Walk In The Way Of The Lord

Psalm 1:1-4 KJV; Do what is right. Walk in the way that the Lord has shown you.

Quicken Us, Lord!

Psalm 80:7-19 KJV; 19th Sunday after Pentecost; Quicken Us, Lord! Save us and we will be saved!

Enemies Surround Us!

Psalm 31:9-16 KJV: Enemies surround us. Who can save us?

The Law Is Good If Used Lawfully

1 Timothy 1:5-11 KJV The law is good when it is used charitably to help others and when it is not used to gain something for ourselves.

God's Blessings Upon You

Psalm 67 KJV

God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.

That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.

Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.

Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.

God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

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Numbers 6:24-26

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

Amen!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

His Mercy Endureth Forevev

Psalm 42 KJV

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.

Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the day time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.

I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

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Where are you, Lord?  There are times we may feel totally deserted; completely alone. There are times when we long to feel and know His presence most fully. We may even question why God has left us. But, He has not forgotten us. He is with us and is working out good things for those who love Him. (Rom 8:28)

Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. (Psalm 106:1)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

I Lay Down In Peace

Psalm 4

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.

But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him.

Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.

There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.

Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

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My favorite times of day are early morning and evening just before I fall asleep. They are quiet times. They are times when I can commune with God without any interruptions. 

The world is full of challenges as we strive to do better. Unfortunately, this striving to do better usually tends to mean we strive for more unnecessary stuff. This striving for stuff can take the joy totally out of living as it can be a constant battle to appear more successful in the eyes of others. Successful for many means having more stuff even if they no longer have time to enjoy the stuff they've accumulated. Successful for most Christians means living in peace in communion with God. We don't need lots of stuff. We need Jesus. We need need his love. We need the peace that only he can give. 

No matter what challenges might trouble our hearts and minds we can live and rest in peace knowing that the Lord is with us and for us. The Lord lifts up the light of his countenance upon us.

May God help each of us to live in perpetual communion with Him that we might all live life in peace with Him and with one another.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Life Is Short

Isaiah 40:8

Psalm 90:1-12 KJV

Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.

In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.

For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.

Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.

The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

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We've heard it said in many ways: Life is short. Don't waste it. How many of us when we get up there in years wonder how the years have escaped us and we wonder why we weren't a bit wiser in the way we lived our lives; especially our youth?  The years have gone by quickly; too quickly. Yet, there is the promise of hope that all who believe in Jesus the Christ will not perish will have eternal life. So then all who believe never truly get old for how old can you get if you have eternal life? How old can you get if you are eternally a child of God?

Yet, life on this earth is short. Don't waste it. It is much better to live this short life with wisdom and and with justice than to seek those things that will wither away like the grass of the fields. It is wisdom to hear the word of the Lord and to truly listen to Him so that we might live life in the hope of living eternally in the presence of God our Father, through faith in Christ Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Turn Us!

Psalm 80:7-18 KJV 

Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.

Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land.

The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.

She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.

Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?

The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.

Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;

And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.

It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.

Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.

So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.

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This country, this world, is in need of a lot of help. There is no president, no earthly ruler of any kind that can save us. We must turn back to God. Sadly, no matter how hard we try we cannot do that. Only God can change our hearts. We need him to turn us around. It is by his grace alone that we are saved. May he take away our hearts of stone and fill us with a new spirit. 

May we all be blessed with the same blessing that the Lord told Moses to tell Aaron and his sons to bless the children of Israel. 

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

                                                                                      (Num 6:24-26)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

The Lord Looks Over You

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

(Psalm 121 KJV)

Wherever I look out from my back deck, I see hills. I am surrounded by hills and forests. I am surrounded by God's creation. My home in a very real sense is a sanctuary; a safe place; a place of peace and a place of rest for me. I have always considered this home as a gift from God for in this quiet place I am able to recognize better than any where else that God is with me and He is for me. I know that He is with me always; but, here in this place I am able to sense His presence more deeply.

God is with you and He is for you, as well. He never slumbers or sleeps; but, always looks over you. Trust Him and live in peace. 

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

(Numbers 6:24-26)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Let Us Not Be Weary

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. (Gal 6:9-10 KJV)

As I consider how weary are our law enforcement officers and our firemen and others who are busy trying to put out the fires that began as peaceful protests and were infiltrated by others with not so peaceful agendas, I become weary. 

But, this morning I give thanks to God for the outstanding and peaceful way that the protests here in Flagler County and next door in Putnam County, Florida were held. I am grateful that the organizers of the protests and local law enforcement were able to coordinate their efforts together and walk together, as well.  

If we take the time to talk with (not at) one another and walk together there will much less weariness. So many people have been harmed these past couple of weeks that it has become a time of grieving for much of our population.

Life in this world will never be perfect. We will never know perfect peace. But, that does not mean we should not strive for a more peaceful way to live, caring for one another; caring for all people. "...let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
                                                                              (Num 6:24-26 KJV)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Jealousy Kills

  "And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him."

                                                                                 (Gen 4:4-8 KJV)

It appears that the Lord favored Abel's offering over Cain's because his offering was raised up through hard work. The Lord told Cain that if he had worked well to present this offering it would have been accepted. Cain was not happy. He was so jealous that his brother had found favor and he had not that he killed his brother.

Jealousy destroys. It kills and there are consequences for the sin. If the jealousy over how much accomplishment or honor others receive with their hard work continues it will build up within you until the consequences of the sin become very tough. Cain was exiled to become a fugitive and a vagabond. He would indeed have to work very hard just to survive. 

It is not any different today than it was in Cain and Abel's day. Jealousy will prevail if it is not put in check quickly. It will destroy your future and the future of those around you. God has given you many gifts so that you might be fruitful. There are  consequences for not even attempting to use those gifts as well as you can. The outcome and possible consequences have nothing to do with what your neighbor does. It has everything to do with what you do or do not do with the gifts of God. In the general confession we pray that God will forgive us for sins known and unknown; for things we have done and for things that we have left undone. For the sake of love for the one who lived and died and yet lives for us, it would behoove us to leave a whole lot less undone.

May we always use the gifts that God has given us so that He might be glorified.

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." (Col 3:23)

God's Peace - Pr. J

His Blessings; His Peace

There are a lot of people hurting in this world. So much so that many are so lost in their own pain that they do not even consider that their neighbors; their loved ones might also be hurting.

What can we do to help? How do we reach out to others? How do we reach them? How do we get others to understand that the Lord desires that all people would receive his blessings and live in his peace? We cannot do a thing for anyone without the Lord's help. But, with him all things are possible.

Let us begin by asking God's blessings on others. Let us begin with prayer for and with others. Let us pray...

"The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace." Num 6:24-26

God's Peace - Pr. J

Here Comes The Sun

It's all right, here comes the sun.

One of my favorite Beetles songs was "Here Comes the Sun." It speaks of smiles returning to our faces when the sun shines. There are times in life when we are confronted with one challenge after another. Even when the sun is shining, there are times when we don't even notice because the challenges can bring a darkness that overshadows the sun.

But, the light of the Son of God cannot be overshadowed. His light shines in the darkest corners of the universe; in the deepest and darkest corners of our lives. When dark times threaten to overshadow you; rejoice! For, here comes the Son with his light to shine upon you!

“The Lord bless you and keep you;The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”

Num 6:24-26 (NKJV)

God's Peace - Pr. J