Just wanted to share because last post I was struggling. Heard this song at church today for first time. It's an old song but it's my new favorite. Been listening to it off and on throughout the day. :) Realized through hearing from several lessons this week that connected things together for me, the one place God's glory still resides in this earth is in us believers... imagine that. I absolutely love the people of God, just so much hope in each believer. There's just purpose, no need for explanation or doing anything when you really think about that - God's glory is in you. I'm just amazed by that - so much hope and goodness. Anyway, kind of helped me feel the opposite of what I was feeling during my last post, and just really happy so want to share. Praying for believers today. Imagine if we each actually do what God calls us to do. The world can't destroy that part of us where His glory resides. They can't accomplish what they want to because Jesus is almighty God dwelling in us. They can't destroy Him. They can reject it, they can hate it, but they can't kill it. People of God will always be beautiful and full of purpose just like Jesus was even on the cross. Anyway, just happy over God's people and this song. Amazing realization for me and Things just seems much clearer today some how. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tOy49Hd5qTI

Psalm 146: 3-4 Do not trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish. Seems like a really good context for understanding Messish as God and Jesus as Son of God as it relates to the resurrection. God would not direct us to put our faith in and wait on a man in terms of salvation. I just don't see that at all consistent with His nature and honestly seems pretty idolatrous. It's going all the way back to the people demanding an earthly son of man for a king and God said that was a rejection of Him as their King. In God's sovereignty and wisdom He has been dealing with this issue, raising up those men submitted to His authority and putting down those who aren't, over and over. Now look what we know about human govts - apart from God, they always end in corruption and oppression. I'm convinced Israel's history teaches us human history and general choices and consequences all humans make. Reading later in Psalm 146 - But the way of the wicked he turns upside down. The concept of Messiah as son of man (only human) and not God is actually what's blasphemous based on scripture I think, and it goes all the way back to when're people rejected God as their King. Same thing is happening in the rejection of Jesus, Israel and the world are rejecting God and seeking an earthly means of salvation. That's such a deep human dynamic it's pretty amazing to think how that impacts everything. I'm human and I know how deeply this issue goes because I constantly struggle with feeling like God isn't doing enough because I only see things from an earthly stand point. Anyway, just a deep reflection on the human condition for me as well as recognizing what God goes through with us as we are constantly repeating the same mistakes as individuals and as groups, over and over He deals with the same weaknesses and rebellions playing out. So God gives us Jesus, Himself as man - sometimes when I see how much God has done in light of how much we reject and refuse Him, I just feel really helpless to make any difference in the situation. I know I am but we're called to make a difference because God's gracious to use man. But then it's like Jesus told us - if they reject me, they will reject you; if they hate me, they will hate you. Here's where I then struggle, what can I do then? Anyway, clearly He has to be the one to deal with people and fix things - you just see it. No human being can save us when we say even God isn't enough...Messiah as only man is idolatrous based on my understanding of scripture. Jesus is the literal and perfect picture of God's grace as well as our hard heartedness. Same thing playing out over and over again; all about people rejecting God.

Reading Through Matthew 16 with my daughter yesterday - regarding the Pharisees and Sadducees seeking a sign. I never really quite understood what was going on, and the kind of cryptic reference to the sign of Jonah still throws me because I'm not sure how it answers the wicked and adulterous generation exactly. Regardless, I now feel like I have a better handle on why He didn't perform miracles. reading through this, I finally realized if He had done miracles in the moments He was being challenged from people coming from a lack of faith like this, it would have been out of pride - just to prove Himself. He would have been sinning in those situations where He Was being personally challenged I think. It would have been for the sake of self rather than others. One more realization from there, praise God for His wisdom. My God is not a groveler. It's just carnality in those moments. Praise God, He didn't give in to that kind of need for approval or credibility. Just helps me understand His wisdom and perfect way and trust Him more because of that wisdom and way in those moments. One unrelated question for feedback if it seems you can provide some. Trying to teach my kids how to be discerning and perceptive to protect them from confusion - do you think it's a safe distinction generally to say "do not judge" means judging people in ways God only knows how to, so we focus on actions we can know are right or wrong from His word and make sure we always also apply them to ourselves first. For example it's wrong to steal, we can know that and should not give in to somehow excusing or accepting that because it's s clear instruction for clear reasons, but when you start having personal judgments toward the person stealing, or are just about punishing them - somehow making them feel bad you're heart is wrong. I'm basically wandering if it's safe to direct them to focus on actions instead of person when making moral judgments. People throwing around that "do not judge" verse cause a lot of confusion and don't want my kids unable to recognize plain right and wrong at the same time I want their hearts to be right toward God and others. Feels like you have to say something or they will end up kind of defenseless on this subject.

Reading about Babal last night and in prayer it brought up the thought of unity. I just thought about how much each individual needs God to pay attention to them, and how that kind of neediness in any other circumstance leads to strife, resentment, jealousy, and generally just division. However, for the church, with God, it leads to love and unity. Then I realized, obvious on one level but saw it more clearly last night, that He is what unites us. I tend to consider church division in terms of falsity and evil, but ultimately all of that really points to that we are not properly including God. It just seems to me clearly now that if we were, we would naturally be united. It's not something we can work to accomplish or make happen. It has to come from Him. It came back to mind this morning as I was reading Psalm 133. I think too much focus on the adversary kind of led me to miss the actual way he has been able to get in and cause the division. I just think if we had the proper focus and approach to God, unity would be a given instead of an unobtainable goal. Seems like works us now kind of seeping in as well as we try to make something happen that should happen naturally if we're rightly regarding God. The biggest practical application I came away with in all this thinking is that until God is in His rightful place in His people's heart and minds, we won't have real unity. Different way of addressing it once I really saw that. True repentance will fix all of this because that's how we truly invite God in. So much being addressed simply in repenting. Also interesting to see that "life forevermore" is related to unity of His people in Psalm 133. Reminds me of the the garden before the fall, and really very consistent with what we see everywhere even now. It's God that holds everything together physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually...He is in a very literal and physical way the source of life when you look on even a cellular and molecular physical level..... Hit me that He is the same for us as the church body. He is who brings us together and holds us together. Just gave me a clearer and more targeted perspective about the state of the church and the problem. It's not so much about evil attacks, it's about where we are with God I think. We're not including Him properly is the fundamental issue in our disunity I think. Anyway, something obvious but my focus was off. It's always less for me to worry about or think how to do something once I see things more clearly. Always about depending on Him.

As I was reading through the plague section of Exodus with my daughter this morning I started wondering if perhaps God's mercy and patience was being confused by Pharoah as an indication that he could somehow controlling God. The general pattern was Pharoah was warned, the plague occurred, then pharoah requests through Moses that the plague be removed. It went through my mind that perhaps part of hardening his heart involved that instead of seeing God removing the plagues as an act of mercy, he thought he was somehow in control of what God did. Kind of an interesting potential insight into how some people may be responding to God's mercy in an idolatrous pride.

Wow! lights came on! I've heard this since I was a kid, but never in context with the REST of the CHAPTER!😀 Or maybe I heard it, but didn't hear it.

"Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella! Bring a torch, to the cradle run! It is Jesus, good folk of the village; Christ is born and Mary's calling. Ah! ah! beautiful is the Mother! Ah! ah! beautiful is her Son!" This was more of a prayer and worship Thought than a bible study thought. But that phrase, "Beautiful is the mother, beautiful is the Son," hit me. Now is the time of "people" I feel in my spirit. God gives humans right now the privilege of bringing forth life that can choose to worship Him just in such a simple thing as doing unto others as you would have done unto you and regarding innocence with awe and wander. If we imagine this same thought - mother and child, life moving forward and building on the goodness God keeps in this world, protecting what's innocent in sinful world- it parallels in my mind where we are in terms of the unfolding of revelation. It just hit me, time is short. We're still babies, but we're getting old in terms of the time of the grace of "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!" so to speak. One day our time will mature and we are no more babies or having babies. One day Jesus is revealed for all of Who He Is, so this great mystery of "God with us" in terms of infant and mother, striving with sin in our humanity is just for just a moment because our understanding will grow up. It's really like being babies. That's our distinct place as humanity at this specific time if you really think about it, but like childhood, it's a temporary opportunity. I don't think we have thought deeply enough about that limited moment in eternity we have to worship God in this amazing way of needy human beings. Just the opportunity to learn about God instead of knowing Him is temporary. One day, He will make all things known. Humanity has a really beautiful and distinct testimony, but certain qualities and opportunities are finite the same way our lives are finite. We grow up. "Beautiful is the mother, beautiful is her Son". Praying for the little ones. I'm so glad we have a thousand years with Jesus on this earth to rejoice in little ones being born and growing, to see families with Him and learning about Him as they are born and grow. It will be hard to watch them choose wrongly, but I think we'll see how beautiful we really are to Him as human beings and better understand how it was all worth it. That phrase,"beautiful is the mother, beautiful is the Son", just hit me as a testimony we have as human beings. Then I realized how short the time is because "they grow up so fast". This creation is growing up in a similar way, and will one day be grown. Jesus is known in our human way just for now, to only us, and only for a short time. Then we will understand Who He is more fully, but how wonderful to think that right now we can rejoice over such a thing as babies! It's amazing to really think about, who we are and what we testify to as human beings in His creation. Our lives are really beautiful.

“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot." Rev 3:15 I've always kind of struggled to understand the Lord's logic in this verse. I've noticed something in some people that are politically and often socially opposite of me that I've been able to regard with some compassion. I was trying to figure out what is it I'm feeling because I hate what they are doing to society. It almost scared me to be honest. Then, I realized on some level, they are looking for what we have found and know we have to wait for. They want perfection in an imperfect world. I don't have to have all my hope here. I don't expect anything but imperfection here, and all my hope is simply God perfection in the next world. There's some common ground there maybe with sincere hearted perfection-seekers. There are some completely opposite to us politically who are really looking for what they think is perfection I think, especially the younger generation I think. They're looking for hope and perfection the same as us. They understand perfection completely opposite as us, but that's because they don't have Jesus. They only have their human logic, so totally opposite on one hand, but there are some who sincerely believe we can achieve "perfection". It terrifies me because so quickly turns into evil. I'm just saying maybe there is more hope for some of the "cold" who really are wanting things to be perfect. I can also better understand the extremes and emotion I think because it's impossibility they're trying to achieve. I can see how so much anger, fear, and control could come from that. They're are people who really believe that this life and this world is all we've got. They actually think we can make it perfect. Then there are people exploiting that with fear, control, blame, scapegoating,.... It's really scary, and immediately wicked. But think we can distinguish between the two if someone is honestly believing and hoping in the possibility of something better. I just have more compassion and understanding when I imagine how that would feel if I wanted better than this world but had no more to hope for than this life to achieve it. Kind of see how the devil is moving in the opposite side I think. There is hope for some just because they are hoping in something somehow better I think.

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6). I have moments where I kind of reason with God something along the lines of "whatever has to be done for the evil being done to end, just lets get it done." Remebering the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, there's moments where I'm like earth quake, govt collapse, and worse, whatever Lord; just don't let evil continue asserting itself on the little ones, the helpless, the innocent, ...." It just feels like some people have no chance, and I would rather God act than Him continue to allow evil to. And honestly, there times I see something in myself and I praise God that He won't put up with it. That's my heart toward evil. It's been kind of on my mind because trying to work through is this ok, is it pride, is it somehow wrong hearted to have those thoughts. Then tonight, reading Isaiah 53:6 gave me a new and even more unsettling perspective. How long it can go on and how bad it can get can be contemplated in how much we can be forgiven in Jesus. how much we have to put up with before He destroys as much as I sometimes find myself wanting Him to is directly reflected in how much He is willing to forgive and can overcome. It''s fair and right for the sake and truth of Jesus, but it hit me pretty hard to realize what we're dealing with in seeing this. God is God and can't argue when He is the source of anything good, but evil is so hard to understand that it's hard to accept how much we have to deal with. Really can only praise Him there's any hope at all. I'm so glad God destroys sin. It really is a source of hope, so think I'm kind of wrestling with how hope plays out. There is hope in both forgiveness and judgment, but God is abundant in mercy so we just need to be aware that the amount of evil He allows reflects His depth of mercy even when we can't see the hope in Him allowing evil to go on. Scarier thought when you see He is the limiting factor because I already can't imagine how much He forgivs, so can't imagine how bad this can get either. Still, it's better to fear Him then evil, so just eye opening understanding for me I think.

Rev 5 and 1 Kings 3:16-28 Been reading through Revelation very slowly trying to better understand how it all fits together. Dominion keeps coming up over and over, saw it especially in chapter 5. Became a guiding principle as I try to put together what's happening, why, and what it means. Anyway, the passage in 1 Kings becomes pretty illuminating when you consider it in the context of Jesus willingness to die for this creation. That itself testifies to His dominion over it in a really beautiful and ironic way. The thief who steals and destroys testifies to his lack of dominion in his willingness to destroy it. I had never thought about the passage in 1 Kings much beyond the event, but in the principle you can see rational for the cross, willingness to sacrifice on the part of the true Father and willingness to destroy on the part of the liar and thief. I find it kind of illuminating. Also really amazing that even Jesus' death at the hands of evil on this earth testifies to His dominion over earth because it testifies to His love for it. Our beautiful wise God is always victorious, think that's really amazing to think about. He never loses even if the world thinks He is. Recognizing His dominion over not only the earth, but your heart, your mind, and your soul helps put a lot of things in order for me personally. Jesus is very far beyond all our troubles. He really is a place of peace and purpose for us as we struggle helplessly in this life. Just remebering His place can be so hard, but when you do, His dominion is what you attest to. Just helpful to know how the Kingdom of God is within us in a way that I find easier to contemplate. (Luke 17:20-21)