Naps….

 Naps….

I have never really been a nap taker…I remember riding  gathering cows or checking fences with my dad as a child. We would stop at lunch time, eat our lunch, the my dad would lay back, cover his eyes with his red handkerchief, take a ten minute nap and then on we would go. I watched him, wondering how he could do that so fast while I couldn’t. He did that all of his life until his passing…quick naps…

This last year I have learned or tried to learn about that fast relaxing nap. Mine come in spurts, with this last illness, they been easier…as I have been doing some major healing…1-3 hour-long naps…not the quick ones my dad took…

The nap/rest in itself is healing…and our bodies need it…I am so thankful God gave us sleep…Jesus needed it himself when he was here on earth…

I get weary at times not just tired, but weary…then this promise of completion comes to mind…God has a plan and He will finish it in each of us…

 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Phil.1.6

 

For he delivers the needy when he calls,the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy,and saves the lives of the needy.

Ps.72.12-13

 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most Highwill abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,my God, in whom I trust.”

Ps.91.1-2

 He gives power to the faint,and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Isa.40.29

 For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

Jer.31.25

 The Lord your God is in your midst,a mighty one who will save;he will rejoice over you with gladness;he will quiet you by his love;he will exult over you with loud singing.

Zeph.3.17

 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary.

Rev.2.3

 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

Gen.2.2

 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matt.11.28-29

Thank YOU…..

Come to Me….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb7hWNafr50

….comfort verses …12

 Comfort verses….12….

I have still accumulated verses that can give comfort….

Hope delayed makes the heart sick; longing fulfilled is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12 CEB).

 

“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 AMP 

Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? (Isaiah 43:18-19a MSG)

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24 NIV). 

But I cry to you for help, Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you (Psalm 88:13 NIV).

When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it” (John 11:4 NIV).

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you (John 15:7 ESV).

Thank YOU…

Great is thy faithfulness…

https://www.desiringgod.org/great-is-thy-faithfulness

Inwards parts…

 Inward parts….

Yesterday as I was unpacking from my summer away from home, at the hospital and rehab, I found a drawing that the doctor must have made of what he did to my insides, fighting to bring about healing …he is a good doctor/surgeon who explained well and obviously drew pictures of what took place in my “inward parts”….the picture is even signed…while people prayed…

There is still some time needed for completed healing, but it has started…due to God’s design.

 For you formed my inward parts;you knitted me together in my mother's womb. 

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.Wonderful are your works;my soul knows it very well. 

My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret,intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;in your book were written, every one of them,the days that were formed for me,when as yet there was none of them. 

Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts! 

And see if there be any grievous way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting!

Ps.139.13-16,Ps.139.23-24

  I thought about this…as we grow in Christian life, there are times we find some of our thoughts and ways need “operated” on, cleansed , searched out to heal and be transformed more and more to be like Christ…

This is not necessarily an easy process…it may need some rehab and time to heal…we hold fast to some old habits and thought patterns…which can fester away our joy…but, God is there with his healing hand, others are there with their prayers…

 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1John.1.9

Thank YOU….

 Show me your ways…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGp3VCKkjaU 

Others are worth your time in prayer….

 Others are worth your time in prayer….….

I am sitting, waiting to go home…I left July 5 and barely remember that as I was so ill.  I got to go home for about 4 hours about a month ago, take a nap, sort mail…and then back to rehab and finally back to hospital for repair….no matter the day of the week the whole time, I heard from someone who prayed for me…I was worth their time…that is more humbling than I can imagine…and more convicting as well…

Granted the prayers could have been answered with a resounding “no” as well, but for this time, they weren’t…God has our days numbered as he say in Psalms.

Anyway, every time, I thought about going home, I cried, because I was so humbled, so thankful that people took time to pray for me…I was worth their time…which turns into…”others are worth our time to pray for them”…so simple, yet so profound…

God answers prayer…

When I put the word “pray” in the search section of my Bible program, it came up with over 300 references starting with Abraham praying…

 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children.

Gen.20.17

On through…

 “Hear my prayer, O Lord,and give ear to my cry;hold not your peace at my tears!For I am a sojourner with you,a guest, like all my fathers.

Ps.39.12

And on…to a few of my favorites …Jesus praying for us…He thought we are worth His prayers…John 17…

 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

John.17.6,John.17.7,John.17.8,John.17.9,John.17.10,John.17.11,John.17.14,John.17.17,John.17.20,John.17.21,John.17.26

Through the rest of the New Testament, praying for one another…and even when we do t k ow how to pray…

 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Rom.8.26

 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

1Pet.4.7

Ending with…

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.

3John.1.2

We may look around at those in the spotlight for various ministries, thinking we have little to give/offer to the kingdom, but we were worth Jesus’ prayers and his love, by his declaration…and if He says so, others are worth our time in prayer for them as well…He brings those into our lives who need prayer…

are we answering the call?????

Thank YOU…

Talking to Jesus…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXsxw1fRHMA

 

A peacemaker…..

 Peacemakers….

The other day as I was writing “a troublemaker “, my mind was thinking about the opposite, “a peacemaker”as well… I know I have blogged about them as well while going through various Scripture portions…

And then, our pastor’s sermon drilled down on the verses in 

Romans 12:9-21…aptly titled, “Marks of a Christian”. He even included a bookmark for each person as a reminder of our character as a Christian….

Thank YOU….

Psalm 23….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo3HgtT_OiE

“Living in Community”. Pastor Brett Seigalkoff, 10/20/24

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IOR2lKu2zg

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Matt.5.9

 To make an apt answer is a joy to a man,and a word in season, how good it is! 

The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

Prov.15.23,28

 When a man's ways please the Lord,he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Prov.16.7

 Let love be genuine. 

Abhor what is evil; 

hold fast to what is good. 

Love one another with brotherly affection. 

Outdo one another in showing honor. 

Do not be slothful in zeal, 

be fervent in spirit, 

serve the Lord. 

Rejoice in hope, 

be patient in tribulation, 

be constant in prayer. 

Contribute to the needs of the saints and 

seek to show hospitality. 

Bless those who persecute you; 

bless and do not curse them. 

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 

Live in harmony with one another. 

Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. 

Never be wise in your own sight. 

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 

To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Rom.12.9-21

"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ." - 2 Corinthians 10:5

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." - Philippians 4:8

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Col.3.12-17

"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger." - James 1:19

Another view from my hospital room, a world sized mural designed by our Creator….

A troublemaker….

 

A troublemaker…..

I was reminded this week, there are potentially 64 elections world over this year, which can effect at least 49% of the world’s population….some are going smoothly, while others are not…

Living in the USA, we hear mostly about our own the problems with it, the various controversies, the various issues and sides, while other countries are going through wars, similar things, similar issues with different names and faces,,,,

We are reminded to pray for our leaders no matter the culture, country…and as the times are rough, we be hooves us to do so….

“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,and I find knowledge and discretion. 

The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.

Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. 

I have counsel and sound wisdom;I have insight; 

I have strength. 

By me kings reign,and rulers decree what is just; 

by me princes rule,and nobles, all who govern justly.

Prov.8.12-16

 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

Col.1.16-18

 A troublemaker and a villain,who goes about with a corrupt mouth,     

who winks maliciously with his eye,signals with his feet and motions with his fingers,     

who plots evil with deceit in his heart—he always stirs up conflict. Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy. 

There are six things the Lord hates,seven that are detestable to him:         

haughty eyes,

a lying tongue,

hands that shed innocent blood,         

a heart that devises wicked schemes,

feet that are quick to rush into evil,         

a false witness who pours out lies and

 a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Prov.6:12-19

Thank YOU….

Whether we are in the last days or not, we still have a job to do…pray…

days of Elijah….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j63-J0GBG5c

Sunrise from my hospital room, looking due east…nothing spectacular, but a new day regardless…

https://www.ndi.org/elections-calendar

https://time.com/6550920/world-elections-2024/

Ambushes, preparations, weddings….

 Ambushes, preparations, weddings…

There is a church adjacent to the rehab center where I am presently residing. Their landscaping includes wood chip mulch around their plantings…every time I walk by, there are little holes made by some of the local squirrel population….preparing for the winter ahead by storing their nuts in these holes dug for that purpose.

It reminds me of the ants from the Bible….

 Go to the ant, you sluggard;consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander,no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

Prov.6:6-8

Ants are creatures of little strength,yet they store up their food in the summer;

Prov.30.25

I have family and friends who are doing the same…canning, butchering, drying, freezing food for the months ahead…

Other preparations, we can sometimes make are emotional ones…and sometimes we are not prepared at all for ambushes to  

 Go to the ant, you sluggard;consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander,no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summerand gathers its food at harvest.

Prov.6:6-8

Ants are creatures of little strength,yet they store up their food in the summer;

Prov.30.25 our emotions….

I was able to attend a wedding yesterday of a friend’s daughter… it was beautiful, weather nice for the outdoor event…

But then the dancing commenced….bride and groom’s first dance, bride and father, groom and mother then finally everyone…

The one that always gets to me is the bride and father,  his 

“Little” girl leaving the nest, leaving his protection, going into the arms of another…the songs played for that dance are always poignant and cause a tear to many an eye…and as much as we try to prepare for it, it is still an ambush for tearful emotions…for both the father and daughter….daughters who have lost their fathers no matter how long ago and others…

Christ is preparing a place for us where there will not more tears…that is hard to even imagine, no tears of sorrow, remorse, joy, remembrance…but, it will be more than great…

Thank YOU…

 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 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. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

John.14.1-4

 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Rev.21.4

Butterfly Kisses…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftQVud5NUOs&list=PL8CQGojbjxe8Dx32xTPrvRC4-Joynz-Bu&index=9

Cinderella….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftQVud5NUOs&list=PL8CQGojbjxe8Dx32xTPrvRC4-Joynz-Bu&index=9

Continue….

 Continue….

I wanted to share this devotional from Ray 

Stedman…

I heard it said once that Christians are sometimes more knowledgeable than they what they do with the Word…we know so much,but use that Biblical knowledge little…in the actual doing…

James says, 

 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Jas.1.22-27

Read: 2 Timothy 3:10-17

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:14-15

O

“In this passage, Paul outlines the process by which the Scriptures lay hold of our minds. He says to Timothy, “Continue in what you have learned.” That is the first thing to do with the Bible — learn what it says. Timothy had only the Old Testament and, perhaps, just a few of the books which we call the New Testament. But he had the written Word of God, and Paul commands him to learn what it had to say.

This requires repeated reading. There is no other way by which you can be exposed to the thinking of God except by regularly reading the Word of God. In the Bible he has condescended to give us his thoughts on everything about ourselves, about the world in which we live, the times that come upon us, and about the morals and ethics of our behavior. The Word of God will drastically alter your own thinking. You will think differently about yourself and others; you will regard your husband, or your wife, and your children in a totally different way. You will regard the frantic pursuit of wealth and pleasure in a different light. You will make decisions on a totally different basis. This Book will drastically alter the way you behave.

Not only did Timothy learn these things, he believed them. Paul says to “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of” (2 Timothy 3:14b). Timothy acted upon what he had learned. You do not really believe something until you practice it. James tells us not just to be hearers of the word but doers (James 1:22). It does not do a bit of good to just say you believe the Bible from cover to cover. Do what it says. Practice the truth, act on it. The process begins with the mind being instructed, then the heart being fully convinced, and then you practice what you believe.

There were two factors here which helped Timothy believe the Scriptures: First, the Scriptures came to him through certain loved and trusted people. It is much easier to believe what the Bible says when it comes to us through people we trust. The second factor is that this came to Timothy at a very early age. Parents should not miss that emphasis. Childhood is a wonderful time to get the truth of the Scriptures into a young person's heart.

The result of learning and believing the Scriptures is “salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” The effect of the Scriptures is to save us, to transform us, to keep us from the downhill slide that is evident in every life not in touch with the Word of God. Everybody starts out life with certain hopes, dreams, and ideals, but unless he has the guiding of the Scriptures, inevitably he will find himself not moving toward, but away from the high ideals with which he began. This is the certain fate of those who do not have the guideline of Scripture.

Thank you for the Scriptures, Lord, and thank you for those who have taught me. Help me immerse myself in them, act upon the truth I find there, and pass them on to those you have entrusted to my care.”

Thank YOU…

Your Word….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9NEYy71lcU 

“Life Application

Am I continuing in what I have learned? Am I growing in my knowledge and application of the Scriptures? Who has God placed in my life to pour into?

Related Message

For more on this portion of Scripture, read the message:

Thinking Christianly

or listen to the audio by clicking:”

Subscribe / Unsubscribe to this Daily Devotion by Email

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries. For permission to use this content, please review RayStedman.org/permissions. Subject to permission policy, all rights reserved.

 

 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? 

Surely you know!Who stretched a measuring line across it? 

On what were its footings set,or who laid its cornerstone— while the morning stars sang togetherand all the angels shouted for joy? “Who shut up the sea behind doorswhen it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garmentand wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for itand set its doors and bars in place, when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;here is where your proud waves halt’? “Have you ever given orders to the morning,or shown the dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edgesand shake the wicked out of it? 

The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;its features stand out like those of a garment.

Job.38.4-14 and the rest of the chapter…

 For you created my inmost being;you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;your works are wonderful,I know that full well. 

My frame was not hidden from youwhen I was made in the secret place,when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 

Your eyes saw my unformed body;all the days ordained for me were written in your bookbefore one of them came to be. 

How precious to me are your thoughts, God!

How vast is the sum of them! 

Were I to count them,they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you.

Ps.139.13-18

Comfort verses….11…

 Comfort verses….11…

Today i am waiting for a phone call from my vacationing Doctor, hoping he has an okay for another surgery to put me back together.  

Maybe today, maybe tomorrow…a call, I hope….but,

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart,but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Prov.19.2”

 But I have calmed and quieted myself,I am like a weaned child with its mother;Ps.131.2

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! (Romans 11:33 NIV)

 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

Jer.33.3

 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Deut.31.8 

Thank YOU….

God is not against me…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsY6or9_V-w

Old cars, and old old cars…

 Old cars and old old cars…

Yesterday one of my daughters came and got me from rehab to meet her family at the local park for one of the towns annual fundraiser events, a old car show… the weather was just right under the trees and many car owners with their cars came out to proudly show off their restored cars…and there were some beauties…

I remarked that earlier in my life, the cars were from my grandparents and parents generations …now few of those and they were mostly from my generation! Age!!!

A beautiful restored Ford pickup, like the one my father bought when I was 4 or 5, my first memory of our cars…a restored Ford Falcon like the one I learned to drive in…cars my classmates drove proudly to school and to work….gas guzzlers when gasoline was cheap…muscle cars….all tuned to find out who could be the loudest…

It is interesting what details we remember as we age…cars for instance…I am not by any stretch of the imagination a car expert…these are just memories I grew up with…cars were tools in our family to get from one place to another, not trophies to be shown off…and we have had all kinds…old beater trucks/cars we got at auctions for work, used cars that fit our family, hand me downs from others and sometimes a new vehicle when times were a little more prosperous and there was a need…

When my husband graduated from graduate school partnered with another graduate…they boasted their vehicles had more years of experience than they did…which was so true…old trucks, jeeps…

There are several places in the Scriptures where the writers look back over their lives at various things…or they bless their offspring with prophecy for the future…we read the Word written so many years ago, as a historical account of many lives…as well as what God is speaking to us now, to our hearts…tried and true truths…

It doesn’t decay as old cars do…it is a Devine tool for life…not a trophy to show off…

 Your word is a lamp for my feet,a light on my path. 

Accept, Lord, the willing praise of my mouth,and teach me your Ps.119.105,Ps.119.108

 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 

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.

2Tim.3.14-17

Thank YOU….

Ancient Words…

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

Tomorrow, tomorrow is only a day away…..”Annie”

  

Tomorrow, tomorrow is only a day away…..”Annie”

At the beginning of this week, I was frustrated…another week in rehab…have been waiting for tests to comeback to “spring”me from here. They did come, but the person who needed to make the decision was vacationing…of all things, how could he? Wasn’t my getting out more important? 😊chuckle…chuckle…as if we really have control over time…

Then I thought of a different way of getting “sprung”. I could do it part of the time…but, since there are doctors that I need to see most days, I am on their time schedule, not mine…so a negative in plan as well…

Contentment…with God’s plans is really what is comes down to…

I can’t boast of my own, or I really can’t make my own unless he agrees…

Thank YOU….

Do not boast about tomorrow,for you do not know what a day may bring…Prov.2:1

 “I know that you can do all things;no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 

You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,things too wonderful for me to know.

Job.42.2-3

 May he give you the desire of your heartand make all your plans succeed.

Ps.20.4

 For he spoke, and it came to be;he commanded, and it stood firm. The Lord foils the plans of the nations;he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 

But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,the purposes of his heart through all generations…

Ps.33.9-11

 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. 

What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 

Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

Jas.4.13-17

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk6GASkBEUQ 

Rehab 2

 Rehab 2

Part of the building I am living in right now is permanent living for disabled, really elderly…

⁃ one person is always asking when their spouse is coming or they should be here any moment…

⁃ Another can go from catatonic to never stop moving or talking…

⁃ Some have to be hand fed by others…

⁃ One was abused as a child and again as an adult, yelling profanity, wanting to sit in the dark…

⁃ Teachers, professionals, businessmen, famililessness, pastor’s wives, farmers, mothers, fathers,etc, etc, etc….

⁃ Waiting…

I watched my parents, grandparents, in laws, husband, friends die…not easy at any age… brings to mind..

David’s demise…

 When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son. “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel…1Kgs.2.1-4

 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.

Acts.2.29

Thank YOU….