Our Fortress.

 Psa 71:2-6 Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.  Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.  Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth. By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee. 

We are delivered not by our righteousness, but God's righteousness. We escape through our Lord's righteousness. Our God will save us, He will hear us as we call out to Him for help. He is our strong habitation where we have to continually go.

David sang the words…be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort.  

God wasn't some text on a screen, words on papers, but a reality to David in such a way that He could CONTINUALLY resort to God as being his STRONG habitation, David considered God to be his ROCK and his FORTRESS! 

Was David delusional?  No.

God as a reality to David made him believe that God was his protector. David could constantly, continually, over and over resort to God, his protector. David knew God had given a commandment to save him! David sang- Deliver me O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.   

We too need this kind of relationship with God. This relationship is revealed to us for our edification, for an example to us. We have wicked and unrighteous and cruel people all around us everywhere. No, most of us do not have these sorts seeking us physically ready to kill us, to harm us, but some people around our world right now do have people wanting to harm them and even kill them simply because they belong to God. Like David we must cry out to be delivered.

'For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth. By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.'  

God is our HOPE. God is our TRUST.  David trusted God from His youth. 

By God we are kept alive even in our mothers as we are growing, and while we are being born! All praise to God always, constantly!

Oh, to be able to sing with David our love of God, our assurance of God, our wonder and awe of God. The truth beyond doubt, the knowing of God as our all in all! 

Is God your strong fortress, your rock, your place of refuge? What makes God this impenetrable place of safety, when in truth our flesh is so frail and constantly subject to degradation as we age? We are vulnerable beings living in a world of chaos. There is no rhyme nor reason to who gets what disease, deformity, injury, hardship of any sort. The richest person can be taken down instantly in an accident, their money unable to save them. The poorest person could have disease heaped upon them on top of their monetary deprivation. There is no fairness in our chaotic world, yet God can be our hope, our refuge because He offers us the HOPE beyond all of this!  Beyond each of our heartaches, our setbacks, our pains, and agonies of living God has given to us, the hope of our Savior, who is the hope of our Salvation from all enemies, all of them in whatever form they take. 

God be with us always, all through Jesus Christ our LORD now and forever!!!!!! Amen!

I Don't Trust Myself, I Trust Jesus!

 Psa 71:1  In thee, O LORD, do I put my TRUST: let me never be put to confusion.

Where do you put your trust? Do you put it in yourself? Can you really trust yourself to do all the things you know are right to do? Or are you constantly finding yourself being disappointed in yourself? Or are you never disappointed in a single thing you do, or have done, I'd like to be able to say that's a great thing, but I really think it's most likely a bit delusional. 

If we can't trust even ourselves when we are really supposed to be our biggest supporters, then who can we trust? We try to trust each, don't we? We put a great store in trying to trust others. Others put their trust in us and time and again we disappoint them, don't we? We don't mean to. We don't want to be horrible people who are untrustworthy. 

You might be reading this and saying that you are trustworthy, you don't disappoint people, and that's wonderful! However, I'm not talking specifically about HUGE things. 

How often do we disappoint in tiny things? Again, we don't mean to disappoint, not even in tiny things. A misplaced word, a spoken thought that should have never reached our lips, you know those tiny things. And how many times have we disappointed someone without even realizing it? 

Trust. I've broken the trust of people who I cared greatly about, and regret doing so. It's one of those situations where you wish you could turn back time and undo everything. Okay, I've had more than one of those situations in my life. I'm not sure where you stand on this, I hope you do not have any of those situations, and never do. I keep having to remember these verses-

Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 

Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

I need to forget the things that are behind… the past is in the past and it can consume you if you let it. Recent past, past forty years ago, past 55 years ago it doesn't matter. All the broken trusts, all the guilt from the disappointment they caused, all these are unchangeable but they are forgivable. 

Where do we put our trust? It can’t be in ourselves our track records speak for themselves on that account. We can't put it in others, they are just like us. We disappoint, they disappoint, we are all a part of the same sinful human race. 

If we put our trust in our Savior He will forgive us of all those past horrible moments in our lives that Satan wants to use against us forever. If we put our trust in our Savior He will be our constant strength, present, and future! Our Savior alone has the power to do for us what we cannot do as sinners. We must press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!  Press towards the mark! The prize of the HIGH CALLING OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS! In thee O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion!  

Where do we put our trust? IN JESUS CHRIST!

Psa 71:1  In thee, O LORD, do I put my TRUST: let me never be put to confusion. 

Psa 22:5  They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they TRUSTED in thee, and were not confounded. 

Psa 25:2  O my God, I TRUST in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. Psa 25:3  Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. 

Psa 31:1  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. In thee, O LORD, do I put my TRUST; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. 

Psa 125:1  A Song of degrees. They that TRUST in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.

Psa 146:5  Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose HOPE is in the LORD his God

1Ch 5:20  And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their TRUST in him. 

Rom 9:33  As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever BELIEVETH on him shall not be ashamed. 

1Pe 2:6  Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that BELIEVETH on him shall not be confounded. 

Isa 45:17  But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end

Jer 17:18  Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction. 

Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not

See Beyond the Horrors to the Hope.

 Lam 3:25,26  The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. 

Rev 14:12.13  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

Jer 29:11-13  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 

An expected end. Our expected end is either living and witnessing our Lord's return for us without ever dying, or dying and entering our long rest and letting our works follow us when we are awakened from death's sleep to meet our Lord upon His return for us.  This is our expected end, belonging to our Savior forever. 

We wait for Him, we seek Him, we hope for Him, we wait patiently, quietly.  We keep the commandments of God. We keep the faith of Jesus.  We call on the Lord, we pray unto the Lord, we seek Him, we will find Him. We must search for Him will ALL our heart! 

Learning of Jesus, surely this is a searching we do with all our hearts. 

Mat_7:7  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you

Act_17:27  That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us

Our Lord isn't far from any of us, He wants us to seek, to find, to knock, to learn of Him! How is it that our learning of Him is a never ending constant education? Can we ever truly know all there is to know of anyone? Sure, we know a lot about each other. Married couples who have been together fifty years will know most of the ins and outs of each other- but they can never fully know the innermost being of each other. We are in a constant state of learning. Is it any wonder that some people get to a point in a relationship where they can say they are different than when they were married, they've changed? Marriage is an agreement to remain together as the changes occur. Some changes certainly aren't for the better. We change as we grow. Circumstances can change us, the things we go through can change us and we are constantly learning and changing. 

Our God is the same --- Heb_13:8  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

And yet we are forever learning of Him because as we interact with each other- fulfilling the second of the greatest commands- to love one another (the last six of the moral laws are all about loving one another) we are learning to love people where they are in their lives. We are learning love. God is love. We will never be able to stop learning to love it is a fluid thing that never stops surrounding us in so many ways. Learning of Him, He wants us to learn of Him, learn of love, His love, His perfect love. 

The Lord want us to be His, this is His desire. The Lord wants us to know His peace. His peace that had Him live a life in human flesh, and still cling to His Father. His peace that saw beyond the horror to the everlasting hope. 

2Th_2:16,17  Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace. Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.

Being able to see beyond the horror to the hope can truly give us peace. Our world is in a constant state of chaos. Not a single person in this world has a life free of it horrors. The horrors take on different shapes and sizes for all the different situations people find themselves in- rich, poor, young, old, sick, well, heartbroken, content- all these people face horrors in their lives. We must live beyond the horror and for the hope that only our Savior can give us. That hope makes the horrors bearable- if barely sometimes- because that hope offers us heaven. The hope of our Savior returning for us! Come Lord, Jesus, come!

All in the name of our Savior, now and forever!!!!!!! Amen!

(Jerry Note & A Study)

 A sad day and a blessing. Today I had to go to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) to get our car title transferred to my name. I went through the check in process where they told me I'd have a very long wait. I'd already heard the person in front of me being told they'd have over an hour wait so I wasn't looking forward to the waiting. Jo and I went and sat down to begin the long wait and I silently prayed. I spoke to the Lord telling Him that I know it's not possible to just make the time pass really fast, but couldn't He maybe make the people who are in front of me have simple things and get done quickly. I had number- N141 and they called N129, there were 12 people needing to be seen before me. Five, ten minutes passed and during that time N130 was called, then a few more minutes and N131 was called. A few more numbers without the N- people needing different sorts of things done- were called then after about 15 minutes waiting N140 was called.  I'm like, what just happened? Why weren't N132-139 called? And then just a few minutes more and N141, my number was called!  Now, I know different workers take people based on the type of service they need so this isn't unheard of, but it was a BLESSING for me, a huge blessing and I have to thank and praise God for doing that for me. During the time I was being serviced I continued to hear numbers being called, I heard N132, N133 and so on, so the people hadn't gone home.  

As I was being served I started to tear up, I couldn't help it. The talking of my "deceased husband"- handling the death certificate, just simply answering the question 'What day did he die?" All had me fighting tears. I finally turned the death certificate over so I didn't have to sit there looking at it, which helped a bit. God blessed us in another way too. The woman helping us had me sign a paper that explained it would be 80.00 then she walked away to do more things with the papers and came back and said I have to sign the same form again because it is now only 10.00, they just had a change in policy recently and she hadn't been aware of it, her manager just told her. God is good! 

*******

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God. 

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 

Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 

Joh 1:6  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 

Joh 1:7  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 

Joh 1:8  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 

Joh 1:9  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 

Joh 1:10  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 

Joh 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 

Joh 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 

Joh 1:13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 

Joh 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 

Such beautiful words! Jesus was in the beginning-Jesus was the WORD-

In the beginning …

Gen 1:3  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 

And God said! The WORD was in the Beginning speaking! 

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

Jesus was WITH God-  God with God in the beginning of our creation!

Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God. 

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

Nothing was made without God who would in time take on flesh and become the only begotten Son of our Heavenly Father God. Such beauty! Such wonder! Knowing that the Word made flesh- was the same Word at the Beginning of our world. Jesus' relationship to the Father is amazing. Jesus' life did NOT begin in Bethlehem as a baby, Jesus' life, like that of the Father is from everlasting to everlasting. There was a decree made and Jesus was to take on the flesh of a human baby, flesh corrupted by sin's long degradation against it. Jesus in taking human flesh divested Himself of His powers as a God with God and became completely and utterly dependent upon God the Father for all His power. All the miracles performed by Jesus were performed through the power given to Him as a human, by God the Father. 

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 

Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 

Life in Jesus, life that was the LIGHT of men. Light shining in the dark, but…the dark did not understand. 

There is a very real analogy between light and dark, how could there not be. Light dispels darkness, truth dispels lies, knowledge dispels ignorance. Jesus would have us LEARN of HIM and to learn of Him means to come to know Him. Jesus is the LIGHT, we need to comprehend the light. 

Joh 1:9  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 

Joh 1:10  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 

Joh 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 

True light- meaning… there can be a false light. Take a few seconds to think about that. False light. Untruthful light. You see, we can gain so much knowledge, our brains can be illuminated with grand things, our minds expanded with dark knowledge. Do you remember in that Garden in Eden the tree was of Knowledge- of Good and Evil.  Knowledge of evil is false light. It's still knowledge but a knowledge that deceives and causes spiritual darkness. Jesus was the TRUE LIGHT which LIGHTETH EVERY MAN THAT COMES INTO THE WORLD!   Jesus' truth is offered to everyone in the world! Jesus was in the world and the world was MADE by Him and the world KNEW HIM NOT. Jesus came unto His OWN and His OWN received HIM NOT!  

Oh how long Israel belonged to Jesus as God with God in heaven! Israel was HIS! Israel were taken to be a people of God and they perverted that honor! Time and time again throughout their history as God's people they turned their back on Him! It's no wonder that when Jesus God took on flesh and came to His own as the Son of God, they didn't receive Him. They had often rejected God's prophets, they would continue that rejection. 

Joh 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 

Joh 1:13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 

Joh 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 

But…   there were those of His own that separated themselves from the corporate body of Israel and did receive Him! And Jesus gave them the power, the ability to become sons of God!!!!!!!  Even to them that BELIEVE ON HIS NAME!

God gives NEW life of the Spirit when we receive Him! We can't get a new birth of flesh and blood, that's impossible. We can't will ourselves to have the Spirit, it must be given to us! We do NOT possess it of our own accord, we can't! Jesus will give this to us when we are His!

Jesus was the Word and that Word was MADE FLESH, and Jesus dwelt among us. We are so incredibly blessed to be able to BEHOLD His glory! Glory! He is the ONLY begotten of the FATHER- HE is FULL OF GRACE and TRUTH!

Let us LEARN OF HIM! Forever learn of Him!

All by His grace and mercy, His love! All through the SPIRIT that Jesus has given to us! All through the FATHER in Heaven! Now and forever! All glory, honor, all thanksgiving, all LOVE to our GOD! Amen!

Good Seed, Bad Seed.

 Parables. Jesus spoke in parables, why? Let's let Jesus answer this question Himself… It's important because we have access to many of these parables. Please, take the time to read Jesus' words--

Mat 13:10-14  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 

(Isa 6:9  And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. )

Mat 13:15-17 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. 

The disciples of Jesus were curious about Jesus' parables. I know sometimes when we want a straight answer to a question, a person will give us instead a song and a dance all leading up the point. If the song and dance continues on long enough it can confuse us so that we forget what we were even asking. Or, we grow tired of the song and dance and realize no straight answer is to be had. We have to listen to the song and watch the dance - truly listen, truly watch if we want to ascertain the answer seemingly hidden in that song and dance.  I know I'm a storyteller of sorts. My husband was often the exasperated one - as he'd wait for me to get through my song and dance so he had the answer he was after. It became a running joke in our relationship. I had to take the long way around and make many stops before I get where I'm going, and he'd take the straight line way not stopping at all. Some say it's a guy, girl thing, but I know it's not- not really.  Do you see, I'm giving you one of my songs and one of my dances right now- not intentionally- it's just me. 

Jesus spoke in parables and those who sought discernment truly desiring to know and understand would be able to. Those who just wanted the answers they perceived, rather than what was real, and those who only wanted to dispute whatever answers were given- they remained blind. Jesus' parables are for the heart and spirit, not for those who aren't interested in a heart and spirit understanding.

With this in mind, let's learn more of our Savior--

Mat 13:36 -43  Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. 

The parable explained:

The sower of the good seed- is Jesus.

The field where the seed is being sown- the world.

The good seed- the children of the kingdom of God.

The tares (bad seed) - the children of the wicked one.

The sower of the tares (bad seed) - the Devil.

The harvest of all that is sown- the end of the world.

The reapers of the harvest- angels.

The gathered tares- bad seed sown by the devil- gathered and burned at the end of the world.

The gathered good seed- are gathered into the kingdom of the Father. 

Do you have ears to hear?

Jesus is speaking plainly here explaining His parable in detail, giving the disciples the straight line explanation. 

Jesus, the children of God. The Devil, the children of the Devil. The end of the world, angels gather them all. The children of God go one place and the children of the Devil to another end.

So why don't we believe really believe in the Devil? Why don't we believe there are children of the Devil? Can we comprehend that not everyone chooses to be a child of God? 

We need the whole truth, not just the bits that make us acceptable to the world and to God. We crave worldly acceptance and shun appearing different. We label the 'John the Baptist' types as being crazy, just as they did in the day of John the Baptist. Notice I said TYPES. There will not be another John the Baptist, but there are men and women of God who live for God, and share God with others as He would have them do.

Before that harvest at the end of the world, the men and woman of God, those sown by the Son of God, Himself will be alive for God, not for themselves.

God help us to be sown by the Son of God, and not by the Devil! Let us learn of Jesus, really learn all about Him. All through God's love, His grace, His mercy! Now and forever! Amen!!!!!!!

Joh_3:21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Joh_4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

Joh_4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments. 

Joh 14:21  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 

Joh 14:22  Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 

Joh 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 

Joh 15:14  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 

Jas 1:25  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 

1Jn 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 

1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 

Deu 5:10  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

Isa 1:16  Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 

Isa 1:17  Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 

Isa 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your 

 be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 

Dan 9:4  And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 

Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 

Mat 7:25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 

Mat 7:26  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 

Mat 7:27  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Gal 5:6  For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. 

1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 

1Jn 1:8  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

1Jn 1:10  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 

This Is Jerry's(Note) Learn of Him( Study)

 This is Jerry's…  it must forever remain untouched by anyone but Him!

This is Jerry's…  who would He want to have it?

This is Jerry's…  no one will ever want that.

This is Jerry's…  no one can have that.

This is Jerry's…  why did he ever keep it?

This is Jerry's…  how can I use that… it was His?

This is Jerry's…  it's valuable because it was His.

This is Jerry's…  he'd want them to have it.

This is Jerry's…  don't touch it!

This is Jerry's…  please, take it.

This is Jerry's…  

Don't make me say it! I have to say it…

This WAS Jerry's… it all WAS Jerry's, not IS Jerry's, but… it is… it is Jerry's… it will always be Jerry's.

Almost seven weeks later and I still question, how can he be gone?  

Jerry owns nothing now and that doesn't seem real, or right, in any way. Gone, never, ever ever forgotten. 

Truthfully, there are a lot of things that will always be Jerry's, I'm not making that up. Even without Him here to possess them, they are his. I'll just be a caretaker of the things that are His-- keeping, distributing, loaning, things that are his as my heart decides. 

I still have my grandfather's desk, my grandmother's china cabinet, my mother's bedroom set…  See, they remain theirs forever- it's in their history. I don't say I have my grandfather's desk which went to my mother, which in turn went to me- there is no long spiel about it, just simply, that was my grandfather's. There are sentimental treasures here that will be passed down to my children and they will forever be their father's- this, and their father's - that, and this is the way of life as it continues ever onward. 

Seven weeks… and in some ways it seems like yesterday. 

*******

Learning.

We live in the furnace of affliction and so many people don't recognize it as such. What would happen if one of the first important things you were taught growing up was the fact that you live in a world with unseen forces that truly impact your life in a very real way? That the world unseen is filled with beings intent on causing us to endure all manner of afflictions. That the world unseen is filled with those who will allow the afflictions in order to purify us, refine us, strip off the layers of superficial life right down to our very core where the workings of our heart live. What would happen if we were all taught the truth from the day we were born? 

What has all that to do with learning of Christ's yoke and burden? Christ's yoke and His burden are the core of our core. That which lives under our outer impurities, our fleshy dross. We need to learn of Christ- the core of our core, the love that enables us to love. Christ who could have called ten thousand angels to set Him free from this earth bent on His murder, but chose to endure all the horrors inflicted because He was sacrificing Himself to prove His love, His core, Himself. 

Why would He do that if there weren't something more for us than this world with its unseen forces? Jesus came and said…

Joh_14:2  In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you

Joh 14:3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 

Joh 14:4  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 

Fact- His Father has a house big enough to contain MANY MANSIONS. 

Fact- His Father's house with its many mansions exists and is being prepared for US.

Fact- Jesus will come again to receive us.

We live now and all the afflictions we endure CAN be used to refine us, stripping away our dependence upon ourselves so that we recognize our need to be dependent upon our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Some of those unseen forces in our world will do all they can to keep us from learning of Jesus, of really learning of Him in the way that we can recognize His easy yoke and light burden.  Read the many verses below of how God refines. We need to understand the refining isn't going to be easy- mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually. This world as it is now isn't intended to give us easy, affliction free lives. If you choose to simply live for this awful world because you're too prideful to let the afflictions refine you to your core, then no, you will not inhabit any prepared mansion. Not a single person will inhabit a mansion in heaven that willfully chooses not to learn of Jesus now. You may scoff at all this unbelievable nonsense, but think for just a single moment, what if none of it is nonsense? You have to know deep down that this world has a whole slew of seemingly unfixable problems and that in the thousands of years we've had to fix things, we just don't. This world is broken, we are broken, but we can have hope to be fixed. 

Christ's burden and yoke are light and easy, learn of Him. Don't learn of any one religion, just learn of Him. Please.

Mat 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

Mat 11:29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 

Mat 11:30  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 

Isaiah 48:10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

Isa 1:25  And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

Job 23:10  But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. 

Psa 66:10  For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. 

Pro 17:3  The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts. 

Jer 9:7  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people? 

Eze 22:18  Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver. 

Eze 22:19  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 

Eze 22:20  As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. 

Eze 22:21  Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. 

Eze 22:22  As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you. 

Zec 13:8  And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. 

Zec 13:9  And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God. 

Mal 3:2  But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: 

Mal 3:3  And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. 

Heb 12:9  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 

Heb 12:10  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 

Heb 12:11  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 

1Pe 1:8  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 

1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 

1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 

1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 

1Pe 4:15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. 

1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 

All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, not and forever!!!!!!! Amen!