLT)12-19
12 Then King David was told, “The Lord has blessed Obed-edom’s household and everything he has because of the Ark of God.” So David went there and brought the Ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the City of David with a great celebration. 13 After the men who were carrying the Ark of the Lord had gone six steps, David sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly garment.[] 15 So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams’ horns.
Michal’s Contempt for David
16 But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him.
17 They brought the Ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the special tent David had prepared for it. And David sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. 18 When he had finished his sacrifices, David blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 19 Then he gave to every Israelite man and woman in the crowd a loaf of bread, a cake of dates,[] and a cake of raisins. Then all the people returned to their homes.
2 Samuel 24:10-12 (The Message)
10 But when it was all done, David was overwhelmed with guilt because he had counted the people, replacing trust with statistics. And David prayed to God, ""I have sinned badly in what I have just done. But now God forgive my guilt—I've been really stupid.""
11-12 When David got up the next morning, the word of God had already come to Gad the prophet, David's spiritual advisor, ""Go and give David this message: 'God has spoken thus: There are three things I can do to you; choose one out of the three and I'll see that it's done.'""
Our reigning king in 1 Kings,
Will you wish like Solomon,
poC tastiness in 1 kings 1(tniv)34-36
key tastiness in 1 ki 3(msg)4-15
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 11 – 1 Peter 4:8 – Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love makes up for many of your faults. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by ContenTammy's rufrushu @ philippians 4.12 – I have learned the secret of being content.
Bear – and all ye men of tender heart, forgive others take your part, o sing ye alleluia ye who long pain and sorrow bear, praise God and on him cast your care o praise Him op raise him alleleuisa allueluia alleuluia
1 Kings 3 (MSG)4-15
4-5 The king went to Gibeon, the most prestigious of the local shrines, to worship. He sacrificed a thousand Whole-Burnt-Offerings on that altar. That night, there in Gibeon, God appeared to Solomon in a dream: God said, ""What can I give you? Ask.""
6 Solomon said, ""You were extravagantly generous in love with David my father, and he lived faithfully in your presence, his relationships were just and his heart right. And you have persisted in this great and generous love by giving him—and this very day!—a son to sit on his throne.
7-8 ""And now here I am: God, my God, you have made me, your servant, ruler of the kingdom in place of David my father. I'm too young for this, a mere child! I don't know the ropes, hardly know the 'ins' and 'outs' of this job. And here I am, set down in the middle of the people you've chosen, a great people—far too many to ever count.
9 ""Here's what I want: Give me a God-listening heart so I can lead your people well, discerning the difference between good and evil. For who on their own is capable of leading your glorious people?""
10-14 God, the Master, was delighted with Solomon's response. And God said to him, ""Because you have asked for this and haven't grasped after a long life, or riches, or the doom of your enemies, but you have asked for the ability to lead and govern well, I'll give you what you've asked for—I'm giving you a wise and mature heart. There's never been one like you before; and there'll be no one after. As a bonus, I'm giving you both the wealth and glory you didn't ask for—there's not a king anywhere who will come up to your mark. And if you stay on course, keeping your eye on the life-map and the God-signs as your father David did, I'll also give you a long life.""
15 Solomon woke up—what a dream! He returned to Jerusalem, took his place before the Chest of the Covenant of God, and worshiped by sacrificing Whole-Burnt-Offerings and Peace-Offerings. Then he laid out a banquet for everyone in his service. 1 Kings 1:34-36 (Today's New International Version)
34 There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, 'Long live King Solomon!' 35 Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.""
36 Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, ""Amen! May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, so declare it.
1 Kings 1:34-36 (Today's New International Version)
34 There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, 'Long live King Solomon!' 35 Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.""
36 Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, ""Amen! May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, so declare it.
Our reigning king in 2 Kings,
Exile, exile, read all about it,
poC tastiness in 2 Ki 11(TNIV)21
key tastiness in2 kings 17MSG6-12
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 12 – 1 Peter 4:10 – God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other.
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Cooperudy's rufrushu @ Leviticus 16.8 – a hundred of you will chase ten thousand.
Devised – Redeemer savirour friend of man once ruined by the fall, thou hast devised salvations plan for thou hast died for all blessed be the name, blessed be the name, bleesed be the name of the Lord, blessed be the name, blessed be the name, blessed be the name of the Lord.
2 kings 17MSG6-12
6 In the ninth year of Hoshea's reign the king of Assyria captured Samaria and took the people into exile in Assyria. He relocated them in Halah, in Gozan along the Habor River, and in the towns of the Medes.
7-12 The exile came about because of sin: The children of Israel sinned against God, their God, who had delivered them from Egypt and the brutal oppression of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They took up with other gods, fell in with the ways of life of the pagan nations God had chased off, and went along with whatever their kings did. They did all kinds of things on the sly, things offensive to their God, then openly and shamelessly built local sex-and-religion shrines at every available site. They set up their sex-and-religion symbols at practically every crossroads. Everywhere you looked there was smoke from their pagan offerings to the deities—the identical offerings that had gotten the pagan nations off into exile. They had accumulated a long list of evil actions and God was fed up, fed up with their persistent worship of gods carved out of deadwood or shaped out of clay, even though God had plainly said, ""Don't do this—ever!""
2 Kings 11:21 (Today's New International Version)
Joash was seven years old when he began to reign.
Our reigning king in 1 Chronicles,
Read about David in an editorial,
poC tastiness in1 Chronicles 13TNIV1-14
key tastiness in1 Chronicles 10(Today's New International Version)13,14
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 13 – 1 Peter 3:12 – The Lord is watching His children, listening to their prayers. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Countenancy's rufrushu @ Acts 2.28 – thou hast made me full of joy with thy countenance.
Render – greaa father of lgoyr pure father of light thine angels adore thee all weileing their sight, all praise we would render o help us to see, tis only the splenor of light hideth thee.
1 Chronicles 10(Today's New International Version)13,14
13 Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance, 14 and did not inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
1 Chronicles 13TNIV1-14
1 David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, ""If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the LORD our God, let us send word far and wide to the rest of our people throughout the territories of Israel, and also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their towns and pasturelands, to come and join us. 3 Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of [] it [] during the reign of Saul."" 4 The whole assembly agreed to do this, because it seemed right to all the people.
5 So David assembled all Israel, from the Shihor River in Egypt to Lebo Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim. 6 David and all Israel went to Baalah of Judah (Kiriath Jearim) to bring up from there the ark of God the LORD, who is enthroned between the cherubim—the ark that is called by the Name.
7 They moved the ark of God from Abinadab's house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it. 8 David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, timbrels, cymbals and trumpets.
9 When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. 10 The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God.
11 Then David was angry because the LORD's wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. []
12 David was afraid of God that day and asked, ""How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?"" 13 He did not take the ark to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 14 The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the LORD blessed his household and everything he had.
Our reigning king in 2 Chronicles,
Read about Judah in an editorial,
poC tastiness in 2 Chronicles 23:1-3 (Today's New International Version)
key tastiness in2 Chronicles 13(Today's New International Version)4-18
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 14 – 1 Peter 3:4 – Be beautiful inside in your hearts, with the lasting charm of a gentle and quiet spirit which is so precious to God. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsered by couragemmy's rufrushu at acts 4.13 – when they saw the courage of peter and john they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
Confide – did we in our own strenght confied our striving would be losing, were not the right man oun our side the amn of God's own choosing, dowst ask who that may be, Christ jessus it is He Lrod Sabooth His name, fromage to age the smae, and he must win the battle.
2 Chronicles 13(Today's New International Version)4-18
4 Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, ""Jeroboam and all Israel, listen to me! 5 Don't you know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? 6 Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, an official of Solomon son of David, rebelled against his master. 7 Some worthless scoundrels gathered around him and opposed Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young and indecisive and not strong enough to resist them.
8 ""And now you plan to resist the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hands of David's descendants. You are indeed a vast army and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods. 9 But didn't you drive out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest of what are not gods.
10 ""As for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the LORD are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. 11 Every morning and evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the LORD our God. But you have forsaken him. 12 God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. People of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.""
13 Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah the ambush was behind them. 14 Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear. Then they cried out to the LORD. The priests blew their trumpets 15 and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16 The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands. 17 Abijah and his troops inflicted heavy losses on them, so that there were five hundred thousand casualties among Israel's able men. 18 The Israelites were subdued on that occasion, and the men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
2 Chronicles 23:1-3 (Today's New International Version)
1 In the seventh year Jehoiada showed his strength. He made a covenant with the commanders of units of a hundred: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zikri. 2 They went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites and the heads of Israelite families from all the towns. When they came to Jerusalem, 3 the whole assembly made a covenant with the king at the temple of God.
Jehoiada said to them, ""The king's son shall reign, as the LORD promised concerning the descendants of David
A faithful scribe in Ezra,
Temple, people, s-rah, rah
poC tastiness in Ezra 7 (AMP)6-11
key tastiness in Ezra 1NLT1-6
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 15 – 1 Peter 3:8 - You should be like one big happy family, full of sympathy toward each other, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsered by craftykaties's rufrushu at pasalm 118.22 – the stone the buileders have refjected has become the capstone.
Acclamation When Christ shall come with shout of accalamtaion and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart, then i shall bow, in humble adoration and there proclaim my God how Great thou art. Then sings my sould, my Svairouj God to thee, how great thougha art, how great thouh art, then sings my sould, my saviour God to thee how great thou art how gret thour art.
Ezra 1 (New Living Translation) Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Return
1 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia,[a] the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah.[b] He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom:
2 “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:
“The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Any of you who are his people may go to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you! 4 Wherever this Jewish remnant is found, let their neighbors contribute toward their expenses by giving them silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock, as well as a voluntary offering for the Temple of God in Jerusalem.”
5 Then God stirred the hearts of the priests and Levites and the leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. 6 And all their neighbors assisted by giving them articles of silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock. They gave them many valuable gifts in addition to all the voluntary offerings."
Ezra 7 (AMP)6-11
6This Ezra went up from Babylon. He was a skilled scribe in the five books of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. And the king granted him all he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was upon him.
7And also some of the Israelites, with some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants, went up [from Babylon] to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.
8Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king.
9On the first of the first month he started out from Babylon, and on the first of the fifth month he arrived in Jerusalem, for upon him was the good hand of his God.
10For Ezra had prepared and set his heart to seek the Law of the Lord [to inquire for it and of it, to require and yearn for it], and to do and teach in Israel its statutes and its ordinances.
11Now this is the copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe [occupied with] the words of the commands of the Lord and of His statutes to Israel:"
Broken down walls he will rebuild,
In Nehemiah and we should,
key tastiness in Nehemiah 2 (NLT) 11-18
poC tastiness in Nehemiah 2 (NLT) 19-20
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 16 - 1 John 1:7 – If we are living in the light of God’s presence,…we have wonderful fellowship and joy with each other. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by determinieeliies' rufrushu @ job 14.5 – man's days are determined
Strife – mortals join the might y chrorus which the morning stars began Father love is reigning oer us brother love binds man to man, ever singming march we onward vicgtors in the midst of striife joful music lifts us sunward in the triump song of life.
Nehemiah 2 (NLT) 11-18
11 So I arrived in Jerusalem. Three days later, 12 I slipped out during the night, taking only a few others with me. I had not told anyone about the plans God had put in my heart for Jerusalem. We took no pack animals with us except the donkey I was riding. 13 After dark I went out through the Valley Gate, past the Jackal’s Well,[d] and over to the Dung Gate to inspect the broken walls and burned gates. 14 Then I went to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but my donkey couldn’t get through the rubble. 15 So, though it was still dark, I went up the Kidron Valley[e] instead, inspecting the wall before I turned back and entered again at the Valley Gate.
16 The city officials did not know I had been out there or what I was doing, for I had not yet said anything to anyone about my plans. I had not yet spoken to the Jewish leaders—the priests, the nobles, the officials, or anyone else in the administration. 17 But now I said to them, “You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!” 18 Then I told them about how the gracious hand of God had been on me, and about my conversation with the king.
They replied at once, “Yes, let’s rebuild the wall!” So they began the good work.
19 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed contemptuously. “What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” they asked.
20 I replied, “The God of heaven will help us succeed. We, his servants, will start rebuilding this wall. But you have no share, legal right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.
"Nehemiah 2 (NLT) 19-20
19 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed contemptuously. “What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” they asked.
20 I replied, “The God of heaven will help us succeed. We, his servants, will start rebuilding this wall. But you have no share, legal right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”"
Like faithful Mordecai sitting at the gate,
Plus Esther, queen of Persia,
poC tastiness in Esther 3(NIV)1-4
key tastiness in Esther 9: (AMP)32
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 17 - 1 Peter 3:9 – Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t snap back at those who say unkind things about you….We are to be kind to others, and God will bless us for it. TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by teachiro's rufrushu at titus 2.7 – In your teaching show integrity. OOPS Sponsored by discipliniyes' rufrushu at proverbs 10.17 – he who heeds discipline show s the way to life.
Pardon – Just as I am thou wilt receive, wilt welcome pardon, cleanse relieve, because thy promise I believe, O lamb of God i come, I come. OOOPS Wrought – this is my Father's world, and to my listening ears all nature sings and round me rigns the musci of the spehere, this is my father's world i rest me in the tought of rocks and trees of skies and seas, his hadn the wonders wrought.
Esther 9: (AMP)32
The command of Esther established these customs for Purim, and it was written in the book."
Esther 3(NIV)1-4
1 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. 2 All the royal officials at the king's gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.
3 Then the royal officials at the king's gate asked Mordecai, ""Why do you disobey the king's command?"" 4 Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai's behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew."
Our ever living redeemer,
in Job we see His sovereignty,
poC tastiness in Job 19.25
key tastiness in Job 12message1-25
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 18 - Jeremiah 17:9 – The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (NIV)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored again by discipliniyes' rufrushu at proverbs 10.17 – he who heeds discipline show s the way to life.
Wrought – this is my Father's world, and to my listening ears all nature sings and round me rigns the musci of the spehere, this is my father's world i rest me in the tought of rocks and trees of skies and seas, his hadn the wonders wrought.
Job 12message1-25
1-3 Job answered:
""I'm sure you speak for all the experts,
and when you die there'll be no one left to tell us how to live.
But don't forget that I also have a brain—
I don't intend to play second fiddle to you.
It doesn't take an expert to know these things.
4-6 ""I'm ridiculed by my friends:
'So that's the man who had conversations with God!'
Ridiculed without mercy:
'Look at the man who never did wrong!'
It's easy for the well-to-do to point their fingers in blame,
for the well-fixed to pour scorn on the strugglers.
Crooks reside safely in high-security houses,
insolent blasphemers live in luxury;
they've bought and paid for a god who'll protect them.
7-12 ""But ask the animals what they think—let them teach you;
let the birds tell you what's going on.
Put your ear to the earth—learn the basics.
Listen—the fish in the ocean will tell you their stories.
Isn't it clear that they all know and agree
that God is sovereign, that he holds all things in his hand—
Every living soul, yes,
every breathing creature?
Isn't this all just common sense,
as common as the sense of taste?
Do you think the elderly have a corner on wisdom,
that you have to grow old before you understand life?
From God We Learn How to Live
13-25 ""True wisdom and real power belong to God;
from him we learn how to live,
and also what to live for.
If he tears something down, it's down for good;
if he locks people up, they're locked up for good.
If he holds back the rain, there's a drought;
if he lets it loose, there's a flood.
Strength and success belong to God;
both deceived and deceiver must answer to him.
He strips experts of their vaunted credentials,
exposes judges as witless fools.
He divests kings of their royal garments,
then ties a rag around their waists.
He strips priests of their robes,
and fires high officials from their jobs.
He forces trusted sages to keep silence,
deprives elders of their good sense and wisdom.
He dumps contempt on famous people,
disarms the strong and mighty.
He shines a spotlight into caves of darkness,
hauls deepest darkness into the noonday sun.
He makes nations rise and then fall,
builds up some and abandons others.
He robs world leaders of their reason,
and sends them off into no-man's-land.
They grope in the dark without a clue,
lurching and staggering like drunks."" "
Job 19.25 – I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he willstand upon the earth. Afnd after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.
He’s my shepherd in the book of Psalms,
Lift your palms in worship,
poC tastiness in Ps 23.1
key tastiness in Psalm 25AMP14
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 19 – Ephesians 3:17 – I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in Him. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by evangelista's rufrushsu at mark 1.17 – i will make you fishers of men.
Maniford – summer and winter, and sprintime and harvest sun moon and stars inthier courses above join with all nature in maniforld wintness to they great faithfulness, mercy and love Greate is thy faithfullness x2 morning by morning new mercies I see, all i have needed thy hadn hath provided, great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me
Psalm 25:14(AMP)
The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its [deep, inner] meaning."
Ps 23.1 – The Lord is my shepherd, I shall lack nothing.
He’s my wisdom in Proverbs,
Wisdom is where it’s at
poC tastiness in Pr.4.7
key tastiness in Prov8msg12
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 20 – Philippians 2:13 – God is at work within you, helping you want to obey Him, and then helping you do what He wants.(TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by fairentino's rufrushu at proverbs 29.14 – If a king judges the poor with fairness his thorne will always be secure.
Ascribe – let every kindred every tribe on this terrestrial ball to him all majesty ascribe and crown him Lord of all – to him all masjecsty ascribe and corwn him lord of all.
Proverbs 8MSG12
""I am Lady Wisdom, and I live next to Sanity; Knowledge and Discretion live just down the street. The Fear-of-God means hating Evil, whose ways I hate with a passion— pride and arrogance and crooked talk. Good counsel and common sense are my characteristics; I am both Insight and the Virtue to live it out. With my help, leaders rule, and lawmakers legislate fairly; With my help, governors govern, along with all in legitimate authority. I love those who love me; those who look for me find me. Wealth and Glory accompany me— also substantial Honor and a Good Name. My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary; the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus. You can find me on Righteous Road—that's where I walk— at the intersection of Justice Avenue, Handing out life to those who love me, filling their arms with life—armloads of life!
Pr 4.7 – Wisdom is supreme, therefore get widome, though it cost all you have, get understanding.
He’s more wisdom in Ecclesiastes,
Vanity doesn’t leave you much,
poC tastiness in Ecc 12.11
key tastiness in Ecc 7amp19
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 21 – Philippians 1:11 – May you always be doing those good, kind things which show that you are a child of God, for this will bring much praise and glory to the Lord. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by rufrushu's three in one centre where shoots are like character, fruits are like fruit and shoots are like gifts and here are the verses to match: ...desire favor with God and man...chosen you to bear fruit that will last...greatly desire gifts
Anthems OR add this book2starspangledbanner in middle of 2 anthems– o Canada, o beautiful for spacious skies, God bless America
"Ecclesiastes 7AMP19
[True] wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers or valiant generals who are in the city."
Ecc 12.11 – The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails – given by one shepherd.
A groovy groom in the Song of Songs,
Love belongs in marriage,
poC tastiness in SS 5.10
key tastiness in SS6msg1-3
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 22 – Colossians 3:13 – Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsered by fearsomephil's rufrushu @ isaiah 11.3 – He will delight in the fear of the Lord.
Availed – He breaks the power of cancelled sin, he sets the prisoner free, His blood can make the foulest clean his blood availed for me.
Song of Solomon 6MSG1-3
1 So where has this love of yours gone, fair one? Where on earth can he be? Can we help you look for him? 2-3 Never mind. My lover is already on his way to his garden,to browse among the flowers, touching the colors and forms.I am my lover's and my lover is mine.He caresses the sweet-smelling flowers.
SS 5.10 – My lover is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand.
A suffering servant in Isaiah,
groan, glory, Isaiah,
poC tastiness in Isa 53.5
key tastiness in Isa 9all-nlt12
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 23 – Colossians 3:14 – Most of all, let love guide your life, for then the whole church will stay together in perfect harmony. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Gloriursula's rufrushu at psalm 87.3 – Glorious things are spoken of you.
Assail – Jesus what a freind for sinners, Jesus lover of my sould, friends may fail me foes assail me, He my Saviour makes me whole. Hallelujah, what a saviour, Hallelujeah what a friend, saving , helping, keeping, loving, he is with me to the end.
Isa 53.5 – But he was pierced for our trangressions, he was crushed for our iniquitites, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are blesed.
Isaiah 9-12 (New Living Translation) 1 [a]Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. 2 [b] The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness,[c]a light will shine.3 You will enlarge the nation of Israel,
and its people will rejoice.They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. 4 For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.You will break the oppressor’s rod,just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian. 5 The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned.They will be fuel for the fire.6 For a child is born to us,a son is given to us.The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called:Wonderful Counselor,[d] Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.7 His government and its peace will never end.He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!8 The Lord has spoken out against Jacob;his judgment has fallen upon Israel. 9 And the people of Israel[e] and Samaria,who spoke with such pride and arrogance, will soon know it.10 They said, “We will replace the broken bricks of our ruins with finished stone,and replant the felled sycamore-fig trees with cedars.”11 But the Lord will bring Rezin’s enemies against Israeland stir up all their foes.12 The Syrians[f] from the east and the Philistines from the west will bare their fangs and devour Israel.But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.His fist is still poised to strike.13 For after all this punishment, the people will still not repent.They will not seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.14 Therefore, in a single day the Lord will destroy both the head and the tail, the noble palm branch and the lowly reed. 15 The leaders of Israel are the head,and the lying prophets are the tail.16 For the leaders of the people have misled them.They have led them down the path of destruction.17 That is why the Lord takes no pleasure in the young men and shows no mercy even to the widows and orphans.For they are all wicked hypocrites,and they all speak foolishness.But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied. His fist is still poised to strike. 18 This wickedness is like a brushfire.It burns not only briers and thorns but also sets the forests ablaze.Its burning sends up clouds of smoke.19 The land will be blackened by the fury of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.The people will be fuel for the fire,and no one will spare even his own brother.20 They will attack their neighbor on the right but will still be hungry.They will devour their neighbor on the left but will not be satisfied.In the end they will even eat their own children. 21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim,Ephraim will feed on Manasseh,and both will devour Judah.But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.His fist is still poised to strike.
Isaiah 10
1 What sorrow awaits the unjust judgesand those who issue unfair laws. 2 They deprive the poor of justice and deny the rights of the needy among my people.They prey on widows and take advantage of orphans. 3 What will you do when I punish you,when I send disaster upon you from a distant land?To whom will you turn for help? Where will your treasures be safe? 4 You will stumble along as prisonersor lie among the dead.But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied. His fist is still poised to strike.5 “What sorrow awaits Assyria, the rod of my anger.I use it as a club to express my anger. 6 I am sending Assyria against a godless nation,against a people with whom I am angry.Assyria will plunder them,trampling them like dirt beneath its feet. 7 But the king of Assyria will not understand that he is my tool;his mind does not work that way.His plan is simply to destroy,to cut down nation after nation.8 He will say,‘Each of my princes will soon be a king.9 We destroyed Calno just as we did Carchemish.Hamath fell before us as Arpad did.And we destroyed Samaria just as we did Damascus. 10 Yes, we have finished off many a kingdom whose gods were greater than those in Jerusalem and Samaria.11 So we will defeat Jerusalem and her gods,just as we destroyed Samaria with hers.’” 12 After the Lord has used the king of Assyria to accomplish his purposes on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, he will turn against the king of Assyria and punish him—for he is proud and arrogant. 13 He boasts, “By my own powerful arm I have done this.With my own shrewd wisdom I planned it.I have broken down the defenses of nationsand carried off their treasures.I have knocked down their kings like a bull.14 I have robbed their nests of riches and gathered up kingdoms as a farmer gathers eggs.No one can even flap a wing against me or utter a peep of protest.” 15 But can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it? Is the saw greater than the person who saws? Can a rod strike unless a hand moves it? Can a wooden cane walk by itself? 16 Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s armies,will send a plague among Assyria’s proud troops,and a flaming fire will consume its glory.17 The Lord, the Light of Israel, will be a fire;the Holy One will be a flame.He will devour the thorns and briers with fire,burning up the enemy in a single night.18 The Lord will consume Assyria’s glorylike a fire consumes a forest in a fruitful land;it will waste away like sick people in a plague.19 Of all that glorious forest, only a few trees will survive—so few that a child could count them!
20 In that day the remnant left in Israel,the survivors in the house of Jacob,will no longer depend on allieswho seek to destroy them.But they will faithfully trust the Lord,the Holy One of Israel.21 A remnant will return;yes, the remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God.22 But though the people of Israel are as numerousas the sand of the seashore,only a remnant of them will return.The Lord has rightly decided to destroy his people.23 Yes, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
has already decided to destroy the entire land. 24 So this is what the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, says: “O my people in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians when they oppress you with rod and club as the Egyptians did long ago. 25 In a little while my anger against you will end, and then my anger will rise up to destroy them.” 26 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will lash them with his whip, as he did when Gideon triumphed over the Midianites at the rock of Oreb, or when the Lord’s staff was raised to drown the Egyptian army in the sea.27 In that day the Lord will end the bondage of his people.He will break the yoke of slaveryand lift it from their shoulders. 28 Look, the Assyrians are now at Aiath.They are passing through Migron and are storing their equipment at Micmash.29 They are crossing the passand are camping at Geba.Fear strikes the town of Ramah.All the people of Gibeah, the hometown of Saul,are running for their lives.30 Scream in terror,you people of Gallim!Shout out a warning to Laishah. Oh, poor Anathoth! 31 There go the people of Madmenah, all fleeing.The citizens of Gebim are trying to hide. 32 The enemy stops at Nob for the rest of that day.He shakes his fist at beautiful Mount Zion, the mountain of Jerusalem. 33 But look! The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will chop down the mighty tree of Assyria with great power!He will cut down the proud.That lofty tree will be brought down. 34 He will cut down the forest trees with an ax.
Lebanon will fall to the Mighty One.
Isaiah 11
1 Out of the stump of David’s family[l] will grow a shoot—yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.2 And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,the Spirit of counsel and might,the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 He will delight in obeying the Lord.He will not judge by appearancenor make a decision based on hearsay.4 He will give justice to the poorand make fair decisions for the exploited.The earth will shake at the force of his word,and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.5 He will wear righteousness like a beltand truth like an undergarment. 6 In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,and a little child will lead them all.7 The cow will graze near the bear.The cub and the calf will lie down together.The lion will eat hay like a cow.8 The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.
Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakesISHwithout harm. 9 Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,for as the waters fill the sea,so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.10 In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world.The nations will rally to him,and the land where he lives will be a glorious place. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to bring back the remnant of his people—those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt;in southern Egypt, Ethiopia,[o] and Elam;in Babylonia,Hamath, and all the distant coastlands.12 He will raise a flag among the nationsand assemble the exiles of Israel. He will gather the scattered people of Judah from the ends of the earth. 13 Then at last the jealousy between Israeland Judah will end.
They will not be rivals anymore.14 They will join forces to swoop down on Philistia to the west. Together they will attack and plunder the nations to the east.They will occupy the lands of Edom and Moab,and Ammon will obey them.15 The Lord will make a dry path through the gulf of the Red Sea.He will wave his hand over the Euphrates River,sending a mighty wind to divide it into seven streams so it can easily be crossed on foot. 16 He will make a highway for the remnant of his people,
the remnant coming from Assyria,just as he did for Israel long agowhen they returned from Egypt.
Isaiah 12
1 In that day you will sing:“I will praise you, O Lord!You were angry with me, but not any more.Now you comfort me.2 See, God has come to save me.I will trust in him and not be afraid.The Lord God is my strength and my song;he has given me victory.”3 With joy you will drink deeplyfrom the fountain of salvation! 4 In that wonderful day you will sing:“Thank the Lord! Praise his name!Tell the nations what he has done.Let them know how mighty he is! 5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world. 6 Let all the people of Jerusalem[t] shout his praise with joy!For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”"
A weeping prophet in Jeremiah,
Don’t forget the rotten sash,
poC tastiness in Jeremiah 4AMPall
key tastiness in Jer 13NLTall
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 24 – James 3:17 – But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness. Then it is peace loving and courteous. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by godlyNus's rufrushu @ 1 timothy 4.8 – Godliness has value for all things.
Garb – Fair are the meadowns, fairer still the woodlands, robed in the blooming garb of spring, Jesus is fairere, jesus is purer who makes the woreful heart to sing.
Jeremiah 4
1IF YOU will return, O Israel, says the Lord, if you will return to Me, and if you will put away your abominable false gods out of My sight and not stray or waver,
2And if you swear, As the Lord lives, in truth, in judgment and justice, and in righteousness (uprightness in every area and relation), then the nations will bless themselves in Him and in Him will they glory.
3For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: Break up your ground left uncultivated for a season, so that you may not sow among thorns.
4Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and take away the foreskins of your hearts, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest My wrath go forth like fire [consuming all that gets in its way] and burn so that no one can quench it because of the evil of your doings.
5Declare in Judah and publish in Jerusalem and say: Blow the trumpet in the land; cry aloud and say: Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities.
6Raise a standard toward Zion [to mark out the safest route to those seeking safety within Jerusalem's walls]! Flee for safety, stay not, for I bring evil from the north, and great destruction.
7A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone forth from his place to make your land a desolate waste; and your cities shall be left in ruins without an inhabitant.
8For this, gird yourselves with sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the Lord has not turned back from us.
9And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, that the understanding and courage of the king shall fail (be paralyzed), and also that of the princes; the priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded and dazed with horror.
10Then I [Jeremiah] said, [a]Alas, Lord God! Surely You have greatly deceived and misled this people and Jerusalem, [for the prophets represented You as] saying [to Your people], You shall have peace, whereas the sword has reached to [their very] life.
11At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A hot wind from the bare heights in the wilderness [comes at My command] against the daughter of My people--not [a wind] to fan or cleanse [from chaff, as when threshing, but]
12A wind too strong and full for winnowing comes at My word. Now I will also speak in judgment against [My people].
13Behold, [the enemy] comes up like clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined (destroyed)!
14O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved! How long shall your iniquitous and grossly offensive thoughts lodge within you?
15For a voice declares from Dan [in the north] and proclaims evil from Mount Ephraim [the range dividing Israel from Judah].
16Warn the [neighboring] nations [that our adversary is coming]; announce to Jerusalem that besiegers are coming from a far country, and they shout against the cities of Judah.
17Like keepers of a field they are against her round about, because she has been rebellious against Me, says the Lord.
18Your ways and your doings have brought these things upon you. This is your calamity and doom; surely it is bitter, for surely it reaches your very heart!
19[It is not only the prophet but also the people who cry out in their thoughts] My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the walls of my heart! My heart is disquieted and throbs aloud within me; I cannot be silent! For I have heard the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
20News of one violent disaster and calamity comes close after another, for the whole land is laid waste; suddenly are my tents spoiled and destroyed, and my [tent] curtains ruined in a moment.
21[O Lord] how long must I see the flag [marking the route for flight] and hear the sound of the trumpet [urging the people to flee for refuge]?
22[Their chastisement will continue until it has accomplished its purpose] for My people are stupid, says the Lord [replying to Jeremiah]; they do not know and understand Me. They are thickheaded children, and they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge [and know not how].
23[In a vision Jeremiah sees Judah laid waste by conquest and captivity.] I looked at the land, and behold, it was [as at the time of creation] waste and vacant (void); and at the heavens, and they had no light.
24I looked at the mountains, and behold, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly to and fro.
25I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled.
26I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid waste before the Lord's presence, before His fierce anger.
27For thus says the Lord: The whole land will be a desolation, yet I will not make a full and complete end of it.(A)
28For this will the earth mourn and the heavens above be black; because I have spoken, I have purposed, and I will not relent, nor will I turn back [from it].
29Every city flees because of the noise of the horsemen and bowmen. They go into the thickets and climb among the rocks; every city is forsaken, and not a man dwells in them.
30And you [plundered one], when you are made desolate, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with scarlet, though you deck yourself with ornaments of gold, though you paint your eyelids and make them look farther apart, in vain you beautify yourself. Your lovers (allies) despise you; they seek your life.
31For I have heard a cry as of a woman in travail, the anguish as of one who brings forth her first child--the cry of the Daughter of Zion, who gasps for breath, who spreads her hands, saying, Woe is me now! I am fainting before the murderers."
Jer 13NLTall Jeremiah 13
Jeremiah’s Linen Loincloth
1 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it on, but do not wash it.” 2 So I bought the loincloth as the Lord directed me, and I put it on.
3 Then the Lord gave me another message: 4 “Take the linen loincloth you are wearing, and go to the Euphrates River.[a] Hide it there in a hole in the rocks.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates as the Lord had instructed me.
6 A long time afterward the Lord said to me, “Go back to the Euphrates and get the loincloth I told you to hide there.” 7 So I went to the Euphrates and dug it out of the hole where I had hidden it. But now it was rotting and falling apart. The loincloth was good for nothing.
8 Then I received this message from the Lord: 9 “This is what the Lord says: This shows how I will rot away the pride of Judah and Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people refuse to listen to me. They stubbornly follow their own desires and worship other gods. Therefore, they will become like this loincloth—good for nothing! 11 As a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I created Judah and Israel to cling to me, says the Lord. They were to be my people, my pride, my glory—an honor to my name. But they would not listen to me.
12 “So tell them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: May all your jars be filled with wine.’ And they will reply, ‘Of course! Jars are made to be filled with wine!’
13 “Then tell them, ‘No, this is what the Lord means: I will fill everyone in this land with drunkenness—from the king sitting on David’s throne to the priests and the prophets, right down to the common people of Jerusalem. 14 I will smash them against each other, even parents against children, says the Lord. I will not let my pity or mercy or compassion keep me from destroying them.’”
A Warning against Pride
15 Listen and pay attention!
Do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken.
16 Give glory to the Lord your God
before it is too late.
Acknowledge him before he brings darkness upon you,
causing you to stumble and fall on the darkening mountains.
For then, when you look for light,
you will find only terrible darkness and gloom.
17 And if you still refuse to listen,
I will weep alone because of your pride.
My eyes will overflow with tears,
because the Lord’s flock will be led away into exile.
18 Say to the king and his mother,
“Come down from your thrones
and sit in the dust,
for your glorious crowns
will soon be snatched from your heads.”
19 The towns of the Negev will close their gates,
and no one will be able to open them.
The people of Judah will be taken away as captives.
All will be carried into exile.
20 Open up your eyes and see
the armies marching down from the north!
Where is your flock—
your beautiful flock—
that he gave you to care for?
21 What will you say when the Lord takes the allies you have cultivated
and appoints them as your rulers?
Pangs of anguish will grip you,
like those of a woman in labor!
22 You may ask yourself,
“Why is all this happening to me?”
It is because of your many sins!
That is why you have been stripped
and raped by invading armies.
23 Can an Ethiopian[b] change the color of his skin?
Can a leopard take away its spots?
Neither can you start doing good,
for you have always done evil.
24 “I will scatter you like chaff
that is blown away by the desert winds.
25 This is your allotment,
the portion I have assigned to you,”
says the Lord,
“for you have forgotten me,
putting your trust in false gods.
26 I myself will strip you
and expose you to shame.
27 I have seen your adultery and lust,
and your disgusting idol worship out in the fields and on the hills.
What sorrow awaits you, Jerusalem!
How long before you are pure?”"
Lamentations has some tears,
He’s still a weeping prophet,
key tastiness in Lam3niv1-37
poC tastiness in Lam 3.48
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 25 – Ephesians 4:2 – Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by trusteven's rufrushu at Proverbs 13.17 – A trustworty envoy brings healing.
Cleft – with numberless blessings each moment He crowns, and filled with his fullness divine, I sing in my rapture O glory to God, for such a redeemer as mine. He hideth my soul, in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry thirsty land land. He hideth my life, in the depths of His love, and covers me there iwth His hand, and covers me there with his hand.
Lamentations 3
1 [a] I am the man who has seen affliction
by the rod of his wrath.
2 He has driven me away and made me walk
in darkness rather than light;
3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me
again and again, all day long.
4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old
and has broken my bones.
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me
with bitterness and hardship.
6 He has made me dwell in darkness
like those long dead.
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
he has weighed me down with chains.
8 Even when I call out or cry for help,
he shuts out my prayer.
9 He has barred my way with blocks of stone;
he has made my paths crooked.
10 Like a bear lying in wait,
like a lion in hiding,
11 he dragged me from the path and mangled me
and left me without help.
12 He drew his bow
and made me the target for his arrows.
13 He pierced my heart
with arrows from his quiver.
14 I became the laughingstock of all my people;
they mock me in song all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitter herbs
and sated me with gall.
16 He has broken my teeth with gravel;
he has trampled me in the dust.
17 I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 So I say, ""My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the LORD.""
19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
20 I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, ""The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.""
25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young.
28 Let him sit alone in silence,
for the LORD has laid it on him.
29 Let him bury his face in the dust—
there may yet be hope.
30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
and let him be filled with disgrace.
31 For men are not cast off
by the Lord forever.
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to the children of men.
34 To crush underfoot
all prisoners in the land,
35 to deny a man his rights
before the Most High,
36 to deprive a man of justice—
would not the Lord see such things?
37 Who can speak and have it happen
if the Lord has not decreed it? "
Lam 3.48 – Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed.
A four faced wonder you can’t ignore,
Ezekiel’s got them drybones,
poC tastiness in Eze 1.10
key tastiness in Eze37msg1-14
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 26 – Ephesians 2:19 - You are members of God’s very own family, citizen’s of God’s country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian. TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by temperachel's rufrushu at 1 cor 9.25 – Every many that striveth for the mastery is temperate.
Rapture – perfect submission, perfect delight, visions of rapture now burst on my sight, angels descending bring from above, echoes of mercy, whispers of love. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my saviour, all the day long, this is my story, this is my song. Praising my saviour, all the day long.
Eze 1.10 – Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox, each also had the face of an eagle.
Ezekiel 37
Breath of Life
1-2 God grabbed me. God's Spirit took me up and set me down in the middle of an open plain strewn with bones. He led me around and among them—a lot of bones! There were bones all over the plain—dry bones, bleached by the sun.
3 He said to me, ""Son of man, can these bones live?""
I said, ""Master God, only you know that.""
4 He said to me, ""Prophesy over these bones: 'Dry bones, listen to the Message of God!'""
5-6 God, the Master, told the dry bones, ""Watch this: I'm bringing the breath of life to you and you'll come to life. I'll attach sinews to you, put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you. You'll come alive and you'll realize that I am God!""
7-8 I prophesied just as I'd been commanded. As I prophesied, there was a sound and, oh, rustling! The bones moved and came together, bone to bone. I kept watching. Sinews formed, then muscles on the bones, then skin stretched over them. But they had no breath in them.
9 He said to me, ""Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, 'God, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life!'""
10 So I prophesied, just as he commanded me. The breath entered them and they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army.
11 Then God said to me, ""Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Listen to what they're saying: 'Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there's nothing left of us.'
12-14 ""Therefore, prophesy. Tell them, 'God, the Master, says: I'll dig up your graves and bring you out alive—O my people! Then I'll take you straight to the land of Israel. When I dig up graves and bring you out as my people, you'll realize that I am God. I'll breathe my life into you and you'll live. Then I'll lead you straight back to your land and you'll realize that I am God. I've said it and I'll do it. God's Decree.'""
The fourth man in the fiery furnace,
Daniel’s dreams were really cool,
poC tastiness in Daniel 3.25
key tastiness inDan2MSGall
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 27 – Mark 12:30,31 - You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind. (TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Happylee's rufrushu @ Ecclesiastes 3.12 – I know that there is nothing better than for men to be happy and do good while they live.
Frame – Nor voice can sing nor heart can frame, nor can the memory find, a sweeter sound than thy blest name, o Saviour of mankind.
Daniel 3.25 – He said, “Look!” I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like the son of the gods.'
Daniel 2 (The Message)
1-3 In the second year of his reign, King Nebuchadnezzar started having dreams that disturbed him deeply. He couldn't sleep. He called in all the Babylonian magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and fortunetellers to interpret his dreams for him. When they came and lined up before the king, he said to them, ""I had a dream that I can't get out of my mind. I can't sleep until I know what it means.""
4 The fortunetellers, speaking in the Aramaic language, said, ""Long live the king! Tell us the dream and we will interpret it.""
5-6 The king answered the fortunetellers, ""This is my decree: If you can't tell me both the dream itself and its interpretation, I'll have you ripped to pieces, limb from limb, and your homes torn down. But if you tell me both the dream and its interpretation, I'll lavish you with gifts and honors. So go to it: Tell me the dream and its interpretation.""
7 They answered, ""If it please your majesty, tell us the dream. We'll give the interpretation.""
8-9 But the king said, ""I know what you're up to—you're just playing for time. You know you're up a tree. You know that if you can't tell me my dream, you're doomed. I see right through you—you're going to cook up some fancy stories and confuse the issue until I change my mind. Nothing doing! First tell me the dream, then I'll know that you're on the up and up with the interpretation and not just blowing smoke in my eyes.""
10-11 The fortunetellers said, ""Nobody anywhere can do what you ask. And no king, great or small, has ever demanded anything like this from any magician, enchanter, or fortuneteller. What you're asking is impossible unless some god or goddess should reveal it—and they don't hang around with people like us.""
12-13 That set the king off. He lost his temper and ordered the whole company of Babylonian wise men killed. When the death warrant was issued, Daniel and his companions were included. They also were marked for execution.
14-15 When Arioch, chief of the royal guards, was making arrangements for the execution, Daniel wisely took him aside and quietly asked what was going on: ""Why this all of a sudden?""
15-16 After Arioch filled in the background, Daniel went to the king and asked for a little time so that he could interpret the dream.
17-18 Daniel then went home and told his companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what was going on. He asked them to pray to the God of heaven for mercy in solving this mystery so that the four of them wouldn't be killed along with the whole company of Babylonian wise men.
Dream Interpretation: A Story of Five Kingdoms
19-23 That night the answer to the mystery was given to Daniel in a vision. Daniel blessed the God of heaven, saying,
""Blessed be the name of God,
forever and ever.
He knows all, does all:
He changes the seasons and guides history,
He raises up kings and also brings them down,
he provides both intelligence and discernment,
He opens up the depths, tells secrets,
sees in the dark—light spills out of him!
God of all my ancestors, all thanks! all praise!
You made me wise and strong.
And now you've shown us what we asked for.
You've solved the king's mystery.""
24 So Daniel went back to Arioch, who had been put in charge of the execution. He said, ""Call off the execution! Take me to the king and I'll interpret his dream.""
25 Arioch didn't lose a minute. He ran to the king, bringing Daniel with him, and said, ""I've found a man from the exiles of Judah who can interpret the king's dream!""
26 The king asked Daniel (renamed in Babylonian, Belteshazzar), ""Are you sure you can do this—tell me the dream I had and interpret it for me?""
27-28 Daniel answered the king, ""No mere human can solve the king's mystery, I don't care who it is—no wise man, enchanter, magician, diviner. But there is a God in heaven who solves mysteries, and he has solved this one. He is letting King Nebuchadnezzar in on what is going to happen in the days ahead. This is the dream you had when you were lying on your bed, the vision that filled your mind:
29-30 ""While you were stretched out on your bed, O king, thoughts came to you regarding what is coming in the days ahead. The Revealer of Mysteries showed you what will happen. But the interpretation is given through me, not because I'm any smarter than anyone else in the country, but so that you will know what it means, so that you will understand what you dreamed.
31-36 ""What you saw, O king, was a huge statue standing before you, striking in appearance. And terrifying. The head of the statue was pure gold, the chest and arms were silver, the belly and hips were bronze, the legs were iron, and the feet were an iron-ceramic mixture. While you were looking at this statue, a stone cut out of a mountain by an invisible hand hit the statue, smashing its iron-ceramic feet. Then the whole thing fell to pieces—iron, tile, bronze, silver, and gold, smashed to bits. It was like scraps of old newspapers in a vacant lot in a hot dry summer, blown every which way by the wind, scattered to oblivion. But the stone that hit the statue became a huge mountain, dominating the horizon. This was your dream.
36-40 ""And now we'll interpret it for the king. You, O king, are the most powerful king on earth. The God of heaven has given you the works: rule, power, strength, and glory. He has put you in charge of men and women, wild animals and birds, all over the world—you're the head ruler, you are the head of gold. But your rule will be taken over by another kingdom, inferior to yours, and that one by a third, a bronze kingdom, but still ruling the whole land, and after that by a fourth kingdom, ironlike in strength. Just as iron smashes things to bits, breaking and pulverizing, it will bust up the previous kingdoms.
41-43 ""But then the feet and toes that ended up as a mixture of ceramic and iron will deteriorate into a mongrel kingdom with some remains of iron in it. Just as the toes of the feet were part ceramic and part iron, it will end up a mixed bag of the breakable and unbreakable. That kingdom won't bond, won't hold together any more than iron and clay hold together.
44-45 ""But throughout the history of these kingdoms, the God of heaven will be building a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will this kingdom ever fall under the domination of another. In the end it will crush the other kingdoms and finish them off and come through it all standing strong and eternal. It will be like the stone cut from the mountain by the invisible hand that crushed the iron, the bronze, the ceramic, the silver, and the gold.
""The great God has let the king know what will happen in the years to come. This is an accurate telling of the dream, and the interpretation is also accurate.""
46-47 When Daniel finished, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face in awe before Daniel. He ordered the offering of sacrifices and burning of incense in Daniel's honor. He said to Daniel, ""Your God is beyond question the God of all gods, the Master of all kings. And he solves all mysteries, I know, because you've solved this mystery.""
48-49 Then the king promoted Daniel to a high position in the kingdom, lavished him with gifts, and made him governor over the entire province of Babylon and the chief in charge of all the Babylonian wise men. At Daniel's request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to administrative posts throughout Babylon, while Daniel governed from the royal headquarters."
A love forever faithful,
For the harlot in Hosea,
(love the sinner, hate the sin)
poC tastiness in Hosea 2.20
key tastiness in Hos 3AMP3
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 28 – Ephesians 3:17-19 - May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love; and may you be able to feel and understand,…how long, how wide, how deep, and how high His love really is.(TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Healeroy's rufrushu @ Luke 8.56 – Just believe and she will be healed.
Boundless – O the deep deep love of Jesus, vast unmeasured, boundless, free. Rolling as a mighty ocean in itgs fullness over me, underneath me, all around me, is the current of thy love. Leading onward, leading homeward, to my glorious rest above.
Hosea 2.20 – I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.
Hosea 3AMP3
And I said to her, You shall be [betrothed] to me for many days; you shall not play the harlot and you shall not belong to another man. So will I also be to you [until you have proved your loyalty to me and our marital relations may be resumed]."
Baptizing us with the Holy Spirit,
Look out Joel has locusts too
poC tastiness in Joel 2.28
key tastiness in joel 2msgAll
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 29 – Ephesians 2:10- It is God Himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago He planned that we should spend these lives in helping others. TLB)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Helperaldo's rufrushu @ ephesians 4.29 – Only what is helpful for building others up.
Hail – crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his throne. Hark how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own, awake my sould and sing of him who died for thee, and hail him as thy matchless king thru all eternity.
Joel 2.28 – And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people, your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
Joel 2 (The Message) The Locust Army
1-3 Blow the ram's horn trumpet in Zion! Trumpet the alarm on my holy mountain!
Shake the country up!
God's Judgment's on its way—the Day's almost here!
A black day! A Doomsday!
Clouds with no silver lining!
Like dawn light moving over the mountains,
a huge army is coming.
There's never been anything like it
and never will be again.
Wildfire burns everything before this army
and fire licks up everything in its wake.
Before it arrives, the country is like the Garden of Eden.
When it leaves, it is Death Valley.
Nothing escapes unscathed.
4-6The locust army seems all horses—
galloping horses, an army of horses.
It sounds like thunder
leaping on mountain ridges,
Or like the roar of wildfire
through grass and brush,
Or like an invincible army shouting for blood,
ready to fight, straining at the bit.
At the sight of this army,
the people panic, faces white with terror.
7-11The invaders charge.
They climb barricades. Nothing stops them.
Each soldier does what he's told,
so disciplined, so determined.
They don't get in each other's way.
Each one knows his job and does it.
Undaunted and fearless,
unswerving, unstoppable.
They storm the city,
swarm its defenses,
Loot the houses,
breaking down doors, smashing windows.
They arrive like an earthquake,
sweep through like a tornado.
Sun and moon turn out their lights,
stars black out.
God himself bellows in thunder
as he commands his forces.
Look at the size of that army!
And the strength of those who obey him!
God's Judgment Day—great and terrible.
Who can possibly survive this?
Change Your Life
12 But there's also this, it's not too late—
God's personal Message!—
""Come back to me and really mean it!
Come fasting and weeping, sorry for your sins!""
13-14Change your life, not just your clothes.
Come back to God, your God.
And here's why: God is kind and merciful.
He takes a deep breath, puts up with a lot,
This most patient God, extravagant in love,
always ready to cancel catastrophe.
Who knows? Maybe he'll do it now,
maybe he'll turn around and show pity.
Maybe, when all's said and done,
there'll be blessings full and robust for your God!
15-17 Blow the ram's horn trumpet in Zion!
Declare a day of repentance, a holy fast day.
Call a public meeting.
Get everyone there. Consecrate the congregation.
Make sure the elders come,
but bring in the children, too, even the nursing babies,
Even men and women on their honeymoon—
interrupt them and get them there.
Between Sanctuary entrance and altar,
let the priests, God's servants, weep tears of repentance.
Let them intercede: ""Have mercy, God, on your people!
Don't abandon your heritage to contempt.
Don't let the pagans take over and rule them
and sneer, 'And so where is this God of theirs?'""
18-20 At that, God went into action to get his land back.
He took pity on his people.
God answered and spoke to his people,
""Look, listen—I'm sending a gift:
Grain and wine and olive oil.
The fast is over—eat your fill!
I won't expose you any longer
to contempt among the pagans.
I'll head off the final enemy coming out of the north
and dump them in a wasteland.
Half of them will end up in the Dead Sea,
the other half in the Mediterranean.
There they'll rot, a stench to high heaven.
The bigger the enemy, the stronger the stench!""
The Trees Are Bearing Fruit Again
21-24 Fear not, Earth! Be glad and celebrate!
God has done great things.
Fear not, wild animals!
The fields and meadows are greening up.
The trees are bearing fruit again:
a bumper crop of fig trees and vines!
Children of Zion, celebrate!
Be glad in your God.
He's giving you a teacher
to train you how to live right—
Teaching, like rain out of heaven, showers of words
to refresh and nourish your soul, just as he used to do.
And plenty of food for your body—silos full of grain,
casks of wine and barrels of olive oil.
25-27 ""I'll make up for the years of the locust,
the great locust devastation—
Locusts savage, locusts deadly,
fierce locusts, locusts of doom,
That great locust invasion
I sent your way.
You'll eat your fill of good food.
You'll be full of praises to your God,
The God who has set you back on your heels in wonder.
Never again will my people be despised.
You'll know without question
that I'm in the thick of life with Israel,
That I'm your God, yes, your God,
the one and only real God.
Never again will my people be despised.
The Sun Turning Black and the Moon Blood-Red
28-32 ""And that's just the beginning: After that—
""I will pour out my Spirit
on every kind of people:
Your sons will prophesy,
also your daughters.
Your old men will dream,
your young men will see visions.
I'll even pour out my Spirit on the servants,
men and women both.
I'll set wonders in the sky above
and signs on the earth below:
Blood and fire and billowing smoke,
the sun turning black and the moon blood-red,
Before the Judgment Day of God,
the Day tremendous and awesome.
Whoever calls, 'Help, God!'
gets help.
On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be a great rescue—just as God said.
Included in the survivors
are those that God calls.""
Our burden bearer in Amos,
His steady plumbline helps you up,
poC tastiness in Amos 9.11
key tastiness in Amos 7msgAll
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 30 – 1 Chronicles 4:10 – And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.” So God granted him what he requested. (NIV)
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Holy Holly's rufrushu at Leviticus 11.44 – Consecrate yourselves and be holy because I am holy.
Woe – Take the name of Jesus with you , child of sorrow and of woe, it will joy and comfort with you, take it then where'er you go. Precious neame, o how sweet, hope of earth and joy of heaven. Precious name, o how sweet, hope of earth and joy of heaven.
Amos 9.11 – In that day i will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins and build it as it used to be.
Amos 7 (The Message)
To Die Homeless and Friendless
1-2 God, my Master, showed me this vision: He was preparing a locust swarm. The first cutting, which went to the king, was complete, and the second crop was just sprouting. The locusts ate everything green. Not even a blade of grass was left.
I called out, ""God, my Master! Excuse me, but what's going to come of Jacob? He's so small.""
3 God gave in.
""It won't happen,"" he said.
4 God showed me this vision: Oh! God, my Master God was calling up a firestorm. It burned up the ocean. Then it burned up the Promised Land.
5 I said, ""God, my Master! Hold it—please! What's going to come of Jacob? He's so small.""
6 God gave in.
""All right, this won't happen either,"" God, my Master, said.
7 God showed me this vision: My Master was standing beside a wall. In his hand he held a plumb line.
8-9 God said to me, ""What do you see, Amos?""
I said, ""A plumb line.""
Then my Master said, ""Look what I've done. I've hung a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I've spared them for the last time. This is it!
""Isaac's sex-and-religion shrines will be smashed,
Israel's unholy shrines will be knocked to pieces.
I'm raising my sword against the royal family of Jeroboam.""
10 Amaziah, priest at the shrine at Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel:
""Amos is plotting to get rid of you; and he's doing it as an insider, working from within Israel. His talk will destroy the country. He's got to be silenced. Do you know what Amos is saying?
11'Jeroboam will be killed.
Israel is headed for exile.'
12-13 Then Amaziah confronted Amos: ""Seer, be on your way! Get out of here and go back to Judah where you came from! Hang out there. Do your preaching there. But no more preaching at Bethel! Don't show your face here again. This is the king's chapel. This is a royal shrine.""
14-15 But Amos stood up to Amaziah: ""I never set up to be a preacher, never had plans to be a preacher. I raised cattle and I pruned trees. Then God took me off the farm and said, 'Go preach to my people Israel.'
16-17 ""So listen to God's Word. You tell me, 'Don't preach to Israel. Don't say anything against the family of Isaac.' But here's what God is telling you:
Your wife will become a whore in town.
Your children will get killed.
Your land will be auctioned off.
You will die homeless and friendless.
And Israel will be hauled off to exile, far from home."""
Our savior in Obadiah,
Be your brother’s keeper
poC tastiness in Obadiah 17
key tastiness in Obadiah 1msgAll
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 31 – Romans 10:9 – But if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Honest ed's rufrushu At 2 Corinthians 8.21 – God knows we are honest, but i want everone else to know it too.
Obadiah 17 – But on Zion will be deliverance; and it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance.
Obadiah 1 (The Message)
Your World Will Collapse
1 Obadiah's Message to Edom
from God, the Master.
We got the news straight from God
by a special messenger sent out to the godless nations:
""On your feet, prepare for battle;
get ready to make war on Edom!
2-4 ""Listen to this, Edom:
I'm turning you to a no-account,
the runt of the godless nations, despised.
You thought you were so great,
perched high among the rocks, king of the mountain,
Thinking to yourself,
'Nobody can get to me! Nobody can touch me!'
Think again. Even if, like an eagle,
you hang out on a high cliff-face,
Even if you build your nest in the stars,
I'll bring you down to earth.""
God's sure Word.
5-14""If thieves crept up on you,
they'd rob you blind—isn't that so?
If they mugged you on the streets at night,
they'd pick you clean—isn't that so?
Oh, they'll take Esau apart, piece by piece,
empty his purse and pockets.
All your old partners will drive you to the edge.
Your old friends will lie to your face.
Your old drinking buddies will stab you in the back.
Your world will collapse. You won't know what hit you.
So don't be surprised""—it's God's sure Word!—
""when I wipe out all sages from Edom
and rid the Esau mountains of its famous wise men.
Your great heroes will desert you, Teman.
There'll be nobody left in Esau's mountains.
Because of the murderous history compiled
against your brother Jacob,
You will be looked down on by everyone.
You'll lose your place in history.
On that day you stood there and didn't do anything.
Strangers took your brother's army into exile.
Godless foreigners invaded and pillaged Jerusalem.
You stood there and watched.
You were as bad as they were.
You shouldn't have gloated over your brother
when he was down-and-out.
You shouldn't have laughed and joked at Judah's sons
when they were facedown in the mud.
You shouldn't have talked so big
when everything was so bad.
You shouldn't have taken advantage of my people
when their lives had fallen apart.
You of all people should not have been amused
by their troubles, their wrecked nation.
You shouldn't have taken the shirt off their back
when they were knocked flat, defenseless.
And you shouldn't have stood waiting at the outskirts
and cut off refugees,
And traitorously turned in helpless survivors
who had lost everything.
15-18 ""God's Judgment Day is near
for all the godless nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you.
What you did will boomerang back
and hit your own head.
Just as you partied on my holy mountain,
all the godless nations will drink God's wrath.
They'll drink and drink and drink—
they'll drink themselves to death.
But not so on Mount Zion—there's respite there!
a safe and holy place!
The family of Jacob will take back their possessions
from those who took them from them.
That's when the family of Jacob will catch fire,
the family of Joseph become fierce flame,
while the family of Esau will be straw.
Esau will go up in flames,
nothing left of Esau but a pile of ashes.""
God said it, and it is so.
19-21 People from the south will take over the Esau mountains;
people from the foothills will overrun the Philistines.
They'll take the farms of Ephraim and Samaria,
and Benjamin will take Gilead.
Earlier, Israelite exiles will come back
and take Canaanite land to the north at Zarephath.
Jerusalem exiles from the far northwest in Sepharad
will come back and take the cities in the south.
The remnant of the saved in Mount Zion
will go into the mountains of Esau
And rule justly and fairly,
a rule that honors God's kingdom.
A great foreign missionary in Jonah,
Fishing for eternity,
tastiness in poC tastiness in Jonah 3.2
key tastiness in Jonah 1-4 (The Message)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 32 Exodus 20:11 appear as follows: "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she would find your blessing in everything and have rest too. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Honorolf's rufrushu at 1 Timothy 5.17 – Worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
Trinity – Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, all thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea; holy holy holy, merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed trinity.
Jonah 3.2 – Go to the great city of Ninevah and proclaim to it the message I give you.
Jonah 1-4 (The Message)Running Away from God
1-2 One day long ago, God's Word came to Jonah, Amittai's son: ""Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They're in a bad way and I can't ignore it any longer."" 3 But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish—as far away from God as he could get.
4-6 But God sent a huge storm at sea, the waves towering.
The ship was about to break into pieces. The sailors were terrified. They called out in desperation to their gods. They threw everything they were carrying overboard to lighten the ship. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship to take a nap. He was sound asleep. The captain came to him and said, ""What's this? Sleeping! Get up! Pray to your god! Maybe your god will see we're in trouble and rescue us.""
7 Then the sailors said to one another, ""Let's get to the bottom of this. Let's draw straws to identify the culprit on this ship who's responsible for this disaster.""
So they drew straws. Jonah got the short straw.
8 Then they grilled him: ""Confess. Why this disaster? What is your work? Where do you come from? What country? What family?""
9 He told them, ""I'm a Hebrew. I worship God, the God of heaven who made sea and land.""
10 At that, the men were frightened, really frightened, and said, ""What on earth have you done!"" As Jonah talked, the sailors realized that he was running away from God.
11 They said to him, ""What are we going to do with you—to get rid of this storm?"" By this time the sea was wild, totally out of control.
12 Jonah said, ""Throw me overboard, into the sea. Then the storm will stop. It's all my fault. I'm the cause of the storm. Get rid of me and you'll get rid of the storm.""
13 But no. The men tried rowing back to shore. They made no headway. The storm only got worse and worse, wild and raging.
14 Then they prayed to God, ""O God! Don't let us drown because of this man's life, and don't blame us for his death. You are God. Do what you think is best.""
15 They took Jonah and threw him overboard. Immediately the sea was quieted down.
16 The sailors were impressed, no longer terrified by the sea, but in awe of God. They worshiped God, offered a sacrifice, and made vows.
17 Then God assigned a huge fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was in the fish's belly three days and nights.
Jonah 2
At the Bottom of the Sea
1-9 Then Jonah prayed to his God from the belly of the fish. He prayed:
""In trouble, deep trouble, I prayed to God.
He answered me.
From the belly of the grave I cried, 'Help!'
You heard my cry.
You threw me into ocean's depths,
into a watery grave,
With ocean waves, ocean breakers
crashing over me.
I said, 'I've been thrown away,
thrown out, out of your sight.
I'll never again lay eyes
on your Holy Temple.'
Ocean gripped me by the throat.
The ancient Abyss grabbed me and held tight.
My head was all tangled in seaweed
at the bottom of the sea where the mountains take root.
I was as far down as a body can go,
and the gates were slamming shut behind me forever—
Yet you pulled me up from that grave alive,
O God, my God!
When my life was slipping away,
I remembered God,
And my prayer got through to you,
made it all the way to your Holy Temple.
Those who worship hollow gods, god-frauds,
walk away from their only true love.
But I'm worshiping you, God,
calling out in thanksgiving!
And I'll do what I promised I'd do!
Salvation belongs to God!""
10 Then God spoke to the fish, and it vomited up Jonah on the seashore.
Jonah 3
Maybe God Will Change His Mind
1-2 Next, God spoke to Jonah a second time: ""Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They're in a bad way and I can't ignore it any longer."" 3 This time Jonah started off straight for Nineveh, obeying God's orders to the letter.
Nineveh was a big city, very big—it took three days to walk across it.
4 Jonah entered the city, went one day's walk and preached, ""In forty days Nineveh will be smashed.""
5The people of Nineveh listened, and trusted God. They proclaimed a citywide fast and dressed in burlap to show their repentance. Everyone did it—rich and poor, famous and obscure, leaders and followers.
6-9 When the message reached the king of Nineveh, he got up off his throne, threw down his royal robes, dressed in burlap, and sat down in the dirt. Then he issued a public proclamation throughout Nineveh, authorized by him and his leaders: ""Not one drop of water, not one bite of food for man, woman, or animal, including your herds and flocks! Dress them all, both people and animals, in burlap, and send up a cry for help to God. Everyone must turn around, turn back from an evil life and the violent ways that stain their hands. Who knows? Maybe God will turn around and change his mind about us, quit being angry with us and let us live!""
10 God saw what they had done, that they had turned away from their evil lives. He did change his mind about them. What he said he would do to them he didn't do.
Jonah 4
""I Knew This Was Going to Happen!""
1-2 Jonah was furious. He lost his temper. He yelled at God, ""God! I knew it—when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That's why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!
3""So, God, if you won't kill them, kill me! I'm better off dead!""
4God said, ""What do you have to be angry about?""
5But Jonah just left. He went out of the city to the east and sat down in a sulk. He put together a makeshift shelter of leafy branches and sat there in the shade to see what would happen to the city.
6God arranged for a broad-leafed tree to spring up. It grew over Jonah to cool him off and get him out of his angry sulk. Jonah was pleased and enjoyed the shade. Life was looking up.
7-8But then God sent a worm. By dawn of the next day, the worm had bored into the shade tree and it withered away. The sun came up and God sent a hot, blistering wind from the east. The sun beat down on Jonah's head and he started to faint. He prayed to die: ""I'm better off dead!""
9Then God said to Jonah, ""What right do you have to get angry about this shade tree?""
Jonah said, ""Plenty of right. It's made me angry enough to die!""
10-11God said, ""What's this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So, why can't I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than 120,000 childlike people who don't yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?""
The messenger with the beautiful feet,
Goes with Micah’s day in court,
poC tastiness in Micah 7.19
key tastiness in Micah6msgall
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 33 Deuteronomy 30:14-16 appear as follows: "See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will love you, walk in your ways and possess blessing. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by tongiusseppi's rufrushu at 1 corinthians 14.22 – Tongues then are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers.
Billows – When peace, like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my sould. It is well, it is well, it is well, it is well with my sould.
Micah 7.19 – You will again have compassion on us, you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl our iniquities into the depth of the sea.
Micah 6 (The Message)
What God Is Looking For
1-2 Listen now, listen to God: ""Take your stand in court.
If you have a complaint, tell the mountains;
make your case to the hills.
And now, Mountains, hear God's case;
listen, Jury Earth—
For I am bringing charges against my people.
I am building a case against Israel.
3-5""Dear people, how have I done you wrong?
Have I burdened you, worn you out? Answer!
I delivered you from a bad life in Egypt;
I paid a good price to get you out of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you—
and Aaron and Miriam to boot!
Remember what Balak king of Moab tried to pull,
and how Balaam son of Beor turned the tables on him.
Remember all those stories about Shittim and Gilgal.
Keep all God's salvation stories fresh and present.""
6-7How can I stand up before God
and show proper respect to the high God?
Should I bring an armload of offerings
topped off with yearling calves?
Would God be impressed with thousands of rams,
with buckets and barrels of olive oil?
Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child,
my precious baby, to cancel my sin?
8But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.
9Attention! God calls out to the city!
If you know what's good for you, you'll listen.
So listen, all of you!
This is serious business.
10-16""Do you expect me to overlook obscene wealth
you've piled up by cheating and fraud?
Do you think I'll tolerate shady deals
and shifty scheming?
I'm tired of the violent rich
bullying their way with bluffs and lies.
I'm fed up. Beginning now, you're finished.
You'll pay for your sins down to your last cent.
No matter how much you get, it will never be enough—
hollow stomachs, empty hearts.
No matter how hard you work, you'll have nothing to show for it—
bankrupt lives, wasted souls.
You'll plant grass
but never get a lawn.
You'll make jelly
but never spread it on your bread.
You'll press apples
but never drink the cider.
You have lived by the standards of your king, Omri,
the decadent lifestyle of the family of Ahab.
Because you've slavishly followed their fashions,
I'm forcing you into bankruptcy.
Your way of life will be laughed at, a tasteless joke.
Your lives will be derided as futile and fake.""
An avenger in Nahum,
Who would expect a flood like that,
poC tastiness in Nahum 1.2
key tastiness in Nahum 1-2nltall
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 34 Deuteronomy 31:2 appear as follows: "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will always be confirmed by your awareness. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Hopealana's rufrushu at Matthew 19.26 – With God all things are possible.
Gilds – When morning gilds the skies, my heart awakening cries, “May Jesus Christ be praised.” Alike at work or prayer, to Jesus I repair, “May Jesus, Christ, be praised.”
Nahum 1.2 – The Lord is a jealous and avenging God, the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
Nahum 1-2 (New Living Translation)
1 This message concerning Nineveh came as a vision to Nahum, who lived in Elkosh.
The Lord’s Anger against Nineveh
2 The Lord is a jealous God,
filled with vengeance and rage.
He takes revenge on all who oppose him
and continues to rage against his enemies!
3 The Lord is slow to get angry, but his power is great,
and he never lets the guilty go unpunished.
He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm.
The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet.
4 At his command the oceans dry up,
and the rivers disappear.
The lush pastures of Bashan and Carmel fade,
and the green forests of Lebanon wither.
5 In his presence the mountains quake,
and the hills melt away;
the earth trembles,
and its people are destroyed.
6 Who can stand before his fierce anger?
Who can survive his burning fury?
His rage blazes forth like fire,
and the mountains crumble to dust in his presence.
7 The Lord is good,
a strong refuge when trouble comes.
He is close to those who trust in him.
8 But he will sweep away his enemies
in an overwhelming flood.
He will pursue his foes
into the darkness of night.
9 Why are you scheming against the Lord?
He will destroy you with one blow;
he won’t need to strike twice!
10 His enemies, tangled like thornbushes
and staggering like drunks,
will be burned up like dry stubble in a field.
11 Who is this wicked counselor of yours
who plots evil against the Lord?
12 This is what the Lord says:
“Though the Assyrians have many allies,
they will be destroyed and disappear.
O my people, I have punished you before,
but I will not punish you again.
13 Now I will break the yoke of bondage from your neck
and tear off the chains of Assyrian oppression.”
14 And this is what the Lord says concerning the Assyrians in Nineveh:
“You will have no more children to carry on your name.
I will destroy all the idols in the temples of your gods.
I am preparing a grave for you
because you are despicable!”
15 [a]Look! A messenger is coming over the mountains with good news!
He is bringing a message of peace.
Celebrate your festivals, O people of Judah,
and fulfill all your vows,
for your wicked enemies will never invade your land again.
They will be completely destroyed!
Nahum 2
The Fall of Nineveh
1 [b]Your enemy is coming to crush you, Nineveh.
Man the ramparts! Watch the roads!
Prepare your defenses! Call out your forces!
2 Even though the destroyer has destroyed Judah,
the Lord will restore its honor.
Israel’s vine has been stripped of branches,
but he will restore its splendor.
3 Shields flash red in the sunlight!
See the scarlet uniforms of the valiant troops!
Watch as their glittering chariots move into position,
with a forest of spears waving above them.
4 The chariots race recklessly along the streets
and rush wildly through the squares.
They flash like firelight
and move as swiftly as lightning.
5 The king shouts to his officers;
they stumble in their haste,
rushing to the walls to set up their defenses.
6 The river gates have been torn open!
The palace is about to collapse!
7 Nineveh’s exile has been decreed,
and all the servant girls mourn its capture.
They moan like doves
and beat their breasts in sorrow.
8 Nineveh is like a leaking water reservoir!
The people are slipping away.
“Stop, stop!” someone shouts,
but no one even looks back.
9 Loot the silver!
Plunder the gold!
There’s no end to Nineveh’s treasures—
its vast, uncounted wealth.
10 Soon the city is plundered, empty, and ruined.
Hearts melt and knees shake.
The people stand aghast,
their faces pale and trembling.
11 Where now is that great Nineveh,
that den filled with young lions?
It was a place where people—like lions and their cubs—
walked freely and without fear.
12 The lion tore up meat for his cubs
and strangled prey for his mate.
He filled his den with prey,
his caverns with his plunder.
13 “I am your enemy!”
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“Your chariots will soon go up in smoke.
Your young men[c] will be killed in battle.
Never again will you plunder conquered nations.
The voices of your proud messengers will be heard no more.”
An ever praying watchman,
For revival in Habakkuk,
poC tastiness in hab 2.2
key tastiness in Habakkuk 1-3 (The Message)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 35 Deuteronomy 32:4 appear as follows: "He is the rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will be faithful, right and fair like you. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Hospitali's rufrushu at 2 Samuel 24.24 – I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burn offerings that cost me nothing.
Ebbs – Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day, earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away, change and decay in all around I see, o thou who changest not, abide with me.
Hab 2.2 – then the Lord replied: Write down the revelationand make it lain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save, He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
Habakkuk 1-3 (The Message) Justice Is a Joke
1-4 The problem as God gave Habakkuk to see it: God, how long do I have to cry out for help
before you listen?
How many times do I have to yell, ""Help! Murder! Police!""
before you come to the rescue?
Why do you force me to look at evil,
stare trouble in the face day after day?
Anarchy and violence break out,
quarrels and fights all over the place.
Law and order fall to pieces.
Justice is a joke.
The wicked have the righteous hamstrung
and stand justice on its head.
God Says, ""Look!""
5-11""Look around at the godless nations.
Look long and hard. Brace yourself for a shock.
Something's about to take place
and you're going to find it hard to believe.
I'm about to raise up Babylonians to punish you,
Babylonians, fierce and ferocious—
World-conquering Babylon,
grabbing up nations right and left,
A dreadful and terrible people,
making up its own rules as it goes.
Their horses run like the wind,
attack like bloodthirsty wolves.
A stampede of galloping horses
thunders out of nowhere.
They descend like vultures
circling in on carrion.
They're out to kill. Death is on their minds.
They collect victims like squirrels gathering nuts.
They mock kings,
poke fun at generals,
Spit on forts,
and leave them in the dust.
They'll all be blown away by the wind.
Brazen in sin, they call strength their god.""
Why Is God Silent Now?
12-13God, you're from eternity, aren't you?
Holy God, we aren't going to die, are we?
God, you chose Babylonians for your judgment work?
Rock-Solid God, you gave them the job of discipline?
But you can't be serious!
You can't condone evil!
So why don't you do something about this?
Why are you silent now?
This outrage! Evil men swallow up the righteous
and you stand around and watch!
14-16You're treating men and women
as so many fish in the ocean,
Swimming without direction,
swimming but not getting anywhere.
Then this evil Babylonian arrives and goes fishing.
He pulls in a good catch.
He catches his limit and fills his creel—
a good day of fishing! He's happy!
He praises his rod and reel,
piles his fishing gear on an altar and worships it!
It's made his day,
and he's going to eat well tonight!
17Are you going to let this go on and on?
Will you let this Babylonian fisherman
Fish like a weekend angler,
killing people as if they're nothing but fish?
Habakkuk 2
1 What's God going to say to my questions? I'm braced for the worst. I'll climb to the lookout tower and scan the horizon.
I'll wait to see what God says,
how he'll answer my complaint.
Full of Self, but Soul-Empty
2-3And then God answered: ""Write this.
Write what you see.
Write it out in big block letters
so that it can be read on the run.
This vision-message is a witness
pointing to what's coming.
It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait!
And it doesn't lie.
If it seems slow in coming, wait.
It's on its way. It will come right on time.
4""Look at that man, bloated by self-importance—
full of himself but soul-empty.
But the person in right standing before God
through loyal and steady believing
is fully alive, really alive.
5-6""Note well: Money deceives.
The arrogant rich don't last.
They are more hungry for wealth
than the grave is for cadavers.
Like death, they always want more,
but the 'more' they get is dead bodies.
They are cemeteries filled with dead nations,
graveyards filled with corpses.
Don't give people like this a second thought.
Soon the whole world will be taunting them:
6-8""'Who do you think you are—
getting rich by stealing and extortion?
How long do you think
you can get away with this?'
Indeed, how long before your victims wake up,
stand up and make you the victim?
You've plundered nation after nation.
Now you'll get a taste of your own medicine.
All the survivors are out to plunder you,
a payback for all your murders and massacres.
9-11""Who do you think you are—
recklessly grabbing and looting,
Living it up, acting like king of the mountain,
acting above it all, above trials and troubles?
You've engineered the ruin of your own house.
In ruining others you've ruined yourself.
You've undermined your foundations,
rotted out your own soul.
The bricks of your house will speak up and accuse you.
The woodwork will step forward with evidence.
12-14""Who do you think you are—
building a town by murder, a city with crime?
Don't you know that God-of-the-Angel-Armies
makes sure nothing comes of that but ashes,
Makes sure the harder you work
at that kind of thing, the less you are?
Meanwhile the earth fills up
with awareness of God's glory
as the waters cover the sea.
15-17""Who do you think you are—
inviting your neighbors to your drunken parties,
Giving them too much to drink,
roping them into your sexual orgies?
You thought you were having the time of your life.
Wrong! It's a time of disgrace.
All the time you were drinking,
you were drinking from the cup of God's wrath.
You'll wake up holding your throbbing head, hung over—
hung over from Lebanon violence,
Hung over from animal massacres,
hung over from murder and mayhem,
From multiple violations
of place and people.
18-19""What's the use of a carved god
so skillfully carved by its sculptor?
What good is a fancy cast god
when all it tells is lies?
What sense does it make to be a pious god-maker
who makes gods that can't even talk?
Who do you think you are—
saying to a stick of wood, 'Wake up,'
Or to a dumb stone, 'Get up'?
Can they teach you anything about anything?
There's nothing to them but surface.
There's nothing on the inside.
20""But oh! God is in his holy Temple!
Quiet everyone—a holy silence. Listen!""
Habakkuk 3
God Racing on the Crest of the Waves
1-2 A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk, with orchestra: God, I've heard what our ancestors say about you,
and I'm stopped in my tracks, down on my knees.
Do among us what you did among them.
Work among us as you worked among them.
And as you bring judgment, as you surely must,
remember mercy.
3-7God's on his way again,
retracing the old salvation route,
Coming up from the south through Teman,
the Holy One from Mount Paran.
Skies are blazing with his splendor,
his praises sounding through the earth,
His cloud-brightness like dawn, exploding, spreading,
forked-lightning shooting from his hand—
what power hidden in that fist!
Plague marches before him,
pestilence at his heels!
He stops. He shakes Earth.
He looks around. Nations tremble.
The age-old mountains fall to pieces;
ancient hills collapse like a spent balloon.
The paths God takes are older
than the oldest mountains and hills.
I saw everyone worried, in a panic:
Old wilderness adversaries,
Cushan and Midian, were terrified,
hoping he wouldn't notice them.
8-16God, is it River you're mad at?
Angry at old River?
Were you raging at Sea when you rode
horse and chariot through to salvation?
You unfurled your bow
and let loose a volley of arrows.
You split Earth with rivers.
Mountains saw what was coming.
They twisted in pain.
Flood Waters poured in.
Ocean roared and reared huge waves.
Sun and Moon stopped in their tracks.
Your flashing arrows stopped them,
your lightning-strike spears impaled them.
Angry, you stomped through Earth.
Furious, you crushed the godless nations.
You were out to save your people,
to save your specially chosen people.
You beat the stuffing
out of King Wicked,
Stripped him naked
from head to toe,
Set his severed head on his own spear
and blew away his army.
Scattered they were to the four winds—
and ended up food for the sharks!
You galloped through the Sea on your horses,
racing on the crest of the waves.
When I heard it, my stomach did flips.
I stammered and stuttered.
My bones turned to water.
I staggered and stumbled.
I sit back and wait for Doomsday
to descend on our attackers.
17-19Though the cherry trees don't blossom
and the strawberries don't ripen,
Though the apples are worm-eaten
and the wheat fields stunted,
Though the sheep pens are sheepless
and the cattle barns empty,
I'm singing joyful praise to God.
I'm turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
Counting on God's Rule to prevail,
I take heart and gain strength.
I run like a deer.
I feel like I'm king of the mountain!
Mighty to save in Zephaniah,
Can you say the day of the Lord,
poC tastiness in Zeph 3.16,17
key tastiness in Zephaniah 1-3 (The Message)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 36 Joshua 1:8 appear as follows: "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will meditate on your word through to prosperity. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Humblena's rufrushu at 1 Peter 5.15 – Clothe yourselves with humility towards one another.
Emblem – On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffring and shame, and I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain, so I'll cherish the old rugged cross, till my trophies at last I lay down, I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it some day for a crown.
Zephaniah 3:(msg)16,17
16-17Jerusalem will be told:
""Don't be afraid.
Dear Zion,
don't despair.
Your God is present among you,
a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, he'll calm you with his love
and delight you with his songs.
Zephaniah 1-3 (The Message)
No Longer Giving God a Thought or a Prayer
1 God's Message to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. It came during the reign of Josiah son of Amon, who was king of Judah:
2""I'm going to make a clean sweep of the earth,
a thorough housecleaning."" God's Decree.
3""Men and women and animals,
including birds and fish—
Anything and everything that causes sin—will go,
but especially people.
4-6""I'll start with Judah
and everybody who lives in Jerusalem.
I'll sweep the place clean of every trace
of the sex-and-religion Baal shrines and their priests.
I'll get rid of the people who sneak up to their rooftops at night
to worship the star gods and goddesses;
Also those who continue to worship God
but cover their bases by worshiping other king-gods as well;
Not to mention those who've dumped God altogether,
no longer giving him a thought or offering a prayer.
7-13""Quiet now!
Reverent silence before me, God, the Master!
Time's up. My Judgment Day is near:
The Holy Day is all set, the invited guests made holy.
On the Holy Day, God's Judgment Day,
I will punish the leaders and the royal sons;
I will punish those who dress up like foreign priests and priestesses,
Who introduce pagan prayers and practices;
And I'll punish all who import pagan superstitions
that turn holy places into hellholes.
Judgment Day!"" God's Decree!
""Cries of panic from the city's Fish Gate,
Cries of terror from the city's Second Quarter,
sounds of great crashing from the hills!
Wail, you shopkeepers on Market Street!
Moneymaking has had its day. The god Money is dead.
On Judgment Day,
I'll search through every closet and alley in Jerusalem.
I'll find and punish those who are sitting it out, fat and lazy,
amusing themselves and taking it easy,
Who think, 'God doesn't do anything, good or bad.
He isn't involved, so neither are we.'
But just wait. They'll lose everything they have,
money and house and land.
They'll build a house and never move in.
They'll plant vineyards and never taste the wine.
A Day of Darkness at Noon
14-18""The Great Judgment Day of God is almost here.
It's countdown time:...seven, six, five, four...
Bitter and noisy cries on my Judgment Day,
even strong men screaming for help.
Judgment Day is payday—my anger paid out:
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of catastrophic doom,
a day of darkness at noon,
a day of black storm clouds,
a day of bloodcurdling war cries,
as forts are assaulted,
as defenses are smashed.
I'll make things so bad they won't know what hit them.
They'll walk around groping like the blind.
They've sinned against God!
Their blood will be poured out like old dishwater,
their guts shoveled into slop buckets.
Don't plan on buying your way out.
Your money is worthless for this.
This is the Day of God's Judgment—my wrath!
I care about sin with fiery passion—
A fire to burn up the corrupted world,
a wildfire finish to the corrupting people.""
Zephaniah 2
Seek God
1-2 So get yourselves together. Shape up!
You're a nation without a clue about what it wants.
Do it before you're blown away
like leaves in a windstorm,
Before God's Judgment-anger
sweeps down on you,
Before God's Judgment Day wrath
descends with full force.
3Seek God, all you quietly disciplined people
who live by God's justice.
Seek God's right ways. Seek a quiet and disciplined life.
Perhaps you'll be hidden on the Day of God's anger.
All Earth-Made Gods Will Blow Away
4-5Gaza is scheduled for demolition,
Ashdod will be cleaned out by high noon,
Ekron pulled out by the roots.
Doom to the seaside people,
the seafaring people from Crete!
The Word of God is bad news for you
who settled Canaan, the Philistine country:
""You're slated for destruction—
no survivors!""
6-7The lands of the seafarers
will become pastureland,
A country for shepherds and sheep.
What's left of the family of Judah will get it.
Day after day they'll pasture by the sea,
and go home in the evening to Ashkelon to sleep.
Their very own God will look out for them.
He'll make things as good as before.
8-12""I've heard the crude taunts of Moab,
the mockeries flung by Ammon,
The cruel talk they've used to put down my people,
their self-important strutting along Israel's borders.
Therefore, as sure as I am the living God,"" says God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
Israel's personal God,
""Moab will become a ruin like Sodom,
Ammon a ghost town like Gomorrah,
One a field of rocks, the other a sterile salt flat,
a moonscape forever.
What's left of my people will finish them off,
will pick them clean and take over.
This is what they get for their bloated pride,
their taunts and mockeries of the people
of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
God will be seen as truly terrible—a Holy Terror.
All earth-made gods will shrivel up and blow away;
And everyone, wherever they are, far or near,
will fall to the ground and worship him.
Also you Ethiopians,
you, too, will die—I'll see to it.""
13-15Then God will reach into the north
and destroy Assyria.
He will waste Nineveh,
leave her dry and treeless as a desert.
The ghost town of a city,
the haunt of wild animals,
Nineveh will be home to raccoons and coyotes—
they'll bed down in its ruins.
Owls will hoot in the windows, ravens will croak in the doorways—
all that fancy woodwork now a perch for birds.
Can this be the famous Fun City
that had it made,
That boasted, ""I'm the Number-One City!
I'm King of the Mountain!""
So why is the place deserted,
a lair for wild animals?
Passersby hardly give it a look;
they dismiss it with a gesture.
Zephaniah 3
Sewer City
1-5 Doom to the rebellious city, the home of oppressors—Sewer City!
The city that wouldn't take advice,
wouldn't accept correction,
Wouldn't trust God,
wouldn't even get close to her own god!
Her very own leaders
are rapacious lions,
Her judges are rapacious timber wolves
out every morning prowling for a fresh kill.
Her prophets are out for what they can get.
They're opportunists—you can't trust them.
Her priests desecrate the Sanctuary.
They use God's law as a weapon to maim and kill souls.
Yet God remains righteous in her midst,
untouched by the evil.
He stays at it, day after day, meting out justice.
At evening he's still at it, strong as ever.
But evil men and women, without conscience
and without shame, persist in evil.
6""So I cut off the godless nations.
I knocked down their defense posts,
Filled her roads with rubble
so no one could get through.
Her cities were bombed-out ruins,
unlivable and unlived in.
7""I thought, 'Surely she'll honor me now,
accept my discipline and correction,
Find a way of escape from the trouble she's in,
find relief from the punishment I'm bringing.'
But it didn't faze her. Bright and early
she was up at it again, doing the same old things.
8""Well, if that's what you want, stick around.""
God's Decree.
""Your day in court is coming,
but remember I'll be there to bring evidence.
I'll bring all the nations to the courtroom,
round up all the kingdoms,
And let them feel the brunt of my anger,
my raging wrath.
My zeal is a fire
that will purge and purify the earth.
God Is in Charge at the Center
9-13""In the end I will turn things around for the people.
I'll give them a language undistorted, unpolluted,
Words to address God in worship
and, united, to serve me with their shoulders to the wheel.
They'll come from beyond the Ethiopian rivers,
they'll come praying—
All my scattered, exiled people
will come home with offerings for worship.
You'll no longer have to be ashamed
of all those acts of rebellion.
I'll have gotten rid of your arrogant leaders.
No more pious strutting on my holy hill!
I'll leave a core of people among you
who are poor in spirit—
What's left of Israel that's really Israel.
They'll make their home in God.
This core holy people
will not do wrong.
They won't lie,
won't use words to flatter or seduce.
Content with who they are and where they are,
unanxious, they'll live at peace.""
14-15So sing, Daughter Zion!
Raise the rafters, Israel!
Daughter Jerusalem,
be happy! celebrate!
God has reversed his judgments against you
and sent your enemies off chasing their tails.
From now on, God is Israel's king,
in charge at the center.
There's nothing to fear from evil
ever again!
God Is Present Among You
16-17Jerusalem will be told:
""Don't be afraid.
Dear Zion,
don't despair.
Your God is present among you,
a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, he'll calm you with his love
and delight you with his songs.
18-20""The accumulated sorrows of your exile
will dissipate.
I, your God, will get rid of them for you.
You've carried those burdens long enough.
At the same time, I'll get rid of all those
who've made your life miserable.
I'll heal the maimed;
I'll bring home the homeless.
In the very countries where they were hated
they will be venerated.
On Judgment Day
I'll bring you back home—a great family gathering!
You'll be famous and honored
all over the world.
You'll see it with your own eyes—
all those painful partings turned into reunions!""
Restoring lost heritage,
Haggai hugs his temple,
poC tastiness in Haggai 1.14
key tastiness in Haggai 1-2 (The Message)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 37 1 Samuel 16:7 appear as follows: "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."" So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will find ways to develop a heart that please you. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Intercaesar's rufrushu at James 4.2 – You do not have because you do not ask.
Transgression – What thou, my Lord, has suffered, was all for sinner's gain, mn mine was the transgression, but thine the deadly pain, lo, here I fall, my saviour, tis I deserve thy place, look on me with thy favor, vouch safe to me thy grace.
Haggai 1.14 – So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shieltiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadek, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty God.
Haggai 1-2 (The Message) Caught Up with Taking Care of Your Own Houses
1 On the first day of the sixth month of the second year in the reign of King Darius of Persia, God's Message was delivered by the prophet Haggai to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak:
2A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: ""The people procrastinate. They say this isn't the right time to rebuild my Temple, the Temple of God.""
3-4Shortly after that, God said more and Haggai spoke it: ""How is it that it's the 'right time' for you to live in your fine new homes while the Home, God's Temple, is in ruins?""
5-6And then a little later, God-of-the-Angel-Armies spoke out again:
""Take a good, hard look at your life.
Think it over.
You have spent a lot of money,
but you haven't much to show for it.
You keep filling your plates,
but you never get filled up.
You keep drinking and drinking and drinking,
but you're always thirsty.
You put on layer after layer of clothes,
but you can't get warm.
And the people who work for you,
what are they getting out of it?
Not much—
a leaky, rusted-out bucket, that's what.
7That's why God-of-the-Angel-Armies said:
""Take a good, hard look at your life.
Think it over.""
8-9Then God said:
""Here's what I want you to do:
Climb into the hills and cut some timber.
Bring it down and rebuild the Temple.
Do it just for me. Honor me.
You've had great ambitions for yourselves,
but nothing has come of it.
The little you have brought to my Temple
I've blown away—there was nothing to it.
9-11""And why?"" (This is a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, remember.) ""Because while you've run around, caught up with taking care of your own houses, my Home is in ruins. That's why. Because of your stinginess. And so I've given you a dry summer and a skimpy crop. I've matched your tight-fisted stinginess by decreeing a season of drought, drying up fields and hills, withering gardens and orchards, stunting vegetables and fruit. Nothing—not man or woman, not animal or crop—is going to thrive.""
12Then the governor, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak, and all the people with them listened, really listened, to the voice of their God. When God sent the prophet Haggai to them, they paid attention to him. In listening to Haggai, they honored God.
13Then Haggai, God's messenger, preached God's Message to the people: ""I am with you!"" God's Word.
14-15This is how God got Zerubbabel, Joshua, and all the people moving— got them working on the Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. This happened on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius.
Haggai 2
This Temple Will End Up Better Than It Started Out
1-3 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Word of God came through the prophet Haggai: ""Tell Governor Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and High Priest Joshua son of Jehozadak and all the people:
'Is there anyone here who saw the Temple the way it used to be, all glorious? And what do you see now? Not much, right?
4-5""'So get to work, Zerubbabel!'—God is speaking.
""'Get to work, Joshua son of Jehozadak—high priest!'
""'Get to work, all you people!'—God is speaking.
""'Yes, get to work! For I am with you.' The God-of-the-Angel-Armies is speaking! 'Put into action the word I covenanted with you when you left Egypt. I'm living and breathing among you right now. Don't be timid. Don't hold back.'
6-7""This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies said: 'Before you know it, I will shake up sky and earth, ocean and fields. And I'll shake down all the godless nations. They'll bring bushels of wealth and I will fill this Temple with splendor.' God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so.
8'I own the silver,
I own the gold.'
Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
9""'This Temple is going to end up far better than it started out, a glorious beginning but an even more glorious finish: a place in which I will hand out wholeness and holiness.' Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.""
10-12On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month (again, this was in the second year of Darius), God's Message came to Haggai: ""God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks: Consult the priests for a ruling. If someone carries a piece of sacred meat in his pocket, meat that is set apart for sacrifice on the altar, and the pocket touches a loaf of bread, a dish of stew, a bottle of wine or oil, or any other food, will these foods be made holy by such contact?""
The priests said, ""No.""
13Then Haggai said, ""How about someone who is contaminated by touching a corpse—if that person touches one of these foods, will it be contaminated?""
The priests said, ""Yes, it will be contaminated.""
14Then Haggai said, ""'So, this people is contaminated. Their nation is contaminated. Everything they do is contaminated. Whatever they do for me is contaminated.' God says so.
15-17""'Think back. Before you set out to lay the first foundation stones for the rebuilding of my Temple, how did it go with you? Isn't it true that your foot-dragging, halfhearted efforts at rebuilding the Temple of God were reflected in a sluggish, halfway return on your crops—half the grain you were used to getting, half the wine? I hit you with drought and blight and hail. Everything you were doing got hit. But it didn't seem to faze you. You continued to ignore me.' God's Decree.
18-19""'Now think ahead from this same date—this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Think ahead from when the Temple rebuilding was launched. Has anything in your fields—vine, fig tree, pomegranate, olive tree—failed to flourish? From now on you can count on a blessing.'""
20-21God's Message came a second time to Haggai on that most memorable day, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month: ""Speak to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah:
21-23""'I am about to shake up everything, to turn everything upside down and start over from top to bottom—overthrow governments, destroy foreign powers, dismantle the world of weapons and armaments, throw armies into confusion, so that they end up killing one another. And on that day'""—this is God's Message—""'I will take you, O Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, as my personal servant and I will set you as a signet ring, the sign of my sovereign presence and authority. I've looked over the field and chosen you for this work.'"" The Message of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
Our fountain in Zechariah,
Can you say Messiah,
key tastiness in Zechariah 6 (Amplified Bible)
poC tastiness in Zech 1.17
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 38 1 Samuel 12:22 appear as follows: "For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people because the LORD was pleased to make you his own." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will not feel forsaken. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Interpeter's rufrushu at 1 Cor 14.5 – He interprets so that the church may be edified.
Contempt – When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride.
Zech 1.17 – Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: my towns will agin overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.
Zechariah 6 (Amplified Bible)
1AND AGAIN I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of firm, immovable bronze.
2The first chariot had red or bay horses, the second chariot had black horses,
3The third chariot had white horses, and the fourth chariot had dappled, active, and strong horses.
4Then I said to the angel who talked with me, What are these, my lord?
5And the angel answered me, These are the four winds or spirits of the heavens, which go forth from presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.(A)
6The chariot with the black horses is going forth into the north country, and the white ones are going forth after them [because there are two northern powers to overcome], and the dappled ones are going forth toward the south country.
7And [the chariots with] the strong [horses] went forth and sought to go that they might patrol the earth. And [the Lord] said to them, Go, walk to and fro through the earth and patrol it. So they walked about through the earth [watching and protecting it].
8Then He summoned me and said to me, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted My Spirit [of wrath] and have caused it to rest in the north country.
9And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
10Accept donations and offerings from these [as representatives of the] exiles, from Heldai, from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon; and come the same day and go to the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah.
11Yes, take from them silver and gold, and make crowns and set [one] upon the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest,
12And say to him, Thus says the Lord of hosts: [You, Joshua] behold (look at, keep in sight, watch) the Man [the Messiah] whose name is the Branch, for He shall grow up in His place and He shall build the [true] temple of the Lord.(B)
13Yes, [you are building a temple of the Lord, but] it is He Who shall build the [true] temple of the Lord, and He shall bear the honor and glory [as of the only begotten of the Father] and shall sit and rule upon His throne. And He shall be a [a]Priest upon His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between the two [offices--Priest and King].(C)
14And the [other] crown shall be [credited] to Helem (Heldai), to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to the kindness and favor of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, and shall be in the temple of the Lord for a reminder and memorial.(D)
15And those who are far off shall come and help build the temple of the Lord, and you shall know (recognize and understand) that the Lord sent me [Zechariah] to you. And [your part in this] shall come to pass if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.
Who can crush hearts of stone,
Malachi’s son of righteousness,
key tastiness in Malachi 1-4 (New Living Translation)
poC tastiness in Mal 4.2
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 39 2 Chronicles 30:9 appear as follows: "If you return to the LORD, then your brothers and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will come back to this land, for the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will experience release, grace, mercy and divine return to you. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Jealousyd's rufrushu at 2 Cor 11.2 – I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy.
Borne – May I be willing Lord, to bear daily my coross for thee, even thy cup of greiedf to share, thous hast borne all for me. Lest I forget Gethsemane, Lest I forget thine agony, lest I forget they love for me, lead me to Calvary.
Malachi 1-4 (New Living Translation)
Malachi 1
1 This is the message[a] that the Lord gave to Israel through the prophet Malachi.[b]
The Lord’s Love for Israel
2 “I have always loved you,” says the Lord.
But you retort, “Really? How have you loved us?”
And the Lord replies, “This is how I showed my love for you: I loved your ancestor Jacob, 3 but I rejected his brother, Esau, and devastated his hill country. I turned Esau’s inheritance into a desert for jackals.”
4 Esau’s descendants in Edom may say, “We have been shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins.”
But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies replies, “They may try to rebuild, but I will demolish them again. Their country will be known as ‘The Land of Wickedness,’ and their people will be called ‘The People with Whom the Lord Is Forever Angry.’ 5 When you see the destruction for yourselves, you will say, ‘Truly, the Lord’s greatness reaches far beyond Israel’s borders!’”
Unworthy Sacrifices
6 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve? You have shown contempt for my name!
“But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’
7 “You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar.
“Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?[c]’
“You defile them by saying the altar of the Lord deserves no respect. 8 When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
9 “Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?” asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
10 “How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings. 11 But my name is honored[d] by people of other nations from morning till night. All around the world they offer[e] sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name. For my name is great among the nations,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
12 “But you dishonor my name with your actions. By bringing contemptible food, you are saying it’s all right to defile the Lord’s table. 13 You say, ‘It’s too hard to serve the Lord,’ and you turn up your noses at my commands,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Think of it! Animals that are stolen and crippled and sick are being presented as offerings! Should I accept from you such offerings as these?” asks the Lord.
14 “Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and my name is feared among the nations!
Malachi 2
A Warning to the Priests
“Listen, you priests—this command is for you! 2 Listen to me and make up your minds to honor my name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “or I will bring a terrible curse against you. I will curse even the blessings you receive. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you have not taken my warning to heart. 3 I will punish your descendants and splatter your faces with the manure from your festival sacrifices, and I will throw you on the manure pile. 4 Then at last you will know it was I who sent you this warning so that my covenant with the Levites can continue,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
5 “The purpose of my covenant with the Levites was to bring life and peace, and that is what I gave them. This required reverence from them, and they greatly revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 They passed on to the people the truth of the instructions they received from me. They did not lie or cheat; they walked with me, living good and righteous lives, and they turned many from lives of sin.
7 “The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 8 But you priests have left God’s paths. Your instructions have caused many to stumble into sin. You have corrupted the covenant I made with the Levites,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 9 “So I have made you despised and humiliated in the eyes of all the people. For you have not obeyed me but have shown favoritism in the way you carry out my instructions.”
A Call to Faithfulness
10 Are we not all children of the same Father? Are we not all created by the same God? Then why do we betray each other, violating the covenant of our ancestors?
11 Judah has been unfaithful, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. The men of Judah have defiled the Lord’s beloved sanctuary by marrying women who worship idols. 12 May the Lord cut off from the nation of Israel[f] every last man who has done this and yet brings an offering to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
13 Here is another thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings and doesn’t accept them with pleasure. 14 You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.
15 Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his.[g] And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,[h]” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”
17 You have wearied the Lord with your words.
“How have we wearied him?” you ask.
You have wearied him by saying that all who do evil are good in the Lord’s sight, and he is pleased with them. You have wearied him by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”
Malachi 3
The Coming Day of Judgment
“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
2 “But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. 3 He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. 4 Then once more the Lord will accept the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did in the past.
5 “At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
A Call to Repentance
6 “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. 7 Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’
8 “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me!
“But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’
“You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. 9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! 11 Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease.[i] Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 12 “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
13 “You have said terrible things about me,” says the Lord.
“But you say, ‘What do you mean? What have we said against you?’
14 “You have said, ‘What’s the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands or by trying to show the Lord of Heaven’s Armies that we are sorry for our sins? 15 From now on we will call the arrogant blessed. For those who do evil get rich, and those who dare God to punish them suffer no harm.’”
The Lord’s Promise of Mercy
16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name.
17 “They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child. 18 Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”
Malachi 4
The Coming Day of Judgment
1 [a]The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, “The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed—roots, branches, and all.
2 “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings.[b] And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. 3 On the day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
4 “Remember to obey the Law of Moses, my servant—all the decrees and regulations that I gave him on Mount Sinai[c] for all Israel.
5 “Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. 6 His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
Mal 4.2 – But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.
You are the Christ, son of the Living God,
Matthew’s king we do applaud,
poC tastiness in Mt 16.16
key tastiness in Matthew 2 (Amp)1-12
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 40 Job 10:12 appear as follows: "You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will see your kindness and feel your care. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Joyous Joy's rufrushu at Nehemiah 8.10 – Do not grieve for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Cleft – Rock of ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee, let the water and the blood, from thy woulnded side which flowed, be of sin the double cure,s ave from wrath, and make me pure.
Mt 16.16 – Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ son of the Living God.'
Matthew 2 (Amp)1-12
1NOW WHEN Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men [astrologers] from the east came to Jerusalem, asking,
2Where is He Who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east [a]at its rising and have come to worship Him.(A)
3When Herod the king heard this, he was disturbed and troubled, and the whole of Jerusalem with him.
4So he called together all the chief priests and learned men (scribes) of the people and [b]anxiously asked them where the Christ was to be born.
5They replied to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6And you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are not in any way least or insignificant among the [c]chief cities of Judah; for from you shall come a Ruler ([d]Leader) Who will govern and [e]shepherd My people Israel.(B)
7Then Herod sent for the wise men [astrologers] secretly, and [f]accurately to the last point ascertained from them the time of the appearing of the star [that is, [g]how long the star had made itself visible since its rising in the east].
8Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search for the Child carefully and diligently, and when you have found [h]Him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship Him.
9When they had listened to the king, they went their way, and behold, the star which had been seen in the east [i]in its rising went before them until it came and stood over the place where the young Child was.
10When they saw the star, they were thrilled with ecstatic joy.
11And on going into the house, they saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then opening their treasure bags, they presented to Him gifts--gold and frankincense and myrrh.
12And [j]receiving an answer to their asking, they were divinely instructed and warned in a dream not to go back to Herod; so they departed to their own country by a different way.
He’s working miracles in the book of Mark,
And he is a servant,
poC tastiness in Mk 5.30
key tastiness in Mark 10 (Amplified Bible)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 41 Job 17:9 appear as follows: "Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will do right, practice purity and grow stronger. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Justjudy's rufrushu at psalm 37.6 – He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Sovereign – Alas and did my Saviour bleed and did my Sovereign die, would he devote that sacred head for such a worm as I? At the cross at the cross where I first saw the light and burden of my heart rolled away, it was there by faith I received my sight, and now I am happyall the day.
Mk 5.30 – At once Jesus realized that power had gone fout from him. He truned around in the crownd and asked, 'Who taouched my clothes?”
Mark 10 (Amplified Bible)
1AND [Jesus] left there [Capernaum] and went to the region of Judea and beyond [east of] the Jordan; and crowds [constantly] gathered around Him again, and as was His custom, He began to teach them again.
2And some Pharisees came up, and, in order to test Him and try to find a weakness in Him, asked, Is it lawful for a man to [a]dismiss and repudiate and divorce his wife?
3He answered them, What did Moses command you?
4They replied, Moses allowed a man to write a bill of divorce and to put her away.(A)
5But Jesus said to them, Because of your hardness of heart [[b]your condition of insensibility to the call of God] he wrote you this [c]precept in your Law.
6But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.(B)
7For this reason a man shall leave [behind] his father and his mother [d]and be [e]joined to his wife and cleave closely to her permanently,
8And the two shall become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh.(C)
9What therefore God has united (joined together), let not man separate or divide.
10And indoors the disciples questioned Him again about this subject.
11And He said to them, Whoever [f]dismisses (repudiates and divorces) his wife and marries another commits adultery against her;
12And if a woman dismisses (repudiates and divorces) her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.
13And they kept bringing young children to Him that He might touch them, and the disciples were reproving them [for it].
14But when Jesus saw [it], He was indignant and [g]pained and said to them, Allow the children to come to Me--do not forbid or prevent or hinder them--for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
15Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive and accept and welcome the kingdom of God like a little child [does] positively shall not enter it at all.
16And He took them [the children up [h]one by one] in His arms and [[i]fervently invoked a] blessing, placing His hands upon them.
17And as He was setting out on His journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him and asked Him, Teacher, [You are [j]essentially and perfectly [k]morally] good, what must I do to inherit eternal life [that is, [l]to partake of eternal salvation in the Messiah's kingdom]?
18And Jesus said to him, Why do you call Me [[m]essentially and perfectly [n]morally] good? There is no one [[o]essentially and perfectly [p]morally] good--except God alone.
19You know the commandments: Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.(D)
20And he replied to Him, Teacher, I have carefully guarded and observed all these and taken care not to violate them from my boyhood.
21And Jesus, looking upon him, loved him, and He said to him, You lack one thing; go and sell all you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come [and] accompany Me [[q]walking the same road that I walk].
22At that saying the man's countenance fell and was gloomy, and he went away grieved and sorrowing, for he was holding great possessions.
23And Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, With what difficulty will those who possess wealth and [r]keep on holding it enter the kingdom of God!
24And the disciples were amazed and bewildered and perplexed at His words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how hard it is [s]for those who trust (place their confidence, their sense of safety) in riches to enter the kingdom of God!
25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
26And they were shocked and exceedingly astonished, and said to Him and [t]to one another, Then who can be saved?
27Jesus glanced around at them and said, With men [it is] impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.
28Peter started to say to Him, Behold, we have [u]yielded up and abandoned everything [once and for all and [v]joined You as Your disciples, siding with Your party] and accompanied You [[w]walking the same road that You walk].
29Jesus said, Truly I tell you, there is no one who has given up and left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for My sake and for the Gospel's
30Who will not receive a hundred times as much now in this time--houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions--and in the age to come, eternal life.
31But many [who are now] first will be last [then], and many [who are now] last will be first [then].
32They were on the way going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on in front of them; and they were bewildered and perplexed and greatly astonished, and those [who were still] following were seized with alarm and were afraid. And He took the Twelve [apostles] again and began to tell them what was about to happen to Him,
33[Saying], Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be turned over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn and sentence Him to death and turn Him over to the Gentiles.
34And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and whip Him and put Him to death; but after three days He will rise again [[x]from death].
35And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Him and said to Him, Teacher, we desire You to do for us whatever we ask of You.
36And He replied to them, What do you desire Me to do for you?
37And they said to Him, Grant that we may sit, one at Your right hand and one at [Your] left hand, in Your glory (Your majesty and splendor).
38But Jesus said to them, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism [of affliction] with which I am baptized?
39And they replied to Him, We are able. And Jesus told them, The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized,
40But to sit at My right hand or at My left hand is not Mine to give; but [it will be given to those] for whom it is ordained and prepared.
41And when the other ten [apostles] heard it, they began to be indignant with James and John.
42But Jesus called them to [Him] and said to them, You know that those who are recognized as governing and are supposed to rule the Gentiles (the nations) lord it over them [ruling with absolute power, holding them in subjection], and their great men exercise authority and dominion over them.
43But this is not to be so among you; instead, whoever desires to be great among you must be your servant,
44And whoever wishes to be most important and first in rank among you must be slave of all.
45For even the Son of Man came not to have service rendered to Him, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for ([y]instead of) many.
46Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, a son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.
47And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, saying, Jesus, Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [[z]now]!
48And many [aa]severely censured and reproved him, telling him to keep still, but he kept on shouting out all the more, You Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [now]!
49And Jesus stopped and said, Call him. And they called the blind man, telling him, Take courage! Get up! He is calling you.
50And throwing off his outer garment, he leaped up and came to Jesus.
51And Jesus said to him, What do you want Me to do for you? And the blind man said to Him, Master, let me receive my sight.
52And Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has healed you. And at once he received his sight and accompanied Jesus on the road.
He’s the son of man in the book of Luke,
And he is the perfect man,
poC tastiness in Lk 9.58
key tastiness in Luke 11-12 (The Message)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 42 Psalm 68:19 appear as follows: "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he could praise you daily on account of your help. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Kindkyle's rufrushu at Proverbs 11.17 – A kind man helps himself.
Impart – I serve a risen Saviour he's inthe world today, I know that He is living, whatever men may say, I see His hand of mercy I hear his voice of cheer, and just the time I need Him, he's always near, he lives, he lives, Christ Jesus lives today, he walks with me, and talks with me along life's narrow way, he lives, he lives, salvation to impart, you ask me how I know he lives, he lives within my heart.
Lk 9.58 – Jesus replied, “Foxes have hholes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of Man has no place to lay his head.'
Luke 11-12 (The Message) Ask for What You Need
1 One day he was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said, ""Master, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."" 2-4So he said, ""When you pray, say,
Father,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.""
5-6Then he said, ""Imagine what would happen if you went to a friend in the middle of the night and said, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. An old friend traveling through just showed up, and I don't have a thing on hand.'
7""The friend answers from his bed, 'Don't bother me. The door's locked; my children are all down for the night; I can't get up to give you anything.'
8""But let me tell you, even if he won't get up because he's a friend, if you stand your ground, knocking and waking all the neighbors, he'll finally get up and get you whatever you need.
9""Here's what I'm saying:
Ask and you'll get;
Seek and you'll find;
Knock and the door will open.
10-13""Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your little boy asks for a serving of fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? If your little girl asks for an egg, do you trick her with a spider? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing—you're at least decent to your own children. And don't you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when you ask him?""
No Neutral Ground
14-16Jesus delivered a man from a demon that had kept him speechless. The demon gone, the man started talking a blue streak, taking the crowd by complete surprise. But some from the crowd were cynical. ""Black magic,"" they said. ""Some devil trick he's pulled from his sleeve."" Others were skeptical, waiting around for him to prove himself with a spectacular miracle.
17-20Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, ""Any country in civil war for very long is wasted. A constantly squabbling family falls to pieces. If Satan cancels Satan, is there any Satan left? You accuse me of ganging up with the Devil, the prince of demons, to cast out demons, but if you're slinging devil mud at me, calling me a devil who kicks out devils, doesn't the same mud stick to your own exorcists? But if it's God's finger I'm pointing that sends the demons on their way, then God's kingdom is here for sure.
21-22""When a strong man, armed to the teeth, stands guard in his front yard, his property is safe and sound. But what if a stronger man comes along with superior weapons? Then he's beaten at his own game, the arsenal that gave him such confidence hauled off, and his precious possessions plundered.
23""This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you're not on my side, you're the enemy; if you're not helping, you're making things worse.
24-26""When a corrupting spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil. When it doesn't find anyone, it says, 'I'll go back to my old haunt.' On return, it finds the person swept and dusted, but vacant. It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits dirtier than itself and they all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse than if he'd never gotten cleaned up in the first place.""
27While he was saying these things, some woman lifted her voice above the murmur of the crowd: ""Blessed the womb that carried you, and the breasts at which you nursed!""
28Jesus commented, ""Even more blessed are those who hear God's Word and guard it with their lives!""
Keep Your Eyes Open
29-30As the crowd swelled, he took a fresh tack: ""The mood of this age is all wrong. Everybody's looking for proof, but you're looking for the wrong kind. All you're looking for is something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracles. But the only proof you're going to get is the Jonah-proof given to the Ninevites, which looks like no proof at all. What Jonah was to Nineveh, the Son of Man is to this age.
32-31""On Judgment Day the Ninevites will stand up and give evidence that will condemn this generation, because when Jonah preached to them they changed their lives. A far greater preacher than Jonah is here, and you squabble about 'proofs.' On Judgment Day the Queen of Sheba will come forward and bring evidence that condemns this generation, because she traveled from a far corner of the earth to listen to wise Solomon. Wisdom far greater than Solomon's is right in front of you, and you quibble over 'evidence.'
33-36""No one lights a lamp, then hides it in a drawer. It's put on a lamp stand so those entering the room have light to see where they're going. Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. Keep your eyes open, your lamp burning, so you don't get musty and murky. Keep your life as well-lighted as your best-lighted room.""
Frauds!
37-41When he finished that talk, a Pharisee asked him to dinner. He entered his house and sat right down at the table. The Pharisee was shocked and somewhat offended when he saw that Jesus didn't wash up before the meal. But the Master said to him, ""I know you Pharisees burnish the surface of your cups and plates so they sparkle in the sun, but I also know your insides are maggoty with greed and secret evil. Stupid Pharisees! Didn't the One who made the outside also make the inside? Turn both your pockets and your hearts inside out and give generously to the poor; then your lives will be clean, not just your dishes and your hands.
42""I've had it with you! You're hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but manage to find loopholes for getting around basic matters of justice and God's love. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required.
43-44""You're hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You love sitting at the head table at church dinners, love preening yourselves in the radiance of public flattery. Frauds! You're just like unmarked graves: People walk over that nice, grassy surface, never suspecting the rot and corruption that is six feet under.""
45One of the religion scholars spoke up: ""Teacher, do you realize that in saying these things you're insulting us?""
46He said, ""Yes, and I can be even more explicit. You're hopeless, you religion scholars! You load people down with rules and regulations, nearly breaking their backs, but never lift even a finger to help.
47-51""You're hopeless! You build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed. The tombs you build are monuments to your murdering ancestors more than to the murdered prophets. That accounts for God's Wisdom saying, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, but they'll kill them and run them off.' What it means is that every drop of righteous blood ever spilled from the time earth began until now, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was struck down between altar and sanctuary, is on your heads. Yes, it's on the bill of this generation and this generation will pay.
52""You're hopeless, you religion scholars! You took the key of knowledge, but instead of unlocking doors, you locked them. You won't go in yourself, and won't let anyone else in either.""
53-54As soon as Jesus left the table, the religion scholars and Pharisees went into a rage. They went over and over everything he said, plotting how they could trap him in something from his own mouth.
Luke 12
Can't Hide Behind a Religious Mask
1-3By this time the crowd, unwieldy and stepping on each other's toes, numbered into the thousands. But Jesus' primary concern was his disciples. He said to them, ""Watch yourselves carefully so you don't get contaminated with Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness. You can't keep your true self hidden forever; before long you'll be exposed. You can't hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known. You can't whisper one thing in private and preach the opposite in public; the day's coming when those whispers will be repeated all over town.
4-5""I'm speaking to you as dear friends. Don't be bluffed into silence or insincerity by the threats of religious bullies. True, they can kill you, but then what can they do? There's nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in his hands.
6-7""What's the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one. And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a million canaries.
8-9""Stand up for me among the people you meet and the Son of Man will stand up for you before all God's angels. But if you pretend you don't know me, do you think I'll defend you before God's angels?
10""If you bad-mouth the Son of Man out of misunderstanding or ignorance, that can be overlooked. But if you're knowingly attacking God himself, taking aim at the Holy Spirit, that won't be overlooked.
11-12""When they drag you into their meeting places, or into police courts and before judges, don't worry about defending yourselves—what you'll say or how you'll say it. The right words will be there. The Holy Spirit will give you the right words when the time comes.""
The Story of the Greedy Farmer
13Someone out of the crowd said, ""Teacher, order my brother to give me a fair share of the family inheritance.""
14He replied, ""Mister, what makes you think it's any of my business to be a judge or mediator for you?""
15Speaking to the people, he went on, ""Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.""
16-19Then he told them this story: ""The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. He talked to himself: 'What can I do? My barn isn't big enough for this harvest.' Then he said, 'Here's what I'll do: I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I'll gather in all my grain and goods, and I'll say to myself, Self, you've done well! You've got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!'
20""Just then God showed up and said, 'Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods—who gets it?'
21""That's what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God.""
Steep Yourself in God-Reality
22-24He continued this subject with his disciples. ""Don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more.
25-28""Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can't even do that, why fuss at all? Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don't fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?
29-32""What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don't be afraid of missing out. You're my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.
33-34""Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can't go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
When the Master Shows Up
35-38""Keep your shirts on; keep the lights on! Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks. Lucky the servants whom the master finds on watch! He'll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them. It doesn't matter what time of the night he arrives; they're awake—and so blessed!
39-40""You know that if the house owner had known what night the burglar was coming, he wouldn't have stayed out late and left the place unlocked. So don't you be slovenly and careless. Just when you don't expect him, the Son of Man will show up.""
41Peter said, ""Master, are you telling this story just for us? Or is it for everybody?""
42-46The Master said, ""Let me ask you: Who is the dependable manager, full of common sense, that the master puts in charge of his staff to feed them well and on time? He is a blessed man if when the master shows up he's doing his job. But if he says to himself, 'The master is certainly taking his time,' begins maltreating the servants and maids, throws parties for his friends, and gets drunk, the master will walk in when he least expects it, give him the thrashing of his life, and put him back in the kitchen peeling potatoes.
47-48""The servant who knows what his master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be thoroughly thrashed. But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he'll get off with a slap on the hand. Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!
To Start a Fire
49-53""I've come to start a fire on this earth—how I wish it were blazing right now! I've come to change everything, turn everything rightside up—how I long for it to be finished! Do you think I came to smooth things over and make everything nice? Not so. I've come to disrupt and confront! From now on, when you find five in a house, it will be—
Three against two,
and two against three;
Father against son,
and son against father;
Mother against daughter,
and daughter against mother;
Mother-in-law against bride,
and bride against mother-in-law.""
54-56Then he turned to the crowd: ""When you see clouds coming in from the west, you say, 'Storm's coming'—and you're right. And when the wind comes out of the south, you say, 'This'll be a hot one'—and you're right. Frauds! You know how to tell a change in the weather, so don't tell me you can't tell a change in the season, the God-season we're in right now.
57-59""You don't have to be a genius to understand these things. Just use your common sense, the kind you'd use if, while being taken to court, you decided to settle up with your accuser on the way, knowing that if the case went to the judge you'd probably go to jail and pay every last penny of the fine. That's the kind of decision I'm asking you to make.""
He’s the song of God in the book of John,
And the door everyone must enter through,
key tastiness in John 17 (The Message)
poC tastiness in John 10.7
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 43 Proverbs 28:12 appear as follows: "When the righteous triumph, there is great elation; but when the wicked rise to power, men go into hiding. He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Blessed is the man who always fears the LORD, but he who hardens his heart falls in to trouble." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will confess sins and have overcoming victory and success. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Knowin Nolan's rufrushu at Proberbs 2.10 – Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Redeeming – Love's redeeming work is done, alleluia, fought the fight the battle's won, alleluia, death in vain forbids him rise, alleluia, Christ has opened paradise, alleluia.
John 17 (The Message) Jesus' Prayer for His Followers
1-5 Jesus said these things. Then, raising his eyes in prayer, he said:
Father, it's time.
Display the bright splendor of your Son
So the Son in turn may show your bright splendor.
You put him in charge of everything human
So he might give real and eternal life to all in his charge.
And this is the real and eternal life:
That they know you,
The one and only true God,
And Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
I glorified you on earth
By completing down to the last detail
What you assigned me to do.
And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor,
The very splendor I had in your presence
Before there was a world.
6-12I spelled out your character in detail
To the men and women you gave me.
They were yours in the first place;
Then you gave them to me,
And they have now done what you said.
They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt,
That everything you gave me is firsthand from you,
For the message you gave me, I gave them;
And they took it, and were convinced
That I came from you.
They believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I'm not praying for the God-rejecting world
But for those you gave me,
For they are yours by right.
Everything mine is yours, and yours mine,
And my life is on display in them.
For I'm no longer going to be visible in the world;
They'll continue in the world
While I return to you.
Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life
That you conferred as a gift through me,
So they can be one heart and mind
As we are one heart and mind.
As long as I was with them, I guarded them
In the pursuit of the life you gave through me;
I even posted a night watch.
And not one of them got away,
Except for the rebel bent on destruction
(the exception that proved the rule of Scripture).
13-19Now I'm returning to you.
I'm saying these things in the world's hearing
So my people can experience
My joy completed in them.
I gave them your word;
The godless world hated them because of it,
Because they didn't join the world's ways,
Just as I didn't join the world's ways.
I'm not asking that you take them out of the world
But that you guard them from the Evil One.
They are no more defined by the world
Than I am defined by the world.
Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth;
Your word is consecrating truth.
In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world,
I give them a mission in the world.
I'm consecrating myself for their sakes
So they'll be truth-consecrated in their mission.
20-23I'm praying not only for them
But also for those who will believe in me
Because of them and their witness about me.
The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—
Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
So they might be one heart and mind with us.
Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
So they'll be as unified and together as we are—
I in them and you in me.
Then they'll be mature in this oneness,
And give the godless world evidence
That you've sent me and loved them
In the same way you've loved me.
24-26Father, I want those you gave me
To be with me, right where I am,
So they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me,
Having loved me
Long before there ever was a world.
Righteous Father, the world has never known you,
But I have known you, and these disciples know
That you sent me on this mission.
I have made your very being known to them—
Who you are and what you do—
And continue to make it known,
So that your love for me
Might be in them
Exactly as I am in them.
John 10.7 – Therefore Jesus said again, 'I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.'
A light Saul saw in the book of Acts,
Let’s all go to church,
poC tastiness in Acts 9.3
key tastiness in Acts 11 (The Message)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 44 Isaiah 40:29 appear as follows: "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless __ so that he will experience your amazing strength over weakness. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
OOPS see loyal Sponsored by Leadereba's rufrushu at Hebrews 13.7 – Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you.
Seal – Vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Saviour, vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord, Up from the grave he arose, with a mighty triumph o'er his foes, he arose a victor from the dark domain and he lives forever with his saints to regin, he arose, he arose, hallelujah, Christ arose.
Acts 9.3 – As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
Acts 11 (The Message) God Has Broken Through
1-3The news traveled fast and in no time the leaders and friends back in Jerusalem heard about it—heard that the non-Jewish ""outsiders"" were now ""in."" When Peter got back to Jerusalem, some of his old associates, concerned about circumcision, called him on the carpet: ""What do you think you're doing rubbing shoulders with that crowd, eating what is prohibited and ruining our good name?""
4-6So Peter, starting from the beginning, laid it out for them step-by-step: ""Recently I was in the town of Joppa praying. I fell into a trance and saw a vision: Something like a huge blanket, lowered by ropes at its four corners, came down out of heaven and settled on the ground in front of me. Milling around on the blanket were farm animals, wild animals, reptiles, birds—you name it, it was there. Fascinated, I took it all in.
7-10""Then I heard a voice: 'Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.' I said, 'Oh, no, Master. I've never so much as tasted food that wasn't kosher.' The voice spoke again: 'If God says it's okay, it's okay.' This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the sky.
11-14""Just then three men showed up at the house where I was staying, sent from Caesarea to get me. The Spirit told me to go with them, no questions asked. So I went with them, I and six friends, to the man who had sent for me. He told us how he had seen an angel right in his own house, real as his next-door neighbor, saying, 'Send to Joppa and get Simon, the one they call Peter. He'll tell you something that will save your life—in fact, you and everyone you care for.'
15-17""So I started in, talking. Before I'd spoken half a dozen sentences, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he did on us the first time. I remembered Jesus' words: 'John baptized with water; you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' So I ask you: If God gave the same exact gift to them as to us when we believed in the Master Jesus Christ, how could I object to God?""
18Hearing it all laid out like that, they quieted down. And then, as it sank in, they started praising God. ""It's really happened! God has broken through to the other nations, opened them up to Life!""
19-21Those who had been scattered by the persecution triggered by Stephen's death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, but they were still only speaking and dealing with their fellow Jews. Then some of the men from Cyprus and Cyrene who had come to Antioch started talking to Greeks, giving them the Message of the Master Jesus. God was pleased with what they were doing and put his stamp of approval on it—quite a number of the Greeks believed and turned to the Master.
22-24When the church in Jerusalem got wind of this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to check on things. As soon as he arrived, he saw that God was behind and in it all. He threw himself in with them, got behind them, urging them to stay with it the rest of their lives. He was a good man that way, enthusiastic and confident in the Holy Spirit's ways. The community grew large and strong in the Master.
25-26Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. He found him and brought him back to Antioch. They were there a whole year, meeting with the church and teaching a lot of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were for the first time called Christians.
27-30It was about this same time that some prophets came to Antioch from Jerusalem. One of them named Agabus stood up one day and, prompted by the Spirit, warned that a severe famine was about to devastate the country. (The famine eventually came during the rule of Claudius.) So the disciples decided that each of them would send whatever they could to their fellow Christians in Judea to help out. They sent Barnabas and Saul to deliver the collection to the leaders in Jerusalem.
The words of Isaiah 40:29 appear as follows: "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will experience your amazing strength over weakness. Amen
Our justifier in Romans,
He has paid our sins in full,
poC tastiness in Rom 5.18
key tastiness in Romans 8-11 (The Message)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 45 Jeremiah 17:7 appear as follows: "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will learn to trust you. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Lovinida's rufrushu at Ephesians 4.5 – Speaking the truth in love we will in all things grow up into him who is the head that is Christ.
Wane – Jesus shall riegin where'er the sun, does his successive journey's run, his kingdom spread from shore to shore, till moon shall wax and wane no more.
Rom 5.18 – Consequently just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
Romans 8-11 (The Message) The Solution Is Life on God's Terms
1-2With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.
3-4God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that.
The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn't deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us.
5-8Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn't pleased at being ignored.
9-11But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won't know what we're talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God's terms. It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he'll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ's!
12-14So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!
15-17This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike ""What's next, Papa?"" God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what's coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with him!
18-21That's why I don't think there's any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.
22-25All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.
26-28Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
29-30God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.
31-39So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:
They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We're sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.
None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.
Romans 9
God Is Calling His People
1-5 At the same time, you need to know that I carry with me at all times a huge sorrow. It's an enormous pain deep within me, and I'm never free of it. I'm not exaggerating—Christ and the Holy Spirit are my witnesses. It's the Israelites...If there were any way I could be cursed by the Messiah so they could be blessed by him, I'd do it in a minute. They're my family. I grew up with them. They had everything going for them—family, glory, covenants, revelation, worship, promises, to say nothing of being the race that produced the Messiah, the Christ, who is God over everything, always. Oh, yes!
6-9Don't suppose for a moment, though, that God's Word has malfunctioned in some way or other. The problem goes back a long way. From the outset, not all Israelites of the flesh were Israelites of the spirit. It wasn't Abraham's sperm that gave identity here, but God's promise. Remember how it was put: ""Your family will be defined by Isaac""? That means that Israelite identity was never racially determined by sexual transmission, but it was God-determined by promise. Remember that promise, ""When I come back next year at this time, Sarah will have a son""?
10-13And that's not the only time. To Rebecca, also, a promise was made that took priority over genetics. When she became pregnant by our one-of-a-kind ancestor, Isaac, and her babies were still innocent in the womb—incapable of good or bad—she received a special assurance from God. What God did in this case made it perfectly plain that his purpose is not a hit-or-miss thing dependent on what we do or don't do, but a sure thing determined by his decision, flowing steadily from his initiative. God told Rebecca, ""The firstborn of your twins will take second place."" Later that was turned into a stark epigram: ""I loved Jacob; I hated Esau.""
14-18Is that grounds for complaining that God is unfair? Not so fast, please. God told Moses, ""I'm in charge of mercy. I'm in charge of compassion."" Compassion doesn't originate in our bleeding hearts or moral sweat, but in God's mercy. The same point was made when God said to Pharaoh, ""I picked you as a bit player in this drama of my salvation power."" All we're saying is that God has the first word, initiating the action in which we play our part for good or ill.
19Are you going to object, ""So how can God blame us for anything since he's in charge of everything? If the big decisions are already made, what say do we have in it?""
20-33Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn't talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, ""Why did you shape me like this?"" Isn't it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans? If God needs one style of pottery especially designed to show his angry displeasure and another style carefully crafted to show his glorious goodness, isn't that all right? Either or both happens to Jews, but it also happens to the other people. Hosea put it well:
I'll call nobodies and make them somebodies;
I'll call the unloved and make them beloved.
In the place where they yelled out, ""You're nobody!""
they're calling you ""God's living children.""
Isaiah maintained this same emphasis:
If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered
and the sum labeled ""chosen of God,""
They'd be numbers still, not names;
salvation comes by personal selection.
God doesn't count us; he calls us by name.
Arithmetic is not his focus.
Isaiah had looked ahead and spoken the truth:
If our powerful God
had not provided us a legacy of living children,
We would have ended up like ghost towns,
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
How can we sum this up? All those people who didn't seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their ""God projects"" that they didn't notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. And so they stumbled into him and went sprawling. Isaiah (again!) gives us the metaphor for pulling this together:
Careful! I've put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion,
a stone you can't get around.
But the stone is me! If you're looking for me,
you'll find me on the way, not in the way.
Romans 10
Israel Reduced to Religion
1-3Believe me, friends, all I want for Israel is what's best for Israel: salvation, nothing less. I want it with all my heart and pray to God for it all the time. I readily admit that the Jews are impressively energetic regarding God—but they are doing everything exactly backward. They don't seem to realize that this comprehensive setting-things-right that is salvation is God's business, and a most flourishing business it is. Right across the street they set up their own salvation shops and noisily hawk their wares. After all these years of refusing to really deal with God on his terms, insisting instead on making their own deals, they have nothing to show for it.
4-10The earlier revelation was intended simply to get us ready for the Messiah, who then puts everything right for those who trust him to do it. Moses wrote that anyone who insists on using the law code to live right before God soon discovers it's not so easy—every detail of life regulated by fine print! But trusting God to shape the right living in us is a different story— no precarious climb up to heaven to recruit the Messiah, no dangerous descent into hell to rescue the Messiah. So what exactly was Moses saying?
The word that saves is right here,
as near as the tongue in your mouth,
as close as the heart in your chest.
It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—""Jesus is my Master""—embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not ""doing"" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: ""God has set everything right between him and me!""
11-13Scripture reassures us, ""No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it."" It's exactly the same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. ""Everyone who calls, 'Help, God!' gets help.""
14-17But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That's why Scripture exclaims,
A sight to take your breath away!
Grand processions of people
telling all the good things of God!
But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: ""Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?"" The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ's Word is preached, there's nothing to listen to.
18-21But haven't there been plenty of opportunities for Israel to listen and understand what's going on? Plenty, I'd say.
Preachers' voices have gone 'round the world,
Their message to earth's seven seas.
So the big question is, Why didn't Israel understand that she had no corner on this message? Moses had it right when he predicted,
When you see God reach out to those
you consider your inferiors—outsiders!—
you'll become insanely jealous.
When you see God reach out to people
you think are religiously stupid,
you'll throw temper tantrums.
Isaiah dared to speak out these words of God:
People found and welcomed me
who never so much as looked for me.
And I found and welcomed people
who had never even asked about me.
Then he capped it with a damning indictment:
Day after day after day,
I beckoned Israel with open arms,
And got nothing for my trouble
but cold shoulders and icy stares.
Romans 11
The Loyal Minority
1-2Does this mean, then, that God is so fed up with Israel that he'll have nothing more to do with them? Hardly. Remember that I, the one writing these things, am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham out of the tribe of Benjamin. You can't get much more Semitic than that! So we're not talking about repudiation. God has been too long involved with Israel, has too much invested, to simply wash his hands of them.
2-6Do you remember that time Elijah was agonizing over this same Israel and cried out in prayer?
God, they murdered your prophets,
They trashed your altars;
I'm the only one left and now they're after me!
And do you remember God's answer?
I still have seven thousand who haven't quit,
Seven thousand who are loyal to the finish.
It's the same today. There's a fiercely loyal minority still—not many, perhaps, but probably more than you think. They're holding on, not because of what they think they're going to get out of it, but because they're convinced of God's grace and purpose in choosing them. If they were only thinking of their own immediate self-interest, they would have left long ago.
7-10And then what happened? Well, when Israel tried to be right with God on her own, pursuing her own self-interest, she didn't succeed. The chosen ones of God were those who let God pursue his interest in them, and as a result received his stamp of legitimacy. The ""self-interest Israel"" became thick-skinned toward God. Moses and Isaiah both commented on this:
Fed up with their quarrelsome, self-centered ways,
God blurred their eyes and dulled their ears,
Shut them in on themselves in a hall of mirrors,
and they're there to this day.
David was upset about the same thing:
I hope they get sick eating self-serving meals,
break a leg walking their self-serving ways.
I hope they go blind staring in their mirrors,
get ulcers from playing at god.
Pruning and Grafting Branches
11-12The next question is, ""Are they down for the count? Are they out of this for good?"" And the answer is a clear-cut No. Ironically when they walked out, they left the door open and the outsiders walked in. But the next thing you know, the Jews were starting to wonder if perhaps they had walked out on a good thing. Now, if their leaving triggered this worldwide coming of non-Jewish outsiders to God's kingdom, just imagine the effect of their coming back! What a homecoming!
13-15But I don't want to go on about them. It's you, the outsiders, that I'm concerned with now. Because my personal assignment is focused on the so-called outsiders, I make as much of this as I can when I'm among my Israelite kin, the so-called insiders, hoping they'll realize what they're missing and want to get in on what God is doing. If their falling out initiated this worldwide coming together, their recovery is going to set off something even better: mass homecoming! If the first thing the Jews did, even though it was wrong for them, turned out for your good, just think what's going to happen when they get it right!
16-18Behind and underneath all this there is a holy, God-planted, God-tended root. If the primary root of the tree is holy, there's bound to be some holy fruit. Some of the tree's branches were pruned and you wild olive shoots were grafted in. Yet the fact that you are now fed by that rich and holy root gives you no cause to crow over the pruned branches. Remember, you aren't feeding the root; the root is feeding you.
19-20It's certainly possible to say, ""Other branches were pruned so that I could be grafted in!"" Well and good. But they were pruned because they were deadwood, no longer connected by belief and commitment to the root. The only reason you're on the tree is because your graft ""took"" when you believed, and because you're connected to that belief-nurturing root. So don't get cocky and strut your branch. Be humbly mindful of the root that keeps you lithe and green.
21-22If God didn't think twice about taking pruning shears to the natural branches, why would he hesitate over you? He wouldn't give it a second thought. Make sure you stay alert to these qualities of gentle kindness and ruthless severity that exist side by side in God—ruthless with the deadwood, gentle with the grafted shoot. But don't presume on this gentleness. The moment you become deadwood, you're out of there.
23-24And don't get to feeling superior to those pruned branches down on the ground. If they don't persist in remaining deadwood, they could very well get grafted back in. God can do that. He can perform miracle grafts. Why, if he could graft you—branches cut from a tree out in the wild—into an orchard tree, he certainly isn't going to have any trouble grafting branches back into the tree they grew from in the first place. Just be glad you're in the tree, and hope for the best for the others.
A Complete Israel
25-29I want to lay all this out on the table as clearly as I can, friends. This is complicated. It would be easy to misinterpret what's going on and arrogantly assume that you're royalty and they're just rabble, out on their ears for good. But that's not it at all. This hardness on the part of insider Israel toward God is temporary. Its effect is to open things up to all the outsiders so that we end up with a full house. Before it's all over, there will be a complete Israel. As it is written,
A champion will stride down from the mountain of Zion;
he'll clean house in Jacob.
And this is my commitment to my people:
removal of their sins.
From your point of view as you hear and embrace the good news of the Message, it looks like the Jews are God's enemies. But looked at from the long-range perspective of God's overall purpose, they remain God's oldest friends. God's gifts and God's call are under full warranty—never canceled, never rescinded.
30-32There was a time not so long ago when you were on the outs with God. But then the Jews slammed the door on him and things opened up for you. Now they are on the outs. But with the door held wide open for you, they have a way back in. In one way or another, God makes sure that we all experience what it means to be outside so that he can personally open the door and welcome us back in.
33-36Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It's way over our heads. We'll never figure it out.
Is there anyone around who can explain God?
Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do?
Anyone who has done him such a huge favor
that God has to ask his advice?
Everything comes from him;
Everything happens through him;
Everything ends up in him.
Always glory! Always praise!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
The resurrection in 1 Corinthians,
Don’t forget spanking the saints,
poC tastiness in 1 Corinthians 15.44,45
key tastiness in 1 Corinthians 4 (msgall)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 46 Hosea 10:12 appear as follows: "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground, for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will plan and harvest goodness and loyalty and cultivate many new fields of knowledge with your help. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Oops see leader – Sponsoered by loyalloyd's rufrushu at Hebrews 13.7OOPS – There work will be a joy, not a bruden, for that would be of no advantage tto you.
Purged – Jesus the saviour reignes, the God of truth and love, when he had purged our stains he took his seat above, lift up your heart, lift yp your voice, rejoice agian I say rejoice.
1 Corinthians 15.44,45 – It is sown a natural body it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body there is also a spiritual body. So it is written, the first man Adam became a living being, the last Adam a life giving Spirit.
1 Corinthians 4 (msgall)
1-4Don't imagine us leaders to be something we aren't. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God's most sublime secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don't even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I'm not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn't mean much. The Master makes that judgment.
5So don't get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the ""Well done!"" of God.
6All I'm doing right now, friends, is showing how these things pertain to Apollos and me so that you will learn restraint and not rush into making judgments without knowing all the facts. It's important to look at things from God's point of view. I would rather not see you inflating or deflating reputations based on mere hearsay.
7-8For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn't everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what's the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need. You already have more access to God than you can handle. Without bringing either Apollos or me into it, you're sitting on top of the world—at least God's world—and we're right there, sitting alongside you!
9-13It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a theater in which no one wants to buy a ticket. We're something everyone stands around and stares at, like an accident in the street. We're the Messiah's misfits. You might be sure of yourselves, but we live in the midst of frailties and uncertainties. You might be well-thought-of by others, but we're mostly kicked around. Much of the time we don't have enough to eat, we wear patched and threadbare clothes, we get doors slammed in our faces, and we pick up odd jobs anywhere we can to eke out a living. When they call us names, we say, ""God bless you."" When they spread rumors about us, we put in a good word for them. We're treated like garbage, potato peelings from the culture's kitchen. And it's not getting any better.
14-16I'm not writing all this as a neighborhood scold just to make you feel rotten. I'm writing as a father to you, my children. I love you and want you to grow up well, not spoiled. There are a lot of people around who can't wait to tell you what you've done wrong, but there aren't many fathers willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up. It was as Jesus helped me proclaim God's Message to you that I became your father. I'm not, you know, asking you to do anything I'm not already doing myself.
17This is why I sent Timothy to you earlier. He is also my dear son, and true to the Master. He will refresh your memory on the instructions I regularly give all the churches on the way of Christ.
18-20I know there are some among you who are so full of themselves they never listen to anyone, let alone me. They don't think I'll ever show up in person. But I'll be there sooner than you think, God willing, and then we'll see if they're full of anything but hot air. God's Way is not a matter of mere talk; it's an empowered life.
21So how should I prepare to come to you? As a severe disciplinarian who makes you toe the mark? Or as a good friend and counselor who wants to share heart-to-heart with you? You decide.
Our sin bearer in 2 Corinthians, Apostolic anatomy too,
poC tastiness in 2 cor 5.17-21 msg
key tastiness in 2 Corinthians 10-13 (The Message)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 47 Zephaniah 3:17 appear as follows: "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will experience times of resting in your love as you demonstrate joyfulness in and about his life. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Maturay's rufrushu at Philippians 3.15 – All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.
Adorning – little children, little children, who love their redeemer, are the jewls, precious jewels, his loved and his own, like the stars of the morning his bright crown adorning, they shall shine tin their beaut, birght gems for his crown.
2 cor 5.17-21 msg The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you.
21How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God"
2 Corinthians 10-13 (The Message) Tearing Down Barriers
1-2And now a personal but most urgent matter; I write in the gentle but firm spirit of Christ. I hear that I'm being painted as cringing and wishy-washy when I'm with you, but harsh and demanding when at a safe distance writing letters. Please don't force me to take a hard line when I'm present with you. Don't think that I'll hesitate a single minute to stand up to those who say I'm an unprincipled opportunist. Then they'll have to eat their words.
3-6The world is unprincipled. It's dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn't fight fair. But we don't live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren't for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.
7-8You stare and stare at the obvious, but you can't see the forest for the trees. If you're looking for a clear example of someone on Christ's side, why do you so quickly cut me out? Believe me, I am quite sure of my standing with Christ. You may think I overstate the authority he gave me, but I'm not backing off. Every bit of my commitment is for the purpose of building you up, after all, not tearing you down.
9-11And what's this talk about me bullying you with my letters? ""His letters are brawny and potent, but in person he's a weakling and mumbles when he talks."" Such talk won't survive scrutiny. What we write when away, we do when present. We're the exact same people, absent or present, in letter or in person.
12We're not, understand, putting ourselves in a league with those who boast that they're our superiors. We wouldn't dare do that. But in all this comparing and grading and competing, they quite miss the point.
13-14We aren't making outrageous claims here. We're sticking to the limits of what God has set for us. But there can be no question that those limits reach to and include you. We're not moving into someone else's ""territory."" We were already there with you, weren't we? We were the first ones to get there with the Message of Christ, right? So how can there be any question of overstepping our bounds by writing or visiting you?
15-18We're not barging in on the rightful work of others, interfering with their ministries, demanding a place in the sun with them. What we're hoping for is that as your lives grow in faith, you'll play a part within our expanding work. And we'll all still be within the limits God sets as we proclaim the Message in countries beyond Corinth. But we have no intention of moving in on what others have done and taking credit for it. ""If you want to claim credit, claim it for God."" What you say about yourself means nothing in God's work. It's what God says about you that makes the difference.
2 Corinthians 11
Pseudo-Servants of God
1-3Will you put up with a little foolish aside from me? Please, just for a moment. The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much—this is the passion of God burning inside me! I promised your hand in marriage to Christ, presented you as a pure virgin to her husband. And now I'm afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced Eve with his smooth patter, you are being lured away from the simple purity of your love for Christ.
4-6It seems that if someone shows up preaching quite another Jesus than we preached—different spirit, different message—you put up with him quite nicely. But if you put up with these big-shot ""apostles,"" why can't you put up with simple me? I'm as good as they are. It's true that I don't have their voice, haven't mastered that smooth eloquence that impresses you so much. But when I do open my mouth, I at least know what I'm talking about. We haven't kept anything back. We let you in on everything.
7-12I wonder, did I make a bad mistake in proclaiming God's Message to you without asking for something in return, serving you free of charge so that you wouldn't be inconvenienced by me? It turns out that the other churches paid my way so that you could have a free ride. Not once during the time I lived among you did anyone have to lift a finger to help me out. My needs were always supplied by the believers from Macedonia province. I was careful never to be a burden to you, and I never will be, you can count on it. With Christ as my witness, it's a point of honor with me, and I'm not going to keep it quiet just to protect you from what the neighbors will think. It's not that I don't love you; God knows I do. I'm just trying to keep things open and honest between us.
12-15And I'm not changing my position on this. I'd die before taking your money. I'm giving nobody grounds for lumping me in with those money-grubbing ""preachers,"" vaunting themselves as something special. They're a sorry bunch—pseudo-apostles, lying preachers, crooked workers—posing as Christ's agents but sham to the core. And no wonder! Satan does it all the time, dressing up as a beautiful angel of light. So it shouldn't surprise us when his servants masquerade as servants of God. But they're not getting by with anything. They'll pay for it in the end.
Many a Long and Lonely Night
16-21Let me come back to where I started—and don't hold it against me if I continue to sound a little foolish. Or if you'd rather, just accept that I am a fool and let me rant on a little. I didn't learn this kind of talk from Christ. Oh, no, it's a bad habit I picked up from the three-ring preachers that are so popular these days. Since you sit there in the judgment seat observing all these shenanigans, you can afford to humor an occasional fool who happens along. You have such admirable tolerance for impostors who rob your freedom, rip you off, steal you blind, put you down—even slap your face! I shouldn't admit it to you, but our stomachs aren't strong enough to tolerate that kind of stuff.
21-23Since you admire the egomaniacs of the pulpit so much (remember, this is your old friend, the fool, talking), let me try my hand at it. Do they brag of being Hebrews, Israelites, the pure race of Abraham? I'm their match. Are they servants of Christ? I can go them one better. (I can't believe I'm saying these things. It's crazy to talk this way! But I started, and I'm going to finish.)
23-27I've worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death's door time after time. I've been flogged five times with the Jews' thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I've been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I've had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I've been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I've known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather.
28-29And that's not the half of it, when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches. When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones. When someone is duped into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut.
30-33If I have to ""brag"" about myself, I'll brag about the humiliations that make me like Jesus. The eternal and blessed God and Father of our Master Jesus knows I'm not lying. Remember the time I was in Damascus and the governor of King Aretas posted guards at the city gates to arrest me? I crawled through a window in the wall, was let down in a basket, and had to run for my life.
2 Corinthians 12
Strength from Weakness
1-5You've forced me to talk this way, and I do it against my better judgment. But now that we're at it, I may as well bring up the matter of visions and revelations that God gave me. For instance, I know a man who, fourteen years ago, was seized by Christ and swept in ecstasy to the heights of heaven. I really don't know if this took place in the body or out of it; only God knows. I also know that this man was hijacked into paradise—again, whether in or out of the body, I don't know; God knows. There he heard the unspeakable spoken, but was forbidden to tell what he heard. This is the man I want to talk about. But about myself, I'm not saying another word apart from the humiliations.
6If I had a mind to brag a little, I could probably do it without looking ridiculous, and I'd still be speaking plain truth all the way. But I'll spare you. I don't want anyone imagining me as anything other than the fool you'd encounter if you saw me on the street or heard me talk.
7-10Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,
My grace is enough; it's all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.
11-13Well, now I've done it! I've made a complete fool of myself by going on like this. But it's not all my fault; you put me up to it. You should have been doing this for me, sticking up for me and commending me instead of making me do it for myself. You know from personal experience that even if I'm a nobody, a nothing, I wasn't second-rate compared to those big-shot apostles you're so taken with. All the signs that mark a true apostle were in evidence while I was with you through both good times and bad: signs of portent, signs of wonder, signs of power. Did you get less of me or of God than any of the other churches? The only thing you got less of was less responsibility for my upkeep. Well, I'm sorry. Forgive me for depriving you.
14-15Everything is in readiness now for this, my third visit to you. But don't worry about it; you won't have to put yourselves out. I'll be no more of a bother to you this time than on the other visits. I have no interest in what you have—only in you. Children shouldn't have to look out for their parents; parents look out for the children. I'd be most happy to empty my pockets, even mortgage my life, for your good. So how does it happen that the more I love you, the less I'm loved?
16-18And why is it that I keep coming across these whiffs of gossip about how my self-support was a front behind which I worked an elaborate scam? Where's the evidence? Did I cheat or trick you through anyone I sent? I asked Titus to visit, and sent some brothers along. Did they swindle you out of anything? And haven't we always been just as aboveboard, just as honest?
19I hope you don't think that all along we've been making our defense before you, the jury. You're not the jury; God is the jury—God revealed in Christ—and we make our case before him. And we've gone to all the trouble of supporting ourselves so that we won't be in the way or get in the way of your growing up.
20-21I do admit that I have fears that when I come you'll disappoint me and I'll disappoint you, and in frustration with each other everything will fall to pieces—quarrels, jealousy, flaring tempers, taking sides, angry words, vicious rumors, swelled heads, and general bedlam. I don't look forward to a second humiliation by God among you, compounded by hot tears over that crowd that keeps sinning over and over in the same old ways, who refuse to turn away from the pigsty of evil, sexual disorder, and indecency in which they wallow.
2 Corinthians 13
He's Alive Now!
1-4Well, this is my third visit coming up. Remember the Scripture that says, ""A matter becomes clear after two or three witnesses give evidence""? On my second visit I warned that bunch that keeps sinning over and over in the same old ways that when I came back I wouldn't go easy on them. Now, preparing for the third, I'm saying it again from a distance. If you haven't changed your ways by the time I get there, look out. You who have been demanding proof that Christ speaks through me will get more than you bargained for. You'll get the full force of Christ, don't think you won't. He was sheer weakness and humiliation when he was killed on the cross, but oh, he's alive now—in the mighty power of God! We weren't much to look at, either, when we were humiliated among you, but when we deal with you this next time, we'll be alive in Christ, strengthened by God.
5-9Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don't drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it. I hope the test won't show that we have failed. But if it comes to that, we'd rather the test showed our failure than yours. We're rooting for the truth to win out in you. We couldn't possibly do otherwise.
We don't just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that it will all come together in your lives.
10I'm writing this to you now so that when I come I won't have to say another word on the subject. The authority the Master gave me is for putting people together, not taking them apart. I want to get on with it, and not have to spend time on reprimands.
11-13And that's about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace. All the brothers and sisters here say hello.
14The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.
Redeeming us from the law in Galatians,
Gull-lay-shines when unshackled,
poC tastiness in Galatians 4.4,5
key tastiness in Galatians 3-6msgall
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 48 Matthew 14:4 appear as follows: "It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will keep doing your work and be blessed by you. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Meeklise-anne's rufrushu at 2 Samuel 21.27 – to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
Carol – Marvellous mesage we bring, glorious carol we sing, wonderful word of the king, Jesus is coming again. Coming again, coming again, may be morning, may be noon, may be evening and may be soon. Coming again, coming again, oh what a wonderful day that will be, Jesus is coming again.
Galatians 4.4,5 – But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under OOPS law, that we might receive the full right of sons.
Galatians 3-6msgall Trust in Christ, Not the Law
1 You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened, for it's obvious that you no longer have the crucified Jesus in clear focus in your lives. His sacrifice on the cross was certainly set before you clearly enough.
2-4Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up!
5-6Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you? Don't these things happen among you just as they happened with Abraham? He believed God, and that act of belief was turned into a life that was right with God.
7-8Is it not obvious to you that persons who put their trust in Christ (not persons who put their trust in the law!) are like Abraham: children of faith? It was all laid out beforehand in Scripture that God would set things right with non-Jews by faith. Scripture anticipated this in the promise to Abraham: ""All nations will be blessed in you.""
9-10So those now who live by faith are blessed along with Abraham, who lived by faith—this is no new doctrine! And that means that anyone who tries to live by his own effort, independent of God, is doomed to failure. Scripture backs this up: ""Utterly cursed is every person who fails to carry out every detail written in the Book of the law.""
11-12The obvious impossibility of carrying out such a moral program should make it plain that no one can sustain a relationship with God that way. The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. Habakkuk had it right: ""The person who believes God, is set right by God—and that's the real life."" Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping, a fact observed in Scripture: ""The one who does these things [rule-keeping] continues to live by them.""
13-14Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. Do you remember the Scripture that says, ""Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree""? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse. And now, because of that, the air is cleared and we can see that Abraham's blessing is present and available for non-Jews, too. We are all able to receive God's life, his Spirit, in and with us by believing—just the way Abraham received it.
15-18Friends, let me give you an example from everyday affairs of the free life I am talking about. Once a person's will has been ratified, no one else can annul it or add to it. Now, the promises were made to Abraham and to his descendant. You will observe that Scripture, in the careful language of a legal document, does not say ""to descendants,"" referring to everybody in general, but ""to your descendant"" (the noun, note, is singular), referring to Christ. This is the way I interpret this: A will, earlier ratified by God, is not annulled by an addendum attached 430 years later, thereby negating the promise of the will. No, this addendum, with its instructions and regulations, has nothing to do with the promised inheritance in the will.
18-20What is the point, then, of the law, the attached addendum? It was a thoughtful addition to the original covenant promises made to Abraham. The purpose of the law was to keep a sinful people in the way of salvation until Christ (the descendant) came, inheriting the promises and distributing them to us. Obviously this law was not a firsthand encounter with God. It was arranged by angelic messengers through a middleman, Moses. But if there is a middleman as there was at Sinai, then the people are not dealing directly with God, are they? But the original promise is the direct blessing of God, received by faith.
21-22If such is the case, is the law, then, an anti-promise, a negation of God's will for us? Not at all. Its purpose was to make obvious to everyone that we are, in ourselves, out of right relationship with God, and therefore to show us the futility of devising some religious system for getting by our own efforts what we can only get by waiting in faith for God to complete his promise. For if any kind of rule-keeping had power to create life in us, we would certainly have gotten it by this time.
23-24Until the time when we were mature enough to respond freely in faith to the living God, we were carefully surrounded and protected by the Mosaic law. The law was like those Greek tutors, with which you are familiar, who escort children to school and protect them from danger or distraction, making sure the children will really get to the place they set out for.
25-27But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ's life, the fulfillment of God's original promise.
In Christ's Family
28-29In Christ's family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ's family, then you are Abraham's famous ""descendant,"" heirs according to the covenant promises.
Galatians 4
1-3Let me show you the implications of this. As long as the heir is a minor, he has no advantage over the slave. Though legally he owns the entire inheritance, he is subject to tutors and administrators until whatever date the father has set for emancipation. That is the way it is with us: When we were minors, we were just like slaves ordered around by simple instructions (the tutors and administrators of this world), with no say in the conduct of our own lives.
4-7But when the time arrived that was set by God the Father, God sent his Son, born among us of a woman, born under the conditions of the law so that he might redeem those of us who have been kidnapped by the law. Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage. You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, ""Papa! Father!"" Doesn't that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you're also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance.
8-11Earlier, before you knew God personally, you were enslaved to so-called gods that had nothing of the divine about them. But now that you know the real God—or rather since God knows you—how can you possibly subject yourselves again to those paper tigers? For that is exactly what you do when you are intimidated into scrupulously observing all the traditions, taboos, and superstitions associated with special days and seasons and years. I am afraid that all my hard work among you has gone up in a puff of smoke!
12-13My dear friends, what I would really like you to do is try to put yourselves in my shoes to the same extent that I, when I was with you, put myself in yours. You were very sensitive and kind then. You did not come down on me personally. You were well aware that the reason I ended up preaching to you was that I was physically broken, and so, prevented from continuing my journey, I was forced to stop with you. That is how I came to preach to you.
14-16And don't you remember that even though taking in a sick guest was most troublesome for you, you chose to treat me as well as you would have treated an angel of God—as well as you would have treated Jesus himself if he had visited you? What has happened to the satisfaction you felt at that time? There were some of you then who, if possible, would have given your very eyes to me—that is how deeply you cared! And now have I suddenly become your enemy simply by telling you the truth? I can't believe it.
17Those heretical teachers go to great lengths to flatter you, but their motives are rotten. They want to shut you out of the free world of God's grace so that you will always depend on them for approval and direction, making them feel important.
18-20It is a good thing to be ardent in doing good, but not just when I am in your presence. Can't you continue the same concern for both my person and my message when I am away from you that you had when I was with you? Do you know how I feel right now, and will feel until Christ's life becomes visible in your lives? Like a mother in the pain of childbirth. Oh, I keep wishing that I was with you. Then I wouldn't be reduced to this blunt, letter-writing language out of sheer frustration.
21-31Tell me now, you who have become so enamored with the law: Have you paid close attention to that law? Abraham, remember, had two sons: one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. The son of the slave woman was born by human connivance; the son of the free woman was born by God's promise. This illustrates the very thing we are dealing with now. The two births represent two ways of being in relationship with God. One is from Mount Sinai in Arabia. It corresponds with what is now going on in Jerusalem—a slave life, producing slaves as offspring. This is the way of Hagar. In contrast to that, there is an invisible Jerusalem, a free Jerusalem, and she is our mother—this is the way of Sarah. Remember what Isaiah wrote:
Rejoice, barren woman who bears no children,
shout and cry out, woman who has no birth pangs,
Because the children of the barren woman
now surpass the children of the chosen woman.
Isn't it clear, friends, that you, like Isaac, are children of promise? In the days of Hagar and Sarah, the child who came from faithless connivance (Ishmael) harassed the child who came—empowered by the Spirit—from the faithful promise (Isaac). Isn't it clear that the harassment you are now experiencing from the Jerusalem heretics follows that old pattern? There is a Scripture that tells us what to do: ""Expel the slave mother with her son, for the slave son will not inherit with the free son."" Isn't that conclusive? We are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
Galatians 5
The Life of Freedom
1 Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.
2-3I am emphatic about this. The moment any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ's hard-won gift of freedom is squandered. I repeat my warning: The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave life of the law. 4-6I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.
7-10You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? This detour doesn't come from the One who called you into the race in the first place. And please don't toss this off as insignificant. It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread. Deep down, the Master has given me confidence that you will not defect. But the one who is upsetting you, whoever he is, will bear the divine judgment.
11-12As for the rumor that I continue to preach the ways of circumcision (as I did in those pre-Damascus Road days), that is absurd. Why would I still be persecuted, then? If I were preaching that old message, no one would be offended if I mentioned the Cross now and then—it would be so watered-down it wouldn't matter one way or the other. Why don't these agitators, obsessive as they are about circumcision, go all the way and castrate themselves!
13-15It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?
16-18My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?
19-21It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.
This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.
22-23But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
23-24Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.
25-26Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.
Galatians 6
Nothing but the Cross
1-3 Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.
4-5Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.
6Be very sure now, you who have been trained to a self-sufficient maturity, that you enter into a generous common life with those who have trained you, sharing all the good things that you have and experience.
7-8Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.
9-10So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.
11-13Now, in these last sentences, I want to emphasize in the bold scrawls of my personal handwriting the immense importance of what I have written to you. These people who are attempting to force the ways of circumcision on you have only one motive: They want an easy way to look good before others, lacking the courage to live by a faith that shares Christ's suffering and death. All their talk about the law is gas. They themselves don't keep the law! And they are highly selective in the laws they do observe. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast of their success in recruiting you to their side. That is contemptible!
14-16For my part, I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Can't you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do—submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God—his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them!
17Quite frankly, I don't want to be bothered anymore by these disputes. I have far more important things to do—the serious living of this faith. I bear in my body scars from my service to Jesus.
18May what our Master Jesus Christ gives freely be deeply and personally yours, my friends. Oh, yes!
Ephesians has body-building,
And unsearchable riches
key tastiness in Ephesians 1-2 (The Message)
poC tastiness in eph 2.9
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 49 Luke 18:7 appear as follows: "And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?" So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will see your perfect response to his cries. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by mercyril's rufrushu at hosea 6.6 – For I desire mercy not sacrifice.
Channel – how i praise thee precious saviour, that thy love laid hold of me, thou has saved and cleansed and filled me that I might thy channel be, channels only bleseed master, but with all thy wondrous power, flowing thur us thou canst use us every day and every hour.
Ephesians 1-2 (The Message)
1-2I, Paul, am under God's plan as an apostle, a special agent of Christ Jesus, writing to you faithful believers in Ephesus. I greet you with the grace and peace poured into our lives by God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ.
The God of Glory
3-6How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
7-10Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
11-12It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.
13-14It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.
15-19That's why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn't stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I'd think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!
20-23All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.
Ephesians 2
He Tore Down the Wall
1-6It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It's a wonder God didn't lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.
7-10Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.
11-13But don't take any of this for granted. It was only yesterday that you outsiders to God's ways had no idea of any of this, didn't know the first thing about the way God works, hadn't the faintest idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God's covenants and promises in Israel, hadn't a clue about what God was doing in the world at large. Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.
14-15The Messiah has made things up between us so that we're now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance. He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody.
16-18Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.
19-22That's plain enough, isn't it? You're no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You're no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He's using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he's using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home
Eph 2.9 – In order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Supplying ever need in Philippians,
Let’s be happily humble,
poC tastiness in php 4.19
key tastiness in Philippians 2-3 (The Message)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 50 John 3:17 appear as follows: "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will not pass on condemnation, but send on and see the worldwide salvation of your Son instead. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by morallou's rufrushu at proverbs 25.11 – a word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
Illumine – open my eyes, that I may see glimpses of truth though hast for me, place in my hands the wonderful key, that shall unclasp and set me free. Silently now I wait for thee, ready, my God thy will to see. Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine.
Php 4.19 – and my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ.
Philippians 2-3 (The Message) He Took on the Status of a Slave
1-4If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
5-8Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
9-11Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.
Rejoicing Together
12-13What I'm getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you've done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I'm separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God's energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.
14-16Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I'll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You'll be living proof that I didn't go to all this work for nothing.
17-18Even if I am executed here and now, I'll rejoice in being an element in the offering of your faith that you make on Christ's altar, a part of your rejoicing. But turnabout's fair play—you must join me in my rejoicing. Whatever you do, don't feel sorry for me.
19-24I plan (according to Jesus' plan) to send Timothy to you very soon so he can bring back all the news of you he can gather. Oh, how that will do my heart good! I have no one quite like Timothy. He is loyal, and genuinely concerned for you. Most people around here are looking out for themselves, with little concern for the things of Jesus. But you know yourselves that Timothy's the real thing. He's been a devoted son to me as together we've delivered the Message. As soon as I see how things are going to fall out for me here, I plan to send him off. And then I'm hoping and praying to be right on his heels.
25-27But for right now, I'm dispatching Epaphroditus, my good friend and companion in my work. You sent him to help me out; now I'm sending him to help you out. He has been wanting in the worst way to get back with you. Especially since recovering from the illness you heard about, he's been wanting to get back and reassure you that he is just fine. He nearly died, as you know, but God had mercy on him. And not only on him—he had mercy on me, too. His death would have been one huge grief piled on top of all the others.
28-30So you can see why I'm so delighted to send him on to you. When you see him again, hale and hearty, how you'll rejoice and how relieved I'll be. Give him a grand welcome, a joyful embrace! People like him deserve the best you can give. Remember the ministry to me that you started but weren't able to complete? Well, in the process of finishing up that work, he put his life on the line and nearly died doing it.
Philippians 3
To Know Him Personally
1 And that's about it, friends. Be glad in God! I don't mind repeating what I have written in earlier letters, and I hope you don't mind hearing it again. Better safe than sorry—so here goes.
2-6Steer clear of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All they're interested in is appearances—knife-happy circumcisers, I call them. The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ's praise as we do it. We couldn't carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it—even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials. You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God's law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the church; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's law Book.
7-9The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness.
10-11I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.
Focused on the Goal
12-14I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.
15-16So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.
17-19Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I've warned you of them many times; sadly, I'm having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ's Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites.
20-21But there's far more to life for us. We're citizens of high heaven! We're waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.
The fullness of the Godhead bodily,
Plus chief commander in Colossians,
poC tastiness in col 1.19
key tastiness in Colossians 1-3 (The Message)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 51 John 14:27 appear as follows: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she would overcome trouble and fright with your peace. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by obedienzo's rufrushu at jamse 4.24 – those who obey his commands live in them.
Abide – Lord take my life,and make it whooly thine, fill my poor heart with thy great love divine, take all my will my passion self and pride, i now surrender Lord in my abide.
Col 1.19 – For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.
Colossians 1-3 (The Message)
1-2I, Paul, have been sent on special assignment by Christ as part of God's master plan. Together with my friend Timothy, I greet the Christians and stalwart followers of Christ who live in Colosse. May everything good from God our Father be yours!
Working in His Orchard
3-5Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We can't quit thanking God our Father and Jesus our Messiah for you! We keep getting reports on your steady faith in Christ, our Jesus, and the love you continuously extend to all Christians. The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope.
5-8The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn't diminish or weaken over time. It's the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you. From the very first day you heard and recognized the truth of what God is doing, you've been hungry for more. It's as vigorous in you now as when you learned it from our friend and close associate Epaphras. He is one reliable worker for Christ! I could always depend on him. He's the one who told us how thoroughly love had been worked into your lives by the Spirit.
9-12Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven't stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you'll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.
13-14God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He's set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.
Christ Holds It All Together
15-18We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
18-20He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.
21-23You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God's side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don't walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.
24-25I want you to know how glad I am that it's me sitting here in this jail and not you. There's a lot of suffering to be entered into in this world—the kind of suffering Christ takes on. I welcome the chance to take my share in the church's part of that suffering. When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God's way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth.
26-29This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That's what I'm working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.
Colossians 2
1 I want you to realize that I continue to work as hard as I know how for you, and also for the Christians over at Laodicea. Not many of you have met me face-to-face, but that doesn't make any difference. Know that I'm on your side, right alongside you. You're not in this alone.
2-4I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery! I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or ""the Secret.""
5I'm a long way off, true, and you may never lay eyes on me, but believe me, I'm on your side, right beside you. I am delighted to hear of the careful and orderly ways you conduct your affairs, and impressed with the solid substance of your faith in Christ.
From the Shadows to the Substance
6-7My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.
8-10Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.
11-15Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It's not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you're already in—insiders—not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. If it's an initiation ritual you're after, you've already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.
16-17So don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ.
18-19Don't tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They're a lot of hot air, that's all they are. They're completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.
20-23So, then, if with Christ you've put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? ""Don't touch this! Don't taste that! Don't go near this!"" Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention? Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they're just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.
Colossians 3
He Is Your Life
1-2 So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.
3-4Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.
5-8And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It's because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn't long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it's all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.
9-11Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.
12-14So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
15-17Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
18Wives, understand and support your husbands by submitting to them in ways that honor the Master.
19Husbands, go all out in love for your wives. Don't take advantage of them.
20Children, do what your parents tell you. This delights the Master no end.
21Parents, don't come down too hard on your children or you'll crush their spirits.
22-25Servants, do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you're serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn't cover up bad work.
Our soon coming king in 1 Thessalonians,
Try to stay on target,
poC tastiness in 1 thes 4.16
key tastiness in 1 Thessalonians 5(Amp)9-18
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 52 Ephesians 2:10 appear as follows: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she would discern and do the good works you have designed ahead for him to do. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by patientina's rufrushu at 2 corinthians 1.6 – which produces in you patient endurance.
Stoop – Spirit of God, descend upon my heart, wean it from earth, through all its pulses move, stoop to my weaknwess might as thou art, and make me love thee as I outght to love.
1 thes 4.16 – For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud commmand, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of god, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
1 Thessalonians 5(Amp)9-18
9For God has not appointed us to [incur His] wrath [He did not select us to condemn us], but [that we might] obtain [His] salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)
10Who died for us so that whether we are still alive or are dead [at Christ's appearing], we might live together with Him and share His life.
11Therefore encourage (admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another, just as you are doing.
12Now also we beseech you, brethren, get to know those who labor among you [recognize them for what they are, acknowledge and appreciate and respect them all]--your leaders who are over you in the Lord and those who warn and kindly reprove and exhort you.
13And hold them in very high and most affectionate esteem in [intelligent and sympathetic] appreciation of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.
14And we earnestly beseech you, brethren, admonish (warn and seriously advise) those who are out of line [the loafers, the disorderly, and the unruly]; encourage the timid and fainthearted, help and give your support to the weak souls, [and] be very patient with everybody [always keeping your temper].(A)
15See that none of you repays another with evil for evil, but always aim to show kindness and seek to do good to one another and to everybody.
16Be happy [in your faith] and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually (always);
17Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly];
18Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will]."
Our soon coming king in 2 Thessalonians,
Work while you wait,
poC tastiness in 2 thess 1.10
key tastiness in 2 thess 2-3mess
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 53 10:35 appear as follows: "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will find continued courage and great reward. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by peacefularchies' rufrushu at 1 timothy 2.2 – that we might live peaceful and quiety lives.
Prevail – standing on the promises of Christ the Lord, when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, by the living word of God i shall prevail, standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises, standingo on the promises, standing on the promises of God my saviour. Standing on the promises, standing on the promises, I'm standing on the promises of God.
2 thess 1.10 – on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marvelled at among all those who believe.
2 Thessalonians 2-3 (The Message) The Anarchist
1-3Now, friends, read these next words carefully. Slow down and don't go jumping to conclusions regarding the day when our Master, Jesus Christ, will come back and we assemble to welcome him. Don't let anyone shake you up or get you excited over some breathless report or rumored letter from me that the day of the Master's arrival has come and gone. Don't fall for any line like that.
3-5Before that day comes, a couple of things have to happen. First, the Apostasy. Second, the debut of the Anarchist, a real dog of Satan. He'll defy and then take over every so-called god or altar. Having cleared away the opposition, he'll then set himself up in God's Temple as ""God Almighty."" Don't you remember me going over all this in detail when I was with you? Are your memories that short?
6-8You'll also remember that I told you the Anarchist is being held back until just the right time. That doesn't mean that the spirit of anarchy is not now at work. It is, secretly and underground. But the time will come when the Anarchist will no longer be held back, but will be let loose. But don't worry. The Master Jesus will be right on his heels and blow him away. The Master appears and—puff!—the Anarchist is out of there.
9-12The Anarchist's coming is all Satan's work. All his power and signs and miracles are fake, evil sleight of hand that plays to the gallery of those who hate the truth that could save them. And since they're so obsessed with evil, God rubs their noses in it—gives them what they want. Since they refuse to trust truth, they're banished to their chosen world of lies and illusions.
13-14Meanwhile, we've got our hands full continually thanking God for you, our good friends—so loved by God! God picked you out as his from the very start. Think of it: included in God's original plan of salvation by the bond of faith in the living truth. This is the life of the Spirit he invited you to through the Message we delivered, in which you get in on the glory of our Master, Jesus Christ.
15-17So, friends, take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head high. Keep a tight grip on what you were taught, whether in personal conversation or by our letter. May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech.
2 Thessalonians 3
Those Who Are Lazy
1-3One more thing, friends: Pray for us. Pray that the Master's Word will simply take off and race through the country to a ground-swell of response, just as it did among you. And pray that we'll be rescued from these scoundrels who are trying to do us in. I'm finding that not all ""believers"" are believers. But the Master never lets us down. He'll stick by you and protect you from evil.
4-5Because of the Master, we have great confidence in you. We know you're doing everything we told you and will continue doing it. May the Master take you by the hand and lead you along the path of God's love and Christ's endurance.
6-9Our orders—backed up by the Master, Jesus—are to refuse to have anything to do with those among you who are lazy and refuse to work the way we taught you. Don't permit them to freeload on the rest. We showed you how to pull your weight when we were with you, so get on with it. We didn't sit around on our hands expecting others to take care of us. In fact, we worked our fingers to the bone, up half the night moonlighting so you wouldn't be burdened with taking care of us. And it wasn't because we didn't have a right to your support; we did. We simply wanted to provide an example of diligence, hoping it would prove contagious.
10-13Don't you remember the rule we had when we lived with you? ""If you don't work, you don't eat."" And now we're getting reports that a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings are taking advantage of you. This must not be tolerated. We command them to get to work immediately—no excuses, no arguments—and earn their own keep. Friends, don't slack off in doing your duty.
14-15If anyone refuses to obey our clear command written in this letter, don't let him get by with it. Point out such a person and refuse to subsidize his freeloading. Maybe then he'll think twice. But don't treat him as an enemy. Sit him down and talk about the problem as someone who cares.
16May the Master of Peace himself give you the gift of getting along with each other at all times, in all ways. May the Master be truly among you!
17I, Paul, bid you good-bye in my own handwriting. I do this in all my letters, so examine my signature as proof that the letter is genuine.
18The incredible grace of our Master, Jesus Christ, be with all of you!
A mediator between God and man,
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peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 54 Titus 3:7 appear as follows: "So that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she would experience your never-ending grace, hope and life. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by persevera's rufrushu at james 1.12 – Blessed is the man who perseveres under trials.
Foundation – The Bible stands every test we give it for its author is divine, by grace alone I expect to live it and to prove it and make it mine. The Bible stands thought the hills may tumble, it wil firmly stand when the earth shall crumble I will plant my feet on its firm foundation for the Bible stands.
1 Timothy 2.5 – For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.
1 Timothy 3-6 (The Message)
1 Timothy 3
Leadership in the Church
1-7If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he's talking about, not be overfond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God's church? He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap.
8-13The same goes for those who want to be servants in the church: serious, not deceitful, not too free with the bottle, not in it for what they can get out of it. They must be reverent before the mystery of the faith, not using their position to try to run things. Let them prove themselves first. If they show they can do it, take them on. No exceptions are to be made for women—same qualifications: serious, dependable, not sharp-tongued, not overfond of wine. Servants in the church are to be committed to their spouses, attentive to their own children, and diligent in looking after their own affairs. Those who do this servant work will come to be highly respected, a real credit to this Jesus-faith.
14-16I hope to visit you soon, but just in case I'm delayed, I'm writing this letter so you'll know how things ought to go in God's household, this God-alive church, bastion of truth. This Christian life is a great mystery, far exceeding our understanding, but some things are clear enough:
He appeared in a human body,
was proved right by the invisible Spirit,
was seen by angels.
He was proclaimed among all kinds of peoples,
believed in all over the world,
taken up into heavenly glory.
Treasure thematic verses for every Bible book like
1 Timothy 4
Teach with Your Life
1-5The Spirit makes it clear that as time goes on, some are going to give up on the faith and chase after demonic illusions put forth by professional liars. These liars have lied so well and for so long that they've lost their capacity for truth. They will tell you not to get married. They'll tell you not to eat this or that food—perfectly good food God created to be eaten heartily and with thanksgiving by believers who know better! Everything God created is good, and to be received with thanks. Nothing is to be sneered at and thrown out. God's Word and our prayers make every item in creation holy.
6-10You've been raised on the Message of the faith and have followed sound teaching. Now pass on this counsel to the followers of Jesus there, and you'll be a good servant of Jesus. Stay clear of silly stories that get dressed up as religion. Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart. This is why we've thrown ourselves into this venture so totally. We're banking on the living God, Savior of all men and women, especially believers.
11-14Get the word out. Teach all these things. And don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity. Stay at your post reading Scripture, giving counsel, teaching. And that special gift of ministry you were given when the leaders of the church laid hands on you and prayed—keep that dusted off and in use.
15-16Cultivate these things. Immerse yourself in them. The people will all see you mature right before their eyes! Keep a firm grasp on both your character and your teaching. Don't be diverted. Just keep at it. Both you and those who hear you will experience salvation.
1 Timothy 5
The Family of Faith
1-2Don't be harsh or impatient with an older man. Talk to him as you would your own father, and to the younger men as your brothers. Reverently honor an older woman as you would your mother, and the younger women as sisters.
3-8Take care of widows who are destitute. If a widow has family members to take care of her, let them learn that religion begins at their own doorstep and that they should pay back with gratitude some of what they have received. This pleases God immensely. You can tell a legitimate widow by the way she has put all her hope in God, praying to him constantly for the needs of others as well as her own. But a widow who exploits people's emotions and pocketbooks—well, there's nothing to her. Tell these things to the people so that they will do the right thing in their extended family. Anyone who neglects to care for family members in need repudiates the faith. That's worse than refusing to believe in the first place.
9-10Sign some widows up for the special ministry of offering assistance. They will in turn receive support from the church. They must be over sixty, married only once, and have a reputation for helping out with children, strangers, tired Christians, the hurt and troubled.
11-15Don't put young widows on this list. No sooner will they get on than they'll want to get off, obsessed with wanting to get a husband rather than serving Christ in this way. By breaking their word, they're liable to go from bad to worse, frittering away their days on empty talk, gossip, and trivialities. No, I'd rather the young widows go ahead and get married in the first place, have children, manage their homes, and not give critics any foothold for finding fault. Some of them have already left and gone after Satan.
16Any Christian woman who has widows in her family is responsible for them. They shouldn't be dumped on the church. The church has its hands full already with widows who need help.
17-18Give a bonus to leaders who do a good job, especially the ones who work hard at preaching and teaching. Scripture tells us, ""Don't muzzle a working ox"" and ""A worker deserves his pay.""
19Don't listen to a complaint against a leader that isn't backed up by two or three responsible witnesses.
20If anyone falls into sin, call that person on the carpet. Those who are inclined that way will know right off they can't get by with it.
21-23God and Jesus and angels all back me up in these instructions. Carry them out without favoritism, without taking sides. Don't appoint people to church leadership positions too hastily. If a person is involved in some serious sins, you don't want to become an unwitting accomplice. In any event, keep a close check on yourself. And don't worry too much about what the critics will say. Go ahead and drink a little wine, for instance; it's good for your digestion, good medicine for what ails you.
24-25The sins of some people are blatant and march them right into court. The sins of others don't show up until much later. The same with good deeds. Some you see right off, but none are hidden forever.
1 Timothy 6
1-2Whoever is a slave must make the best of it, giving respect to his master so that outsiders don't blame God and our teaching for his behavior. Slaves with Christian masters all the more so—their masters are really their beloved brothers!
The Lust for Money
2-5These are the things I want you to teach and preach. If you have leaders there who teach otherwise, who refuse the solid words of our Master Jesus and this godly instruction, tag them for what they are: ignorant windbags who infect the air with germs of envy, controversy, bad-mouthing, suspicious rumors. Eventually there's an epidemic of backstabbing, and truth is but a distant memory. They think religion is a way to make a fast buck.
6-8A devout life does bring wealth, but it's the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that's enough.
9-10But if it's only money these leaders are after, they'll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.
Running Hard
11-12But you, Timothy, man of God: Run for your life from all this. Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses.
13-16I'm charging you before the life-giving God and before Christ, who took his stand before Pontius Pilate and didn't give an inch: Keep this command to the letter, and don't slack off. Our Master, Jesus Christ, is on his way. He'll show up right on time, his arrival guaranteed by the Blessed and Undisputed Ruler, High King, High God. He's the only one death can't touch, his light so bright no one can get close. He's never been seen by human eyes—human eyes can't take him in! Honor to him, and eternal rule! Oh, yes.
17-19Tell those rich in this world's wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they'll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.
20-21And oh, my dear Timothy, guard the treasure you were given! Guard it with your life. Avoid the talk-show religion and the practiced confusion of the so-called experts. People caught up in a lot of talk can miss the whole point of faith.
Overwhelming grace keep you!
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Verse 55 Jude 24 appear as follows: "To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will feel your strong help and not fall. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
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Trod – Like a mighty army, moves the church of God, brothers we are treading where the saints have trod, we are not divided, all one body we, one in hope and doctrice, one in charity. Onward Chrsitain soldiers', marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before.
2 Timothy 4niv16-18 16At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
2 Timothy 4 (Amplified Bible)1-13
1I CHARGE [you] in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, Who is to judge the living and the dead, and by (in the light of) His coming and His kingdom:
2Herald and preach the Word! Keep your sense of urgency [stand by, be at hand and ready], whether the opportunity seems to be favorable or unfavorable. [Whether it is convenient or inconvenient, whether it is welcome or unwelcome, you as preacher of the Word are to show people in what way their lives are wrong.] And convince them, rebuking and correcting, warning and urging and encouraging them, being unflagging and inexhaustible in patience and teaching.
3For the time is coming when [people] will not tolerate (endure) sound and wholesome instruction, but, having ears itching [for something pleasing and gratifying], they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold,
4And will turn aside from hearing the truth and wander off into myths and man-made fictions.
5As for you, be calm and cool and steady, accept and suffer unflinchingly every hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fully perform all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already about to be sacrificed [my life is about to be poured out as a drink offering]; the time of my [spirit's] release [from the body] is at hand and I will soon go free.
7I have fought the good (worthy, honorable, and noble) fight, I have finished the race, I have kept (firmly held) the faith.
8[As to what remains] henceforth there is laid up for me the [victor's] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me and recompense me on that [great] day--and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and yearned for and welcomed His appearing (His return).
9Make every effort to come to me soon.
10For Demas has deserted me for love of this present world and has gone to Thessalonica; Crescens [has gone] to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
11Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very helpful to me for the ministry.
12Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.
13[When] you come, bring the cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, also the books, especially the parchments.
Our blessed hope in Titus,
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Verse 56 Revelation 2:26 appear as follows: "To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she would overcome powerfully and do your will all over. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
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Abode – Round each habitation hovering see the cloud and fire appear, for a glory and a covering, showin that the Lord is near, glorious things of thee are spoken, Zion, city of our God, he whose word cannot be broken, formed thee for his own abode.
Titus 1.2 – A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, whihc God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.
Titus 1-3 msgall
1-4I, Paul, am God's slave and Christ's agent for promoting the faith among God's chosen people, getting out the accurate word on God and how to respond rightly to it. My aim is to raise hopes by pointing the way to life without end. This is the life God promised long ago—and he doesn't break promises! And then when the time was ripe, he went public with his truth. I've been entrusted to proclaim this Message by order of our Savior, God himself. Dear Titus, legitimate son in the faith: Receive everything God our Father and Jesus our Savior give you!
A Good Grip on the Message
5-9I left you in charge in Crete so you could complete what I left half-done. Appoint leaders in every town according to my instructions. As you select them, ask, ""Is this man well-thought-of? Is he committed to his wife? Are his children believers? Do they respect him and stay out of trouble?"" It's important that a church leader, responsible for the affairs in God's house, be looked up to—not pushy, not short-tempered, not a drunk, not a bully, not money-hungry. He must welcome people, be helpful, wise, fair, reverent, have a good grip on himself, and have a good grip on the Message, knowing how to use the truth to either spur people on in knowledge or stop them in their tracks if they oppose it.
10-16For there are a lot of rebels out there, full of loose, confusing, and deceiving talk. Those who were brought up religious and ought to know better are the worst. They've got to be shut up. They're disrupting entire families with their teaching, and all for the sake of a fast buck. One of their own prophets said it best:
The Cretans are liars from the womb,
barking dogs, lazy bellies.
He certainly spoke the truth. Get on them right away. Stop that diseased talk of Jewish make-believe and made-up rules so they can recover a robust faith. Everything is clean to the clean-minded; nothing is clean to dirty-minded unbelievers. They leave their dirty fingerprints on every thought and act. They say they know God, but their actions speak louder than their words. They're real creeps, disobedient good-for-nothings.
Titus 2
A God-Filled Life
1-6Your job is to speak out on the things that make for solid doctrine. Guide older men into lives of temperance, dignity, and wisdom, into healthy faith, love, and endurance. Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don't want anyone looking down on God's Message because of their behavior. Also, guide the young men to live disciplined lives.
7-8But mostly, show them all this by doing it yourself, incorruptible in your teaching, your words solid and sane. Then anyone who is dead set against us, when he finds nothing weird or misguided, might eventually come around.
9-10Guide slaves into being loyal workers, a bonus to their masters—no back talk, no petty thievery. Then their good character will shine through their actions, adding luster to the teaching of our Savior God.
11-14God's readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation's available for everyone! We're being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness.
15Tell them all this. Build up their courage, and discipline them if they get out of line. You're in charge. Don't let anyone put you down.
Titus 3
He Put Our Lives Together
1-2Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand. No insults, no fights. God's people should be bighearted and courteous.
3-8It wasn't so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God's gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there's more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.
8-11I want you to put your foot down. Take a firm stand on these matters so that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the essentials that are good for everyone. Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. It's obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness he cuts himself off.
12-13As soon as I send either Artemas or Tychicus to you, come immediately and meet me in Nicopolis. I've decided to spend the winter there. Give Zenas the lawyer and Apollos a hearty send-off. Take good care of them.
14Our people have to learn to be diligent in their work so that all necessities are met (especially among the needy) and they don't end up with nothing to show for their lives.
15All here want to be remembered to you. Say hello to our friends in the faith. Grace to all of you."
A friend stuck closer than a brother,
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Verse 57 Revelation 3:11 appear as follows: "I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he won't let go of the treasure meant for him. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
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Dwell – yet she on earth hath union, with God the three in one, and mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won, o happy ones and holy, Lord, give us grace that we, like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with thess.
Philemon 16 – no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother the Lord.
Philemon 1 - msgall
1-3I, Paul, am a prisoner for the sake of Christ, here with my brother Timothy. I write this letter to you, Philemon, my good friend and companion in this work—also to our sister Apphia, to Archippus, a real trooper, and to the church that meets in your house. God's best to you! Christ's blessings on you!
4-7Every time your name comes up in my prayers, I say, ""Oh, thank you, God!"" I keep hearing of the love and faith you have for the Master Jesus, which brims over to other believers. And I keep praying that this faith we hold in common keeps showing up in the good things we do, and that people recognize Christ in all of it. Friend, you have no idea how good your love makes me feel, doubly so when I see your hospitality to fellow believers.
To Call the Slave Your Friend
8-9In line with all this I have a favor to ask of you. As Christ's ambassador and now a prisoner for him, I wouldn't hesitate to command this if I thought it necessary, but I'd rather make it a personal request.
10-14While here in jail, I've fathered a child, so to speak. And here he is, hand-carrying this letter—Onesimus! He was useless to you before; now he's useful to both of us. I'm sending him back to you, but it feels like I'm cutting off my right arm in doing so. I wanted in the worst way to keep him here as your stand-in to help out while I'm in jail for the Message. But I didn't want to do anything behind your back, make you do a good deed that you hadn't willingly agreed to.
15-16Maybe it's all for the best that you lost him for a while. You're getting him back now for good—and no mere slave this time, but a true Christian brother! That's what he was to me—he'll be even more than that to you.
17-20So if you still consider me a comrade-in-arms, welcome him back as you would me. If he damaged anything or owes you anything, chalk it up to my account. This is my personal signature—Paul—and I stand behind it. (I don't need to remind you, do I, that you owe your very life to me?) Do me this big favor, friend. You'll be doing it for Christ, but it will also do my heart good.
21-22I know you well enough to know you will. You'll probably go far beyond what I've written. And by the way, get a room ready for me. Because of your prayers, I fully expect to be your guest again.
23-25Epaphras, my cellmate in the cause of Christ, says hello. Also my coworkers Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke. All the best to you from the Master, Jesus Christ!"
Blood from an everlasting covenant,
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Verse 58 Revelation 7:14 appear as follows: "And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."" So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will feel washed and whole because of your sacrifice. Amen
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
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Tie – blest be the tie that binds, our hearts in Christian love, the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.
Hebrews 10.16 – This is the covenant I will make with them, after that time says the Lord, I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their mind.
Hebrews 5-6:12 msg Hebrews 5
1-3Every high priest selected to represent men and women before God and offer sacrifices for their sins should be able to deal gently with their failings, since he knows what it's like from his own experience. But that also means that he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as the peoples'.
4-6No one elects himself to this honored position. He's called to it by God, as Aaron was. Neither did Christ presume to set himself up as high priest, but was set apart by the One who said to him, ""You're my Son; today I celebrate you!"" In another place God declares, ""You're a priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek.""
7-10While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. Though he was God's Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do. Then, having arrived at the full stature of his maturity and having been announced by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who believingly obey him.
Re-Crucifying Jesus
11-14I have a lot more to say about this, but it is hard to get it across to you since you've picked up this bad habit of not listening. By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one—baby's milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God's ways; solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong.
Hebrews 6
1-3So come on, let's leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on ""salvation by self-help"" and turning in trust toward God; baptismal instructions; laying on of hands; resurrection of the dead; eternal judgment. God helping us, we'll stay true to all that. But there's so much more. Let's get on with it!
4-8Once people have seen the light, gotten a taste of heaven and been part of the work of the Holy Spirit, once they've personally experienced the sheer goodness of God's Word and the powers breaking in on us—if then they turn their backs on it, washing their hands of the whole thing, well, they can't start over as if nothing happened. That's impossible. Why, they've re-crucified Jesus! They've repudiated him in public! Parched ground that soaks up the rain and then produces an abundance of carrots and corn for its gardener gets God's ""Well done!"" But if it produces weeds and thistles, it's more likely to get cussed out. Fields like that are burned, not harvested.
9-12I'm sure that won't happen to you, friends. I have better things in mind for you—salvation things! God doesn't miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you've shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don't drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them."
The Lord that heals the sick,
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Verse 59 Revelation 21:4 appear as follows: "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." So in view of this, dear Jesus, please bless Him/her so that he/she will experience your comfort as you delete from experience death, sickness, crying and pain. Amen.
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
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Burden – would you be free of your burden of sin, there's power in the blood, power in the blood, would you o'er evil a victory win, there's wonderful pwer in the blood. There is power, power, wonder working power, in the blood of the lamb, there is power power, wonder working power in the precious blood of the lamb.
James 5.15 – and the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned he will be forgiven.
James 2 - msgall
The Royal Rule of Love
1-4My dear friends, don't let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, and you say to the man in the suit, ""Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!"" and either ignore the street person or say, ""Better sit here in the back row,"" haven't you segregated God's children and proved that you are judges who can't be trusted?
5-7Listen, dear friends. Isn't it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world's down-and-out as the kingdom's first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God. And here you are abusing these same citizens! Isn't it the high and mighty who exploit you, who use the courts to rob you blind? Aren't they the ones who scorn the new name—""Christian""—used in your baptisms?
8-11You do well when you complete the Royal Rule of the Scriptures: ""Love others as you love yourself."" But if you play up to these so-called important people, you go against the Rule and stand convicted by it. You can't pick and choose in these things, specializing in keeping one or two things in God's law and ignoring others. The same God who said, ""Don't commit adultery,"" also said, ""Don't murder."" If you don't commit adultery but go ahead and murder, do you think your non-adultery will cancel out your murder? No, you're a murderer, period.
12-13Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time.
Faith in Action
14-17Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, ""Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!"" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
18I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, ""Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department.""
Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.
19-20Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?
21-24Wasn't our ancestor Abraham ""made right with God by works"" when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn't it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are ""works of faith""? The full meaning of ""believe"" in the Scripture sentence, ""Abraham believed God and was set right with God,"" includes his action. It's that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named ""God's friend."" Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?
25-26The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn't her action in hiding God's spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse. "
The chief shepherd in 1 Peter,
Pain can have a purpose/porpoise,
poC tastiness in 1 Peter 5.4
key tastiness in 1 Peter 4 (nlt)all
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 60 root
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Responsibilly's rufrushu at 1 Corinthians 7.24 – Brothers, each man as responsible to God should remain in the situation God has called him to.
Idle – In times like these, you need a Bible, in times like these o be no idle, be very sure, be very sure, your anchor holds and grips the solid rock, this rock, is Jesus, yes he's the one, this rock is Jesus, the only one, be very sure, be very sure, your anchor holds and grips the solid rock.
1 Peter 5.4 – And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
1 Peter 4 (nlt)all Living for God
1 So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin.[z] 2 You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. 3 You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.
4 Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you. 5 But remember that they will have to face God, who will judge everyone, both the living and the dead. 6 That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead[aa]—so although they were destined to die like all people,[ab] they now live forever with God in the Spirit.[ac]
7 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. 8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.
10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
Suffering for Being a Christian
12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
14 So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian,[ad] for then the glorious Spirit of God[ae] rests upon you.[af] 15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. 16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! 17 For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? 18 And also,
“If the righteous are barely saved,
what will happen to godless sinners?”[ag]
19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you."
The chief shepherd in 2 Peter,
Don’t hang around poison in the pew,
poC tastiness in 2 peter 3msg8-18
key tastiness in 2 Peter 1-3 msgall
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 61 - fruit
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by restrainEd's rufrushu at Psalm 16.9 – My body will also rest secure.
Tidings – Whosover heareth shout shout the sound, spread the blessed tidings all the world around, tell the joyful news wherever man is found, whosoever will may come. Whosoever will, whosoever will, spread the proclamation over vale and hill, tis a loving father calls the wanderer home, whosoever will may come.
2 peter 3msg8-18 8-9
Don't overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn't late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn't want anyone lost. He's giving everyone space and time to change.
10But when the Day of God's Judgment does come, it will be unannounced, like a thief. The sky will collapse with a thunderous bang, everything disintegrating in a huge conflagration, earth and all its works exposed to the scrutiny of Judgment.
11-13Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life? Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day—but we'll hardly notice. We'll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness.
14-16So, my dear friends, since this is what you have to look forward to, do your very best to be found living at your best, in purity and peace. Interpret our Master's patient restraint for what it is: salvation. Our good brother Paul, who was given much wisdom in these matters, refers to this in all his letters, and has written you essentially the same thing. Some things Paul writes are difficult to understand. Irresponsible people who don't know what they are talking about twist them every which way. They do it to the rest of the Scriptures, too, destroying themselves as they do it.
17-18But you, friends, are well-warned. Be on guard lest you lose your footing and get swept off your feet by these lawless and loose-talking teachers. Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Glory to the Master, now and forever! Yes!"
2 Peter 1-3 msgall
1-2I, Simon Peter, am a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. I write this to you whose experience with God is as life-changing as ours, all due to our God's straight dealing and the intervention of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master.
Don't Put It Off
3-4Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.
5-9So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.
10-11So, friends, confirm God's invitation to you, his choice of you. Don't put it off; do it now. Do this, and you'll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The One Light in a Dark Time
12-15Because the stakes are so high, even though you're up-to-date on all this truth and practice it inside and out, I'm not going to let up for a minute in calling you to attention before it. This is the post to which I've been assigned—keeping you alert with frequent reminders—and I'm sticking to it as long as I live. I know that I'm to die soon; the Master has made that quite clear to me. And so I am especially eager that you have all this down in black and white so that after I die, you'll have it for ready reference.
16-18We weren't, you know, just wishing on a star when we laid the facts out before you regarding the powerful return of our Master, Jesus Christ. We were there for the preview! We saw it with our own eyes: Jesus resplendent with light from God the Father as the voice of Majestic Glory spoke: ""This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of all my delight."" We were there on the holy mountain with him. We heard the voice out of heaven with our very own ears.
19-21We couldn't be more sure of what we saw and heard—God's glory, God's voice. The prophetic Word was confirmed to us. You'll do well to keep focusing on it. It's the one light you have in a dark time as you wait for daybreak and the rising of the Morning Star in your hearts. The main thing to keep in mind here is that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of private opinion. And why? Because it's not something concocted in the human heart. Prophecy resulted when the Holy Spirit prompted men and women to speak God's Word.
2 Peter 2
Lying Religious Leaders
1-2But there were also lying prophets among the people then, just as there will be lying religious teachers among you. They'll smuggle in destructive divisions, pitting you against each other—biting the hand of the One who gave them a chance to have their lives back! They've put themselves on a fast downhill slide to destruction, but not before they recruit a crowd of mixed-up followers who can't tell right from wrong.
2-3They give the way of truth a bad name. They're only out for themselves. They'll say anything, anything, that sounds good to exploit you. They won't, of course, get by with it. They'll come to a bad end, for God has never just stood by and let that kind of thing go on.
4-5God didn't let the rebel angels off the hook, but jailed them in hell till Judgment Day. Neither did he let the ancient ungodly world off. He wiped it out with a flood, rescuing only eight people—Noah, the sole voice of righteousness, was one of them.
6-8God decreed destruction for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. A mound of ashes was all that was left—grim warning to anyone bent on an ungodly life. But that good man Lot, driven nearly out of his mind by the sexual filth and perversity, was rescued. Surrounded by moral rot day after day after day, that righteous man was in constant torment.
9So God knows how to rescue the godly from evil trials. And he knows how to hold the feet of the wicked to the fire until Judgment Day.
Predators on the Prowl
10-11God is especially incensed against these ""teachers"" who live by lust, addicted to a filthy existence. They despise interference from true authority, preferring to indulge in self-rule. Insolent egotists, they don't hesitate to speak evil against the most splendid of creatures. Even angels, their superiors in every way, wouldn't think of throwing their weight around like that, trying to slander others before God.
12-14These people are nothing but brute beasts, born in the wild, predators on the prowl. In the very act of bringing down others with their ignorant blasphemies, they themselves will be brought down, losers in the end. Their evil will boomerang on them. They're so despicable and addicted to pleasure that they indulge in wild parties, carousing in broad daylight. They're obsessed with adultery, compulsive in sin, seducing every vulnerable soul they come upon. Their specialty is greed, and they're experts at it. Dead souls!
15-16They've left the main road and are directionless, having taken the way of Balaam, son of Beor, the prophet who turned profiteer, a connoisseur of evil. But Balaam was stopped in his wayward tracks: A dumb animal spoke in a human voice and prevented the prophet's craziness.
17-19There's nothing to these people—they're dried-up fountains, storm-scattered clouds, headed for a black hole in hell. They are loudmouths, full of hot air, but still they're dangerous. Men and women who have recently escaped from a deviant life are most susceptible to their brand of seduction. They promise these newcomers freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, for if they're addicted to corruption—and they are—they're enslaved.
20-22If they've escaped from the slum of sin by experiencing our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ, and then slid back into that same old life again, they're worse than if they had never left. Better not to have started out on the straight road to God than to start out and then turn back, repudiating the experience and the holy command. They prove the point of the proverbs, ""A dog goes back to its own vomit"" and ""A scrubbed-up pig heads for the mud.""
2 Peter 3
In the Last Days
1-2 My dear friends, this is now the second time I've written to you, both letters reminders to hold your minds in a state of undistracted attention. Keep in mind what the holy prophets said, and the command of our Master and Savior that was passed on by your apostles.
3-4First off, you need to know that in the last days, mockers are going to have a heyday. Reducing everything to the level of their puny feelings, they'll mock, ""So what's happened to the promise of his Coming? Our ancestors are dead and buried, and everything's going on just as it has from the first day of creation. Nothing's changed.""
5-7They conveniently forget that long ago all the galaxies and this very planet were brought into existence out of watery chaos by God's word. Then God's word brought the chaos back in a flood that destroyed the world. The current galaxies and earth are fuel for the final fire. God is poised, ready to speak his word again, ready to give the signal for the judgment and destruction of the desecrating skeptics.
The Day the Sky Will Collapse
8-9Don't overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn't late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn't want anyone lost. He's giving everyone space and time to change.
10But when the Day of God's Judgment does come, it will be unannounced, like a thief. The sky will collapse with a thunderous bang, everything disintegrating in a huge conflagration, earth and all its works exposed to the scrutiny of Judgment.
11-13Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life? Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day—but we'll hardly notice. We'll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness.
14-16So, my dear friends, since this is what you have to look forward to, do your very best to be found living at your best, in purity and peace. Interpret our Master's patient restraint for what it is: salvation. Our good brother Paul, who was given much wisdom in these matters, refers to this in all his letters, and has written you essentially the same thing. Some things Paul writes are difficult to understand. Irresponsible people who don't know what they are talking about twist them every which way. They do it to the rest of the Scriptures, too, destroying themselves as they do it.
17-18But you, friends, are well-warned. Be on guard lest you lose your footing and get swept off your feet by these lawless and loose-talking teachers. Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Glory to the Master, now and forever! Yes!"
Tender love in 1 John,
fellowship barometer
poC tastiness in 1 John 4msg7-21
key tastiness in 1 John 2 (The Message)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 62 - shoot
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Reverkent's rufrushu at Ecclesiastes 8.12 – It will bo better with God fearing men who are reverent before God.
Dim – O soul are you weary and troubled, no light in the darkness you see, there's light for a look at the saviour and lifre more abudnat and rrfree. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face,and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.
1 John 4msg7-21
7-10My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God.
11-12My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!
13-16This is how we know we're living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He's given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we've seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God's Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we've embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.
To Love, to Be Loved
17-18God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ's. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.
19We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.
20-21If anyone boasts, ""I love God,"" and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won't love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can't see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You've got to love both. "
1 John 2 (The Message)
1-2I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world's.
The Only Way to Know We're in Him
2-3Here's how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep his commandments.
4-6If someone claims, ""I know him well!"" but doesn't keep his commandments, he's obviously a liar. His life doesn't match his words. But the one who keeps God's word is the person in whom we see God's mature love. This is the only way to be sure we're in God. Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived.
7-8My dear friends, I'm not writing anything new here. This is the oldest commandment in the book, and you've known it from day one. It's always been implicit in the Message you've heard. On the other hand, perhaps it is new, freshly minted as it is in both Christ and you—the darkness on its way out and the True Light already blazing!
9-11Anyone who claims to live in God's light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. It's the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God's light and doesn't block the light from others. But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn't know which end is up, blinded by the darkness.
Loving the World
12-13I remind you, my dear children: Your sins are forgiven in Jesus' name. You veterans were in on the ground floor, and know the One who started all this; you newcomers have won a big victory over the Evil One.
13-14And a second reminder, dear children: You know the Father from personal experience. You veterans know the One who started it all; and you newcomers—such vitality and strength! God's word is so steady in you. Your fellowship with God enables you to gain a victory over the Evil One.
15-17Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.
Antichrists Everywhere You Look
18Children, time is just about up. You heard that Antichrist is coming. Well, they're all over the place, antichrists everywhere you look. That's how we know that we're close to the end.
19They left us, but they were never really with us. If they had been, they would have stuck it out with us, loyal to the end. In leaving, they showed their true colors, showed they never did belong.
20-21But you belong. The Holy One anointed you, and you all know it. I haven't been writing this to tell you something you don't know, but to confirm the truth you do know, and to remind you that the truth doesn't breed lies.
22-23So who is lying here? It's the person who denies that Jesus is the Divine Christ, that's who. This is what makes an antichrist: denying the Father, denying the Son. No one who denies the Son has any part with the Father, but affirming the Son is an embrace of the Father as well.
24-25Stay with what you heard from the beginning, the original message. Let it sink into your life. If what you heard from the beginning lives deeply in you, you will live deeply in both Son and Father. This is exactly what Christ promised: eternal life, real life!
26-27I've written to warn you about those who are trying to deceive you. But they're no match for what is embedded deeply within you—Christ's anointing, no less! You don't need any of their so-called teaching. Christ's anointing teaches you the truth on everything you need to know about yourself and him, uncontaminated by a single lie. Live deeply in what you were taught.
Live Deeply in Christ
28And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we'll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives.
29Once you're convinced that he is right and righteous, you'll recognize that all who practice righteousness are God's true children. "
Tender love in 2 John,
bolt the door,
poC tastiness in 2 John 6
key tastiness in 2 John 1 (The Message)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 63 - creation
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Righteouschet's rufrushu at Proverbs 12.21 – No harm befalls the righteous.
Asunder – Wonderful grace of Jesus, reaching to all the lost, by it I have been pardoned, saved to the uttermoset, chains have been torn asunder, giving me liberty, for the wonderful grace of Jesus, reaches me. Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus, deeper than the mighty rolling sea, higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain, all sufficient grace for even me, broader than the scope of my transgressions, greater far than all my sin and shame, o magnify the precious name of Jesus , praise, his name.
2 John 6 – And this is love that we walk in obedience to his commands,. As you have heard from the beginning his comamand is that you walk in love.
2 John 1 (The Message)
1-2My dear congregation, I, your pastor, love you in very truth. And I'm not alone—everyone who knows the Truth that has taken up permanent residence in us loves you.
3Let grace, mercy, and peace be with us in truth and love from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, Son of the Father!
4-6I can't tell you how happy I am to learn that many members of your congregation are diligent in living out the Truth, exactly as commanded by the Father. But permit me a reminder, friends, and this is not a new commandment but simply a repetition of our original and basic charter: that we love each other. Love means following his commandments, and his unifying commandment is that you conduct your lives in love. This is the first thing you heard, and nothing has changed.
Don't Walk Out on God
7There are a lot of smooth-talking charlatans loose in the world who refuse to believe that Jesus Christ was truly human, a flesh-and-blood human being. Give them their true title: Deceiver! Antichrist!
8-9And be very careful around them so you don't lose out on what we've worked so diligently in together; I want you to get every reward you have coming to you. Anyone who gets so progressive in his thinking that he walks out on the teaching of Christ, walks out on God. But whoever stays with the teaching, stays faithful to both the Father and the Son.
10-11If anyone shows up who doesn't hold to this teaching, don't invite him in and give him the run of the place. That would just give him a platform to perpetuate his evil ways, making you his partner.
12-13I have a lot more things to tell you, but I'd rather not use paper and ink. I hope to be there soon in person and have a heart-to-heart talk. That will be far more satisfying to both you and me. Everyone here in your sister congregation sends greetings."
Tender love in 3 John,
Open the door,
poC tastiness in 3 John 1:1
key tastiness in 3 John 1 complete (The Message)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 64 - fall
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Self-contrOllie's rufrushu at Proverbs 25.28 – Like a city whose wals are broken down is man who lacks self-control.
Crimson – Dark is the stain that we cannot hide, what can avail to wash it away, look there is flowing a crimson tide, whiter than snow you may be today. Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse witing, grace, grace, God's grace, grace that is greater than all our sins.
3 John 1 – To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
3 John 1 (The Message)
1-4The Pastor, to my good friend Gaius: How truly I love you! We're the best of friends, and I pray for good fortune in everything you do, and for your good health—that your everyday affairs prosper, as well as your soul! I was most happy when some friends arrived and brought the news that you persist in following the way of Truth. Nothing could make me happier than getting reports that my children continue diligently in the way of Truth!
Model the Good
5-8Dear friend, when you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible. They've made a full report back to the church here, a message about your love. It's good work you're doing, helping these travelers on their way, hospitality worthy of God himself! They set out under the banner of the Name, and get no help from unbelievers. So they deserve any support we can give them. In providing meals and a bed, we become their companions in spreading the Truth.
9-10Earlier I wrote something along this line to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves being in charge, denigrates my counsel. If I come, you can be sure I'll hold him to account for spreading vicious rumors about us.
As if that weren't bad enough, he not only refuses hospitality to traveling Christians but tries to stop others from welcoming them. Worse yet, instead of inviting them in he throws them out.
11Friend, don't go along with evil. Model the good. The person who does good does God's work. The person who does evil falsifies God, doesn't know the first thing about God.
12Everyone has a good word for Demetrius—the Truth itself stands up for Demetrius! We concur, and you know we don't hand out endorsements lightly.
13-14I have a lot more things to tell you, but I'd rather not use pen and ink. I hope to be there soon in person and have a heart-to-heart talk.
Peace to you. The friends here say hello. Greet our friends there by name. "
The Lord coming with 10000 saints,
Fight for the faith in the book of Jude,
poC tastiness in Jude 1.14
key tastiness in Jude 1 (The Message)
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 65 - redemption
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by Sensitiffany's rufrushu at Philippians 4.5 – Let your gentlenss be evident to all.
Plea – For my pardon this I see, nothing but the blood of Jesus, for my cleansing this my plea nothing but the blood of Jesus, Oh precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow no other fount I know wnothing but the blood of Jesus.
Jude 1.14 – Enoch the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men, see the Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy ones.
Jude 1 (The Message)
1-2I, Jude, am a slave to Jesus Christ and brother to James, writing to those loved by God the Father, called and kept safe by Jesus Christ. Relax, everything's going to be all right; rest, everything's coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!
Fight with All You Have in You
3-4Dear friends, I've dropped everything to write you about this life of salvation that we have in common. I have to write insisting—begging!—that you fight with everything you have in you for this faith entrusted to us as a gift to guard and cherish. What has happened is that some people have infiltrated our ranks (our Scriptures warned us this would happen), who beneath their pious skin are shameless scoundrels. Their design is to replace the sheer grace of our God with sheer license—which means doing away with Jesus Christ, our one and only Master.
Lost Stars in Outer Space
5-7I'm laying this out as clearly as I can, even though you once knew all this well enough and shouldn't need reminding. Here it is in brief: The Master saved a people out of the land of Egypt. Later he destroyed those who defected. And you know the story of the angels who didn't stick to their post, abandoning it for other, darker missions. But they are now chained and jailed in a black hole until the great Judgment Day. Sodom and Gomorrah, which went to sexual rack and ruin along with the surrounding cities that acted just like them, are another example. Burning and burning and never burning up, they serve still as a stock warning.
8This is exactly the same program of these latest infiltrators: dirty sex, rule and rulers thrown out, glory dragged in the mud.
9-11The Archangel Michael, who went to the mat with the Devil as they fought over the body of Moses, wouldn't have dared level him with a blasphemous curse, but said simply, ""No you don't. God will take care of you!"" But these people sneer at anything they can't understand, and by doing whatever they feel like doing—living by animal instinct only—they participate in their own destruction. I'm fed up with them! They've gone down Cain's road; they've been sucked into Balaam's error by greed; they're canceled out in Korah's rebellion.
12-13These people are warts on your love feasts as you worship and eat together. They're giving you a black eye—carousing shamelessly, grabbing anything that isn't nailed down. They're—
Puffs of smoke pushed by gusts of wind;
late autumn trees stripped clean of leaf and fruit,
Doubly dead, pulled up by the roots;
wild ocean waves leaving nothing on the beach
but the foam of their shame;
Lost stars in outer space
on their way to the black hole.
14-16Enoch, the seventh after Adam, prophesied of them: ""Look! The Master comes with thousands of holy angels to bring judgment against them all, convicting each person of every defiling act of shameless sacrilege, of every dirty word they have spewed of their pious filth."" These are the ""grumpers,"" the bellyachers, grabbing for the biggest piece of the pie, talking big, saying anything they think will get them ahead.
17-19But remember, dear friends, that the apostles of our Master, Jesus Christ, told us this would happen: ""In the last days there will be people who don't take these things seriously anymore. They'll treat them like a joke, and make a religion of their own whims and lusts."" These are the ones who split churches, thinking only of themselves. There's nothing to them, no sign of the Spirit!
20-21But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God's love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!
22-23Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven.
24-25And now to him who can keep you on your feet, standing tall in his bright presence, fresh and celebrating—to our one God, our only Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Master, be glory, majesty, strength, and rule before all time, and now, and to the end of all time. Yes."
King of kings and Lord of lords, coming events in revelation
poC tastiness in Rev 19.16
key tastiness in Revelation 1AMP1-19
peace out hallelujah maranatha shalom
Verse 66 - restoration
Psalm 34 verse 8 - taste and see that the Lord is good. (next)
Sponsored by sheperdon's rufrushu at isaiah 40.11 – He tends his flock like a shepherd.
Jubilee – Waft it on the rolling tide, Jesus saves, Jesus saves, tell to sinners far and wide, Jesus saves, Jesus saves, sing ye islands of the sea, echo back ye ocean caves, earth shall keep her jubilee, Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
Rev 19.16 – On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords.
Revelation 1AMP1-19
1[THIS IS] the revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries]. God gave it to Him to disclose and make known to His bond servants certain things which must shortly and speedily come to pass [a]in their entirety. And He sent and communicated it through His angel (messenger) to His bond servant John,
2Who has testified to and vouched for all that he saw [[b]in his visions], the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
3Blessed (happy, [c]to be envied) is the man who reads aloud [in the assemblies] the word of this prophecy; and blessed (happy, [d]to be envied) are those who hear [it read] and who keep themselves true to the things which are written in it [heeding them and laying them to heart], for the time [for them to be fulfilled] is near.
4John to the seven assemblies (churches) that are in Asia: May grace (God's unmerited favor) be granted to you and spiritual peace ([e]the peace of Christ's kingdom) from Him Who is and Who was and Who is to come, and from the seven Spirits [[f]the sevenfold Holy Spirit] before His throne,(A)
5And from Jesus Christ the faithful and trustworthy Witness, the Firstborn of the dead [first to be brought back to life] and the Prince (Ruler) of the kings of the earth. To Him Who [g]ever loves us and has [h]once [for all] loosed and freed us from our sins by His own blood,(B)
6And formed us into a kingdom (a royal race), priests to His God and Father--to Him be the glory and the power and the majesty and the dominion throughout the ages and forever and ever. Amen (so be it).(C)
7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth shall gaze upon Him and beat their breasts and mourn and lament over Him. Even so [must it be]. Amen (so be it).(D)
8I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord God, He Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty (the Ruler of all).(E)
9I, John, your brother and companion (sharer and participator) with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patient endurance [which are] in Jesus Christ, was on the isle called Patmos, [banished] on account of [my witnessing to] the Word of God and the testimony (the proof, the evidence) for Jesus Christ.
10I was in the Spirit [rapt in His power] on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a great voice like the calling of a [i]war trumpet,
11Saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. Write promptly what you see (your vision) in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia--to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.
12Then I turned to see [whose was] the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands,
13And in the midst of the lampstands [One] like a Son of Man, clothed with a robe which reached to His feet and with a girdle of gold about His breast.(F)
14His head and His hair were white like white wool, [as white] as snow, and His eyes [flashed] like a flame of fire.(G)
15His feet glowed like burnished (bright) bronze as it is refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.(H)
16In His right hand He held seven stars, and from His mouth there came forth a sharp two-edged sword, and His face was like the sun shining in full power at midday.(I)
17When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if dead. But He laid His right hand on me and said, Do not be afraid! I am the First and the Last,(J)
18And the Ever-living One [I am living in the eternity of the eternities]. I died, but see, I am alive forevermore; and I possess the keys of death and Hades (the realm of the dead).
19Write therefore the things you see, what they are [and signify] and what is to take place hereafter."
Sponsored bySubmissylvia's rufrushu at James 4.7 – Submit yourselves then to God.
Sponsored by understan's rufrushu at psalm 55.17 – I will complain and murmer and he will hear my woice.
Sponsored by uprightony's rufrushu at psalm 33.1 – it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
Sponsored by wisemelio's rufrushu at proverbs 9.12 – If you are wise your wisdom will reward you.
Sponsored by Mightyrine's rufrushu at Zephaniah 3.17 – The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty, he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
Sponsored by Integritina's rufrushu at Colossians 3.22 – You slaves must obey your earthyly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching oyou. Obey whthem willingly beacause of your reverent fear of the Lord.
Sponsored by reputayshawn's rufru at character is everything you have become and are becoming for God
Toils – Thru many dangers, toils and snares, i have already come, tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
Man look at all those powerful orders, that's the mighty mandates,
The whole truth about Israelite kings, that's called holy history,
Jewellery from God for you to treasure up, that's called precious poetry
Coming events before they come to pass, that's called perfect prophecy
No matter what proof he's simply the best, that'ls called glorious gospels
Clear heavenly messages stamped onto you, that'ls lucid letters but we're not through
Righteous revelation maps out the right place to be when heaven opens and eart closes the end
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66
Altar – but we never can prove, the delights of his love, until all on the altar we lay, for the favor he shows, and the joy he bestows, are for them who will trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, then to trust and obey.
Melody – He speaks, and the sound of his voice, is so sweet, the birds, hush their singing, and the melody, that He gave to me, within my heart is ringing. And he walks with me and he talks mwwith me, and He tells me that I am His own, and the joy we sharre as we tarry there none other has ever known.
Verge – when I tread, the verge of Jordan, bid my anxious fears subside, bear me thru, the swelling current, land me safe on Canaan's side. Songs of praises, songs of praises, I will ever give to thee, I will ever give to thee.