1 Corinthians 8:6 ~ all things

Exactly Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day. Overcoming is in this.

And we would say "Ash Wednesday is Solemn." And Valentine's is not. Not exactly. What we are celebrating are two events of God's Own Victory. In one day. We are 2 Homeruns for God.

Many times Jerusalem has wished all of Israel was an Island. Wanted a different set of circumstances. If only. God'd.

Psalm 91:6

nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday


Jesus cried out, "My God, My God You have forsaken me."

I Love Jesus. He is so honest.

And now we know Jesus died before the two guilty men. In fact, the soldiers couldn't believe Jesus wouldn't suffer more. Jesus had died, according to the Mayo Clinic - of a broken heart. Heart failure.

Jesus knew and, yet, He was so broken for us. So broken. Jesus was overcoming. Teaching us to pour out our heart to God. Be Honest. Reach for the Hand and Heart of God.

Overcoming.

We have the trouble of the world. The dark.

We have God. The Light.

Romans 8:28
And we know
for those who love God
all things work
together for good,
for those who are called
according to his purpose.

Jesus is teaching us about the faith to have in overcoming in the most dire - direst of situations.


John 1:5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

1 Corinthians 8:6

There is but one God, the Father,

from whom all things came

and for whom we exist.

And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ,

through whom

all things came and
through whom we exist.

We find the most amazing things come of the difficulties we place in the Hand of God.

What we learn.

From being surprised at the fiery trial. We learn. We learn in suffering, we find overcoming. And in overcoming - Hope! And in more overcoming - Joy! And in the next circumstance - more balance and trust. And in the next - reliance on God!!!. In the prayers of overcomers - you find - this:

"Bless my sister, her marriage is in trouble." "Bless my brother, I'm ok, but he suffers. He does not know the Love Jesus has. Help my brother to know Jesus." "Bless my parents, they have worked so hard. Help them to know we appreciate them. Help them to not worry." "Help my Daddy not to worry so much. Help my Daddy to know Jesus." "Bless my little boys, they are precious. Help them to know Jesus all their days and we will not be concerned for them. Help them never to let go of Jesus' hand. If you could see them, you'd pray harder."

The prayers of the faithful - are heart endearingly precious. Unforgettable. Gracious. Loving. Touching to a Father. Touching the Heart of a Good, Good Father.




Hezekiah stood looking at the Assyrian Army. Like a fire of Locusts. Like an army of ants bringing death. Surely Hezekiah thought himself a fool to have trusted. And yet, Hezekiah placed his hope in God.

2 Kings 19
As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord.


2 Kings 19:35
Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead.

Regroup and more war.

God decided differently.

2 Kings 19:37
One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.

Civil war for enemies. Then illness for Hezekiah. Then political misstep. And still - God protecting Hezekiah. Only Hezekiah quit. When told his sons would live in perilous times - Hezekiah did not go to the prayer mat. We would hope we would every day of our lives - provide prayer and petition for those we love. Surrounding them with Jesus every day of Life. My grandmother Anita prayed for all her days for her son. He was saved in his 7th decade of life. Never, never, never give up.

The Vast God we Worship

Solomon and all the Children of Israel had never seen a Cloud like the Presence of God in His Temple. Jeremiah said we would see unfathomable things of God. And we do today.

The Cloud of the Temple - might - possibly - probably - be -

The glory of God we know through the Hubble Telescope.


The Vast and Unfathomable Wisdom to be found in the Living and Active Word of God. Is Today.

Eilat Mazar is a third-generation Israeli archaeologist, specializing in Jerusalem and Phoenician archeology. A senior fellow at the Shalem Center, she has worked on the Temple Mount excavations, as well as excavations at Achzib. Heading the Shalem Center's Institute of Archeology, she is with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Dr. Eilat Mazar: The Bible as a Blueprint "I work with the Bible in one hand and the tools of excavation in the other." And in reading the location of David's Palace in the Bible, simply looked at the geography - the other finds, and found the Palace of David.

The Vast and Unfathomable Wisdom to be found in the Living and Active Word of God. Is amazingly all encompassing.

Deuteronomy 32:24
They will be wasted by famine, and consumed by plague And bitter destruction; And the teeth of beasts I will send upon them, With the venom of crawling things of the dust.

If only the Plagues - brought by fleas had Dr. Eilat Mazar.

We can anticipate more of God's Wisdom found in God's Living Word.

Overcoming. Always involves dark being overcome, saved by the Light of Jesus Christ.

Having Faith - for 24 more hours. And finding we can do that again. Jesus gives us this strength.

Lent. Preparing for the Sorrow of Holy Week. And having Easter as a Celebration. To prepare for our own lives - aging - losing people we love. Their Easter. And then our Easter. Ephesians 3  God prepares His Beloved Children to Live as families in Heaven. And tells us do not be surprised.

Romans 8:37

In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Abba,

We ask the Blessing of Your Peace. Your Peace trusts Your Plan, Your Path as Perfect. We ask Your Peace. With Grateful Hearts.

We know in Your Peace, with Your Word, You Create and Uphold:
More than our minds may grasp.
Thrones, dominions, rulers and authorities are Yours.
All things visible and invisible are Yours.
All things are created through You and for Your Glory as God Almighty, Our Father.
By Your Word Heaven and the Heavenly Host
The earth is Yours to call Good.

Because of Jesus. Covering of the Name of Jesus Christ.
We have been given not fear, not dismay to not rise fast and high enough,
but self-control to realize in Your Splendor
You Love us as Your children.
Delight to have us ask and enjoy the Holy Spirit within us.
God of Love.

In Jesus Christ, we know Your plans for us. Plans for welfare and not for harm.
Giving us Jesus today. Plans of Yours for a hope and future.

In Your Word is
death and life
angels and rulers
things past and present
things to come
powers
height and depth we cannot know
everything and anything of all creation
and You would Not have us separated
from the
Love
of God
in Christ Jesus our Lord.

With our God, our Jesus, our Holy Spirit,
Let our soul and those we love -
Let all of His Creation - to the Glory of God
Sing within our heart, Amen In Jesus Christ God.

Matthew 7 ~ Find

Matthew 7

 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

28 And when
Jesus
finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Louis XIV was given all, to have this to be taken away. And he, a very young king, realized he had to come up with a way to save his life - as the guard he did not know rushed in to 'save his life' and remove him from the building.

This analogy for our souls - is entirely different than what 'culture' would bring us today. We have entertainment with low humor, low situations and are told to focus on our sex. As politics tells us, in some nations, to be Pat of SNL and deny that we even have different hormones, brain structure and sex organs. I believe for reasons of suppression for political power purposes.

We approach our lives being who we are gifted to be. Exactly as we sincerely are. God-given. This is our gift from God.

Louis XIV decided to build Versailles to stay out of the plot and purpose of corruption - life ending - for the king in Paris. He knew the area and knew he could escape in the woods. And he decided to take advice given to him in his childhood - build a palace. A king needs a palace.

We need our Soul. We are Building. We are invited by God.

We have the same ability today. God has told us He came to give abundant Life.

We spend every day without looking at the magnitude of the Sky. The Bible tells us the Magnificence of the Sky is telling us about God. We look at the blue lid - we are done. We think casually of Heaven and easily believe our brain will exist in Heaven. We are certain we are small in this life and feel as if something happened incorrectly.

We pray and feel good or feel unenlightened. And decide prayer has worked or rattled around.

- What - We - Have - Given - Is - Judgement -

We have not given God His Due.

Psalm 139 is about God planning for you. You in particular. Your Father has designed you. Ephesians tells us - named you - and your family. Your Father has designed the Heavens. The Universe. Gravity. Your Father hears every conversation - 1000 Ribbons - you would give Him.

Every conversation you give God. He has asked for.

What will we think of what He will give back. The human response to giving conversation

God wants holiness. Does He get this? No. And yet, we should try. We tell our parents from our earliest ability to communicate - what we earnestly desire. God wants this. He longs for you to be yourself. He created you. Proverbs says He knows you as well as you know yourself - and - better because He knows the Days of your Path, Written in His Book of Life.

Impossible? You just received. You have said your life has a blue lid. Ok, then it does. I think - therefore - I am.

Father Mike Endicott is well known in the U.K. as a Healer. He is a Pastor and for 25 years got down on his knees between the altar and the cross and begged God to help the unemployed person of his Church. To beg God for the divorced mother of teenaged children in peril. To beg God for the Cancer patient. To tell God how awful and harsh life can be.

In 25 years of tears and prayers, God answered. Father Mike almost fell in his stomach with surprise. God said, "Mike, don't you believe I am - a Good Father?" Mike didn't quite know what to say. This is an Amazing God. God gentled. Mike could feel this. Mike could feel God as His Good Father. God of the Universe, Father Mike Endicott's Father, continued, "Mike, my son. Beloved. You have done such a good job being completely blind and understanding this is part of My Plan for You. You have no bitterness. I will bless you, Mike, to see 'further'. I will bless you and you will find out what I am saying. My Plan is a Path for each Child. Look into not the end of the Prayer, but the "Willingness" of God."

Father Mike began to see the Willingness of God - makes miracles. Words of Knowledge. Words of His Discernment. Healing. Miracles. Hope. Love. Expectant prayer with a Father. Adapting to what is to see the hope. Endurance. Joy.

Mike Endicott explained, we don't trick, bother, anger to get results - GOD the ALMIGHTY. We touch God, we move God, we feel His Love. We work in the Plan of God. We seek to be in His Pinions. In His Love. We bask. We grow. We are warmed. We are healed. We are Loved. We have Life. We have Abundant Life in Jesus Christ.

To do this - we are going to be overcoming - every casual remark - of 'realism". Hezekiah inherited from his father, a Gold, a solid gold Temple of God. His father, a king, had led the nation of Judah to worship on the hills - to see the glory of God. Hezekiah's father had done all he could to let the Temple fill with dust from disuse. "Realism." Assyria, the vast Empire was going to knock on the door for gold. Hezekiah stepped right up as the new king and gave Assyria - The Temple Door. As Hezekiah was trained by his realistic father. And it felt bad, but the process had begun. In fact, decades of training. So. The path of sin was firmly entrenched. (Isn't it up to God now to fix this. I mean, my God, the ASSYRIANS knew what was what. Assyrians. Oh my God.)

The Palace of Hezekiah came after the Faith began and the deeds of Faith created Life.


Hezekiah decided his legacy was not going to be 'this unbuilding'. And in fact, there is more archaeology of Hezekiah today than any other king in the Bible. Hezekiah was granted help from God - from - asking. Hezekiah decided to act upon all of this with faith. And Hezekiah had more life than most of his family - he rivaled David and Solomon. The Assyrians decided Hezekiah might have something here and wanted to befriend him and his Nation - because - God was at work. All things were Possible. Build something of God. Build something the world would see forever.

Like the same idea of Louis XIV who decided Beauty creation would establish France. And did. The Idea of Louis XIV keeps France to this day. Build Beauty.

What Louis XIV did and what Hezekiah did - is - what each of us can do today.

Ask Seek Knock Find is Overcoming

We take the dark of a broken world and find the Light of Jesus Christ.
We seek the Willingness of our Good Father.
We find we are building our soul - the enduring - eternal of Love to God.
We see His gifts as quiet, as hidden, as enduring as Hopeful.



The Narrow Gate.
What you really believe. Who you love. Who is enduring. Your Faith.

You are building. Ok, you are not going to Ethiopia this week to make a cure for all diseases. Right. God is giving you a Life. Your Response is Required.

Your response this week - is straight from God to you. What will you say, do, apply to the least among you.

Do you live in the world of Lordlordjesusjesus Island of Moi?

Are you an encourager - with sincerity. Are you giving the person with you - the attention you are asked to give. Are you putting your teachable moments - with God's Love. Then - your real life - your narrow gate - is being fed by the Holy Spirit in you. You are making a palace of Your soul to give to God. Jesus gave God a new Heaven and a new earth. This is your life - this is your soul - this is Your Jesus. You have built your Life. God calls this Eternity built upon the Rock of Jesus. And God - never forget - your Abba - your Daddy - is Pleased with you!!!


Who God is. The CREATOR OF ALL THINGS - THE UNIVERSE arrived as a - baby - to an unwed mother.

And God says "What you do to the least among you - you do to Me."

St. Augustine said when we take Love to the people who would receive His Love. We have pleased God.

The Shepherds pushed forward to be the first to bring the Good News. We need some of this push - as well.

Be Encouraged by the Love God has for you. Feel His Love. Go Forth. Love. Blaze His Light. Enjoy His Glory. Be His Child.

Abba,

We ask Your blessings in the Name of Jesus.

We ask for Straight paths and comfort for those who Love You. Surround those we Love with all of Your care.

And in our Path with You, bless us with Your encouragement, bless us with Your direction, bless us with the ability to remain in Your Heart as we continue on Your Plan and Path. Bless us with Your Mercy, Grace and Forgiveness in Lent and all days. Strength us in Wisdom and Joy. Smile upon us as you bless us and keep us. Bless those we Love with this favor.

Let us see more Heaven on earth. With good health, with more seeing Your Love and Joy.

Life is from the Spirit. Bless our nation and all calling on You.

Always in Jesus. Amen.

 ♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †

Psalm 91:10 ~ Overtake

Psalm 91:10 

No harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent

What was one of the first things Nebuchadnezzar II Emperor of the Chaldean and Babylonian Empires - going to do? Emperor Nebuchadnezzar II had known for some time Isaiah had seen this era and Nebuchadnezzar knew this was him. As Nebuchadnezzar began to realize - none of the Judean kings could be trusted to be employed when saved. The kings continued to try to buck the arrangements of puppet king state.

As a true man of God, one of the first things Emperor Nebuchadnezzar II did - go to the King's Palace. This Palace had been built by David and was currently being used by the second king of Judah that Nebuchadnezzar had dealt with. This was the alive Davidic Line's King's uncle. The Uncle had agreed to any circumstance for his nephew - as long as he got to be king. Then did not follow through on any agreement he made.

So, the first thing in Overcoming ~
This conquering Emperor of the Chaldean/Babylonian Dynasty went to the King's Palace. To see the king? No. Go to David's jail - a huge hole in the ground - and save, recover, help, applaud and fulfill all that Jeremiah has told the people of Judah for a long time. Jeremiah's life was saved. Like the Walls of Jericho - God had reached beyond the here and now - working with prophetic Victory and conquering.

This yummy looking cookie is from 597 B.C. March actually. Saturday, 10 March 597 B.C.

Nebo-Sarsekim Cuneiform - circa -  Saturday, 10 March 597 B.C.


And is the exact telling of Emperor Nebuchadnezzar. Nebo-Sarsekim was with Emperor Nebuchadnezzar and in King David's Palace. And is the complete equivalent of Jeremiah 39:3. Nebo-Sarsekim helped save Jeremiah from the water in the dirt pit of the jail's pit. We know the Lord promised Jeremiah he would not perish in this great battle of good and evil.

 Jesus was known to save His Beloved from water, as well.

We see today in the Archaeological artifacts a new representation of our Father God's Promises.


Jeremiah 33:3
"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'"


God tells us this ~
The Word of God is alive and accurate. Warm and caring. Filled with rescue. We can Trust God. Rely upon Him. We see great and unsearchable things in our hands. A great surrounding by such a great witness - The unclouding of Witness. A help, a comforter of God to let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And lets us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. We will believe and God will help our unbelief.

How Will We Believe in the Midst of Our Great Moments of Trial?

God was giving all types of evidence.
In the Incredible Hardship of Life and Destruction.

God was already honoring His Word.  Israel would only be only utterly destroyed for 70 years. I doubt Judah believed this at the time. More than likely Emperor Nebuchadnezzar II did not know this about The Word of God given to Nahum. Nebuchadnezzar made "Three" Attacks and three round-ups of slaves leading to the third being the Destruction of Jerusalem.

Nahum 1:9
Whatever they plot against the LORD he will bring to an end
trouble will not come a second time.

That is a very austere, powerful and unforgettable response to God's Word.

God tells us about the Overtaking of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. We can read the details - telling us the Conqueror of God dressed his armies in the Scarlet of Proverbs 31.

Nahum 1

Nahum 2

Nahum 3

Abba, Abba, Abba!

We ask Your Blessing.

We want to overtake our fears. Our doubts. To Defeat harm - disaster. To defeat our unbelief. We believe, Jesus, help us to believe more!!!

With Jesus - His Name - we will overtake the war of doubt.

All of our days and seasons - with Jesus Christ - we will do this and see this in those we love. We pray this for the people God has given us. With Jesus, we endure to the end and we will be saved.

With Jesus, we have eternal life and wear - not only the helmet of salvation - the Crown of Life. We love You, Father God. And Your Word is our promise.

Abba, our prayers - with love for our Beloved - our hearts give us Your Reassurance - our prayer is love and in these words, our talk, will lead us on in deeds and in truth.

Blessed be our Father, His Son Jesus, giving His believers the Holy Spirit. Covering His good Creation with our prayers. His Spirit gives Life.

In Jesus. Amen.

 ♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †

Luke 23:1-12 ~ King of the Jews

Constantine commissioned his 80-year-old mother, Helena, to bring back archaeology of Jesus Christ.

These stairs really are from the huge Governor's Palace.  These stairs would have seen Jesus climb the marble portion of the stairs. In Rome, today, these are called Scala Sancta.

Luke 23:1-12

23 Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”

3 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”

And he answered him, “You have said so.”

4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”

5 But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.”


6 When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 7 And when he learned that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. 8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. 9 So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. 10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11 And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. 12 And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.

Constantine I's tomb was used for his mother Helena. She is not disputed to have existed. And she is recorded by Eusebius of Caesarea as being 80 years old as she looked at all types of archeological sites in Jerusalem. Eusebius actually met both Constantine and his mother.



Do you remember the reaction of Herod hearing Judea had a prophet of old? He wanted to see a Jesus sign. Herod had a natural curiosity to meet Jesus. Not unusual, Herod was picking out the priest who could speak in the Temple. Surely Herod did not want the Temple rocking the Roman Gravy Train. And remember Herod was sent out of his dad's paranoid frenzy to be educated in Rome. Herod thought more like a Roman than a Jew, remembering, prophets tend to get personal. Jesus did not honor Herod. Herod, when you look through the Gospels feared Jesus and only wanted, in curiosity, to see a sign. Herod was going to remove John and honor him in the prison, but push to shove - shove behead.

Herod ended up not doing so well from his brother's wife's (his own 2nd wife) family - exiled.

And remember with me Pontius Pilate's wife begged him not to have anything to do with the harm of Jesus. She had a dream about Jesus saying HE is a good man. Jesus even forgave Pilate standing in front of Pilate.

Zechariah 13:6
but he will say, 'I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.' 6" And one will say to him, 'What are these wounds between your arms?' Then he will say, 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'

If it sounds off to you, it was what Pilate hoped to hear - Jesus to disavow - to allow Jesus freedom. This passage IS well recognized as a prophecy of Pilate to Jesus. Jesus called upon to forgive in the midst of torture. More than just upon the Cross dying.




This is an amazing story - one we become so familiar with. We have to look at other details to see - how incredible - and true - this History is.

The death of Jesus was not a joy to Pilate. And not to Herod.

And then the Temple itself - all 36 acres housed grieving believers to the horror of the Temple government. The multitudes of believers began to grow and grow to the consternation of Rome 16 years later. Letters of Rabbis from the time believed this was the end of Judaism. Rabbis prayed God would stop the miracles in the name of Jesus. See Ian Wilson's books with these letters.

The Book of Acts has the Apostles leave the Temple because the Temple was small itself.

The Apostles start meeting outside by the healing pools, were larger crowds could gather.

And not have to be so Jewish in their speech. Roman citizens were present. Officials within Herod's palace. Multitudes. The dead were seen as risen. Jesus taught His disciples and appeared to 500.

This was so large, no one could get Christianity to stop. Josephus, the Judean General turned Roman Historian, was moved that this would not end. Calling the believers "Christians." Recognizing in at least one place in Josephus' History that Jesus was called Messiah. And only one of these mentions is debated.

This history is So Large, if you look at a panorama of the Temple Mount - where Abraham was trusting God with Isaac - you see living stones referring to what Jesus told us in The Word of God.

Today the stones ringing the Temple Mount have a quote on them "They will not leave one stone on another because you did not recognize the time of God."







So how is it that Jesus gives us Christianity today, millenniums later?

Constantine

 

Matthew 19:24
"Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."

Constantine. You hear the same pop culture inform you of Constantine’s jaded use of Christianity.

Today we are going to follow this Incredible Change of the Roman Empire with some pop culture.

We aren't salmon, we are meant to be unique, using our gifts and talents to have unique opinions of history. There is more to Constantine than "Constantine used Christianity to promote his promotion to Emperor."

There is some truth to that 50 years ago – the History of our United States Congress was being used as a Christian Church on Sunday for most of its years. When we discuss Constantine today - we adopt today's opinions. Our children won't. Personally, I hope our children's children look more favorably at souls and less jaded.

Constantine has something Pop Culture wisdom – SEVERELY OVERLOOKS.

Constantine, Alexander the Great and Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonian Empire had something in common. When the events surround a man are beyond his imagination, he looks to see what force is behind him greater than himself.

This is called “WISDOM.”

Constantine was a prisoner of Diocletian to prevent political uprising,  Nonetheless, Constantine was a prominent member of the court: he fought for Diocletian in front of Bishop Eusebius as Constantine witnessed the torture of Jesus Christ’s nephew descendents to repent of Jesus. They all refused and upon torture and promises, died for Him. Constantine was a tolerant and politically skilled man who had mixed with pagans and Christians in the reign prior to Diocletian. Events there changed him.

Constant power struggles suppressed Constantine from coming into his position as his father's son. Constantine began to look to soothsayers recommendations, for favorable omens. Constantine, was with a spirit that left a deep impression on his followers, inspiring some to believe that he had some form of supernatural guidance. Constantine's army arrived at the battle the seers of Rome declared to be a final battle. His soldier's shields were bearing unfamiliar symbols.  According to Lactantius, Constantine was visited by a dream the night before the battle, wherein he was advised, "Mark the heavenly sign of God on the shields of his soldiers ... by means of a slanted letter X with the top of its head bent round, he marked Christ on their shields." 

Eusebius describes another version, where, while marching at midday, "he saw with his own eyes in the heavens a trophy of the cross arising from the light of the sun, carrying the message, In Hoc Signo Vinces or "with this sign, you will conquer", Constantine had a dream the following night, in which Christ appeared with the same heavenly sign, and told him to make a standard, the labarum, for his army in that form.

Constantine was to look to another Bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia to be his baptizer as he was about to die. He had hoped to be baptized in the River Jordan. This was not to be. But Constantine had changed the Empire and called the Council of Nicaea - to resolve with the Bishops, who would dare to travel, what the Holy Spirit would call as His Word.

The work of Salvation is God's. When mankind become entangled with God, they begin to look to Him.

The choices of men. It's always our choice how we want our stories to continue with Him. Jesus forgave Pilate. Pilate, according to known history, chose a more desperate path, as did Herod, in the convenience of life. Constantine chose to embrace the Lord. Good Choice.




Abba,

We ask Your Blessing.

Prayer is wonderful a time to consider all we Love and care for, considering our needs and asking Your Blessing, Wisdom, Mercy and favor.

And as we spend time coming up with prayer lists - we reach our soul - our inner core. And as we get there with You, we have discovered a journey of emotion - leaving us with Love. And in this Love we have Peace and Joy. This Love You place in us is Renewal.

This gives us the adventure, in the morning, to find Your Mercies Renew.

Remembering it is not our prayers drawing out the Gracious Will of our Good Father, what we find is Your Loving Heart graciously providing us. Salvation is a work of the Spirit, not flesh. Prayers are the Action of Your Holy Spirit. Interceding, mediating - telling us - You are God of Love.

God of Encouragement. God of His Word.

We lift up our cares to Your Heart and Hands. We lift high the ones we Love to You. You Cover, Cover, Cover them in Jesus Christ.  We will rest in Your Good Will. Rejoicing that all of Life is really in Your hands. You have all the world in Your Hands. Your Plan to Save the world in Jesus Christ.

Thank You, Abba, Father. Our God. We want more of Your Holy Spirit to fire us along Your Path.

Thank You for Your Plan and Your Holy Spirit dwell in us

Jesus Christ, God's Son, Our Savior. Amen.

 ♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †