Reflections on the 2017 American Inauguration

"If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget it skill."  Psalm 139:%)

I expected some of the reactions, in some cases vitriolic, to President Trump's speech.  They forget that he is not a career politician, talking nice nothings which very nicely gets nothing done.  He was not there to coddle his predecessors or the US Congress.  He reiterated much of his campaign promises.  Now, he finds himself in what no other president in my life time has equaled:  "Put up or shut up."  One critic said that he made promises that no one can keep.  I can tell you that there are many politicians and pundits in this country who hope he can not "put up," because their demagoguery failures would be a great cause for them to "shut up."

I almost stood up and shouted when the Rabbi quoted from Psalm 137, "By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion....If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill...."  I pray that President Trump does everything he committed to Israel during the primaries.  And then Franklin' Graham's reading from 1 Timothy 2-- powerful.  For those of you who read my devotionals in other nations, I ask that you please continue to pray for the United States of America.  Whether we or any other nation likes or accepts it or not, America is and has been since the Second War the only force on earth which has kept the likes of China, North Korea, Russia, ISIS from enslaving the other nations of the world.

There is a very real sense in which The United States of America has been a moral force in the world.  I can cite as well as anyone the failing of America.  But I can also cite many examples in which America has helped "good" to triumph over evil.  I say to us Americans that praying more now for our nation is absolutely imperative.  As we read in Jeremiah, "....Seek the peace of this city (nation)...and pray to the Lord for it, for in its peace you will have peace."  This could define a call to Divine "self preservation."

Finally, I rejoice in the victory of our Judeo-Christian tradition in most of the prayers.  The influx of paganism was dealt a blow.  The Name of our Lord Jesus Christ was prevalent and roared throughout the crowd, Washington, DC, America and the nations of the world.  "Political correctness" took a "back seat."

Father, in Jesus' Name, "Thy Kingdom come.  Thy Will be done in earth (in the United States of America, in my family and life) as it is in Heaven."  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

"How To Pray"

"For you make me glad by Your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done.  How great are your works, Lord, how profound Your thoughts!  Senseless people do not know, fools do not understand....Your enemies, Lord, surely Your enemies will...be scattered....My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries; my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.  The righteous will flourish...."  (Psalm 92, NIV)

I was over at Sarah's Mom this morning finishing some coffee, praying while watching some "hearings," which has become code for witch hunt.  As I walked out on the porch, I had a great sense of our text.  It has dominated my praying today.

If someone were to observe my "prayer life," they would probably not recognize much of it from the books on "How to Pray," etc.  A rereading of our text reveals how I tend to pray.  Jesus, "Word of God," speaks and I "agree," surrender to and submit to what He says, and, hence, pray that.  It is sort of like a cartoon from childhood where a little dog, Chester, is tagging along with a big dog, Spike, and keeps repeating something like, "You and me buddies, huh, Spike."  The attitude always seemed to me to be that since Chester knows "what's good for him," he wants to do anything and everything to please Spike.

You don't have to buy a book on prayer; read your Bible.  Praying His Words are the same as a continual praying of, "Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven."  This is praying, asking, interceding always with a sort of, This is what I pray, but may what You say prevail.

Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that You are "doing" our text.  Amen.
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A brief clip of Spike and Chester is on the devotional blog site.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

KTBTIB Nottingham sent you a video: "Chester And Spike"

Maybe Chester's attitude is no all wrong.

KTBTIB Nottingham has shared a video with you on YouTube Chester And Spike by Voluntaryist

'Why Not?"

"Lord, You have been our dwelling place (refuge) in all generations.  Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God."  (Psalm 90:1, 2)

Literally, "....Even from everlasting to everlasting, You, God."  What other response can man add?  The title of this Psalm in my NKJV is, "The Eternity of God, and Man's Frailty."  The Bible is literally the daily "Newspaper" of this frail man; His Words are always up-to-date, always just the right "news" for just the right time.  Praise be to, "The Word of God," our King and Savior, Jesus the Christ!

Much going on here.  Norma is now confined to a bed and no longer going to the care center.  There are many decisions awaiting us.  I have quoted many times over the years the line from a movie, "Why not?  You sump'um special?"  Even when I first heard it, I thought, No.  We are all partakers of life------ and everything which comes with it; the Bible says as much. 

Please, dear faithful one, do not condemn yourself for your plight.  You have "done" all you know to do, walked in all you know, and yet many of the "things" which happen to the unbelievers have happened to you.  This is not a justification for my own life, e.g., the loss of Stephen, Norma's situation.  It is the acceptance of reality, not of some religious fairy tale.  If people would just read the Bible and let the Bible be the Bible, what one once called, "The Manufacturer's Handbook," then the reigning, "peace of God which passes understanding," would be their reigning, "peace."

"Jesus Christ is Lord!"  This does not, has not, nor ever will change.  "From days of Eternity," Jesus Christ, Word of the Father, He Who, "sat as King at the flood," sits as King today, King over all nations, all governments, all, everything.

Father, in Jesus' Name, "Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.  Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, YOU, GOD."
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Two new truth-revealing articles at:    jhs58.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

"Deal With Them"

"Deal with them...that they may know that You, Whose name alone is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth." (Psalm 83:9 & 18)

This is one of my favorite "combat' Psalms.  Notice that the psalmist does not say that he will, "deal with them."  He implores the Living Triune God to do so.  When Jesus Christ, "The Word of God," our Glorious, "King of kings, and Lord of lords," does the "dealing," it will be Divine Justice, not human retribution.  With the very real probability of violence towards America this week, the prayer of our text could not be more relevant.

I think David was certainly in the, "Deal with them," mode when he faced Goliath.  Yes, he came to that battle well trained, just as thousands of those soldiers that day who were watching the events on the valley floor unfold.  But unlike the rest, David had the boldness to trust His Shepherd, Jesus, to believe that in his own preparedness and with all his skill, life still needs the Lord Our God to do the ultimate, "deal with them," and David declared as much to his enemy.  This must be the motive, the constant reminder that you and I are not the primary "deal-with-them" ones.  Pat Boone once wrote that one day, instead of attempting to deal with his wife, He turned her over to the Lord, only to find when he did, Jesus showed him that half of the problem was Pat himself.  Strange things indeed do happen with we pray the Lord Jesus to, "Deal with them."

Now those three words can sound, "Go get'em."  That will be up to you and me as to what is in our hearts.  Many times in the Scriptures we see, however, that Jesus speaks of the purpose of discipline as, "that they may know that I am the Lord."  The Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ is expressed in Hebrews 12.  "....The Father of spirits [disciplines]...for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.  Now no chastening ('deal with them')seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."  While the Hebrews text is directed primarily to Believers, this is still the Heart of God for all.  And since Jesus lives in us, this should be the exact same attitude manifest in you and me, viz.,"....that they may know."  Praying the Lord Jesus to, "Deal with them...for our (and everyone's) profit," will keep our attitude towards humanity, and perceived enemies, in God's perspective.

Father, in Jesus' Name, "Deal with them," all who oppose you, all who seek to destroy Your Church, "that they may know that You, Whose name alone is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth."  Amen.
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Carolyn Glick hits another one "out of the park."  Read it at:  jhs58.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

October/November 2017 MIssion

We have secured our flight reservations and accommodations for this Fall's Mission to Berlin/Lutherstadt.  The dates are October 28-November 15.  Again, if you would like to participate in this very historic "journey," we can make reservations for the same discounts as we have received.  Also, since things are booking quickly in Wittenberg/Lutherstadt, making a decision as soon as possible is imperative.  I will give further details to any who are interested.

Woody

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

"....Praiseworthy Deeds of the Lord...."

"....I utter hidden things, things from of old-- things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us.  We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done....He divided the sea and led them through....But they continued....They spoke against God; they said, 'Can God really spread a table in the wilderness?'...When the Lord heard them, He was furious...."  (From Psalm 78, NIV)

We are in the process of securing travel and accommodation bookings for our October- November, 2017 Mission to Berlin/Lutherstadt.  We must do this early so we can get the 40% discount on flights.  It is always a "faith" move, since we never know "where" the finances will come from.  Today's text, however, brought me to tears, especially when I thought of the faithfulness of God, viz., our Faithfulness, Who Is Jesus Christ, over my/our entire life time.

It really was impressed upon me this morning that not believing in (rather, acting in, because "belief" talk can be just that--- talk),  trusting in Jesus regarding, "the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done," makes Him, "furious."  The NASB says, "full of wrath."  There is a certain wonderment I find in this which is similar to what I see in the words of the hymn, "What more can He say than to you He has said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?"!!??  Trust is an amazingly illusive attitude.  We can be in rah, rah meetings and "confess" way beyond where we are actually living.  But that does very little good.  It is when the Red Sea is in front of us, mountains on either side of us, and Pharaoh's armies behind us that we know the "stuff" of our faith in Jesus.  

Trust in, confidence in, relying on, "betting" our very existence on Jesus Christ in, through, and over all which can/may happen in life is that faith, that trust of which the Bible speaks.  There is a sense in which we need the constancy of Jesus saying to us, "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?"  Or, "do not act upon My Words, trusting My Continual Faithfulness."  Yesterday in our Church gathering we heard of some who are going "through great trial."  It is in the midst of the trial that we believe Jesus will, "divide[] the sea and lead [us] through."  It takes no effort to worship, give thanks when it's "all over."  It is the walking through the raging wall of water on every side which will determine who we are.

Father, in Jesus' Name, there is no reason for me to ever doubt or wonder about Your Faithfulness.  Your, "praiseworthy deeds," are, "new every morning."  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2