{Today was at the corner of Humility and Hope"}

 October 8,2023

     The really excellent lesson in Sunday Matters book by Paul Tripp.   We were blessed in reading, mother/daughter {Ev} as a Sunday commercial of sorts.  When the adult children came home bla, bla,bla, as usual, we outshouted eachother for the attention.  I, for one was still curious about the contents of the Kaleidoscope concert that Evie went to the other day.  That won the attention and she showed a personal audio/visual recount of her delight and excitement.  We were all attentive to one degree or another.  Some on edge and some chomping to get their moment of attention to their discussion point.  Ie. complaints and shopping list items, etc, etc., etc.   There is always an etcetera when you have eight people vying for eachothers’ undivided attention.  A futile expectation, at best to think that any one person would get the undivided attention.  Paul Tripp was the winner today!  I put on the audio sample and we were entranced!  

Hallelujah!  What a delight it was to be spiritually prodded to a greater enjoyment and expectation of God’s presence on His day.  

I had to buy the audible book version with the hopes that someone will gift me a full year audible subscription so that I can enjoy it for a longer time!  We live and hope.

The reality of Justice's wheel. And God's intention to save the nations

“After death the judgment” After the book of Judges, 1 Samuel. The judgment of Israel in their sojourn into relationship with God for themselves is documented. They had no idea what they were getting into in this relationship that God had forged with them. None of us do, either personally or culturally, when we espouse to take the name of the Lord as our own. The grief of the loss of the arc and the loss of Eli and Hophni and Phinehas was the cry of Israel. They thought they had lost the war, they had only lost the battle, God was fighting the war. The temple of Dagon was next stop for the arc of God and it was just a representation of the faith of the people of God. He is not held in a single location, but He still fought for them, even after their miserable defeat to the Philistines. I adore that 1 Sam 5 begins with the expression of the backsliddenness of the arc from EBENEZER to Ashdod. From the rock of remembrance to the den of idols went the arc. God enters into this discussion with the Philistines, as if to say, would you include me as one of your devastations. Is God just another idol on the shelf of your worship? Ashdod felt justified to rejoice at the vanquishing of Israel, when they had just been shouting and glorifying God that He was present with them and it meant that He was on their side. Somebody needs a faith adjustment in this war. I promised to take over the faith of Gods people and snatch it out of the hands of the Hophnis and Phinehases of the world. God’s arc makes it very clear that he is not symbolized by anything apart from the sense of obedience and growing relationship with Him! Dagon was a false representation of God’s power and so were Eli and his sons. The head and hands of the devil, sowing despite against the worship of God to his people. God was merciful and slow to anger, but he was doing the same thing among the idolaters as he was to Israel. He was wooing them. Who is greater? He asks us this.

When God is disobeyed, He is faithful to judge!

 September 25, 2023

The ushering in of Ichabod came to cleanse as well as to judge.  Trust in the protection that the arc of God gave was high and the people felt their trust at a height.  Like Samson, they shook themselves to be protected.  God had spoken that destruction would come in one single day.  The death of Eli, his sons and the taking of the arc to usher in a new era of learning to be obedient and trust in God’s deliverance based on obedience and not just bloodlines.  The philistines had stolen their presumption and their leaning on the arm of flesh.  Samuel was brought to the forefront in such a time.   

Does it affect you, when the spiritual paradigm shifts?  Ichabod’s mother couldn’t rejoice in a beautiful birth for the victorious Philistines.  When God uses the ungodly to overwhelm our spiritual dominion, are we even aware?   Oftentimes, we are not even aware of such losses.  The devil is ultimately defeated, but upon earth we have given him the house.  We have chosen not to war on our God’s behalf in the arena of public discourse.   Abortion looms as a bastion of Demonic influence, not to mention many other areas… God’s Word in our schools.  We pay taxes to a system that refuses to reinforce our customs and morals into our young.  We are delegating them to rear our children to fight the devil’s warfare against us.  In the name of pluralism and polytheism.  God give us faith to see the ichabod seasons. { When the glory is departed and when it is revealed!}

I saw a hummingbird this morning.  The world still turns and life goes on, but the arc is in enemy hands was  the morning that they had awakened to.  We don’t think like that.  Taking God for granted and expecting his help and success regardless of our infidelity.  Are we taking the enemy to task?  We can’t if we don’t know the wares that he is peddling.

1 Samuel 4

Judges 19??? So very Sad!

 Judges 19 is the rise of sinfulness, when righteousness no longer exalts a nation.  Could a whole nation plunge into acceptance of that kind of Psychotic behavior?  Could it be that no person or angel could walk the streets at night, without fear of horror like that?  Even in a believing community, if we are not guarded by God’s Word from our own impulses this is indeed possible.  God grant us renewal and revival of God’s Word in our schools and in our upbringings, so that we needn’t find this out first hand, Please Lord!

About this place from Pastor Loran

 The scoundrel Jacob was in “this place”:  where is “this place” this is my title to the sermon, but first The picture of Jesus rolling back the darkness with his own bare hands was part of the liturgy in the music and worship time.   It is a dark place.

The title on the website is God Is Where You Are.  I believe that.  

The magic of reminiscence is God’s blessing of having a memory at all, no matter that age has diminished much of my short term memory ability.

Pastor reminded us that Jacob was sooo afraid for his life.  A rock was his pillow and his brother was estranged from him for these years and had vowed to kill him for his having stolen the blessing from him.  Jacob didn’t know that Esau had cooled from the original anger, through age and many other blessings that he had received from God.  

The Ladder or stairway up and down out of Heaven. Jacob had awakened to the reality of spiritual activity that was around him.  Jacob had been blind to these realities prior to this, but now he was aware.  His relationship with God was solidified and he was able to trust God who was taking him into his confidence in this way.  God said of Abraham, shall we hide from our friend Abraham what we are about to do?  The blessing of the future was coupled with a deeper understanding of the spiritual realities and activities around him.  The same with Jacob.  The same with each of us. 

Pastor said it was a door of greater revelation into the activities of God that came in the darkness of that moment.  Keeping our eyes open for the open door of understanding that is provided in the darkness of difficulty was the application.  I can relate to that.  I can trust God who makes us understand him in the shadows of difficulty.  God’s silences are loud and the darkness of fear and difficulty are the ushers into the already open door of communion with God.   I am just chewing on an already clear expression of God’s word preached by my pastor. 

Jesus the reigning king of our lives

The areas of our lives that we allow Jesus to reign and the areas that we choose to reign for ourselves.

We choose to let Jesus reign in worship

We choose to let Jesus reign in praise and prayer

We choose to let Jesus reign in our vows and marriage

We choose to let Jesus reign in our labors

We choose to let Jesus reign in love and conflicts

Lord Jesus, we desire to see you reign in our lives and in the lives of all in whom we are in contact.  Reveal the wonder of your reign in our lives to the benefit of many around us, for your glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

 

Welcome Back coater?

Affirmative action for faith based Heaven admission

It is the blood of Jesus, but it is also true repentance that allows entrance.  Perhaps St. Peter has a few choice saints that he asks, do you know this woman?  Are you a friend of hers?  Are you an acquaintance?

What did it mean that some people bartered in gold and jewels and people and the souls of people? In Scripture there are people to whom heaven is promised blessed are the pure in heart, blessed are the meek…etc.  Does heaven belong to you and to your children if you are clinging to a movement of souls that is hellbound.  If you have vowed to continue with them into eternity and they are not going where you claim to be going, are you going?

Does God use affirmative action?  Does God use a legacy?  Even Abraham has to trust Jesus to be saved.   Abraham saw my day and was glad, Jesus said.  When did you see Abraham they asked him.

Church repentance that is more than just lipservice to the concept of repentance is what the Lord requires from us all.  We are his people and the sheep of his pasture?

Did you require a greater allegiance to yourself than I required from you?  Must we all give up our all to follow the higher education mandate?  Jesus will try us all in our allegiances.  He will try what our true pride is in.  Is it in our degree or lack thereof? Is it in our pedigree or muttiness?  Our words betray our true allegiance.  All to Jesus or all to me and what I have accomplished and amassed for myself, building bigger and better bastions of dominion for my progeny. Are we the fools that we appear to be. Is our soul ready to answer for the things that we have neglected to confess and forsake and see the true affirmative action of the blood of Jesus that cleanses and makes us allies with him!

 

Numbers??

 The what ifs of the book of Numbers

What if:  Anticipation of loopholes is significant in Numbers.  Most things fall under one category or another, but what does God say about this or that eventuality?  Faith had gotten them into this mess, but the considerations of eventuality is not always unbelief.  They trusted that God was laying down the law for them.

But in the earlier season the questioning of God’s authority after he had shown himself as State of the Art in everything that pertained to them.  Joshua and Caleb were the God said it, I believe it duo.  What if, what if was the majority rule way.   Let’s vote on whether to go in and take the land.  Lets vote on whether we want Moses to listen to God.  Lets vote on whether to allow women to take ownership, if they haven’t got a male heir to guide them.  Numbers is a small peak at God’s sentimentality to his people’s hopeless desire to democratic rule.  God no higher is the last word.  All else can be voted on, but what God has said is not negotiable.

Darkness will never be a better friend than God. Still God can handle our darkness!

 No sermon on Psalm 88 would be complete without expressing the warnings in the whole of scripture about the sin of complaining.  God gives us allowance to bring our complaints and yet there are warnings and many examples of God striking those whose words of complaint tread the line and go over the line into blasphemy.  We must beware.  I love the careful language of the South on every side.  It seems baked into their culture to carefully tread the area of complaining.  There is a clear line of god-fearing and not god-fearing on this regard. Numbers 11 is a fearful text about the area of complaining about God’s provision.  Albeit that God was kneading trust into His people’s hearts to prepare them to be a vessel fit to bring us the Messiah; foundational was contentment in speech and heart before the Lord.  This is a family discipline that we have certainly strayed from.  The lesson of the slippery slope of lust from food to other more sordid lusts is laid out before our eyes in Numbers 11.  God had to kill them.

God give us grace to shine contentment and gratitude to God as a foremost attribute.  We belong to Jesus!  God comfort Tim Kellers family and I am grateful for his message on this Psalm as a meditation, even from the grave he is ministering.

1. Sometimes a light surprises
The Christian while he sings;
It is the Lord Who rises
With healing in His wings:
When comforts are declining,
He grants the soul again
A season of clear shining,
To cheer it after the rain

2. In holy contemplation
We sweetly then pursue
The theme of God’s salvation,
And find it ever new;
Set free from present sorrow,
We cheerfully can say,
Let the unknown tomorrow
Bring with it what it may.

3. Tomorrow can bring us nothing,
But He will bear us through:
Who gives the lilies clothing
Will clothe His people, too:
Beneath the spreading heavens
No creature but is fed;
And He Who feeds the ravens
Will give His children bread.

The Christian in incomplete armor!

 “Putting on the Whole Armor of God”

Bringing a pen-knife to a Nuclear War.  Oh no!  Taking captivity captive is looking at your own personal warfare of the spirit as effectual to the complete vanquishing of the enemy of our souls.  I see in scripture the importance of studying to show yourself approved.

Break every chain?  Do we ask God to set free the powers of darkness?  Do we want their chains taken off them?  Are we ready to engage the enemy of our souls in the judgment?  We aren’t ready.  We have painted ourselves into a corner.  We have laeodiciad the church.  Lulled the masses to sleep and then accepted the heresy of begging God to set us against the enemy.  Break every chain.  I can just imagine how the enemy brings that corporate prayer to God and says they are asking for the judgment to be expedited.  It is the free for all brought on by ourselves.  In ignorance, we sing songs of prayer that bind and loose on earth, that which God has bid us to.  We diminish the power of our corporate prayer by praying ambiguous prayers that the devil can use to fashion a noose around our necks to lynch us.

THe prayer of faith to save.  Salvation is not ambiguous.  Dominion is not ambiguous.  Subdue the devil, Lord.  Give us the victory and the power over the earth instead of him.

Study to be a warrior.  Study to subdue.  Study to know what season of the church we are in.  Are we in the judgment?  Are we equipped to subdue the enemy?  The unity of the spirit in the bond of peace?  Where is it?  What are the necessary equipment that we need to subdue the devil and his minions?   We should be listening to the foolishness of the thing

Proverbs 25:2

Verse Concepts

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,

But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Secrets

“Run, You Fools!” says Gandolf when he travels in fiction into the bottomless pit. 

Jesus has vanquished the enemy of our souls and still we are hobbling, when we should be running like the fools that Gandalf called us.  When will we pick apart the treasures that our forefathers have left for us and find the keys that God has revealed to them?  When will we look into the things that God has already revealed?  And run with haste to use them for HIs Glory!

Faith is the Victory that overcomes the world!!!

Exodus 34

 I just love how God introduces himself as a jealous God to Moses.  You can’t know all about him and live.  The sight was too glorious and even the words couldn’t describe it completely.

He chose one group of people to woo with abandon and all knowledge about him from the outset.  A vision and words from behind the back of the Lord is a treasure.   That was the Old Testament’s hidden treasure.  The sacrifice that attones for sin had not yet completely been accomplished.  God is too holy to fellowship with sin and we reneged on the original agreement of fellowship.  Couldn’t live up to the bargain, we died.   Jesus always had the plan, but we couldn’t see it.  

That spectacular sight had a afterglow on Moses’ face.  It was relatively shortlived.  The effects of his encounter was eternal, though.

God’s eternal plan is exposing his personal loving expression to an ungrateful and incapable wretched race.  His longing and expressions of wooing are spurned, whether we are aware of His love or whether we are ignorant.  Still he lends us breath and life.  He still gifts us with much and many.  

He lets us pursue many and much as if they were gods.  All the while he draws and pursues us.  We break his heart and he chases us in love.  

His bride, the church, is learning to love him, as he desires.  Evangelical obedience is God’s plan for his church.  It is what is best for us in the world we live in.  There are curses on the land and in the spirit world that we are reversing in our obedience to him.   Righteousness exalts a nation…  How impossible that must have sounded to the Old Testament mind.  It must be the sacrifices that make us righteousness, would have been the reasoning to that in their understanding.  Jesus gives us the ability to learn and grow up into Christ in all things.  Amazing Grace!

Joy to the World...Let men their songs employ...Repeat the sounding joy...where ever the curse is found???

Reversing the curse?

Faith and unbelief are intertwined in all hearts.  The hearts of the openly faithful and the hearts of the openly unfaithful lie bare in the presence of the Lord.

The San Francisco movie made in the nineteen thirties gives me a view of how closely the mind of people were to right and wrong then.  I know that my father imitated the masculinity that he saw in that movie.  He probably was movie quoting so many times in the interactions that we had about faith in his latter life.  

I find it odd that men of seemingly complete unbelief can be so drawn to women of faith.  

{I have watched just the clip of Jeanette Macdonald singing San Francisco so many times and never, ever connected it with the san francisco earthquake.   I said to myself, she seems as though she is singing about heaven.  She gets so animated, which is not culturally usual for white women of operatic style?  I have studied the opposite parallel for years about the singing of San Francisco and Paradise.  I hadn’t noticed that the bar was called the Paradise. Until yesterday}

God’s jealousy for His Bride

Everyone who heard that woman felt as though they owned a part of her,  I saw this with Ethel Waters also, an aside.  Young people are looking for somebody to show them the right way.  Someone to give them a good reason to eschew evil is a longing in the heart.   There are so many duplicitous people.  Clark Gable had won over my father, even though he had seen the whole movie and knew God’s judgment was on him.  He was, as it were, prodding God to do some major demonstration to deserve his faith.  That is a faith to some people.  “ I will believe in God after the great earthquake, as it were.”  God doesn’t ever succumb to such provocations, even though he knows it might have won this one or that one to faith.  God was defending and demonstrating His righteous patience and indignation.  There are no angels who deserve a second chance.   It was as though jeanette macdonald was God’s gift to Clark Gable for his gift to the church.  She was his organ and his organ in the church was a line into his soul,  mustard seed, perhaps.  Anger and bitterness kept his faith dry and dead, if it were.  

God doesn’t get capriciously angry to punch us as Clark Gable did his friend, but God had to show that he is angry with the wicked everyday.   He hears the arguments of the wicked to him in their unbelief and is carrying on a conversation even with them as he does with the believer.  They will know when they are judged that they ended the conversation many times with God before he was finished.

There are many reasons that we all deserve the earthquake experience.  We provoke him everyday in our personal and in our public lives.  Only Jesus, has paid the price for sins and yet we sin, high handedly and low handedly so to speak.  But it was masterful that somebody made a parallel between God’s judgment and the development of San Francisco as a community.  Political, culture wars,  alcohol, gambling and pillars of economy…etc, etc.

He has helped us pick up the pieces of San Francisco and yet it still remains on the fringes as though it is a string uncut from the quilt of this nation. 

God, heal our every flaw!  Jesus keep us talking from the precipices of our sins and help us to grow an economy that reflects your truth and mercy.  Amen

 

Jesus is Good,,, Thank you Pastor Smith

Pastor Jeff Smith. Mark 4:35

Mark 4:35  [ Sermons | M. Henry ]

And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

Mark 4:36  [ Sermons | M. Henry ]

And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.

Mark 4:37  [ Sermons | M. Henry ]

And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

Mark 4:38 

And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

Mark 4:39 

And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Mark 4:40

And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

Mark 4:41 

And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

A great purpose

Departure and destination,   he needed to give the gospel to people on the other side.

The Gospel is the Great purpose!

Salvation and repentance

He had to cross to give the Gospel to the other people.

2,  an essential companion

They took Jesus ‘as he was”

exhausted,

Still they took him! Bone weary and fatigued.   Jesus is in heaven, but no longer subject to the weariness and yet he is a continual essential companion!

A Great Storm

Possibly an earthquake had hit them.  The wind was common because of the mountains and terrain.

Possibly a hurricane and a megastorm!  Waves and violent torrents hit the boat, wooden with 13 men in it.  They were soaked

A Great Contrast 

A deep sleep was upon the Lord. Such a deep sleep is not unusual when he had spent himself for so long.  The Savior was truly man and touched with our infirmities.  God and yet physically vulnerable.

A gripping fear was on the disciples in the boat.  Terse reproving words revealed the fear in their hearts and souls.  Experienced fishermen were on the boat and they were familiar with ordinary storms, but they also were terrified by the storm.  They must have yelled to awaken the Lord! The contrast between Jesus deep sleep and the fear of the disciples.  They should have been afraid.  It would have been unnatural not to be afraid.  What was wrong about it was that they were controlled by their fears and they forgot their learning about Jesus and his constant care.  They forgot his powerful provision and they forgot about his presence.  They forgot their commission.  Unbelief had temporarily gripped their hearts and minds.   {The reflex of faith}

Evil unbelief can grip and take hold.

A Great Calm

Omnipotent words= peace, be still

He calmly asserted his authority over the elements by speaking to it and the calm became as smooth as glass.  He revealed that his authority was over the elements.  The same Lord is almighty over creation and he can deliver from trials and troubles.  All your sins are also subject to him.  He can deliver because he is almighty!   Jesus tames the stormy passions and temper of person.  Jesus can speak peace to the troubled soul.  No man ever need despair if he would humble himself and come to Jesus Christ.  Have despaired?  Mounting problems?  Despair of the strength of remaining sin, hopeless.  Remember this history on the sea of Galilea.  He has authority over the waves and he has authority over the waves on my soul.  Cry out to the live Lord and he will hear and answer.

Searching words came from the Lord 

Mark 4:40

Mark 4:40

And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

Examine yourself is the purpose of the searching words were his reasoning for using searching words…

Repent and be transformed.   The fear was legitimate.  Their fear also had unbelief mixed with the legitimate fear.   The disciples acted as though Jesus wasn’t caring for them and wasn’t powerful and wasn’t in authority.  Jesus probed have you no faith? 11 of the 12 had saving faith, but there was one unbeliever among them.  Their faith had faltered   their senses focused on the wrong things.   They needed Jesus help, but they spoke with unbelief.  Their trust had been misplaced from His unchanging love!  Focus on the unchanging love of Jesus for YOU!  It doesn’t change. Where was their faith?  Where was their thinking.

Verse 41

Inquiring words.  Who is this? That even the sea and the wind obey him?  He was merciful to remember them.  Mark 4:40

And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

They knew they were learning more but they had to come to a fresh understanding.  We must also come to a fresh understanding regularly as well.  He is the savior of Sinners!  He is Mighty He is the Savior!  He is worthy to be trusted in all of the storms!

Additional lessons

1. Christians are not exempt from the trials of this life and their fears!

2.Through such trials that valuable lessons are learned that cannot be learned in any other way.

3.The Lord Jesus is the gracious, omnipotent, faithful, loving Savior of sinners.

What time I am afraid, I will trust in YOU, Lord!

 Leaning on the Everlasting Arms?

How do we lean on the everlasting arms and what does it mean to not lean on your own understanding?

God is God and we are not, but with so many conveniences, we have no idea of how to identify the things that we should press and do for ourselves and that which we should wait on the Lord to give us an answer for.

We reflexively click to our phones for the answer to this and that question that perplexes us.  Some things we know and commit to memory and these days most things we just google or look up online through some online search engine.  We can get some answers in that way.

Learning to depend on Jesus for our confidence and our identity is the tough wrestling for our day!

As a teenager, I remember with fondness the all night prayer times at church.  I wasn’t doing it to rebel against my parents.  They thought I was and often I was punished for having stayed too long.  But, truly learning to cherish the presence of the Lord was my deepest desire.  He never, ever disappointed me.  It wasn’t money or a tangible gift that I got for staying and lying on the floor before the Lord for hours praising and worshiping and beseeching his presence.  He was there.  He taught me to know HIM.

He taught me to seek him in the uncomfortable and the anxiety of my parent’s chagrin, now only adds to the delight that He is my dearest delight.

I would never suggest anyone to go against their parents in these things today.  But, I had to seek Him.  God has to bid you to come to Him.  Seeking Him in the context of your church’s gathering is soul strengthening!

Convinced and Convincing of God's attendance to our needs!

 Underneath are the everlasting arms!

Without a view of this there is such agony.

Part of the African American tradition of music gives , what I think is musical expression to the everlasting nature of the arms of the Lord!  

We lean on those everlasting arms.  It is comforting and comfortable.  In the dark of trial it is a winsome place to be, but if we presume upon the everlasting arm of the tradition and not the God of the tradition, God will shake us loose from our own trust in the arm of man.

If we refuse to share the weapon of the spirit speaking and singing to one another in songs and hymns and spiritual songs because that is not their “tradition”. We are hoarding priceless treasures of the Lord that were meant for the sharing with the Church universal.

None of these traditions are powerful without God’s Holy Spirit and power.  God’s word is power.  Life and spirit.

His Arms are above our traditions and there apart from our traditions,  but I do love the expression of the everlasting Arms in the music of the African American Church!

When Jesus says yes? When God says you are going to mother nations...? Rebekka

 “And Rebekka inquired of the Lord”

“Call wisdom your kinswoman”

Learning to get an answer from the Lord is a feminine wile, so to speak.  Sometimes the pain of your situation forces you to inquire of the Lord.  If this is your will, why am I thus?  This is unbearable pain without some kind of insight as to why.  From before birth these boys were at each other's throats.

Can you just imagine the contorted belly of a woman whose stomach was always in motion.  Cant sleep, cant eat, cant figure this thing out.  

These boys never did work it out.  The parents had to continually occupy them apart from eachother.

This is about how God deals so gently with an expectant mother.  This is about how God draws us to him in our taking on the amazing adventure of mothering.  This is about how to request real information from the one who made you and your body.  In this passage it doesn’t show that she first inquired of her husband and he said, “am I God?”  He directed her to inquire of the Lord.  She did.

In my personal experience inquiring of the Lord, as an aside.  

God always gives you the information that you requested.  He has never said to me as I have said and as has been said to me, “look it up!”  Never.  He is the dictionary.  He is the answer.  So He doesn’t say that.  He also, knows if you really want to know the answer to that question.  What is going on with this pregnancy?

God was there long before sonograms.  Rebekka was an example of learning to ask God our questions.  We do gossip to God about others, all too often: As though he doesn’t know.

Asking God about other people’s stuff is part of our prayer considerations.  But, what is going on inside my body and with these two, three, etc Children that have been entrusted to my body and my soul.  I think that is a good question to ask the Lord.

God answers very specifically her request for information, but he gives her such thorough information that no woman and no person could have a plan to accomplished.

She sits in God’s office and he tells her that he has chosen her to rear 2 distinct Nations?  Who could have accepted that answer without grace?  Like Mary, her future daughter in the faith and in progenity.  She accepted the task and set her sights on keeping God’s plan as her plan.

I need YOU once again