Do we get it yet?...

1 John 2:15-16

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.


Revelation 19:1-5

Heaven Exults over Babylon

1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! 2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” 3 Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!” 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!”

Wonderful words from Micah!

These words apply to Israel, but can be applied to believers I think.

Micah 7:7-9


7 Therefore I will look to the LORD;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me.

8 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
When I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The LORD will be a light to me.

9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD,
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He pleads my case
And executes justice for me.
He will bring me forth to the light;
I will see His righteousness.

The first two lines of verse 9 rehearses the fact that we are under condemnation from the LORD because we have sinned against Him (Romans 3:23, Psalm 51).  But...

What a wonderful word UNTIL is!

Until He pleads my case ~ Revelation 5
And executes justice for me. ~ Acts 2:22-24
He will bring me forth to the light; ~ Acts 2:31-33
I will see His righteousness. ~ Galatians 2:20

Christ's righteousness, my worth.

a time to...

Isaiah 2:4

He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.

Joel 3:10

Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’”

Micah 4:3

He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.

Ecclesiastes 3

1 To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
2 A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
3 A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
4 A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
7 A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
8 A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.

So, who is Saint Nicolas??

Linda S. shared this link on FB and I really liked it.
Saint Nicolas lived in what is now Turkey and was born in the last quarter of the 3rd century, dying in 343AD.
Benjamin Britten wrote the wonderful Cantata ~ Saint Nicolas in 1948.
You can hear the entire Canata right here!!  Rather nifty!!

Witnesses to the reality of faith

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Abel's sacrifice through which God confirmed that he was righteous.

Enoch,  a testimony that pleased God: "he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him".

Noah "believed that He is" and on the strength of that built an ark for a rain and a flood that had never happened before in the history of the world.

Abraham obeyed in faith and went out not knowing where he was going. 

Sarah believed she would give birth to a son for multitudes of descendants to come.

Great Spangled Fritillary hanging out

on a yummy butterfly bush. The afternoon sun is delightful on these 'wings of velvet'.May the wings of a butterfly kiss the sun

And find your shoulder to light on,

To bring you luck, happiness and riches

Today, tomorrow and beyond

~~Irish Blessing

We surely know that his wings kiss the sun and if you go to visit a 'butterfly house' one of these little wonders may light on your shoulder.

However, luck happiness and riches today or any day are beyond his capabilities!

Psalm 107:1-2, 8-9

Oh, give thanks to the LORD,

for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,

Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,

Oh, that men would give thanks to the

LORD for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the

children of men!

For He satisfies the longing soul,

And fills the hungry soul with

goodness.

Fish

See if the little fish can catch your cursor!

Refueling

This Monarch is stopping to refuel on his trip towards Mexico for the winter. The Lord has engineered the Monarch to be able to fly long distances from Central Mexio all the way up to southern Canada, but wait...that's not all! This butterfly has been wafted to southwest England when the winds are right! Check out this site, here too for more fascinating information on this unique butterfly. So glad he stopped by my place on his way south!

The wild,

stunning diversity and creativity of the Creator God just blows me away! This is my first hibiscus plant and its very first bloom. The glossy green leaves and the lovely yellow are wonderful!! Thank you Lord for the beauty of Your nature, even as we live in a fallen world.

A precious

An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly!

gift from God to brighten any day!! A lovely symbol of the Resurrection!!

1 Corinthians 15:35-56

51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. ...
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Witness

"Fill me with an over-flowing ocean of compassion,
the reign of love my motive,
the law of love my rule.

..................

O Give me repentance unto life;
Cement my oneness with my blessed Lord
that faith may adhere to Him more immovable,
that love may entwine itself round Him more tightly,
that his Spirit may pervade every fibre of my being.

Then send me out to make Him known to my fellow-men."

from Valley of Vision "Humility in Service"

I just love God's colors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Commonalities

Rachel and Leah;
Hannah and Penninah;
Sarah and Hagar (therefore Issac and Ishmael);
Ahinoam, Maachah, Bathsheba (therefore Amnon, Absalom, Solomon (therefore 300/700)
...ad nauseum right up to the present.
Primary and secondary (even tertiary) families do not mix, do they?
They surely make chaos out of already challenging primary families, don't they?

Did you ever wonder

about the passage in Mark 7:31-37?

³¹ Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. ³² Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. ³³ And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. ³⁴ Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”
³⁵ Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶ Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. ³⁷ And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” (Mark 7:31-37, New King James Version)

It always kind of bothered me as to why Jesus would do those gestures I've put in bold in the passage above. What about you??

To listen to a great exposition of this passage click here and scroll down to Sunday May 9, 2010 and listen to the message (free) To Speak or Not to Speak. I just loved it!!!!!

Dusk at Jacksonville Beach.

A line of pelicans in the distance patrolling the waters, ready to swoop down on their unsuspecting supper.

I ask you, how would a pelican or how would the DNA of proto-pelican (or do we have to go back to slime?) 'know' to start evolving the nifty beak-neck pouch, so he could fly off with his fresh supper?

Can an 'evolutionary' feedback loop REALLY get from slime to pouch??

An Example of God's Beauty

As it was in the days...

Luke 17:26-30

26 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will also be in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

And likewise, we today eat, drink, marry, buy, sell, plant, build...so it will it be in the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

2 Peter 3:10-13

10 But the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise; and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Spurgeon on Unbelief

One of the reasons I so enjoy reading Charles H. Spurgeon is that he is able to say in a few sentences what I would want to say and would take paragraphs to articulate. While reading from "Finding Peace in Life's Storms" (1997 Whitaker House) - based on Col. 1:27, I was blessed to find the following:

"The Bible does not praise unbelief nor present motives or reasons for cultivating it. Experience has not proven that unbelief gives strength for life's battles or wisdom for life's complexities. Unbelief is a close relative of gullibility. Unlike true faith, unbelief has a tendency toward being led by the nose by any falsehood. Unbelief yields no consolation for the present, and its outlook for the future is by no means comforting. We find no hint in the Bible of a sublime land in the clouds where people who praise their own intellectual ability will eternally baffle themselves and others. We read no prophecy in Scripture of a celestial hall of science where skeptics may weave new deceptions and forge new objections to the revelation of God. There is a place for the unbelieving, but it is not heaven." (Italics mine)

As Al would say, that puts the fodder down where the calf can eat it.

Thank you C.H.S. and thank you, Almighty God.

millions...billions...tril...?!

Providentially, my next door neighbor has noticed a woodpecker who has claimed a dead branch of her maple tree for his/her own!! He has been rata tat tatting away for several days and has made a hole about 3 inches in diameter so far. Hunting for insects? Chipping out a nest??

These are very unusual birds, though they are found plentifully around the globe. They have an "industrial strength" skull, the heaviest/strongest in relation to their body of any animal. Their brain is super cushioned with cartilege (where do you think they got the idea for sports helmets??). Most of them have "industrial strength" beaks as well. They close their eyes between EVERY peck at the tree trunk - not to avoid getting wood bits in their eyes - but to keep their eyes from being popped out at each peck, by the force of the blow!! So they need to refocus after every peck. Amazing! They have two claws that face to the front and two that face to the back - they can climb up, down, upsidedown, sideways, you name it. Their tails are stiff and spread out when they are pecking away so their claws and tail form a strong tripod to support the bird. Neat!

Most woodpecker tongues are barbed, stab the insect in the hole, have a special glue at the end of the long tongue to stick to the insect. After the woodpecker has slurped the insect into his mouth, another special substance - a solvent - loosens the insect, so the bird can swallow the insect and not his tongue!!!

Finally, there is the European Green woodpecker and his amazing tongue!

Could even trillions of years make the reality of the woodpecker possible??

I have a wonderful video of my neighbor's woodpecker, but have been unable to upload for this post. Will keep working at it and hopefully post it later! Got the link for it, hope it works!

Our Glorious Purpose

This passage is from the March 2010 Tabletalk (Ligonier Ministries) and is by Rev. Fred Klett in an article entitled "From Jerusalem, to All Nations, and Back Again":

"It is easy to get bogged down in mundane and parochial concerns. Dull details of the daily grind constantly scream for our attention. We must not lose sight of the glorious purpose for which we have been called: the restoration of all creation. Our witness, our prayer, our service to bind up the wounds of the suffering in the name of Jesus are all part of something spectacular and wonderful, something the prophets longed to look into (1 Peter 1:10). May God renew our zeal for His work in our own neighborhoods and for His worldwide missionary enterprise. May He revive us to pray and work in faith toward both Jews and Gentiles being restored to blessing. Messiah Jesus is still at work advancing the Father's kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. The second volume of the book of Acts is still being written. Let us recommit ourselves to this gospel enterprise, from Jerusalem, to all nations -- and then back again."

We live in exciting times, working with Messiah Jesus to advance the Father's Kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are a part of the second volume of Acts!! Glory! Glory! and Amen.

True Love

Happy day of love and loving! While reading today in the Daily Study Bible (MacArthur) I was struck by the true love shown in the selected passages, which were not chosen because it is Feb. 14, but because that is where we are in these Scriptures, as we read each day.

From the Old Testament: Ex. 39 and 40 - the descriptions of the furnishings for the Tabernacle and the priests and we see the Beauty of His Love, as he wants us to see His Beauty every time we come together for worship. And when Moses finished the work and it was all done "The Glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle". (Ex. 40:34) Can anything be more beautiful than His Glory??

From Proverbs 8:23-31 - His love expressed through His Wisdom in the creation. We see His love every time we open our lives to all He has created for our enjoyment and edification. "Rejoicing in the world, His earth and having my delight in the sons of men". (vs. 31)

But then, --and I wonder - is this love??-- next in the reading, is Matthew 27: 1-26 which records the "trial" of Jesus Christ before Pilate, after the "trial" of Jesus Christ before the chief priests and the high priest; the presentation of the Christ before the people who yelled out for Barabas to be released; and then verse 26, "he delivered Him to be crucified". And I was so humbled by this extreme act of love, a love I can never know in full, a love that surpasses all love ever before expressed or ever after, a love that only a Loving God can give through the willing love, and death, of His Son for us. And I know -- This is love.

Oh My!! such nonsense is shown in red hearts, candy and flowers that soon fade and...
Oh My!! such love is shown in the Lord Jesus Christ.

"We love because He first loved us".1 John 4:19...Thank You, God, for True Love.

Involved??

Involved in the work of the Master? Doing His Will? Staying in contact with His Words?

If you are unable to "go to" and "join in" and "be a part of" because of whatever, there is a way to stay involved and purposely put yourself in His line of work -- pray.

What should I pray for? How should I pray? How do I know if God hears? What if my mind wanders (I'm personally acquainted with this question!)?

I'm very interested in the power and purpose of prayer, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, at the throne of Grace. Even though prayer has been part of my spiritual journey, I will never be too advanced or perfected or saintly to outgrow my need of learning to pray and then doing just that - PRAY.

A new opportunity has been given, in answer to prayer, to stretch once more in the direction of the Holy, looking upward to the Author and Finisher of our Faith, to grow in faith and with a different focus - http://www.pray4gcr.com/.

The time focus is for the Orlando gathering in late June of 2010 - but the eternal time focus is well,...., eternal. I like that. I don't need to know the immediate answers to this prayer request, just learn to be faithful in my prayer time...and not let my mind wander.

Praise God

The Lord brought to my mind these words this morning:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

I was thanking Him for my three little pooches, my remote car starter (yes, I thank Him for that a lot!), safety in the rain on the road to the groomer and just because...

I couldn't remember the second line correctly so I checked it out when I got home and discovered that those words are the last stanza in a much longer hymn written by Puritan, Thomas Ken (1637-1711). In typical Puritan fashion it has 11 verses (when sung, I bet that all 11 were sung, not just 1, 3, 5...heh).

The Lord has a sense of humor. If I had known the first verse of the hymn, I might have been singing something else...heh

Awake, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily stage of duty run;
Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise,
To pay thy morning sacrifice.

You can check out the other verses here. The tune is unfamiliar to me, but it refreshes my mind since I am over-familiar with the tune with which I usually sing it.

Psalm 10:12-18

Psalm 10

12 Arise, O LORD!
O God, lift up Your hand!
Do not forget the humble.
{Isaiah 66:2b
2b "But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of
spirit, and who trembles at My Word."}

13 Why do the wicked renounce God?
He has said in his heart,
"You [God] will not require an account."
{Psalm 2:1-2
1 Why are the nations in an uproar
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take council together
Against the LORD and against His
Anointed, saying,
"Let us tear their (the LORD and His anointed) fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!"}

14 But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief,
To repay it by Your hand.
The helpless commits himself to You;
You are the helper of the fatherless.
{James 1:27
27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God
and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their
distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.}

15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;
Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
{Psalm 11:4-6
4 The LORD is in His holy temple;
the LORD's throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked he will rain snares;
Fire and brimstone and burning wind
Will be the portion of their cup.}

16 The LORD is king forever and ever;
The nations have perished out of His land.
{Isaiah 2:12
12 For the LORD of Hosts will have a day of reckoning
Against everyone who is proud and lofty
And against everyone who is lifted up,
That he may be abased.}

17 LORD, you have heard the desire of the humble;
You will prepare their heart;
You will cause Your ear to hear,
{Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit (i.e. humble, those with humility),
for theirs in the kingdom of heaven.}

18 To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
That the man of the earth may oppress no more.
{Isaiah 1:17
17 Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Reprove the ruthless,
Defend the orphan,
plead for the widow.}

Psalm 10:1-11

A Psalm of confidence in God's triumph over evil.

1 Why do you stand afar off, O LORD?
Why do You hide in times of trouble?
{Have we as Christians not asked that over and over the last several decades, as we have seen both the church and our country "going down the tubes"?}

2 The wicked in his pride, persecutes the poor;
{We see that daily.}
Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
{I pray for their salvation first and being "caught in the plots which they have devised" second. Bernie Madoff is a good example of being caught in his own greedy plot.}

3 For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire;
He blesses the greedy and renouces the LORD.
{ Renouncing the LORD is the current national pastime.}

4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
God is in none of his thoughts.
{"The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." Psalm 14:1, Psalm 53:1}

5 His [the wicked] ways are always propering;
{At least for the time being.}
Your [God's] judgments are far above, out of his [the wicked's] sight;
As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.
{He certainly does!}

6 He [the wicked] has said in his heart, "I shall not be moved;
I shall never be in adversity."
{Talk about delusional!}

7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.
{All we ever hear today is filthy language, cheating and trying to get ahead of the other guy.}

8 He [the wicked] sits in the lurking places in the villages;
In the secret places he murders the innocent;
{Abortion.}
His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.
{TV/Internet scams of all kinds.}

9 He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den;
{New senator in the old lion's seat, PTL.}
He lies in wait to catch the poor;
He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.
{Fanny Mae, Freddy Mac.)

10 So he crouches, he lies low,
That the helpless may fall by his strength.
{"Bailouts" that make matters worse.}


11 He [the wicked] has said in his heart,
"God has forgotten;
He hides His face;
He will never see."
{Na na na na na na...}

Next ~~ Psalm 10:12-18

Haiti needs our prayers and gifts

I've added a new link under Missions, the International Partnership Ministries, Inc. The site is following a national missionary family and the challenges people are facing in the devastated area of Haiti.