Isaiah 62

18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates, 

19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,

20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Genesis 15:18-21

1 For Zion’s sake I will not be silent,
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still,
Until her vindication shines forth like the dawn
and her salvation like a burning torch.

2 Nations shall behold your vindication,
and all kings your glory;

You shall be called by a new name
bestowed by the mouth of the LORD.

3 You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the LORD,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

4 No more shall you be called “Forsaken,”
nor your land called “Desolate,”
But you shall be called “My Delight is in her,”
and your land “Espoused.”
For the LORD delights in you,
and your land shall be espoused.

5 For as a young man marries a virgin,
your Builder shall marry you;
And as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride
so shall your God rejoice in you.

6 Upon your walls, Jerusalem,
I have stationed sentinels;
By day and by night,
they shall never be silent.
You who are to remind the LORD,
take no rest,

7 And give him no rest,
until he re-establishes Jerusalem
And makes it the praise of the earth.

8 The LORD has sworn by his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
No more will I give your grain
as food to your enemies;
Nor shall foreigners drink the wine,
for which you toiled.

9 But those who harvest shall eat,
and praise the LORD;
Those who gather shall drink
in my holy courts.

10 Pass through, pass through the gates,
prepare a way for the people;
Build up, build up the highway, clear it of stones,
raise up a standard over the nations.

11 The LORD has proclaimed
to the ends of the earth:
Say to daughter Zion,
“See, your savior comes!
See, his reward is with him,
his recompense before him.”

12 They shall be called “The Holy People,”
“The Redeemed of the LORD.”
And you shall be called “Cared For,”
“A City Not Forsaken.”

Isaiah 62

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_Land_of_Israel.jpg

attribution: Emmanuelm, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Psalm 139

1 For the leader. A psalm of David.

I

LORD, you have probed me, you know me:

2 you know when I sit and stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.

3 You sift through my travels and my rest;

with all my ways you are familiar.

4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
LORD, you know it all.

5 Behind and before you encircle me
and rest your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
far too lofty for me to reach.

7 Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence, where can I flee?

8 If I ascend to the heavens, you are there;
if I lie down in Sheol, there you are.

9 If I take the wings of dawn

and dwell beyond the sea,

10 Even there your hand guides me,
your right hand holds me fast.

11 If I say, “Surely darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light” 

12 Darkness is not dark for you,
and night shines as the day.
Darkness and light are but one.

II

13 You formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you, because I am wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works! My very self you know.

15 My bones are not hidden from you,
When I was being made in secret,
fashioned in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw me unformed;
in your book all are written down; 

my days were shaped, before one came to be.

III

17 How precious to me are your designs, O God;
how vast the sum of them!

18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sands;
when I complete them, still you are with me.

19 When you would destroy the wicked, O God,
the bloodthirsty depart from me!

20 Your foes who conspire a plot against you
are exalted in vain.

IV

21 Do I not hate, LORD, those who hate you?
Those who rise against you, do I not loathe? 

22 With fierce hatred I hate them,
enemies I count as my own.

23 Probe me, God, know my heart;
try me, know my thoughts. 

24 See if there is a wicked path in me;
lead me along an ancient path.

https://prayer.knowing-jesus.com/Psalm/139

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attribution: Tito and Eva Marie Balangue

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What a Friend we have in Jesus

https://youtu.be/znWu2HCJ92c?si=e_Nv-Dv_EKV6xlzc

https://hymnary.org/text/what_a_friend_we_have_in_jesus_all_our_s

https://hymnary.org/person/Scriven_JM

Scriven's biography reminds me of Job in the Old Testament. What are our trials and tribulations compared to theirs--and to those that Jesus suffered?

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:What_a_Friend_We_Have_in_Jesus_%28Verse%29_J._Scriven_1855_Public_Domain.jpg

attribution: E. S. Shaw via wikimedia commons

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Acts of the Apostles 2: 38-41

https://www.flickr.com/photos/110795613@N07/31842369467

attribution: Church Iglesia and flickr

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38 Peter [said] to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit.

39 For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.”
40 He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.

John 3:16

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16


PRAYER

"Lord Jesus Christ, Your death brought Life for us. May Your Love consume and transform my Life that I may desire You above all else. Help me to Love what You Love, to Desire what You Desire, and to Reject what You Reject."


#prayer from today’s scripture reflection @ www.DailyScripture.Net or APP at Daily Scripture Servants of the Word

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attribution: Sharon Tate Soberon and flickr

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Matthew 18: 7-14

7 Woe to the world because of things that cause sin! Such things must come, but woe to the one through whom they come!
8 If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into eternal fire.
9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into fiery Gehenna.

10 See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father. 
12 What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?
13 And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
14 In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.

Matthew 18: 7-14

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary 18:7-14 

Considering the cunning and malice of Satan, and the weakness and depravity of men's hearts, it is not possible but that there should be offences. God permits them for wise and holy ends, that those who are sincere, and those who are not, may be made known. Being told before, that there will be seducers, tempters, persecutors, and bad examples, let us stand on our guard. We must, as far as lawfully we may, part with what we cannot keep without being entangled by it in sin. The outward occasions of sin must be avoided. If we live after the flesh, we must die. If we, through the Spirit, mortify the deeds of the body, we shall live. Christ came into the world to save souls, and he will reckon severely with those who hinder the progress of others who are setting their faces heavenward. And shall any of us refuse attention to those whom the Son of God came to seek and to save? A father takes care of all his children, but is particularly tender of the little ones.

bible.cc/matthew/18-13.htm 

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attribution: Tito & Eva Marie Balangue and flickr

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Psalm 23 verse 5

You set a table before me
in front of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Psalm 23 verse 5

This verse may describe a gracious host as he provides a banquet for an honored guest, or it may continue the metaphor of the shepherd-sheep relationship. If it refers to a host preparing a banquet, David views himself as the Lord's honored guest with David's enemies present as captive onlookers.

If it refers to a shepherd-sheep relationship, David compares the Lord's generosity to that of a shepherd who generously prepares a feast for his sheep, spreading the food on a table or trough. As the sheep slept, they were protected by a circular stone wall and the shepherd who slept across the opening. Jesus identified Himself as the door to the sheepfold (John 10:7–9).

A gracious host would anoint his guest by applying a soothing oil to the guest's head. A shepherd would use oil to treat his sheep's wounds. David may have been thinking about the Lord as his host or shepherd when he wrote, "you anoint my head with oil" (Psalm 23:5). The cup David depicts as overflowing may refer to the brimming cup the host provided or to the large cup a shepherd used to give water to thirsty sheep. Either interpretation leads to the conclusion that the Lord provides for us more generously than the heart can desire.

https://www.bibleref.com/Psalms/23/Psalm-23-5.html

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attribution: CindianaJones and flickr

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john 14:27

https://www.flickr.com/photos/4thglryofgod/8712089084

attribution: Sharon Tate Soberon anf flickr

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"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid." John 14:27

MEDITATION

"HE promises HIS followers a final blessing: HIS Peace. This is not just any Peace; Jesus says, “My Peace I Give.” The Peace of Jesus—the Peace that surpasses understanding, the Peace that remains constant even in suffering, the Peace that cannot be stolen or shaken—this is the Peace HE freely gives to us! In a world full of uncertainty and conflict, there is no greater gift than the Peace of Christ…” www.wau.org

PRAYER

"Lord Jesus, may YOUR Peace be always with me. ...YOU, alone, O Lord, are my Peace. May I always reside in that Peace by believing YOUR Word and by doing YOUR Will.” ~ www.dailyscripture.net

https://www.flickr.com/photos/4thglryofgod/8712089084

if faith in God is personal, then why are there so many religions?

The internet has answers for everything--even "if faith in God is personal, then why are there so many religions?" Here's what the internet says:

https://mwtb.org/blogs/seeklife/why-are-there-so-many-religions

19 For what can be known about God is evident to them, because God made it evident to them.

20 Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse;

21 for although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened.

Romans 1: 19-21

"Do all religions lead to God? No. All people—religious or otherwise—will stand before God some day (Hebrews 9:27), but religious affiliation is not what determines your eternal destiny. Only faith in Jesus Christ will save. “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12). It’s as simple as that. Only Christianity—faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ—leads to God’s forgiveness and eternal life. No one comes to the Father except through the Son (John 14:6). It does make a difference what you believe. The decision to embrace the truth about Jesus Christ is important. Eternity is an awfully long time to be wrong."

https://www.flickr.com/photos/martinlabar/4085704128

attribution: Martin LaBar and flickr

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faith vs. religion

https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/bible-verses-about-religion/

I no longer associate myself with a religion. It's a long story.

I am a Christian. I believe in the Trinity: Almighty Creator God the Father, Jesus, God the Father's only Son, and God the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised will be an advocate for faithful Christians until the end of the world when God's plan will be fulfilled.

I believe that God speaks to us through our conscience, prayer and the bible. 

I believe that God loves His creations, including humans. I believe that God wants us humans to believe in God and to love God with all our heart and soul and to love our neighbor. 

I believe that if we are faithful to God, love God and are sorry for our sins that God will forgive us and will provide for us according to God's will after we die.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/4thglryofgod/7711866066/

attribution: Sharon Tate Soberon and flickr

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