August 26, Sunday Bible Reading, Abraham

Monterey, CA

Genesis 12:1-5
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

Genesis 18:1-5,11-19
And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant.

Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

I find such comfort in those words ‘ for I know him’. God had led and Abraham had followed. God knew Abraham would be faithful no matter what.

Published in: on August 26, 2012 at 9:24 am  Leave a Comment  
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August 19, Sunday Bible Reading — Isaiah 43:1-7

Just a pot of petunias and violas; and a snail trap like Grandma Crain’ makes.

Good Morning

Isaiah 43:1-7

But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob,
and he that formed thee, O Israel,
Fear not: for I have redeemed thee,
I have called thee by thy name;
thou art mine.
When thou passest through the waters,
I will be with thee;
and through the rivers,
they shall not overflow thee:
when thou walkest through the fire,
thou shalt not be burned;
neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
For I am the LORD thy God,
the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour:
I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
Since thou wast precious in my sight,
thou hast been honourable,
and I have loved thee:
therefore will I give men for thee,
and people for thy life.
Fear not: for I am with thee:
I will bring thy seed from the east,
and gather thee from the west;
I will say to the north,
Give up;
and to the south,
Keep not back:
bring my sons from far,
and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
Even every one that is called by my name:
for I have created him for my glory,
I have formed him;
yea,
I have made him.

Trust God for your day . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on August 19, 2012 at 5:31 am  Leave a Comment  
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July 22, Sunday Bible Reading, Psalm 57


Star Jasmine growing well.

Psalm 57
Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me:
for my soul trusteth in thee:
yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge,
until these calamities be overpast.
I will cry unto God most high;
unto God that performeth all things for me.
He shall send from heaven,
and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
My soul is among lions:
and I lie even among them that are set on fire,
even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
and their tongue a sharp sword.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let thy glory be above all the earth.
They have prepared a net for my steps;
my soul is bowed down:
they have digged a pit before me,
into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.
My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed:
I will sing and give praise.
Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp:
I myself will awake early.
I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people:
I will sing unto thee among the nations.
For thy mercy is great unto the heavens,
and thy truth unto the clouds.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens:
let thy glory be above all the earth.

My heart is fixed –
My heart is prepared to do and suffer thy will.
It is fixed –
it has made the firmest purpose
through his strength by which I can do all things.
Clark’s Commentary

Trust God for your day. . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on July 22, 2012 at 6:00 am  Leave a Comment  
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June 17, Sunday Bible Reading — Psalm 119: 105

On my shelf

Good Morning

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
and a light unto my path.
Psalm 119:105

Thy word is a lamp – This is illustrated thus by Solomon, Proverbs 6:23 : “The commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” God’s word is a candle which may be held in the hand to give us light in every dark place and chamber; and it is a general light shining upon all his works, and upon all our ways. Clarke’s Commentary

Trust God for your day . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on June 17, 2012 at 6:58 am  Leave a Comment  

June 10, Sunday Bible Reading, Psalms 138

Leaf definition is one reason I love Rex begonias.

Psalm 138:1-3, 7-8

I will praise thee with my whole heart:
before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
I will worship toward thy holy temple,
and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth:
for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
In the day when I cried thou answeredst me,
and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
thou wilt revive me:
thou shalt stretch forth thine hand
against the wrath of mine enemies,
and thy right hand shall save me.
The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me:
thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever:
forsake not the works of thine own hands.

Published in: on June 10, 2012 at 4:23 pm  Leave a Comment  

May 27, Sunday Bible Reading – Deuteronomy 8

Waiting for the sunflower.

Good Morning

from the Amplified Bible, Deuteronomy 8

1. ALL THE commandments which I command you this day
you shall be watchful to do,
that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land
which the Lord swore to give to your fathers.
2.  And you shall [earnestly] remember all the way
which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness,
to humble you and to prove you,
to know what was in your [mind and] heart,
whether you would keep His commandments or not.
3.  And He humbled you and allowed you to hunger
and fed you with manna,
which you did not know nor did your fathers know,
that He might make you recognize and personally know
that man does not live by bread only,
but man lives by every word
that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.
4.  Your clothing did not become old upon you
nor did your feet swell these forty years.
5.  Know also in your [minds and] hearts that,
as a man disciplines and instructs his son,
so the Lord your God disciplines and instructs you.
6.  So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God,
to walk in His ways and [reverently] fear Him.
7.  For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land,
a land of brooks of water,
of fountains and springs,
flowing forth in valleys and hills;
8.  A land of wheat and barley,
and vines and fig trees and pomegranates,
a land of olive trees and honey;
9.  A land in which you shall eat food
without shortage and lack nothing in it;
a land whose stones are iron
and out of whose hills you can dig copper.
10.  When you have eaten and are full,
then you shall bless the Lord your God
for all the good land which He has given you.
11.  Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God
by not keeping His commandments,
His precepts,
and His statutes which I command you today,
12.  Lest when you have eaten and are full,
and have built goodly houses and live in them,
13.  And when your herds and flocks multiply
and your silver and gold is multiplied
and all you have is multiplied,
14.  Then your [minds and] hearts be lifted up
and you forget the Lord your God,
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage,
15.  Who led you through the great and terrible wilderness,
with its fiery serpents and scorpions
and thirsty ground where there was no water,
but Who brought you forth water out of the flinty rock,
16.  Who fed you in the wilderness with manna,
which your fathers did not know,
that He might humble you and test you,
to do you good in the end.
17.  And beware lest you say in your [mind and] heart,
My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.
18.  But you shall [earnestly] remember the Lord your God,
for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth,
that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers,
as it is this day.
19.  And if you forget the Lord your God
and walk after other gods and serve them and worship them,
I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.
20.  Like the nations which the Lord makes to perish before you,
so shall you perish,
because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.

Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]

Trust God for your day . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on May 27, 2012 at 6:22 am  Leave a Comment  

Sunday Bible Reading — Psalm 119:1-8

Love the Star Jasmine.

Good Morning

ALEPH.
Blessed are the undefiled in the way,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
Blessed are they that keep his testimonies,
and that seek him with the whole heart.
They also do no iniquity:
they walk in his ways.
Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.
O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
Then shall I not be ashamed,
when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
I will praise thee with uprightness of heart,
when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
I will keep thy statutes:
O forsake me not utterly.
Psalm 119:1-8

Trust in God for your day. . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on May 20, 2012 at 9:11 am  Leave a Comment  

May 6, Sunday Bible Reading

I think my geraniums are going to bloom this year.

Ruth 1:14-17
And they lifted up their voice, and wept again:
and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back
unto her people, and unto her gods:
return thou after thy sister in law.
And Ruth said,
Intreat me not to leave thee,
or to return from following after thee:
for whither thou goest, I will go;
and where thou lodgest, I will lodge:
thy people shall be my people,
and thy God my God:
Where thou diest, will I die,
and there will I be buried:
the LORD do so to me,
and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

from Smith’s Commentary:
The Targum adds several things to this conversation between Naomi and Ruth. I shall subjoin them:
“And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee,” for I desire to become a proselyte.

And Naomi said, We are commanded to keep the Sabbath and other holy days; and on it not to travel more than two thousand cubits.

And Ruth said, “Whither thou goest, I will go.”

And Naomi said, We are commanded not to lodge with the Gentiles.

Ruth answered, “Where thou lodgest, I will lodge.”

And Naomi said, We are commanded to observe the one hundred and thirteen precepts.

Ruth answered, What thy people observe, that will I observe; as if they had been my people of old.

And Naomi said, We are commanded not to worship with any strange worship.

Ruth answered, “Thy God shall be my God.”

Naomi said, We have four kinds of capital punishment for criminals; stoning, burning, beheading, and hanging.

Ruth answered, “In whatsoever manner thou diest, I will die.”

Naomi said, We have a house of burial.

Ruth answered, “And there will I be buried.”

(A Targum is an Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) written or compiled from the Second Temple period until the early Middle Ages (late first millennium). Wikipedia)

The testimony of  Naomi’s life offered Ruth such hope that forsaking all she knew;  Ruth followed Naomi and the true God.

Trust God for your day. . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on May 6, 2012 at 9:36 am  Leave a Comment  

April 29, Sunday Bible Reading

An evening view at Cozy Acres, God’s creative power.

Deuteronomy 8:11-20
Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God,
in not keeping his commandments,
and his judgments, and his statutes,
which I command thee this day:
Lest when thou hast eaten and art full,
and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply,
and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied,
and all that thou hast is multiplied;
Then thine heart be lifted up,
and thou forget the LORD thy God,
which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt,
from the house of bondage;
Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness,
wherein were fiery serpents,
and scorpions, and drought,
where there was no water;
who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;
Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna,
which thy fathers knew not,
that he might humble thee,
and that he might prove thee,
to do thee good at thy latter end;
And thou say in thine heart,
My power and the might of mine hand
hath gotten me this wealth.
But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God:
for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth,
that he may establish his covenant
which he sware unto thy fathers,
as it is this day.
And it shall be,
if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God,
and walk after other gods,
and serve them, and worship them,
I testify against you this day
that ye shall surely perish.
As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face,
so shall ye perish;
because ye would not be obedient
unto the voice of the LORD your God.

Trust God for your day . . .today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on April 29, 2012 at 12:31 pm  Leave a Comment  

Sunday Bible Reading — Joel 2:21-27

Joel 2:21-27

Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice:
for the LORD will do great things.
Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field:
for the pastures of the wilderness do spring,
for the tree beareth her fruit,
the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.
Be glad then, ye children of Zion,
and rejoice in the LORD your God:
for he hath given you the former rain moderately,
and he will cause to come down for you the rain,
the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
And the floors shall be full of wheat,
and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.
And I will restore to you the years
that the locust hath eaten,
the cankerworm,
and the caterpiller,
and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the LORD your God,
that hath dealt wondrously with you:
and my people shall never be ashamed.
And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the LORD your God, and none else:
and my people shall never be ashamed.

Trust God for your day. . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on April 22, 2012 at 9:42 am  Leave a Comment  

Sunday Bible Reading — Matthew 7:24-27

“The Wise Man built his house upon a Rock!
This children’s chorus is the first one I learned. What a blessed truth for a young child to have as the foundation for her life!

Matthew 7:24-27
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: 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.

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: 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.

from Clark’s Commentary
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine – That is, the excellent doctrines laid down before in this and the two preceding chapters. There are several parables or similitudes like to this in the rabbins. I shall quote but the two following: –
Rabbi Eleasar said, “The man whose knowledge exceeds his works, to whom is he like? He is like a tree which had many branches, and only a few roots; and, when the stormy winds came, it was plucked up and eradicated. But he whose good works are greater than his knowledge, to what is he like? He is like a tree which had few branches, and many roots; so that all the winds of heaven could not move it from its place.” Pirke Aboth.

I will liken him unto a wise man – To a prudent man, a man of sense and understanding, who, foreseeing the evil hideth himself, who proposes to himself the best end, and makes use of the proper means to accomplish it. True wisdom consists in getting the building of our salvation completed: to this end we must build on the Rock, Christ Jesus, and make the building firm, by keeping close to the maxims of his Gospel, and having our tempers and lives conformed to its word and spirit; and when, in order to this, we lean on nothing but the grace of Christ, we then build upon a solid rock.

Trust God for your day, ….Today
With my prayers; desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on April 15, 2012 at 6:09 am  Leave a Comment  
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