Psalm 128...

Psalm 128...

Happy [Blessed] are those who ·respect [fear] the Lord  [Prov. 1:7] and ·obey him [L walk in his ways]. 

You will ·enjoy what you work for [L eat the labor of your hands], and you will be ·blessed [happy] with ·good things [prosperity] . 

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine [C produce many children] in your house [Prov. 31:10–31]. 

Your children will be like olive branches [C bringing much good] around your table [Mic. 4:4; Zech. 3:10] . 

This is how the man who ·respects [fears] the Lord  [Prov. 1:7] will be blessed. 

May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion [C the location of the Temple]; may you ·enjoy [experience; L see] the ·good things [prosperity] of Jerusalem all the days of your life. 

May you see your grandchildren. Let there be peace in Israel.

Psalm 128:1-6 Expanded Bible..

I am away from home this weekend, attending a birthday celebration for a dear friend...

This psalm stood out this am as I read the Word...this version is from the expanded Bible...adding descriptions and more  cross references in places...

This describes this family and as I sat with down to a wonderful Basque dinner last night watching the interaction, the smiles, the love...I saw the blessings this passage describes so richly...

Oh, they have not been without their trials, tears, and testings...but have risen from each more deeply embedded into the hand of their Lord...serving more widely and deeply, blessing all those around them... 

Thank YOU for the friendships You bring our way...the blessings of a life well lived exhibited in the people they touch along their paths...

Noise makers...

Noise makers....

I have been “chaperoning” a sixteen and four year old while their parents are away at business seminar. This is not “babysitting “ anymore as neither are babies. ( really, they grew up too fast!)

Anyway, the four year old has mastered the two wheeler, with no training wheels.

So remembering what my father did so long ago, the fifteen year old and I worked on putting cards or plastic pieces on first the rear wheels to make a motor sound. Then we proceeded to add two more cards to front wheels to add yet another layer of sound. So now with simple duct tape and pieces of plastic, the bike is a “4 cylinder “ card bike. Still motorized by boy power, but sounding great. Am so sure his parents will appreciate the new sounds when they are home.

My parents, it seemed at the time, picked presents for my children which made noises and sounds. And then returned to their quiet homes, thinking I would appreciate their gifting. Gratefully, the batteries died and the sounds quieted for periods of time, except the wind up ones. 

Simple things like a piece of plastic and duct tape can entertain for long periods of time both the young and old...

The simple gospel can save all ages ...it is understood by the young with childlike simple faith ...the older have to wade through the noise of life’s journeys but can find the simple faith as well... 

Thank YOU that your word is true, that we can come believing, confessing our sins, seeking you with simple, uncomplicated words for an eternal life which you promise freely...

The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

Psalm 119:130

Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight.”

Proverbs 9:6

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment —to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

Ephesians 1:3-10

Sequel:::

I hadn’t posted this yet...

So we get to church...

The four year old goes to children’s church...

Prize for the day- a simple piercing whistle...

God does have a sense of humor...

Everything is not rosy...

Everything is not rosy....

It wasn’t a time of “feel good”, or “how to”, or “10 simple steps to—-“....it was a more serious retreat...not in a bad way, there was laughter, introspection, more awareness of the “outside” world...

I don’t know about you, but I tend to get comfortable...I like my little house, I like my flushing toilet, running water, air conditioning, electricity...my “safeness”..

But, there are times when those “safe” places in my heart and life need a little rattling, when truth needs to penetrate through the comforts, when my ignorance needs a a push or shove into the realties of the world outside...my comfort zone...

The speakers at this retreat were representing the Voice of the Martyrs...short film clips from countries all over the world showing us another reality than our comfortable lives...where people are tortured, killed, shunned, persecuted for believing in God...those “first century” Christians in today’s world...those places where Jesus carries them through the darkness or holds their hands through the floods of hatred, evil...

After visiting two holocaust museums this year, one in Israel and another in Washington DC, this was another reminder that times are not always rosy...the displays of shoes disposed of as people met their death in gas chambers...to a young girl walking in her own blood as her ankles were chained and she was made to walk continuously, tortured for her faith for years...her remembrance that Jesus gave his blood so that she might live...

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:35-39

10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

Revelation 2:10 

We don’t talk about it much in everyday life, those whose lives on the line for their belief in Christ...but, it is real...we may not see it everyday, but those who live in constant fear of  retaliation of their beliefs anywhere in the world, it is real...

Thank YOU for awakening us to your Word spoken in the lives of believers who don’t have the freedom to worship You...whose lives are daily in jeopardy...help us to pray, give as we can to encourage our brothers and sisters around the world...

https://www.persecution.com

Names on a rock...

Names on a rock...

Painted rocks are popular now...every once in a while a new painted rock turns up in my yard...I take one and put it in another yard....a way to encourage others to pass the kindness around ...

The ideas for painting can be complex and intricate down to a painted smiley face....😊😊😊...the plan is to welcome, encourage...or post on Facebook the location...I picked up one in Alaska last year and brought it back to the lower “48”... and passed it on...it continues to make its way around...

This past weekend, with the theme of persecuted Christians, we could choose names and their stories for whom we can pray...on the dining tables we had rocks which were engraved with the word, “Pray”...I chose one and wrote the names of three persecuted Chinese Christians...a reminder above my kitchen sink to pray for these people...

As I stood under the hot running water in the early morning, I was reminded that these people whose name I had written on my rock probably didn’t have the  luxury of hot running water...they may not even the luxury of a writing instrument on which to write their story...or a doctor to treat their ailments...or a pillow on which to lay their weary heads...maybe nothing but a cold cell...poor food...nor fresh air...nothing to look forward to during the long dreary days and nights...maybe tortured on a regular or irregular basis, distorted entertainment for others...

Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote letters, witnessed to his jailers...Silas sang...John wrote in his exile...John Bunyan wrote “pilgrims progress “...all writings we have  handed down through generations...published in hundreds of languages...

Open my eyes to the groanings of the prisoners...whether in real prisons or imprisoned by sin...help me not forget the “names of the rock”...thank YOU...

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 18:2 

May the groans of the prisoners come before you; with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.

Psalm 79:11

He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free,

Psalm 146:7

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Acts 16:25 

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory. 

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. 

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge —that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:1,13-21

So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.

2 Timothy 1:8

Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.

Philemon 1:7 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 

John 3:16-17

Romans12:1-21

Romans 12:1-21

Am humbled to be at a women’s retreat in a beautiful camp in Mccall, Idaho.

The surroundings are Pines, deer, an elusive bear, old and new cabins, fire pits, recreational outlets of all kinds for families, kids and adults plus wonderful food served by smiling people...

The speakers are from

Voices of martyrs ...

What a combination ,the beauty and the persecuted....

In our reading of Romans 12:1-21, the title says “living sacrifices”...

The following is a list...

-offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 

-Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will. 

-Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment

-for just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. —Love must be sincere. 

-Hate what is evil; 

-cling to what is good. 

-Be devoted to one another in love. 

-Honor one another above yourselves. 

-Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 

-Be joyful in hope, 

-patient in affliction, 

-faithful in prayer. 

-Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. 

-Practice hospitality. 

-Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. -Rejoice with those who rejoice; 

-mourn with those who mourn. -Live in harmony with one another. 

-Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. 

-Do not be conceited. 

-Do not repay anyone evil for evil. 

-Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

-Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:1-21 

As always, I ask myself, where do I fall in this list? Am i listening to the Spirit’s voice, the Word to learn and grow in these areas?

Thank YOU again for your wonderful Word....

Wanted to share this...

What's There To Live For?

A daily devotion for September 13th

From your friends at RayStedman.org

Read: 2 Corinthians 5:6-17

For the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15RSV

Here again is the great motive in the life of the apostle--“the love of Christ controls us.” Actually, controls is a word that means constrains us, drives us out, motivates us, and then guides us after we get there, that sets the limits to what we should and should not do. That motive, he says, comes from the sense that Christ loves us. I do not know anything greater and more powerful as a motivating factor than that. I get terrified sometimes at what God can do to me if I do not behave. That motivates me sometimes. It is a low motivation, but it is there. But the thing that will get to me, when nothing else will, is the continuing experience of the love of Christ for me, a refreshment of spirit that I gain from the awareness that He loves me, He is for me, He stands beside me, He delights in me. Knowing that will move me like nothing else. That is what Paul is experiencing here--the awareness that God loves him. There is nothing like it. It gives him a sense of security, a sense of self-worth, and a good self-image. If you suffer from a bad image of yourself, then start thinking about what God says about you, how He loves you, and how Christ loves you and has given Himself to you, and that will change everything. He also says he has learned that the death of Christ freed him from the need to live for himself. I do not know anything more relevant to the current day than that statement. Everywhere I turn I hear people talking about what they have to do to “meet their needs.” Whatever they do or wherever they go is determined by how well their needs are met. You need to understand this important truth: Jesus Christ died to set you free from that syndrome. You do not need your needs met; He has already met them. You must learn that He has met your needs, because they will never be met by any other source. No one else is able to meet them. If you have that expectation of other people, you will find yourself suffering rejection at others' hands because they know they cannot meet your needs. “One has died for all,” and that means, “all have died” in order that they might understand that they live no longer for themselves. After Christ has met your needs, you discover that the secret to life as it ought to be lived is that you then turn and try to meet the needs of others. That is what Paul is saying here. “He died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves,” no longer with their needs at the center of their life, trying to build everything around them, “but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” Lord, reveal more and more of Your great love to me. Let Your love meet all of my needs, and set me free to live not for myself but for You.

Life Application

Is the love of Christ the controlling motivation of our lives? Are we experiencing the self-liberating control of His love?

Related Message

For more on this portion of Scripture read the message:

What's There to Live For?

or listen to the audio by clicking:

Devotions — Book of 2nd Corinthians

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Daily Devotion © 2006 by Ray Stedman Ministries. For permission to use this content, please review RayStedman.org/permissions. Subject to permission policy, all rights reserved.

Neon lights...LED lights...

Neon lights....LED lights...

No matter how many  times I read through the Bible, i learn new things...new phases, ideas, teachings stand out ...not that they haven’t been there before...just this or that time they stand out like Neon signs  or now LED signs/lights...blinking or bolded like “see me, this is important, here is the lesson for today “. Then I have to meditate or contemplate, consider, ponder...or stop, look, listen as we learned in school...

 David pleads...

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. 

Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. Rescue me from my enemies,  Lord, for I hide myself in you. 

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

Psalm 143:8-10

Paul admonishes...

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:17

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12 

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

2 Timothy 3:16-17 

There are times when, I admit in my rebellious nature, that I don’t want to be taught and admonished...I want my way...but the Spirt won’t let go...and I am in despair at being disobedient ...deep in my soul, i really want that teaching, that correcting...that training in righteousness so that I come forth equipped for God’s glory, his work...prepared for me...not missing the blessings he may have...

So when those “neon or LED lights” or whatever God uses to teach or highlight in the Word, I need to heed...thank YOU yet again and again...may I be found teachable...

Chapter 11, Hebrews...

Chapter 11, Hebrews...

I finally made it to Hebrews 11, the faith chapter....I thought I would be thinking about “faith “ as I entered into this chapter, and I was , but more so into living in the desert...

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Hebrews 11:8-10

http://lahavnet.co.il/joalon/eng/bedouin.htm

When we visited Israel this spring, one day was a stop at a  Bedouin culture center...we were received into the tents with explanations on life there in the desert...hospitality was given, shown...genuineness...sincerity...smiles and laughter from the children...tea from the men...with a tour of their museum bringing coolness from the outside heat as well as beautiful displays...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negev_Bedouin

It reminded me that we may all live in a desert at times...waiting in faith for that promised solidness...that home with God, with strong foundations, eternal...not wandering from place to place emotionally, physically, spiritually...

We, who are believers in the resurrection of Christ, have that promise of a home being prepared ...no more wandering...secure...established...by a faithful God...who has loved us before we loved him...

Thank YOU that don’t leave us to fend for ourselves in the desert...you given us yourself, a sure foundation...You are the oasis ...”by faith” we look forward to those things unseen...

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Hebrews 11:1-3 

Fruit trees...

Fruit trees...

One year ago, I moved into another home, taking with me fruit trees I had babied all summer to be planted in a new home...

The landscaper fulfilled his promise, diligently planting each, hooking up drip systems which have worked well...but this one tree just wasn’t doing as well as the others this spring and summer....I have repeatedly turned extra water on to it...it bloomed and produced 6 little pears, then wilted away with no new growth on the limbs....was so sad..until yesterday i wiggled the whole tree and pulled it out of the ground...no new roots protruded from the original root ball, ground was so dry it crumbled in my hand. So I followed the drip line, pulling it out of the ground and found out it had been shut off at some time this spring...so no life giving water for who knows how long.... it was dry...

It will be replaced today, the drip system checked again...but as I cut the former tree into chunks to fit into the dumpster, I was reminded how much we need water...it was 96 degrees and had been in the nineties for weeks and here was this innocent tree trying to just survive let alone thrive and couldn’t make it...

I know that may sound trite,  but almost daily we read of another child left in a sweltering  car to die or fires in drought filled areas all over the world...no water, no growth, no cooling...death...

In our spiritual lives, we need that cultivation, that Water of Life to live...sending out new roots, budding, flourishing with life...if we become “unhooked”, we dry up, we die as well...

Thank YOU again and again... for your life giving water...help us stay attuned to your Word which refreshes our lives...helping us grow, bloom where we are...

14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

John 4:14

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

John 7:37-38 

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,

Hebrews 10:19-24

For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ ”

Revelation 7:17 

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

Revelation 21:6