Happy New Year

I Will Praise Him STILL!

This year's Christmas meditation was from the song Oh Holy Night!

I am always surprised at what phrases the Holy Spirit impresses my soul with for Christmas. For years, now there have been different highlighter pens that God has used to help me see the beauty and the splendor of His salvation plan that commenced at Christmas. I had to overcome some many and sundry complaints that I had laid up for God and once I had put them aside and repented of my bad attitude, I could see the goodness of God and how He shows us His goodness each and everyday and highlights it at Christmas time.

Of course, it is a constant struggle to get to church on time for the 8:30 service. I am always shocked at how very difficult it is to overcome this huge obstacle of timeliness. The one Sunday that we made it for the first hymn, God's highlighter was nearly visible. The music is never less than perfect at Central and the beauty and splendor of worshipful and God-centered messages are plenteous. It is like a well-watered garden, with no weeds and very few thorns. It isn't a stumblingblock for its well-delivered consistency either.

OH Holy Night!

Don't we sing this every year Lord? Isn't this the millionth time that I have heard this hymn this year? And yet the Holy Spirit seemed to pull my coat tail with the pungency of this hymn. Heavens vails seemed to open, as they often do for me at the worship at Central. I could see numerous scribes penning the purposes that were implied and explicit in one line of that hymn. There was a team.

And the Soul Found its Worth!

One phrase and yet each epoch of history that I had studied, from Old Testament through the present, were clarified.

God breathed into man and he became a living soul.

What great worth is found in the breath of God, within us. And redemption added to that was infinite. Well, they were still writing, in Heaven when the song ended and the vail closed. I couldn't see them anymore, but I knew that the team was showing us the application of that phrase in the hymn and I felt that I was on the bench learning to code and to serve through my worship. Halleluia, what a Savior!

Psalm 65:11 Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.

God is the one who crowns the year with goodness and fatness!

Every good and every perfect gift comes from the father in heaven! Thank you Lord for all your goodness this year!

56 years young? Thank you for this wonderful reminder from Steve Green.

Continued meditations from Ezra and Nehemiah...

If I am not mistaken...

It seems that it took from October 1st of the year that they identified the problem as being a polygamy and idolatrous relationship aspect of disobedience, until January first for the them to cleanse the community. They were taking confessions, making provisions for the care and keeping of all of the concubines and their children and ridding themselves of this scourge that had made them unseemly in the sight of the Lord.

That was the outward expression of their repentance and reconciliation to God on this one issue that the entire community had turned a blind eye to. God granted repentance and the growth of the kingdom of God, in the days following were better for their turning the feet to obey the Lord on this issue. They taught their youngsters to mind the ways of God and they were able to live in peace and prosperity on God's green earth.

Amos' prophecy ended in a far more dramatic and sad way. I would say it is the opposite of Jonah. God came in a call for repentance and reconciliation, but His word was not heeded. An earthquake came and consumed their land and they had to rebuild from that. Still merciful in that all was not lost; the truth was that some remained to tell the story of what was not heeded.

God often touches one area of blatant disobedience, in His massive condescenscion. God is calling us all into communion with Him. Even with an amazing provision of an advocate with the Father, there in Heaven to plead on our behalf; we have the responsibility to walk circumspectly in our communities. Sin is sin and all sin is heinous and deserves Hell. But, there are some sins that God will tear down heaven and earth to erradicate. I do believe that the abortion industry and the acceptance of such a thing in our country and the export of it, is such a thing.

God, please grant us repentance and cleansing from this, For Christ's sake and give us the reconstruction that was Ezra and Nehemiah's experience, please, please. Amen

Thoughts from a Month long meditation on Ezra, Nehemiah and Psalm 119

Spiritual training is as important as brain training.

What is the chief end of man?

Ezra's response in Scripture was somewhat self-flagellating in prayer and Nehemiah's was a whip in the temple.

From Aleph to Tau, the instruction that our God-glorifying identity is in finding God's purpose for our lives and glorifying Him in it.

It really isn't rocket science!

Praise to the Lord! {The This is "How We Do It" of the Hymns}I call it travels to "Glad Adoration"!

OH how I hated this hymn for years and years!

I felt like it was a stab in my soul! I love you Lord, but

"Hast thou not seen???"

I loved the verbiage, but I hated the sentiments!

I went to church and prayed for years that they wouldn't sing that hymn.

Lord, I prayed, I am loving you, with a blindness of grief and how can you let them constantly sing that "all their longings have been granted in what He ORDAINETH?"

Not mine! I have not seen that, Lord! I stood beside the grave of my child (my firstborn son,3 weeks old, snatched from my arms, by death) and I am certainly sure that this is not a longing of mine that has been granted in what Thou hast ordained?

I am praising you even though I am ANGRY, Lord. I do not like this, not one little bit. I am praising you from the discipline of submission and mercy and I know that you can answer the questions in the sweet by and by. I am not bitter against you, but I am bitter against these hymn-writers who are writing from their lofty towers.

Granted in what He ordaineth?

Even if that hadn't happened in my earliest seasons of serving You, Lord, I don't think I could sing that with a whole heart. "All thy longings?"

Am I supposed to let my Amen fully resound with that? How?

I know that you know my Longings, Lord. Why are all these people enraptured and I am in tears? I can't say that.

Well, I would really like to tell the story of how God carried me to a place where the answers to the questions of my soul could be ministered to. And to the day where, I was singing that song, in my soul and in my innermost prayer closet in completely good conscience!

God, please give me grace and time to tell that story.

Thank You Lord!

What Do You Want The Lord to Say?

I had an amazing blessing from looking at Pastor Marvin Winans, preserving the traditions of the elders on a video. I had that wonderful experience of seeing the elders in our neighborhood testify at service, before the Lord. It was amazing to me, to see the regular guys, who confessed that they had grown up on the streets of NY and God had changed their hearts. I kept saying to myself, if I could just get my daddy to meet one of these guys, he couldn't refute me about Jesus, like he does. God can do it for you, Dad!

Look at Deacon So and So and Elder Such and Such. They got up so beautifully and talked so really about the move of Christ in their lives. I always looked at them with a mix of amazement and incredulity. I had experienced the move of Christ in my life, but my daddy was a very stubborn case of unbelief. He argued and fought me tooth and nail for his faith and the discouragement that I felt when he died, left me kind of neutral to any kind of evangelism of this sort, at least.

Pastor Winans showed me who he is aiming at. The young people need to see this kind of faith. We can't show them this, because we weren't brought up in the street. Those wonderful men are mostly dead or quieted by age. The comfortable and prosperous generation that they fought to protect from their troubadorial street experience, have no clue of the beauty of seeing the tired elder saints who trudged to midweek service to get up before God and thank him for the week's provisions.

Why do we always say, the elder saints would get up and sing a little song, like this...? We were sitting there, in full confidence of our faith. We were wondering, if so and so, would finally talk to us after service,perhaps. {confessing some dual motives for having been at service}But, Brother So and so and Sister Such and Such came after a long day at the daily grind. She had children at home, who were waiting for her and he had responsibilities that were calling to them and they would hush the service with a simple testimony..."What Do You Want the Lord To Say?"

Somehow we don't believe that we can embellish that testomony at all, so we just repeat it. Some things get lost in the translation sometimes, but the truth of their testimonies is what keeps us preaching, these many years later.

Our Sins and what we do with them challenge us to greater intimacy with God. 2 Samuel 24

God's anger was kindled against Israel...

Not really hard to believe. It seems harder to believe that God would weave their intentions and warfare into His goodness and relationship with Him. Pride comes before a fall and the children of Israel walked in stumbling obedience to God and I am glad that He is teaching us through their relationship with Him

David had just come from great victory in prayer and praise and there he is numbering the people. It somehow reminds me of how my mother spoke to us, You want to number something, I will give you something to count. The retribution was a sad and sordid number to count. A choice of how much of what sort to be retaliated and then to have to know the number of recipients of the horrible scourge.

God's amazing condesencion to our low estate. To be entreated in prayer of confession and repentance and anger was an amazing relationship that David had with God. With Saul, it was all about how he looked. "Don't let them think God has departed from me" he entreated Samuel. His relationship was not with God, it was with Samuel, who knew God. David said, "I did a foolish thing, Lord" He had learned in aging not to cover his sins, but to come clean and plead for the mercy of God! None of us have a leg to stand on, before God's anger and righteousness. Still, David shows us growth and love of God in our infirmities, even those infirmities that we bring upon ourselves. How much more God is willing to be entreated and appealed to, than we are to come to Him with our messes.

Lord of Holiness and Mercy, teach me to love You with greater fidelity and hope in Your mercies, Amen. For Jesus' Sake

I am in Awe of David's faith! David knew that "His Redeemer Liveth"

The clarity of David's conscience smiting him, was everywhere. My meditations of God's dealings with David, this time has gleaned much to my soul's profit.

I saw him as flawed and I had dealt with my anger with him on the many levels. Today's reading made him my own soul, as I saw him. I prayed and contemplated that I could see the goodness of God, in the aging of my body.

I can't fight anymore. I can't claim youth or goodness or the victories as being mine, but I can see God's hand leading me all the way. I have lost dear ones, but look how many things I have gained. God's mercy and grace, His victories for His namesake and many people who have saved my life and my face, in too many situations to recount. And last, but certainly not least, Uriah the Hittite{for whose sake countless generations will see the sword in my house, because it was me that killed him} What a confession and what an ownership of the mercy of God!2Samuel 23---David's Counting His Blessings!

We claim your benevolence and receive Your Mighty condescension into our lives, Lord. a Prayer

You have been so merciful to our lost generation, we are confessing our sins of taking your mercies for granted, Lord!

We are sending a wave of confession and repentance. It is us who are standing in the need of prayer. We have sinned in every way. We do not deserve your mercies that you have bestowed upon us. We have inherited mighty works that our forefathers have done and repayed your mercies by adding to the sins and building a major part of our economy on the murder of innocents. We confess and send you a wave of repentance for these hideous expressions of depravity that we have engaged in. You promised that the blood of Jesus could cleanse the sins to the uttermost and we take you at that Word, Lord Jesus.

We don't want to be those who take your mercies for granted! We want to be those that are redeemed and taken up into the right dealings with You! We don't want to go down, Lord! We want to be those that go up!

You are our only hope! It is clear that we have been the leaders in sin. Help us to be leaders in repentance and cleansing from the most hideous of those sins, the slaughter of the innocents. We pray that you would grant repentance and faith to us and assistance to act in such a manner that exalts Your mercy and your glory! God lift us up, because we are humbly bowing our country and our lives to reflect that we are the imbicels who don't know how to get up from our infirmity. Carry us to the cross, Lord. Be our friend and our redeemer. Be our healing and cleansing. Be our help and our shield! In Jesus' Strong Name. Amen!

Thoughts about the death of Ahithophel{Not falling but rising in wisdom}

 The counsel of Ahithophel,  that shall stand!

When you have lost your identity.   I lost my serve!   I lost my record at doing word puzzles!   I lost my identity..  What are you when you are not who you identified as?   

Are you even a person?

Where will you find your new identity?

What will you do to recoup and regroup e parts of your mind and body that did that one thing?

I don’t know if Ahithophels suicide was a cop out or a realization that his side was bound to lose and early entering into that loss…

No suicide is right or good.   He had time to put his house in order.  The other soldiers on his team were still hinting that God had forsaken David, like he had Saul.   Perhaps that is what having a king means?  Perhaps,  there is a reason that God is not giving us longevity in one family?   The Jews were all struggling with these reasonings?  David is a bloody man and what he did to Saul is being requited.

No, Samuel was In touch with God!

Absalom was the fruit of the sown seeds of adultery and murder that David had sown.   He reaped a horror movie that he couldn’t get out of.

Everybody has a specialization.  Wisdom was Ahithophels. It was followed for years and by responsible people.

The leadership style of Absalom is one to be averted.  Multitude of counsellors, is commendable, but the public demeaning of the counsellors is wrong.   Ahithophels was not senstitive.   He knew that there was a wrong premise that Absalom was following.   Diss the establishment.   Put down anybody of power.   New is not always better.  Young people may follow you, but if you can’t show precidence,  you shouldn’t be trusted.   There was no Lord and Savior who had paid it all for his sins and failures.  He had no counsellor for his soul.  Don’t let that be your dilemma.   If you find yourself on the wrong side of the conflict with God, repent.  Seek His counsel and renewal.  God has many new purposes for wrong starts in people’s lives.  Jesus is the answer! 

This is what I say to myself and to the many wise men who I have seen demoralized in a new aged world that hates wise men!

Am I saved by grace through faith? Learning to look at Romans 1 with John's loving perspective as the backdrop

Romans 11John 2

I am going through Romans and there is not one of the sins mentioned there, that I am not convicted of.

What to do? Am I saved? I must put my trust in Jesus' finished work on my behalf and not on my paltry efforts. I have come to learn this after many years of questioning. I question that my behavior doesn't live up to my profession.

Not unto us, Lord...

He is changing me, I see. But how long will it take before my life adds up to my acceptance of His work. It is lifelong, I am afraid. I would not be deceived, by not even trying. But, as I try and fail, time after time, He picks me up and dusts me off and changes my behavior to the comportment of grace. My forgiveness and my attitudes are lacking, He will step in, I pray and make all grace abound unto me, I trust Him to do that...Ultimately.

Or there is no hope at all!

I must not Fret!!!

The Mercy in Harvey and Irma's being under a merciful God's full control!

Hurricane season is a time to reflect on the mercy of God, that we live in such a time of God's sustained commitment to His Church. He holds our hands and gives us the opportunity to become longer suffering, in our situation and with the situations of others. He gives us the opportunity to show mercy, if we have means and the opportunity to receive human mercy, if we are not.

Each year, we see them come and go. This year they seem so intense and yet the mercy that we are enabled, by technology to see them developing, long enough ahead to do some real preparations and have real effort in their lessening human fatality and greater losses. This is so great a mercy and Heaven when we die, if we are attached to Him, as well. It seems too good to be true.

Are we truly humble and penitent in our responses to these treacherous circumstances? Are we really bowing the knee to a Holy God who is showing us mercy and giving, day after day? Are we exalting in our ability to hoard our resources and ride another one out in safety? Perhaps, even then, "Our Father's forgiving is only begun". We are weak, O Lord. We rejoice, when we should be wailing and complain and whine over the smallest inconveniences. Is the Spirit willing to submit all to Christ? Is the flesh really that weak that we have counted our inconvenience so great again? Only God knows our hearts.

I see Him taking His Church as a little girl on His Holy knee and asking if we are learning to show compassion rightly, yet? Are we growing hospitals to do what they are supposed to? Are we there with a cup of cold water, in Jesus' Name? Or are we hiding from responsibility, as we are wont to do? Are we showing forth the good and holy attributes of God, in crisis? Or, are we succumbing to the accusing voice of the adversary, who makes us think it is our ingenuity that has kept us from greater calamity?

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not! Great is His faithfulness.

Great are our presumptions in these days of great advances on every sphere. May we shine forth Jesus, as individuals and churches and cities, countries and world. May we take His hand and learn to "do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. May we show forth the glory of the God who "sent His Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world, through Him might be saved". In Jesus' Strong Name, Amen.

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater; He sendeth more strength when the labors increase. To added affliction He addeth His mercy; To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

Refrain: His love has no limit, His grace has no measure, His pow'r has no boundary known unto men; For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!

When we have exhausted our store of endurance, When our strength has failed ere the day is half done, When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, Our Father's full giving is only begun.

On Eclipse day! "Oh Love that will not let me go"----Even when the sun goes partly covered...Am I ready to yield my flickering torch

O Light that follow'st all my way, I yield my flick'ring torch to Thee; My heart restores its borrowed ray, That in Thy sunshine's blaze its day May brighter, fairer be.

God is before and behind us! How can it be said that God follows all my way? When You are before me and when you are behind me, I am yielding my flickering torch to You! The eclipse seems to play act this spiritual truth. Here are our torches, Lord. It seems like it makes no difference, except when it is dark. My torch is committed to You! God's light is all there is. It is in subjection to, even the sun. When the sun kneels to pray to the greater light of Jesus, we must all look away. Don't look at the sun. It is getting humbled, as we all must be. Jesus is greater and still shines, even when the trusted lights are suspect in their duties. God brings and ushers in epochs and memorials to the day. We genuflect, only to Him and His purposes.

Even the sun sings Look at me Don't look, though!

the power of pride is catastrophic sometimes.

does my pride comfort my heart or am I really in God's will?-----a link to chapter 16 of the Christian's Daily Walk

At the first, when I read this book, I felt my soul was being flagellated and there was no hope for me. In my grief, I sought to find the right way to walk with God.

That is not the time to look at your condition of soul. When your comforts have been withdrawn, is not the time to exercise the most serious self-examination. It is the time to pray for mercy to see God's goodness and not to lose all hope. It is the time to say "Help, I am drowning!" There is no escaping our undoneness in the light of the perfectness of God. I am worthy of Hell. May I never get what I deserve.

Only by the grace of the merciful Savior who spilled His blood on my behalf and on behalf of all who seek Him. I want to live Holy unto Him until I see Him. Is that possible?

God grant grace to live wholly unto Jesus and be faithful to my confession of Him, in Jesus' Name. Amen.

James 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. James 5:12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. James 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.

Proverbs 8

Proverbs 8:35  For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.

Daddy, where does the Favor of the Lord come from? Are we teaching our children to seek the favor of the Lord or the favor of man?

If there is any reason that people may need to take a break from church it is to discern whether their tradition is leading them to the favor of the Lord or the favor of man. “He is a good God fearing person, isn’t she?” Is that what they say about us?

What does that mean? Who are the people that make you genuflect before them? We have traditions that subjugate themselves to this or that person or construct of philosophies. We all have them. Many of us have established churches that instruct our little ones to fear strongholds and etc.

We are in captivity to the traditions that have been established before us. Many of which are directly and indirectly traditions of Babylon. We are not just submitting ourselves to the ordinances of man. We are worshipping others, in the relationship between the things that they have amassed in their traditions. The cast system of our making is passed down to the children and they fear. This fear, I see in the eyes of some of the little ones. We must teach them early to pray about their fears and their foibles. They are not able to put their minds around the rules that they are subject to. Some home rules and some outside rules, many bosses make them confused. We have to isolate the priority as being God and even the subjection to parents must be explained as under God, or we are placing ourselves as gods to them. I answer to God.

Discipling them into the faith should be in our minds, not subjugating them as slaves. This is hard.

Teach them to pray! Humble your hearts in your parenting.

Give us grace to do this, Lord!

Nehemiah 3 and Psalm 87 seem hand in glove to teach the children the unity of the People of God!

Nehemiah 3 seems to me the picture of the little dutchboy's finger multiplied by the number of people to stay the hand of God's judgment on His people and to restore the former glory.

In Nehemiah, the wall was already broken down and the floods of pagan culture had enveloped them and all but destroyed their way of life. Nehemiah's prayer was followed by the people working as a single hand and arm to the work of restoration. They were all sticking a finger in the dyke of division between themselves and their godless world.

They had been taken over and had been separated from their God{so to speak} with the intention that they become amalgamated. That was man's plan and the devil's plan, but God had not forsaken them. God was more committed to the covenant of His than they were or than providences could break. Their united tie to their God was not able to be snatched from them, much less their commitment to each-other's well being beautifully expressed in Psalm 87. Halleluia, that is a God-wrought bond.Let us rejoice in the faithfulness of God to His people then and much more to the Church that He has purchased with His own blood!

On to Nehemiah...

What an amazing experience that I had yesterday. I was not in the first chapter of Nehemiah; that had been the day before. I entered into Nehemiah's prayer by printing it out and meditating on it. Even though, I know the context and have been there at Nehemiah in my bible-time many times before, my recent state of mind makes it seem very new. I listen as though this is my very first time in the book. I am introduced to a man in Nehemiah, who clearly has a burden of prayer for His people. He commits it, intently to God in an amazing prayer and it could take me a year to really absorb the depths of His prayer and observation and identification with His people. I do wonder often if anyone today really relates to any group with that type of love and hopefulness.

My eye was on God's hand that kneaded into His Old Testament Saints {through many mothers' instruction, I might add} a sense of unity and identification with one-another's sins and blindspots. What we all do affects all of us, is the amazing perspective of Nehemiah's prayer. Perhaps, the sad state of being in captivity draws our eyes to a cleansing perspective. God had equipped Nehemiah with a vision and a plan of reconstruction. He prayed and left it at God's throne.

I couldn't relate to the leaving of the burden there. I was still stuck in chapter one, when I found myself at chapter 2, yesterday. Nehemiah's hands were already dirty and meeting the enemies and deeply engaged in the battle for God honoring reconstruction and protection of God's people. I wasn't ready for this in my heart. I wanted to stay at the throne and see God laying out the blueprints for Him. I wanted a promise to stand on or a word from the Lord to go on. The prayer happened and God seemed to say, what you are saying isn't the half of where your people are. I am there, God said and thrust Nehemiah straight into the solution, without a promise of completion or support. I guess that was obvious that God was more committed than Nehemiah was. But it shocked me. I wanted to know ahead of time, whether Nehemiah was going to succeed. I wanted to know what God thought about the prayer. Good praying, or something to go on. Next thing he was looking into the eyes of the enemy.

Nehemiah was a real man about it! There was a sense of blessing that men have that type of fortitude then and now.

Now looking into Leviticus...

Looking at Leviticus is like walking through a thicket of dos and don'ts. I am looking at sacrifices and I can see the sacrifice of Christ which was far superior to any animal sacrifice or combination of sacrifices and God seemed to be setting the value system of heaven for the dummies that we are. There is no comparison to the sacrifice of Christ.

Now, as I look at the clean and unclean animals, I say that is something that I now a little bit about. I grew up looking at this and that as yucky, not to mention Kosher or unKosher.

When I go into the laws, I remember the sheet that came down to Peter. God had to announce from Heaven, "Don't call something unclean that I have cleansed!" What an eyeopener, must this revelation have been to a believing Jew of the first century, much less Peter; who walked with Jesus. I am sure that they thought that the cleansing that Jesus came to do, was to make them more Kosher than even the Jews were. What is this about going down, instead of going up? God would spend the rest of New Testament history explaining that He is not an exclusivist, but an inclusiveness. He sets the ground rules and none of us deserve Heaven. Even with all of the sacrifices that have been from the earliest of times to now, piled up together; without Christ we all should be crumpled as a piece of paper and thrown into the fire. Not the righteous...Sinners, Jesus came to call.

Why do we know the ten commandments? says the catechism. Why do we study the book of Leviticus, with any real mental ascent? The Ten Commandments teach us our duty before God and show us our need of a Savior!

Lord, we should say, I am one of those unclean animals, but for the Grace of God and the sacrifice of God and am not even fit to be placed on the altar of sacrifice as for your use, but you have made me clean and you have made us a Kingdom of Priests, who were fit for the refuse pile and despised. How shall we escape that refuse, if we neglect so great a salvation? Grant grace and favor, dear Lord. Help us see our despised state and use it to be humbled to glorify you. In Jesus' only pure name. Amen.Amazing Grace is found in Leviticus, amen.

Just a thought in the light of William Jennings Bryan's Cross of Gold speech on my mind

Proverbs 11:29  He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

When are you going to get past Proverbs 11:29? Is my question to myself. Don’t you see that there is an 11:30. There is a tree of life to pursue and there is a life of winning souls to engage in. You keep looking at the losing of souls and the troubling of the house. Get up and smell the coffee, so to speak. Plant that tree and search it out and look to the unfolding.

Are You My Alma Mater? Hold my soul, Lord!

Acts 27:23  For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Acts 27:24  Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Proverbs 7:26  For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Proverbs 7:27  Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

If there is a woman whose way is the way to hell, there must be another way, also! How's your faith?

I read that little book to my children, Are you my mother?

I think of the question with regards to education in America. Can something be a soul mother, which has cast off the reigns of God’s Word? Can we be carrying souls to heaven while despising the commandments that are the transforming purpose? Christ’s work was to fulfill the Law and His Word is a light. We live in a day of erasing the handwriting of God on the wall of our nation. The wonderful experience that we had seeing God bring a huge storm over Chowan, the last time that we took Evie back there, seemed a token of anointing of God on that school and their processes. It was as though God had given us all of the children there and was about to bless the season of education. God seemed to say that He was placing his bangs and locks of his hair on that school and their efforts, when wedded with prayer and purposes of truth, during this dark night of our nation's education crisis. We pray and agree that God is able to wrestle truth out of darkness and reclaim our children from the wreckage of darkness. God is working and the wondrous sight that we saw as we took our eyes upward out of Pastor Boyce's book to the sky, gave me the confidence that we were running our ship aground for His glory! I got this, God seemed to say.

We pray, as little David played his harp, Dear Lord, Play your harp! Amen. Don't pay attention to our temper tantrums of wrangling against you. Play your harp!

Choose none of his ways...{Ways of oppression are not to be in the syllabus}thoughts from Proverbs 3

Proverbs 3:30  Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. Proverbs 3:31  Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. Proverbs 3:32  For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous. Proverbs 3:33  The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. Proverbs 3:34  Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. Proverbs 3:35  The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

i.e.. LaMancha Kidnapped Gulliver symptoms of loss of dominions.

Don’t envy when others have dominions that you haven’t got. i.e. facility of speech, money, rhythms, people power. God has a meeting out of expectation based on received dominions and he ready stands to steal those dominions back to show his power. This isn’t stealing because He owns it all. The glory of it will be His or we will be the devil’s. Did I oppress you? He asks. why would you make study of the ways of oppression a major to be studied?

Joy to the World---a link to Zechariah 5

Joy to the world! the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King; Let ev'ry heart prepare Him room, And heav'n and nature sing, And heav'n and nature sing, And heav'n, and heav'n and nature sing. Joy to the earth! the Saviour reigns; Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found, Far as, far as the curse is found. He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders of His love.

Do we live in Zechariah 5, or after it? That was Zechariah's vision of what power the Church of Christ would have over all of the things that curse the earth, in that day. Do we live, as in that day?

We are blessed to grow and create policy that bind and loose things from Heaven to Earth. God has given that authority to the Church and we must live with an eye to see God bringing Heaven to us, as we sing at Christmas time. Bring Jesus to us, in our thinking and in our policies in our homes and in our communities and in our government. Amen

The Kingdom of Christ is a blessed possession.Zechariah 5

After Daniel, I went to Zechariah-

Zechariah 1:1  In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

Zechariah 1:8  I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.  Zechariah 1:9  Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.  Zechariah 1:10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.  Zechariah 1:11  And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.  Zechariah 1:12  Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?

Lessons that I see on the surface: 1. Don't we want to be people whose policies allow the restoration of God's people to take place, both in "vision" and in actuality? Zechariah, saw God's mending hand and Ezra acted it out.

2.Don't we want to be people whose prayers are for the restoration of our land and God's hand of mercy upon it?

The Deluge of mercies continues!

Our floods of new mercies continues with a beautiful end of the day storm passing our way.  It has become so happenstance that the children and my husband are wont to say,  Mom is watering the corn that means it is going to rain.  And sure enough it does, often to my own incredulity.  I have one set of prayers about Gods watering and another set of prayers about negotiating with the angels about seeing some detail in the small scientific occurrences around me and another set of prayers about how motherhood has been the same since the beginning of time.  

Faith that God is faithful whether he waters my corn or I water my corn is very important to me, because God doesn't always do what I want him to do.  Thy will be done, we pray.  Thou art Sovereign and Thou art omnipotent if my desires are fulfilled or not.   I struggle so with unbelief and with anger with God, over one very major prayer that was a no that I am reticent to ask anything, sometimes.  This usually lasts only for the month of my eclipse of faith and that God has assured me many times that He hears even this unbelief and understands my pained pleas and silent inquiries.  Where are you?  Almost as if God is Adam and I am God, shame on me.  I ask Him though and He says here I am, in the rain, in the beauty of the earth in the reality of restoration and especially in the effectiveness of that pain on the growth of your soul.  I know You are there, God and I am very sorry for requesting your answering to little me, when I awake from my angry tirade.  He says that He knows it all too well.  Mystic sweetest communion is with God first and foremost and He waters my corn in His infinite condescension.  Sometimes He has allowed my dear Evvie to break down 10 minutes from our house, when I am pining for a glance at her college smile.  He doesn't have to.  He just does…Isn't God good?    Amen!

Daniel 11 maybe????

It is my opinion that Daniel 1 is referring to the Nazi German take over and attempted annihilation of the Jews.   I think that would have been the end of the world for the Jewish people to think of all their relatives being devastated in such a way.   I think that we live in a post Daniel 11 long time, even though I think Daniel 10 was more recent than Daniel 11.

Perhaps wishful thinking,  I think that the prayers of the Church have something to do with whether we are or we aren't.

Confusion belongs to us, Lord! Daniel chapter 9 thoughts

Daniel 9:2  In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

The issues of earthly dominions and the power of mankind that was God’s original intention for mankind are here separated from the dominion of spiritual relationship with God. The connection that Daniel had with both was evident to him.

Why are you not allowing the children of Israel to have the dominions of the truths in education that Babylon had privy to? Why can’t we search for the tree of life with this knowledge? Daniel’s question. We have a relationship with the God who made the whole earth and you give us only dominion of the spiritual region of earth. Gabriel said the Messiah is being prepared and there must be a bridge made for the heathen to get to God and then we can talk about that. Why do I teach these children how to use and sharpen their minds as heathen, when you are going to burn their souls? Daniel had a dream that caused him sickness about the Babylon side, but this one was about repentance and their payment for sins. Has our repentance become full that we could be restored? Daniel says. You cannot pay for your sins. 70 years and 700 years of slavery couldn’t pay for sins. A body is being prepared…

Salvation is on the way Daniel said Gabriel to Daniel. It is not for you to tell God how to save and How to grant dominions, but because you are truly beloved in heaven, you will know the unwinding of the confusions that you so diligently prayed to God about. He loves you Daniel! God is faithful to His people. He has plans for Israel and for the heathen and even for Babylon.

additional scattered thoughts

How long does it take to cleanse the temple from impurities? This was the question in Daniel 8. Daniel got sick because the impurities of Babylon had infiltrated the kingdom of God so much that it was very difficult for any peace to be seen. The words of the Saints were made clear to Daniel. No words of any other could be heard. The multitude of differing people. Were the rams destined for heaven or not? is my question? masculinity had become something akin to goat life, I think.

I think the cleansing is the clarification of the church under the authority of government in this world. This is a sickening confluence. The things the saints have to do to enter the governing process. Still, it is God's will and Daniel nor I can look into these things without getting sick. I think.

Scattered thoughts from Daniel 7

Daniel 7:7  After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. Daniel 7:8  I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. Diversity from “Little Horn?” Daniel 7:12  As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. Dominion taken away???? Dominion of the Little fat man? Daniel 7:25  And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. Great words and not under a govt “Maybe Schaeffer?” {Rebuking the saints and not affecting policy in government! His perspective was right, but not in affiliation with the Church under government.} Don’t think God wasn’t speaking to me before the end of the kingdom of Belshazzar. It was a grievous time. But God used that grievous time to prepare me for the ultimate end of that kingdom and the beginning of an even more grievous kingdom, which I had no background in their culture and people perspective. Says Daniel. The Holy Spirit helped me by putting the present circumstances in the context of a worse time that would come in a time where Godliness and Babylon came to an apex, in the future. An aside:The dominions are the strengths and abilities that are able to be held under the harness of the Church. Daniel wouldn’t have seen the things of the kingdom that weren’t under Christ. Daniel would not have seen the things that God intends to burn in the fire. Only those things of Babylon that were under the anvil of construction by the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why I believe they are Christians and people that have affected us in this present age. Little Big Horn? A little fat man that has ability to make things happen? Loves Jesus and uses his resources for the glory of God, but will tolerate no “diversity?” Does God use this because the church had become unicultural? Psalm 39 seems the heart perspective of a Christian with all of this light in an ungodly society, namely Daniel I think it is very providential to go there after Daniel 7.

Daniel Chapter 5

Will No warning be given for the takeover? Might Belshazzar have wondered! We might agree had there not been a Daniel Chapter 4. God wastes none of his works on father and on child. I don't think that it is an accident that Belshazzar and Belteshazzar's names are so closely linked to eachother. God used Daniel greatly in NEbuchadnezzar's life.

It seems that chapter 5 should begin, “In spite of all of these things Unbelief was rampant.” When will the uncircumcised come to the knowledge of God? I had had enough and God had had enough! should Daniel have said. In spite of the humbling, the son was unchanged. His heart was unwavering in his idolatries. Daniel told him this. Daniel was God’s man to translate the handwriting on the wall. God’s heart was to turn the hearts of the kingdom and not just the minds, as was Daniel’s ministry to do. Sometimes you think that you are only working on the minds of the kingdom. God will have a time of transition where the minds turn into the hearts. Turn them to God. the Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. God turned NEbb. from a foolish mind to a wise mind. Daniel still kept his job in the foolish kingdom and in the next one.Daniel Chapter 5 Sometimes it looks like the nice guy finishes last, but there is always a Daniel Chapter 5 coming. Stand near the meek in that day.

this is not an unusual circumstance to have these two chapters providentially come to be read in my Bible time. Psalm 37 explains it far better than I ever could!

what Can I do?

Does God subdue Egypt alone or does He use His Church to vanquish? From Zechariah

Identifying and discerning the sword of Egypt from the sword of the Lord..  Not a sword, a scepter.

Subduing the scepter of Egypt means identifying it from the scriptures.

Several things that I noticed from the biblical accounts of Egypt differing from the historical accounts of Egypt.

1.         Egypt had many rules and regulations that directly impacted the religious practices of the Children of Israel.

2.        They hated shepherding, for some reason. The things that seemed repugnant to them always seemed to have something to do with the emotional

3.        They tried to control all grief and grieving exercises.

4.        They did seem to recognize sincerely held convictions that were in opposition to them, when proven.  This was a polytheistic practice that seemed to make people prove whether or not their God or gods should be included in their compilations.

They had a single ruler and focus and this added to their greatness in that they were able to see and agree that multiple decision makers breeds confusion.  

Zachariah 6 ???

Questions, questions.about Zechariah 6 Chariots not of fire?

My question is, why didn't the angel say what the red horse was doing? {the Bay and the bay of forgetfulness?} I think it is because the red horse was mimicing the red sea in Mercy. Covering the earth, north and south with the Red Sea of God's mercy. God is just that good.

He will do just what He said!

To and fro, the Bay?

At what price, Your Creed! and How important is it?

How Important is a made up mind? "He Works in us, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" I do wonder.