"Wait[] Patiently" Has A Great "Reason"

"I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry."  (Psalm 40:1)

This was literally fulfilled in my life 46 years ago.  And Jesus Christ, "....Who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own Blood," Who declared, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," Whom the Bible declares is our, "....merciful and faithful High Priest,...the Faithful Witness..., Faithful and True...," was/is just all of These, "God-Breathed," Words Personified to and in me.  You and I can, "wait[] patiently," because Jesus is, "Faithful and True."  Praise Him.

"I waited patiently for the Lord...."  I cannot always say this.  I have, however, striven to live this way.  Now the reason you and I can wait, "patiently for the Lord," is that, "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth" (Psalm 145:18).  Jesus may not "jump" every time we make demand-type prayers, nor do what we ask when we ask, on our timetable.  But our Lord Jesus Christ, remember, "Is a very ('muchness, abundant') present (can be translated, 'enough') Help in the time of trouble."  This and only this is the reason "patience is a virtue."

Today, you and I have the Fruit of the Holy Spirit called, "patience."  We do not always manifest such, though some do more than others.  "But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing" (James 1:4).
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* I DEPART FROM JOHNSTOWN AT 09:30, tomorrow, 9/9/2016.  Appreciate any and all prayers for my service in and to the Church in Central California

* See who and what has invaded Buffalo, New York 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

"Lord, You Have Seen This...."

"Lord, you have seen this; do not be silent.  Do not be far from me, Lord." (Psalm 35:22, NIV)

This is what I have been praying almost continually since I read it this morning.  He does, and He will not!  This is my prayer for the The United States of America.

You and I can pray this for not only ourselves, our families, our businesses, but also for our nations.  My Wisdom Literature Reading today was from Job 38.  Job's words may have been a variation on our text, but he too was saying, "Lord, You have seen this; do not be silent.  Do not be far from me."  Job 38:1 tells us that Jesus spoke to Job, "out of the storm/tempest"; it can even mean, "hurricane."  Now I think that means that our Lord was perhaps just reminding Job with Whom he was dealing.  It matters not, however, the "kind" of storm to our "Storm-Chaser."  The Living Triune God is He who speaks, "out of the storm," in the midst of, "the storm."  Yes, my friend, Jesus rules in the storm of doubt, confusion, pain, bewilderment, no matter the intensity of that storm.  Jesus stilled the storm on the Galilee and as Billy Graham once said, "and in many a troubled heart."  Many years ago, "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace," spoke to me out of a, "hurricane,"-force storm, "Peace, be still."  Jesus saw; Jesus was not silent; Jesus was, "....not far from me." 

Our text was my prayer those many years ago, though I may not have said the exact words.  You too have prayed this, though not knowing.  It is like standing in the middle of a mess, not knowing what to do with it, you know, like a parent going into a messy child's room and saying, "Have you seen this?"-- rhetorical, of course.  Most importantly, Father, Son Jesus and Holy Spirit sees it all.  Nothing to do with you and me does our Lord Jesus Christ not see.  The Blessed Trinity is never silent, though you and I at times may think so.

Pain may be deep, but so is the love of Jesus.  Jesus says to you today, "Yes, I, 'have seen this.'"
    "O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
    Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
    Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
    Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!"

Father, in Jesus' Name, "....You have seen this", what is going on in America and the nations; "do not be silent."  Amen.
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I leave Friday morning at 10:00

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

"With A Song In My Heart"

"And Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.'" (Luke 23:43)

Okay, the "Labor Day" weekend is over in the United States; so, Back to work, everyone.  Most people's lives for most of their lives are fairly predictable.  Get up; go to work; come home; have dinner; relax a little; go to bed; get up, well, then it all starts again.  If you and I do not see drudgery in it all, however, but rather the opportunity to walk with/in Jesus, it won't be depressing, boring, or cause us to look beyond the "day to day," or perhaps even "outside" that day to day routine and do something not wise to get "out of the rut."

I led our congregation last Sunday in an "extended" communion service.  Sarah really appreciated it--- my best critic.  I can tell you that we have enjoyed some of the greatest times together with/in Jesus when taking the bread and the cup, "As often as you do this, you proclaim the Lord's death til He comes."  Such fellowship I think of as that which was intended from Creation.  It's unimaginable to me what it must have been like to hear the voice of the Lord God as He walked in the Garden, "in the cool of the day."  But wait; we can.  This is what our text is telling us.  "Paradise Lost," has become, can we say it?--- Paradise Found.  "Today you will be with Me in Paradise", not on some distant date, but, "Today."  On that Roman cross, Jesus was in the "process" of making those Words a reality.  Yes, in a very real sense, we are now, "Today...with [Jesus] in Paradise."

Because of Jesus' Cross, Jesus' Blood, Jesus' Death, Jesus' Resurrection, Jesus' Ascension, we are in the Living Triune God and He in us.  The Doors of Paradise are flung open.  And, as His, "Breathed," Words tell us, "For great is the Holy One in the midst of thee....For I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee....The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."  As the genius song writer, Richard Rogers once penned, "With A Song In My Heart," you and I can start and live each day.  It is the, "singing," of Father, Son Jesus and Holy Spirit in and throughout, "Paradise."  This can change that routine into a, "new every morning." 

Father, in Jesus' Name, I have no words with which to "thank Thee, Dearest Friend."  Amen.
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* Prayers for my time with the Brethren in CA and Berlin greatly appreciated

* Read a tribute to a great lady 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

Food Which Saves, Keeps, Delights

"'But you, son of man, hear what I say to you.  Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.'  Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it."  (Ezekiel 2:8, 9-- from yesterday's Major Prophet reading)

At the risk of sounding "hyper-spiritual," something very much like this happened to me in the summer of '70.

Could our text be the inspiration for, "Feed on the Word of God"?  To me it's very clear: The, "rebellious," do not, "eat what I give you."  They eat, feed on what they think is best, like a child who wants to forget the vitamin/mineral needs for the IHOP sugary syrup and Dairy Queen sundaes.  The, "rebellious," if they hear or read the, "scroll of a book," at all, would really like be as the king of Israel who, when he heard the reading of, "a scroll of a book," had it cut up and destroyed.  But, as with Jeremiah, the Holy Spirit just keeps finding people who will write the same words over and over again.  God bless those monks of the Middle Ages who laborious wrote word by word the, "God-Breathed," Words.

Sometimes devotionals can be like a telemarketer call.  After the first few words, you hang up; you know what they are going to say.  Many are like that with the Bible, "O, I've read that several times before."  So?  I too have "read that several times," and never grow tired of the Food.  "Open your mouth and eat what I give you," is a glorious invitation/command, a glorious eating, glorious taste, glorious sustenance.  I can see more and more why our Lord Jesus spoke to my heart on that dark day in the summer of '70.  My response was not to fall on my knees in prayer, or sing, or go to a prayer meeting.  I "instinctively" picked up my Bible, however, and began the journey.  It was a little like Wesley's heart, "strangely warmed," experience.  "O, taste and see that the Lord is good."  I did/do and He Was/Is.

Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You for the, "Medicine to those who find," Your Word.  Amen. 

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Our prayer requests are not casual cliches.  As with everyone really, we desire and need the Book of Acts, "....but constant (earnest) prayer was offered to God for him by the church."  Thanks.

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