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Holy
Holy
Holy
. . . Is the Lord of Hosts.
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The whole earth
. . . Is full of His Glory.
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I saw Jesus!
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Woe is me!
I am undone!
A person with unclean lips
Dwelling amidst unclean people!
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I saw Jesus!
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King
. . . Lord of Hosts!
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Is. 6:3 & 5
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NaPoWriMo Day 28
© 2013 by Jeanne E Webster. All rights reserved
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© Jeanne E Webster
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NaPoWriMo Day 23
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© 2013 Jeanne E Webster. All rights reserved
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Have you ever had “wondering” days
When you sat and reflected upon things?
Unique perceptions linger and laze,
And before you know it, take wings.
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I was wondering about Mary today,
The mother of Jesus, our Lord,
How she tarried with intent to stay,
Heart and spirit of woeful accord,
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On that day when they took her son,
Laid him down and nailed him hard
To a rough-hewn tree. It was done;
Thirty pieces of silver the reward.
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She waited atop that forsaken hill
Weeping, wanting to hold her boy.
She knew that his body they did kill
But his spirit they could not destroy.
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His ravaged remains lifted off the tree;
Mary’s tears mingled with his blood.
Softly she cradled him ever so lovingly
As the soil turned into a rich red mud.
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His corpse was taken to a sepulcher near
And wrapped with ointments and spices.
Mary trudged home spewing Sabbath tears,
Her heart crushed into a thousand slices.
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I wondered today if underneath all the dirt,
That hill still preserves hallowed mud,
Evidence of Mary’s godforsaken hurt:
Her tears mingled with Jesus’ blood.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
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O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Refrain
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Refrain
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.
Refrain
O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Refrain
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Refrain
O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Refrain
O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.
Refrain
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
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An advent prayer/song, yes; both to celebrate our Lord’s birth and, after prayerful thought, perhaps for the days at hand. O come our King of Peace! Amen
©Jeanne E Webster
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Mark 5:1-20
Crazed, self-mutilating, straying hopelessly among the hills and tombs of Gadarene, a demonized man rushed toward the only person in the world who could help him . . . Jesus.
As Jesus debarked from his ship, He admonished an unclean spirit to remove itself from the man and demanded to know its name.
“My name is Legion,” crackled the demonic spirit. “Don’t bother with us, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God; send us into that herd of swine.” Whoosh! From the body of the persecuted man into the swine herd the multitude of spirits bolted. Without warning they stampeded down the hillside and into the sea, where they soon drowned.
The swine herders, greatly disturbed at their sudden loss, streaked about the town and countryside, broadcasting the event to anyone who would listen. Later returning to the scene of the crime, who did they see? Clothed and in his right mind, the completely restored man sat there talking one-on-one with Jesus!
As Jesus re-boarded the ship, the man followed Him and asked to join his band of followers. Jesus rejected his request, telling him instead to go home and disclose this event with his friends. The man joyously departed and presented the compassion and greatness of the Lord throughout the entire region.
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Put Your Hand in the Hand
By GENE MAC LELLAN
♫ ♫ ♫
Put your hand
in the hand
of the Man Who stilled the water,
Put your hand
in the hand
of the Man Who calmed the sea.
Take a look at yourself, and you can look at others differently.
Put your hand
in the hand
of the Man from Galilee.
Trust in the Lord. He will disperse your demons, change your direction, and heal all your wounds. Amen!
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Safe in the arms of Jesus, safe from corroding care,
Safe from the world’s temptations, sin cannot harm me there.
Free from the blight of sorrow, free from my doubts and fears;
Only a few more trials, only a few more tears!
Refrain
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Jesus, my heart’s dear Refuge, Jesus has died for me;
Firm on the Rock of Ages, ever my trust shall be.
Here let me wait with patience, wait till the night is over;
Wait till I see the morning break on the golden shore.
Refrain
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Shalom to all who seek His rest!
“How precious also are Thy thoughts of me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” Psalm 139:17
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There was never anyone so faithful or considerate or far-seeing as Jesus. He had great commendation to give a woman, a follower who came early to the tomb to ready His body for burial. She came beforehand with her ministry to Him. He was always thinking ahead of the disciples. When He sent them to prepare the Passover, there was found an upper room furnished and prepared. He had thought it all out. His plans were not made only for that day. He was always in advance of time. When the disciples came back from fishing, Jesus was on the seashore with a fire of coals and fish laid thereon. He thinks of the morning duties before you stir; He is there before you. He is waiting long before you awake. His anticipations are all along the way of life before you.
After the resurrection, the disciples were bewildered, and the way looked black. But the angel said, “Behold, He goes before you into Galilee.”
He is always ahead, thinking ahead, preparing ahead. Take this text with you into your future, take it into today’s experience:
“Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid… I go to prepare a place for you.”
He is out in the world doing it. He will be there before you. He will bring you to your appointed place, and you will find your appointed resources. You will discover His insight, His oversight, and His foresight. You may not always see Him, but you can walk by faith in the dark if you know that He sees you, and you can sing as you journey, even through the night.
~by John Macbeath
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“We mean a lot to Some One, and ’tis everything to me
That to God His wayward children were worth a Calvary.
It’s the meaning of my Sunday, and to Saturday from Monday,
It is my hope that one day my Savior I shall see.
Though the day be dark and dreary, here’s comfort for the weary–
We mean a lot to Some One Who died for you and me!”
~author unknown
© Jeanne E Webster
Hebrews 11—a brief
First generation Jewish Christians suffered the soul-splitting surgery of having to give up long-held traditions, only to be persecuted by family and foe alike. Their most crushing anguish: Christ had not yet returned . . . and there was no apparent sign that He would return.
The Book of Hebrews exhorts them to hold fast to their faith in Christ. Chapter 11 is a form of trail of tears of God’s people as they had sojourned towards the Promised Land. Example after example of those who lived by faith in God is accounted as a good report, signifying their righteousness in the eyes of God. “By faith. . .” they lived and died, ever advancing towards their goal. Study this chapter. It is a soul awakener, a study in Christian economics. The price on the world market had been steep: torturing, stoning, cutting apart by swords, burning alive in pots of hot oil, lunches for lions, wandering destitute, sick and tormented. The writer of Hebrews affirms in v. 38, “Of whom the world was not worthy.”
Christians today have the same goal, and at times, comparable anguish while seeking our eternal home. We face times of weakness, trials, pain and sufferings, persecutions, cruel mocking, bonds and imprisonment. And, yea, even death. Our brothers and sisters in many countries face these trials on an everyday basis. May we be comforted in the promise that faith sustains; emotions fade away.
Heb. 12:1 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”
Seek the joy that comes from doing God’s will. Even though the fruit is unseen, know that it is there!
Shalom
© Jeanne E Webster
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Mark 4:37 “And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow, and they awake him, and say unto him, ‘Master, carest thou not that we perish?’ And he arose and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, ‘Peace, be still! And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, ‘Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?’ And they feared exceedingly and said one to another, ‘What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’”
Jesus had preached to thousands from the deck of a large boat that day, expounding in parables the mysteries of God. Some Bible scholars believe our Lord used this method of teaching as judgment on the hearers’ spiritual dullness, yet leaving intact God’s willingness to enlighten and save them. Later, alone with His disciples, Jesus revealed to them these mysteries. Evening drew near and our Lord told them to sail across to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They soon departed the shore, having sent away the masses of people; their Master was at rest in the stern of the boat.
Quite rapidly, as happened often in that area, a vicious storm had developed, with gale-force winds hefting their muscle and pitching wave after wave of water into their boat. It soon became dangerously full, stoking the worst fears of the disciples. A day basking in the warmth of their master’s voice bearing witness of God’s love to the people had now ended in an evening of extreme terror.
Their first thoughts were, “Do something!” “Wake up!” “Don’t you care if we drown?!” They were gut-cut afraid; out of their minds afraid. Where was the Watchman? The Master was present in the boat but asleep on a pillow. He was sleeping on His watch!
“Master! Master! Save us! We’re going to drown!”
How many times do we reach a like stress point and scream, like the disciples, “Master! Save us!” We know all too well Jesus is with us, see Him at peace among us, believe He is watching over us, yet we grow fearful, not necessarily of dying but of believing that Jesus can save us, no matter what storm thunders through our lives. It is said that faith dispels fear only in proportion to its strength.
After quickly rebuking the winds and the sea waters, He scolded the disciples, and scolds us today, “O ye of little faith!” Faith turns and flees the scene of terror, leaving only fingernail strength hanging to the dangling threads of our Master’s garment. “Why are you so afraid?” Christ admonished His disciples, chiefly because of their little faith, not the lack of it.
Amid the tempest in our lives we too shrink back in fear . . . when suddenly the storm is over. He has hushed the howling of legions of marauding tribulations. He has stilled the storm; the waters have stopped and rise no more. We too utter a soul-deep gush of wonder:
“What manner of Man is this?!”
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O Thou, in all Thy might so far
~by Frederick L. Hosmer
O Thou, in all Thy might so far,
In all Thy love so near,
Beyond the range of sun and star,
And yet beside us here.
What heart can comprehend Thy Name,
Or, searching, find Thee out,
Who art within, a quickening Flame,
A Presence round about.
Yet though I know Thee but in part,
I ask not, Lord, for more;
Enough for me to know Thou art,
To love Thee and adore.
And dearer than all things I know
Is childlike faith to me,
That makes the darkest way I go
An open path to Thee.
(Written on the night of Hurricane Sandy, 2012, besetting the entire East coast, flooding New York City. A horrendous storm!)
© Jeanne E Webster
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Gone are the worthy grades in school
The family get-togethers at the pool
The drugs keep telling him he’s cool
…doesn’t realize he’s playing the fool
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She’s waiting tables and turning tricks
Mind’s cloudy…nothing seems to click
Known on the street as one cute chick
…doesn’t realize she’s getting really sick
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Preaching sermons Sunday morns and night
Those Bible verses he can so easily cite
A bottle of booze he’s hidden out of sight
…struggling to step back into the Light.
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People everywhere are battling each day
Failing yet trying to get back up some way
Keeping those demons somehow at bay
Oh, Lord, bring peace into their souls today
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Lord, we all need your peace in our souls today.
