COMPASSION FROM OUR HEAVENLY FATHER!

I FOCUS ON THE WORD OF GOD AND 

FOCUS ON OUR WORLD

AND HOW HE HAS FIT ALL OF THEM AND US TOGETHER.

HE'S A HUGE... HUGE... HUGE... BLESSING!!

AND EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY

I WORSHIP HIM AND REJOICE HIM.

[I'VE SHARED THIS PHOTO BEFORE, BUT IT WAS

DROPPED ON ME AGAIN TONIGHT.  IT IS A BLESSING FOR ME 

TO SEE AND REJOICE AND BE FILLED WITH HIS LOVE! ] 

 

A BLESSING HE DOES FOR OUR SINS!

I'M A VERY GRATEFUL COOKIE, 

A SINFUL PERSON IN THE PAST.

WITH WHAT OUR LORD HAS DONE FOR US,

I TRULY REJOICE AND APPRECIATE EVERY DAY!

HIS COMPASSION FOR OUR SINS!

YES, AS I SAID, I'M A GRATEFUL COOKIE.

THE REASON, PARTICULARLY, IS BECAUSE

I WAS A VERY SINFUL COOKIE

FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.

HIS FORGIVENESS HAS BEEN AMAZING

AND GREATLY APPRECIATED BY ME.

[AND THOUSANDS AND MILLIONS AND BILLIONS 

AROUND AND ABOUT OUR WORLD AND

THE GENERATIONS AND CENTURIES.]

YEP, HE IS "IT"!!!  

 

SINGING FOR JOY...

ISAIAH 49... JOY!!!

FOR THE LORD HAS COMFORTED HIS PEOPLE

AND WILL HAVE COMPASSION

 UPON HIS AFFLICTED.

 ISAIAH 49:13

And I need to rely upon, count upon, and DO upon..

.. forever and ever.

TODAY'S JOY...WORSHIP...PRAISE

Physically, I'm struggling today.  Tiredness, dizziness, etc.  Tomorrow I have to hit the road to Portland area... not far from here ... and a couple days after that I truly begin to hit my way home, but won't be there until next Sunday night, at the earliest, because I'll be stopping a couple places in eastern Oregon to teach a couple blog-friends about a particular form of spiritual warfare. 

HOWEVER, I wrote this poem even before I came to the Lord.  I was about 19 years old; wrote it in Seattle.  How can I NOT share it today when I know my struggles are held in the Hand of my Dear Father Who loves me.  Nothing/NOONE else counts.

Oh, and today's Word that struck me is Nehemiah 8:10, The joy of the Lord is my strength.  And this poem has "joy" in it.


HIS HAND... HIS LOVE

He gave me His hand and led me
Across stream,
and River,
and Mountain.

He gave me His Spirit to draw me To the Wonderful
sin-cleansing
fountain.

He gave me His Grace and Compassion
His Joy, His Righteousness, too.

He gave me His Love and Mercy
And created a life wholly new.

He gave -- I received --
........Eternal Peace. He gave -- I received --
.............Love never to cease.

MARY MAGDALENE - SCENE 3

Mary lay staring into the murky darkness, listening to the wind rustling the leaves of the olive trees outside the window.  She heard the sound of horse's hooves on the rocky pavement somewhere in the distance.  And, through some filtered moonlight drifting across her room she saw the shadowed forms of her family and heard their quiet breathing as they slept.

For Mary, sleep was a vestige of the distant past.  She hadn't slept well since childhood.  It wasn't because she wasn't tired; she had been tired for most of her life.  Sleep, instead of relief and rest, brought dreams and voices ...ghosts from her past, looming "beings"  from her present to repose in her room and mock her when she entered the anteroom of sleep.  So, she survived on short naps when others were nearby to wake her if she became restless or began to cry out.

She had become a joke to many in her village:  "God must be punishing her...the psalmist said God gives his beloved sleep...if she can't sleep that must mean she is hated...If God makes her suffer so, why should WE treat her any better?..."  Most people, not wanting to face a torrent of sarcastic, venomous words, kept their comments outside her range of hearing. Some, though foolish enough, let her hear them.  They received the full brunt of her wrath.

On this particular night, as she waited for daybreak, she thought of Jesus.  He had a deep capacity for compassion, and heart-filled insight into people.  Occasionally, as his eyes searched the crowds, Jesus looked at her, and she knew he could see right into her soul.  She was certain he knew her reputation as a harlot, most of which was a result of her night- time wanderings, but, some, she freely admitted, had a basis in fact.  She was nearly convinced that illicit love was better than no love at all.  What amazed her most was that his eyes carried no condemnation.  She sensed only that he hurt because she did.  And it was that discovery, more than any other, that put a spark of light into the darkness of her life.

She didn't talk about the change she felt inside.  She knew from experience no one would want to listen, so she hid the small piece of hope in one of the far corners of her heart, determined to keep it alive.  She was too realistic to believe the hope might grow, but was content simply to protect it.

As the golden-gray streaks of morning broke across the sky,

and the others in the room began to stir, Mary, still thinking of Jesus, pulled her blanket up under her chin, rolled towards the wall, and went to sleep. 
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Next week, Mary Magdalene Scene #4.  Jesus touches her again.  As he does to and for us.  Forever and ever.

 

PSALM 112:4

LIGHT ARISES IN THE DARKNESS

FOR THE 

UPRIGHT, GRACIOUS, COMPASSIONATE

AND JUST --

   WHO ARE IN RIGHT STANDING

WITH GOD.

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When we are overwhelmed by the "darkness" of our problems and life's challenges, He will provide the "light" and "dawn".

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In my Bible, I wrote this next to the Psalm nearly 6 years ago when life had become overwhelmingly stressful

 and filled with sorrow and sadness. 

 And, through His care, He poured healing on my spirit

and returned me

to both light and the joy of dawn. 
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