VESPERS AT THE END OF THE SABBATH: Thank God ... And Take Courage!?!

Thank God ... And Take Courage
And
Be Joyful ... In Hope
Because
The Weight Of Your Affliction For Jesus Is Light
And
In The Day Soon Coming
His Face ... At Your Presence
Shall Shine With Glorious Delight!

I Can Say This ... Now
But
I Wouldn't Have Been So Quick Some Time Ago
Because
I Felt ...!

... You Felt!?!

Yes, I Felt!
It Is To My Shame, I Well Know!
I Didn't Consider That I Knew Almighty God
By Personal Experience!
I Had Forgotten That I Had Personally Reasoned
With The Eternal God

And

I Have By Free Will And Choice

Chosen

To Walk Under The Banner Of The Lord!

To My Shame ...

Instead Of Stepping In

And

Living Under

I Had Stepped Past The Truth Of
The Preserved And Expressed
Written Promises Of My Faithful Lord
And
I Had Permitted Satan

The Accuser Of The Brethren
- That Abuser Of Men's Bodies
And Men's Minds -
To Practically Cost Me My Faith
In My Jesus
In My Master
In My Lord, God And King
On The Merest And Most Deceitful Of

Human Emotions!

I "Felt" In My Afflictions
So Very, Very, Alone!

Didn't You Remember The Words Of Jesus!?!

What Happened To 

"Into Thy Hands, I Commit My Spirit!?!"

No, I Didn't!
I Had Laid Firm Hold Upon:

My God! My God!

Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me!

I Could Not "Feel" Him
In Whom I Fervently Believed!
All I Could See Was Me ... Alone
In Trial ... Forsaken

In The Crucible ... Rejected
Until A Little Birdie Whispered To Me!

Oh, My!

What Did That "Birdie" Say!?!

I Can Still Hear That Voice Even Now:

Trust In The Lord With All Thine Heart!

Don't Lean On Your Own Understanding!

All That The Lord Has Said He Will

He Will Do!

Don't Let What You Feel

Separate

Your God And You!

And Then ... In That Instant

I Yearned To Read Psalm 91
And
I Went From Wallowing In Feelings
To Building On Facts!

I Realized Finally That

My Relationship With My Lord

Is

Experimental And Experiential!

I'm Sure You Remembered That
Almighty God Is Not A Man That He Should Lie!?!

I Went Further!

I Remembered That

The Living God Holy

Just, Faithful, And Ever True

Is

Not Slack Concerning His Promises

As Man Counts Slackness!

I Grabbed Hold Of:

Wait, I Say, On The Lord!

God Is My Refuge And Strength

A Very Present Help

In Time Of Trouble!

If God Be For Us Aka Me

Who Could Be Against Me!?!

And ...

For Good Measure
"The Heavens Declare The Glory Of God!"
Spoke Loudly

And
With Brand New Meaning!

You Have To Tell Me How That Episode Ended!!

With A New Humility

I Started Praying From A Place Called 

Victory Assured

And
I Honestly Prayed For My Test To Be My Testimony!
I Humbly Prayed For My Sorrow To Be My Song!
I Fervently Prayed For My Love For My Lord 

To Be Vindicated In My Life

And

I Daily Heard Myself Prayerfully Saying:

I Know That My Redeemer

- Not Job's Redeemer, Mind You -

Liveth

And That He Shall Stand

At ... The Latter Day

Upon ... This Earth

And I Pleaded To See Him With My Own Eyes
In My Own Flesh
In Jesus Christ's Peace
And, Blessedly
I Found Rest
Because
I Finally Remembered
And
Understood 

And 

Truly Accepted That
I ... A "Mere" Human
- Because Of Living, Working, Enduring Faith -
Know The Certain End Of The Gospel Story

And

I Truly Thanked My God!

I Fully Embrace That My Faith ... Not My Feelings
Gives Me ... By Almighty God's Great And Free Grace

The Win!

All I've Got To Do 

Is
Wait, Watch, And Work
Because
Night Is Coming When No Man Can Work

And

The King Of Creation

The King Of Glory

The King Of My Life

Is 

Coming To Take Me Home

To Forever Live With Him

In His Glory!!

So, My Friend

What Say You Is The Moral Of The Story!?!

Don't Rely On How You Feel: Know Who Felt

Who Feels Your Pain

The Pain Of Your Sin

Who Carries Your Laid Down Burden

And

Seek To Perfect Christian Character Now

In The Crucible Of Affliction

In This Vale Of Tears

And

After Enduring All For Jesus Christ With Holy Faith

Wear The White Robe Of Christ's Righteousness

With Honor And By Right

In Glory ... Later!

Don't Forget To Be Joyful ... In Hope

Because

No Matter Matter

No Matter The Pain

No Matter Satan's Methods

Jesus Christ Saves

And

His Children By Him Always Gain!

I Hear That!

Bottom Line ...

Don't Indulge Doubt

Because

Nothing Is Impossible ... With God!

Almighty God's Salvation Came Down

And

Jesus Christ's Redemption Carries Us Up!

OPEN FOR WORSHIP: The Groves!

2 Kings 23:4-6 King James Version (KJV)

4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel.

5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.

6 And he brought out the grove from the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.


There Is Nothing New
Under The Sun
So
There Is Nothing That I Say Here
That Should Any Body Surprise Or Stun!

The Groves Are Open For Worship!
Ashtoreth And Baal
Are Polished
And Shining Bright
AND
The Temple Prostitutes Are Open For Business
Early Morning
High Noon
And
Dark Night!

Hear The Barkers' Announcement:

Come One! 

Come All!

Get A Girl!

Get A Boy!

Whatever Your Tastes

We Have The Prostitute

In Our Employ

So

Do Not Let Your Self Be Bothered

By Your Gross Proclivity

Our gods Are All Inclusive

And

We Enthusiastically Welcome Every Body!

Dear Lord, 

Have Mercy On Your Faithful People!

"Hello,  There!
Won't You Stop In?
We Offer Great Cheer
And
Good Food
And
Good Drink
And Someone With Whom To Pleasantly Pair!
We Don't Follow The Old Landmarks!
We Feel And We Live!
Right Here And Right Now
Give Your Pledge
And Get Your Blessing
For Our gods Give Sweet Love ... And HOW!!"

"Sorry!
Can't Oblige You!
The Holy God Did Not Change
AND
I Chose To Walk In His Ways
To Achieve His Eternal Blessing
At The End Of All Earth's Days!"

"No!
I Can't Worship The Earth Mother!
No! I Don't Worship The Sun!
No! I Won't Worship The Elements
And I Don't Care If I'm Not Any Fun!"

"I Choose To Believe The Holy Word Of The Heavenly Father!
I Choose To Be Perfect In My Generation
Just Like God Told Noah Of His Generations In His Day
For I Want To Get On Board The Ark Of Salvation
And Not Be Cast Into The Fire And Brimstone Lake
Grave!"

"Get Thee Behind Me,  Satan!
You Can Shine As Brightly As You Want!
Your Truffles And Trifles Don't Impress Me
You Can't Offer Me Anything That I Need Or Want!"

"Jesus Christ Is The Captain
Of This Heart -  My Sailing Ship
And All That I Need Is Provided
For My Master's Tongue Is Not Nimble Glib!"

Thank You, Jesus

For Saving Me!

Thank You, Jesus

For Setting Me Free!

Thank You, Jesus

For Pointing Out The Holy Way

Please Help Me

On The Path True

Ever To Stay!

AMEN.

I'm Satisfied In The Lord Jesus Christ!

A WORD OF PRAISE: The Lord Reigneth!

My God In Zion Reigneth

And

In This My Soul Delights!

When Against Me The Devil Is Raging

I Give To My Father The Fight!

He IS The God Of The Ages

And

In Him My Soul Finds Rest

And

When At The Last Time Closes

I Shall With Him Sit 

At The Welcome-Home Table

And

Enjoy The Glorious Repast!

The Forever Word Of The Lord!

I Walked in  Pretty Meadow
Peaceful
Green
Serene ...

(Tap! Tap!)

Huh?!

You said: "... Serene!"

Well,  I Though it was Serene
Until a Cool Breeze Blew
And I Heard A Voice or
More Probably, Two, say:

"The Word Of The Lord!"

"Man Is As Grass!"

Come On!

Serious!

Okay, So You "Heard" a Couple Voices!
So, Who Were They?

That's Just It!! I Don't Know!
Anyway, I Continued Walking, Thinking My Mind Was Playing Tricks On Me When I Heard:

"Lasts Forever! "

I Paused ...

And Then I Heard:

" Withers and Dies! "

Okay ...

I Stopped to Listen But I Could See No One Soul About!
Then I Heard It Again ...  PLAINLY!!

Okay ...

I Refused To Go Any Further,  And That Is When I Heard It Plainly:

"The Word of The Lord 

Lasts Forever!"

And,  Then ...

"Man Is As Grass 

Which Withers and Dies!"

So, Who Said Those Words?

That's Just It!  I Still Don't Know!!
Anyway, I Finally Roused Moved, And I Returned Home.

That Evening, I Kept Hearing Those Words Being Constantly Repeated In My Mind.

Those Words Struck A Cord, and I Had To Search Them Out, And I Found Them In Isaiah Chapter 40!

I Read That Chapter, and I Thought On The Significance Of Those Words:

Man Is Minute!
God IS Mighty!
Man Will Pass Away
But God Has No Need Of A Nightie!

Grass Is Green!
Healthy It Seems
Until The Sun Blasts
And Bakes It Dry As Dried Beans!

Man Is As That Grass and
Cannot Do For Himself!
Deny Him The Water Of The Spirit, and
He Becomes Dry and Dead

BUT ...

If The Grass Has The Dew Of Refreshing
AND 
The Water Of The Word
For Cleansing And Washing
The Dirt Of The Sin Life Is Carried Away
AND 
The Hot Sun Of Chastisement Won't Cause The Lush Grass 
To Dry Off and Disappear!

The Word Of The Lord
Which Lasts Forever
Is Food For The Man
Who Alone Can Stand Never!

Man Must Set Aside Self!
All Alone He Ultimately Returns To Dust
BUT
Having Ingested and Expressed The Eternal Word
He Can Call Satan's Bluff
AND 
At The End
Be Made New
AND 
Not Be Made Into Added Fuel
In The Fire With The Devil and His Crew!

Trust

The Word 

of 

The Living God

and

The Living God

IS

Trustworthy

To Deliver Both Me and YOU!

The Great Pretender!

Today I had Two Customers
Walking in my Heart Stomach Shop
They were paying customers
And had lots to talk shout about!

The One was Happy En Jolly
The Other Rabid Tu Hate
It was hard for me to understand
How could these two be out on a date?

Happy En Jolly ate quite sparingly!
She was grateful easy going!
She graciously accepted her offerings -
Her heart seemed easily satisfied!

Not so Rabid Tu Hate, The Great Pretender
Who ate and ate and ate
And ate and ate voraciously
But got no bigger
No matter what how much how late he ate!

He ate his last landlord
Out of his house and his family's land
Out of real love and deep affection
Out of "God Sends A Helping Hand!"

And ... NOW

This Scavenging Glutton
Had taken up residence in My Heart Stomach Shop
And was demanding of dainty morsels
For Things which recipes I had not!

I didn't have a recipe for Contention!
I didn't have a recipe for Station Stature Elevate!
I didn't have a recipe for Grudge My Brother!
I didn't have a recipe for What An Idiot! She's a Flake!

I had no recipe for Dodge Dog Biscuits!
I had no recipe for Brazen Body Bakes!
I had no recipe for Craven Cookies!
And definitely no recipe for Lousy Loser Meringue Cake!

I was now becoming quite angry!
I didn't want to manufacture Unkind Swill!
I didn't want to make Marbled Madness!
And I didn't want to anything to do with Deadly Dongle Dangles and 
Mismatched Mates Gooeyness Mess!

I politely asked to be excused
I went into My Quiet Rest Place
And, to God, I beseechingly humbly prayed
In the Blessed Name of My Jesus
With The Holy Spirit holding sway
I rejoined That Full In-Swing Battle -
I laid my Jesus on The Skirmish Line:

I Poured Forth 

The Heart of The Believer

And Mixed In 

Strong Angel from The Divine!

I Then Added 

Jesus for Joy - This Battle was Hopping -

Rabid Tu Hate started Acting Like He Had A Hot Behind!

THEN ...

I added 

With God There Is No Fear

And

God's Grace Is Sufficient For Me!

And 

When I Added 

Peace Passing All Understanding

Rabid Tu Hate had Left Black Smoke in his Broken Chair!

Happy Jolly and I had a good hug laugh cry!
We were Delirious with Know Ye Real Joy!
Jesus Christ - The Sage of The Ages
Had Represented! And ...
I know Love
I know Peace
I really, really know Jesus ... for Joy!

Dear Ones:

Give no place to Rabid Hate UNLESS ... It is Rabid Hatred of Sin and Satan! Then ... you can let it ALL hang out!!

Hate hates Joy!

Hate hates Hope!

Hate hates Happy!

Hate hates Peace!

Hate Hates Love!

Hate helps Hell!

Inhale: "Love For Jesus!"

Exhale: "Cruel Hate!"

Give Satan a Black Eye -

He's got an Eternal Death Date!

Eternal Life is Assured!

Rejoice and Pray!

Pray every day
In sunshine or in shadow!
Jesus Christ is Lord!
He has The Reward! 
He Conquered Defeated Sin, Death, and Satan - The Fraud!

Cry and Sigh!

Sigh for Sin is a Lie against Your Soul!
Cry to be Freed!
To King Jesus plead!
He is Faithful - He will fill the Repentant Sinner's need.
Live for God and Love the Sinner - Hate the Sin
Show him that Jesus Truly Saves!
Trust God and Stand
On His Holy Word - He is not man!
His Word is Faithful - Rely on Him
He Commands on it that you Boldly Stand!

Victory is Assured!
Crowns are Assured!
White gowns of Righteousness are Assured!
Eternal Life is Assured!
Don't let Satan take yours - It won't help him
He can't be restored!

So ...

With all that's been said
Stand, sit, lie on your bed and
Pray, Reason, Decide and then Stand
Firm ... in Jesus' Faith!
Give Him His Glory!
Give Him Your Praise
Heaven is Coming and
Eternal Glory Days!

Jesus is my Joy - I sing!

His Praise forever I will sing

Forever to His Cross I cling

His Blessing is Mine ... FOREVER!

No Created Being Is God To Nor For Me!

#AManCanNeverBeGod, and
I am not my own god!
I cannot protect perfect My Self for
Chaos and Confusion follows
And guns get taken off book shelves!

I am a Created Being!
The Living God - Himself - laid me out!
He numbered the hairs on my head
And made it possible for me to skip, and shout, and run about!

My Purpose was set forth for me:
Worship God, Honor and Obey!
And the Freewill that He gave me
I give it back to Him everyday.

I do not choose to be Willful and Wicked!
I do not choose to Sin - just because!
But because I am a Fallible Being
I place My Trust in The Holy God!

God set forth The Plan of Salvation!
His Beloved Son chose to die for me
And because of The Blessings I'm receiving
I choose God - not man, nor vanity!

I am not my own God!
I bow before The Lord - Jesus Christ is He!
I worship and bow down before God Almighty, and
Not some clown who goes to the bathroom just like you and me!

There is No God 

BUT

The God of The Holy Bible!

The Creator of Heaven and Earth

The Seas 

and 

The Fountains of Water 

as set forth 

in 

The Fourth Commandment 

in 

Exodus 20:8-11

as set forth in Genesis 1:1

as set forth in John 1:1-4