What about him?….

 What about him?….

Comparisons…ugh…they rob us of our joy…when we see others living their lives and it is different from what we think we should be doing, acquiring, etc…there we sit, wondering why they get to do that and we don’t….

Maybe you haven’t done that…look at others and wonder why…why do they have it so good…or I really want what they have, etc…

Toddlers do it, a lot of social media is based on it, adults do it…

Lack of contentment with what we have..and we see it in Peter in these verses….”Lord, what about him?”…

Jesus said in no uncertain terms, it really wasn’t Peter’s business…

We are to do what we are called to do and don’t worry about what others are doing…don’t compare…be available to our calling…

Thank YOU….

John 21:19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”

22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” 

23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”

24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.

2 Corinthians 10:13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you. 

Psalm 37:1 Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
    like green plants they will soon die away.

3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

Exodus 20: 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

I will follow…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFna4pEF7M8

https://vividmaps.com/apostles/

https://bibleask.org/how-did-the-twelve-disciples-die/i

Thank YOU…comfort verses…

 

Thank YOU….comfort verses…

Two years ago I was in a hospital bed after 4 or 5 abdominal surgeries and a doctor came in and said, “ I think we’ve finally  turned a corner”. Lying there, no hair, weak , in pain, I was glad to hear that …then the work started…rehab living for almost 4 months, open wounds to change every 3-4 days, beginning to walk again, exercise to build up again…first a wheelchair, then a walker, then steps on my own, holding onto the wall…slowly making progress, another surgery and home…I felt so blessed to sleep in my own bed, shower in my own shower, wear different  clothes…

God’s Word sustained me…family and friends didn’t forget me..

Thank YOU

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV).

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).

“He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6 ASV).

We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19 NIV).

“My soul yearns, yes, even pines and is homesick for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out and sing for joy to the living God” (Psalm 84:2 AMPC).

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3 NIV). 

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's” (Psalm 103:1-5 ESV).

I will comfort you…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2r4mwab5O8

Building strength…

 

Building strength …

Trying to build back some strength, I have been trying to walk early every morning, slowing increasing my steps from 2…two years ago…this is the second time to work on this project…this time I added a class at the local Y specifically for cancer patients…

Most of the time it is silent outside except the birds and an occasional car..

This morning I listened this selection of songs…a nice beat to walk 

To, but more important soul touching songs ….

Thank YOU…

Morning songs for meditation…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=kS0VgDaIS6Y&ra=m

Blessings on each of your steps…

Words..

 Words….

It is interesting that the book of John begins with the Word…the Word was God…not just words on paper….

John ends his book with books of words about Jesus…the world cannot hold all the books about Jesus in everything he did…we are still writing books about Jesus or about his Word…

No matter how many times we read His Word, a new lesson is learned, so we read it over and over…again and again…wanting to be conformed to his Word…learning more about the Christian 

Iife…no other book that I have read do I want to continue to read it over and over again….

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it……

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 21:24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.

25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

Romans 15: 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

Acts 17: 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

2 Timothy 3: 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Thank YOU…

Forever faithful…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-D0KzJy_mE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_books

https://publishingstate.com/history-of-libraries/2025/

Breathe…

 

Breathed…

The thunder started this morning and went on and on…it was a slow moving storm…usually they blow through quickly and then are finished, this one could heard from a long way off both coming and going…a soft rain this time, the smell of wet dry summer grass…the sky turning a brilliant gold  as the sun was trying to appear in the east…

 I love the smell after the storm…sage in high desert of Nevada/Oregon/Idaho, fir in Oregon, pine in the  camps at which we have been, the Redwoods, the ocean…smells ….breathing….a gift from God…

Genesis 2: . 7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

John 20: 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 

2 Tim 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

With God’s breath, he gave us life, then truth, His holy Word….

Thank YOU…

Breathe…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1O4anyhAjc

 

I have seen the Lord…

John 20:16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Thank YOU…

Selection of songs….

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fJPikVGQ6lo&start_radio=1&pp=QAFIAg%3D%3D&ra=m

 Downcast?….

This one is a hard one to write…I am usually this downcast…I thought of these verses…there are times we are downcast in reality…not with joyful thoughts all the time, when the world moves  in and we have to sort our thoughts, our motives, our actions, things we are reading and absorbing…so here it is…

Psalm 42:5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?�    Why so disturbed within me?�Put your hope in God,�    for I will yet praise him,�    my Savior and my God.

6 My soul is downcast within me;�    therefore I will remember you�from the land of the Jordan,�    the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.�7 Deep calls to deep�    in the roar of your waterfalls;�all your waves and breakers�    have swept over me.

8 By day the Lord directs his love,�    at night his song is with me—�    a prayer to the God of my life.

I have just finished  reading a book, “the Bully Pulpit “, watching the news, reading the Bible as part of my daily times…we have just gone through the arrest, trail and conviction of Jesus in the Book of John…and all of these readings and thoughts just have been rolling around in my mind…

The book has chapters labeled, “the first shall be first, that which shall not be named, a heavy yoke on us, a trail of dead bodies, flipping the script, suffering in silence, and finally, they shall not destroy”….

Think of the news and the world today…there are bullies everywhere, nationwide, worldwide, down the street…think of those chapter titles…they fit the news…

Think of the arrest, trial, the people involved, as well as the life of Jesus…bully’s also fill the pages countered by His life and testimony…His promises…think of those chapter titles…they fit there as well…

Our lives have bullies which may walk in and take over… they come in all forms…those titles fit there as well…

But, we have Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…He is the one that gives victory…he gets rid of the bullies…He overcomes death, a bully…

So, I thank YOU for the bullies…as we are to give thanks in all things so that Your peace may invade our souls….

Thank YOU…

Thank You Lord…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAT8qXn6UrU&list=RDjAT8qXn6UrU&start_radio=1

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