The Lord Challenges...

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

"Who is this that questions my wisdom...

Brace yourself like a man,

    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them."

“Who created a channel for the torrents of rain?

Who laid out the path for the lightning? 

Who makes the rain fall on barren land,

in a desert where no one lives?

Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground

and make the tender grass spring up?"

“Does the rain have a father?

Who gives birth to the dew?"

“Can you shout to the clouds

and make it rain?

Can you make lightning appear

and cause it to strike as you direct?"

"Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?

Who can tilt the water jars of heaven

when the parched ground is dry  and the soil has hardened into clods?"

~Job 38:1-3, 25-28, 34 &35, 37 & 38

My Rock

In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice out of His temple,
And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

~Psalm 18:6

Comfort, comfort my people,
    says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
    and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
    that her sin has been paid for...

A voice says, “Cry out.”

And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All people are like grass,

and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.

The grass withers and the flowers fall,

    because the breath of the Lord blows on them.

Surely the people are grass.

The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God endures forever.”

~Isaiah 40:1,2 & 6-8

I love you, Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

~Psalm 18:1,2

"This is the Way, Walk in it"...

And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity 

and the water of affliction, 

yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, 

but your eyes shall see your Teacher. 

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 

“This is the way, walk in it,” 

when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. 

~Isaiah 30:20-21

My Help Comes from The Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip-he who watches over you will not slumber; 

indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—

    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm-he will watch over your life; The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

~Psalm 121 A Song of ascents

Covenant of Love

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them,

then the LORD your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers.

He will love you and bless you 

and increase your numbers. 

He will bless the fruit of your womb, 

the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and oil—

the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks 

in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you.

~Deuteronomy 7:9 & 12 & 13

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; 
I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."
~Jesus in Matt. 5:17
Jesus died for us because we can not keep the law.

Door of Hope

"Therefore I am now going to allure her; 

       I will lead her into the desert 

       and speak tenderly to her.

There I will give her back her vineyards, 

and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. 

There she will sing as in the days of her youth, 

       as in the day she came up out of Egypt."

~Hosea 2:14-15

Beautiful Wounds

"Soul do not be worried. 

Heart be not afraid.

Just think on those 

Beautiful wounds the 

thorns and the nails have made.

Fear you have no power.

Joy has taken it's place."

~From Jan L. Ecuyer's 

song Beautiful Wounds