Those who are born again know that Jesus has made a highway to Zion- a way to the Father through the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. The trinity is the mystery of One God (or being) with three persons. Nabeel Qureshi wrote about this from a Muslim perspective in his book, “No God but One: Allah or Jesus“. The two passages below describe God’s joy at the people of earth coming to Him. The difficulties of our earthly existence cannot compare to the powerful sweep of love that quiets us when we are forgiven of our sin. The tears of injustice are wiped away as we hear His loud exultation and singing rejoicing over the life of Christ moving in us. God does not forsake but fulfills the purpose He has for us. It is a time to sing! – Teresa #Hesingsoverus

Zechariah 1:14-20 (ESV)

14

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;

shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

15

The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;

he has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;

you shall never again fear evil.

16

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

“Fear not, O Zion;

let not your hands grow weak.

17

The Lord your God is in your midst,

a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.

18

I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,

so that you will no longer suffer reproach.[m]

19

Behold, at that time I will deal

with all your oppressors.

And I will save the lame

and gather the outcast,

and I will change their shame into praise

and renown in all the earth.

20

At that time I will bring you in,

at the time when I gather you together;

for I will make you renowned and praised

among all the peoples of the earth,

when I restore your fortunes

before your eyes,” says the Lord.

Psalm 138: 4-8 (ESV)

4 All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,

for they have heard the words of your mouth,

5 and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,

for great is the glory of the Lord.

6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,

but the haughty he knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

you preserve my life;

you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,

and your right hand delivers me.

8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;

your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake the work of your hands.

God’s salvation brings us out of the depths of selfishness into a place of beauty. When our own bitterness keeps us from seeing opposing views, we must trust God to resurrect us in Christ’s power. Jonah eperienced God’s salvation from the root of bitterness in his heart. Those Assyrians from Ninevah were viscious and had done countless evils to the Jewish nation. Why would Jonah want them to experience God’s mercy? Only by experiencing God’s heart of mercy for himself was Jonah able to extend this grace to his enemies. – Teresa

Jonah 2: 2-9 (ESV)

2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,

and he answered me;

out of the belly of Sheol I cried,

and you heard my voice.

3

For you cast me into the deep,

into the heart of the seas,

and the flood surrounded me;

all your waves and your billows

passed over me.

4

Then I said, ‘I am driven away

from your sight;

yet I shall again look

upon your holy temple.’

5

The waters closed in over me to take my life;

the deep surrounded me;

weeds were wrapped about my head

6

at the roots of the mountains.

I went down to the land

whose bars closed upon me forever;

yet you brought up my life from the pit,

O Lord my God.

7

When my life was fainting away,

I remembered the Lord,

and my prayer came to you,

into your holy temple.

8

Those who pay regard to vain idols

forsake their hope of steadfast love.

9

But I with the voice of thanksgiving

will sacrifice to you;

what I have vowed I will pay.

Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Imagine this revelation I had years back…that as a “middle” child, I was surrounded by buffers and cushions similar to the yoke of an egg. The yoke did not break thanks to those things around me that God set in place. He was working upstream. I was given the beautiful verse (Psalm 125:1) found in this passage by a wise mentor, Rita Clark. In turn, I passed it on to a dear co-worker in the midst of experiencing the dying process of someone near to her. Many years later, I ran into this co-worker and she was full of praise for how God worked upstream for the education of her daughters. Their family was filled again with joy. Take heart today and keep the faith. – Teresa #Hisgoodness=deliverance

The Lord Surrounds His People

A Song of Ascents.

125

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,

which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

2

As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so the Lord surrounds his people,

from this time forth and forevermore.

3

For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest

on the land allotted to the righteous,

lest the righteous stretch out

their hands to do wrong.

4

Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,

and to those who are upright in their hearts!

5

But those who turn aside to their crooked ways

the Lord will lead away with evildoers!

Peace be upon Israel!

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

When God’s sacred vessels are defiled for the worship of that which takes our eyes off of Him, He will surely deliver a powerful message. God does not mince words or methods when the hard-hearted seek to lead others astray. Even if it means revealing a hand without a body, God is not limited by the earthly dimensions/realms that we live in. – Teresa #OurgreatGod #watchesoverthepowerless #defenderofchildren

Daniel 5: 4-12 (ESV)

4 They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

5 Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. 6 Then the king’s color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. 7 The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared[b] to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed.

10 The queen,[c] because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, “O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. 11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.[d] In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, 12 because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”

With God’s timing we may overlook calm serenity as lack of intervention. All of God’s promises will be accomplished in His correct timing (chronos). He will at times wait for a different timing (kairos) which means all things are correctly lined up. In the chronological realm it may feel too long or too short. He will ultimately fulfill His purposes for our good. – Teresa

2 Peter 3: 8-10 (ESV)

8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,[a] not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies[b] will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.[c]

When our back is against the wall because of unreasonable demands from those in authority- pray! Daniel prayed and was given the answer to “said unreasonable demand”. He was able to reveal the dream of Nebuchadnezer and interpret it without knowing anything about it!! Daniel was known for his simple faith (at the lion’s den) and his tenacity at pursuing spiritual disciplines (eating vegetables and water vs. rich food and wine from the king’s table). He gave glory to God at His lifesaving revelation. – Teresa #ourgreatGod #isnotblindtoplotsofdarkness #shinesforthwithlight

Daniel 2:19-23 (ESV)

19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

to whom belong wisdom and might.

21

He changes times and seasons;

he removes kings and sets up kings;

he gives wisdom to the wise

and knowledge to those who have understanding;

22

he reveals deep and hidden things;

he knows what is in the darkness,

and the light dwells with him.

23

To you, O God of my fathers,

I give thanks and praise,

for you have given me wisdom and might,

and have now made known to me what we asked of you,

for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”

Genuine faith is tested and comes through as pure and valuable as gold in a fire. The butterfly during metamorphasis speaks truth to this. Without the struggle of getting free of the chrysalis, the beautiful butterfly dies. I received a science kit in the 4th grade containing butterfly larvae in their respective cocoons. Unfortunately, I was so anxious to see the beauty of the butterflies that I opened them all before their time to emerge, robbing them of tbeir chance at survival. Although we have not seen him (our Savior), we love him! This is part of our “faith walk”-to reconcile struggles with the beauty of His hand on us. – Teresa #struggling #purelove #hetrulysaves #histimingisperfect

1Peter 1:3-12 (ESV)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time[a] the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

The more grace God gives is in direct proportion to the humility endowed to those who submit to God. Do you know of someone like Moses who actually is in fellowship with God and doesn’t realize his/her face is shining? It’s not about selling books or saying words smoothly. It is about a heart for God which is acted out in faith with compassion for others. This is “ministry” -full of God’s grace and truth. – Teresa #Jesusfollowers

James 4:6-8 (ESV)

6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

There is a type of pseudo wisdom that originates in the demonic influence of negativity. It shows up as jealousy and selfish ambition. Those who are under the influence of the “god” of this age (2 Cor 4:4) may be prone to this. Wisdom from above, however, is: pure, peacable, gentle, open to reason full of mercy and good fruits. – Teresa

James 2: 13-18 (ESV)

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

This past month, we were blessed to find a camera to play our old VHS home videos. It reminded me of precious years gone by during child-rearing. This clip of Berit’s second birthday is precious, giving us a glimpse into the Lord’s steadfast love for us! Throughout Psalm 107, I read this phrase and considered the wisdom in recognizing His steadfast love. – Teresa #grateful

Psalm 107:8 (NIV)

Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!