The beautiful flowering cactus represents beauty amidst adversity. David recognized this in Bathsheeba as he was truthful with himself re: who he was- a fallen man who took Uriah’s life and wife, unmercifully. The consequence of his sin was difficult for Bathsheeba, as she mourned the death of her baby.  After David repented, he was able to see beyond himself and comfort his new wife vs. use her for his own pleasure. This action was blessed, resulting in a baby who was named “beloved by God”, Jedidiah (aka Solomon). – Teresa

2 Samuel 12: 24-25 (ESV)

24 Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him 25 and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah,[c] because of the Lord.

The type of peace that Jesus gave brought His disciples safely through witnessing firsthand cruel and unjust deeds done to the One they loved. He was about to leave them but not abandon them, for the Holy Spirit would come to indwell them.  The Holy Spirit would act as a seal (or authorizing mark). He would be sent from the Father in Jesus’ name as a significant downpayment or deposit, guaranteeing their eternal inheritance. Although at times it appeared as though the ruler of this world had won (aka Satan and the demonic presence that blinded the minds of those running “the world system”), Jesus said that Satan had no claim on Him. Rather, Jesus laid down His life for us in obedience to the Father’s command. – Teresa #Lovewasinourfavor

 John 14: 25-31 (ESV)

25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

When we are tempted to throw in the towel or take our irritation out on those closest to us, I propose that we sing. In His provision we are never lacking. He loves when we recognize Him as our strength and our song. If we truly rely on God’s salvation, then His right hand valiantly rescues us from sinful solutions to His righteous ways. – Teresa #worshiptheLORDwithgladness

Psalm 118: 14-16 (ESV)

14 The Lord is my strength and my song;

    he has become my salvation.

15 Glad songs of salvation

    are in the tents of the righteous:

“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly,

16 the right hand of the Lord exalts,

    the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”

Our daughter sang in the University Choir under Donald Kendrick while earning her bachelor’s degree. To know the music, she had to spend hours in practice (to sing complex arrangements from memory). Although the musicians knew the music, their conductor understood the music at another level. Jesus Christ our Lord gives another statement of His deity in this passage. The people knew from memory the facts about Messiah but Jesus knew God the Father in a way that surpassed human logic. – Teresa #truthwasentousfromGod

 John 7: 25-30 (ESV)

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.

 These are the lovely hands of our grandaughter. As the Lord brings peace to our lives, we have the opportunity to acknowledge His victories. His powerful hand against our enemy is all we need for life and godliness. Set up an “Ebenezer” today as a reminder of where your help comes from.- Teresa #Godishelpertoman

1 Samuel 7: 12-14 (ESV)

12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen[b] and called its name Ebenezer;[c] for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.

​​Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman revealed truth. He exhorted her to worship God​ in like manner. After being made alive in the Spirit, we Gentiles also have opportunity to stand on the truth of God’s Word through faith in Messiah. – Teresa #dreams,visions,feelingstemperedbytruth

John 4: 16-26 (ESV)

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

In the darkness, this beautiful flower on the syringa remained unseen. A little fill flash made it visible. Christ Jesus our Lord was unseen and unrecognized by those closest to His heart (the Jewish nation). He ranked before John the Baptist because He was here from the beginning, creating the heavens and earth by His powerful word. “Before Abraham was, I Am” is a powerful testimony of His deity. -Teresa #shineonus

 John 1: 9-18 (ESV)

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own,[b] and his own people[c] did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son[d] from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.[e] 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God,[f] who is at the Father’s side,[g] he has made him known.

When the cares of our heart are many, He gives consolation that cheers the soul. Just as the judges of old brought rest to the land by taking down arrogant evildoers, God almighty is our righteous judge. Not only does He bring rest but through discipline, He develops us as precious sons and daughters.- Teresa #restinHissteadfastlove 

Psalm 94 (ESV)

94 O Lord, God of vengeance,

    O God of vengeance, shine forth!

2 Rise up, O judge of the earth;

    repay to the proud what they deserve!

3 O Lord, how long shall the wicked,

    how long shall the wicked exult?

4 They pour out their arrogant words;

    all the evildoers boast.

5 They crush your people, O Lord,

    and afflict your heritage.

6 They kill the widow and the sojourner,

    and murder the fatherless;

7 and they say, “The Lord does not see;

    the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

8 Understand, O dullest of the people!

    Fools, when will you be wise?

9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

10 He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?

He who teaches man knowledge—

11 the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,

    that they are but a breath.[a]

12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord,

    and whom you teach out of your law,

13 to give him rest from days of trouble,

    until a pit is dug for the wicked.

14 For the Lord will not forsake his people;

    he will not abandon his heritage;

15 for justice will return to the righteous,

    and all the upright in heart will follow it.

16 Who rises up for me against the wicked?

    Who stands up for me against evildoers?

17 If the Lord had not been my help,

    my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.

18 When I thought, “My foot slips,”

    your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.

19 When the cares of my heart are many,

    your consolations cheer my soul.

20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you,

    those who frame[b] injustice by statute?

21 They band together against the life of the righteous

    and condemn the innocent to death.[c]

22 But the Lord has become my stronghold,

    and my God the rock of my refuge.

23 He will bring back on them their iniquity

    and wipe them out for their wickedness;

    the Lord our God will wipe them out.

This doe may have wondered why I made such a big fuss over something she does every day as she nibbled on the Morro Bay Forest Ranger’s garden. All good things come to pass daily for those in love with the LORD and maker of the New Covenant. Having begun this relationship in the Spirit why would we turn to the flesh to complete it. He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.- Teresa #satedwithlovefortheSavior#fresheyefornature

Joshua 23: 14-16 (ESV)

14 “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things[a] that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. 15 But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you, 16 if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”

Because of faith, the spies were delivered safely by the hand of a prostitute. Because of their oath, they delivered her and her family to safety when God’s word came to pass. We may not always approve of the political climate around us but trusting God and acting on it brings us safely “home”. – Teresa #faithisunseen

Joshua 6:22-25 (ESV)

22 But to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her, as you swore to her.” 23 So the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. And they brought all her relatives and put them outside the camp of Israel. 24 And they burned the city with fire, and everything in it. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. 25 But Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.