Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem(2/17/23)[Prayer]

The Holy Scriptures | 2/17/23 | left that other site

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Mark 4
The Parable of the Mustard Seed

30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

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New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

God Bless America.

ML/LTOS

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Our Father,
Who Art in Heaven,
How Blessed,
How Glorious,
How Wonderful,
Is Your Most Holy Name!
How Mighty and Perfect is Your Word,
And Your Promise,
Which You have allowed us a glimpse
into Your Perfect Will!
You, The Everlasting,
The Omnipotent,
The Immortal and Eternal,
Not Bound By Time or Space,
because You Created it,
Your Ways are not our ways,
And yet we hunger and thirst for You,
like a thirsty little deer panting in the forest,
seeking a bubbling spring for a fresh sip of water!

Let all that has been Concealed
Be Revealed.

Father, We Pray For The Peace Of Jerusalem,
According To Your Will and Promise.
We Pray That You Will Forgive The Sins
of Our Own Nation,
and Lead us all to Godly Repentance.
Create in Us Clean Hearts, Oh LORD,
and Renew a Right Spirit Within Us.

This we Pray Together,
As We Await Your Messiah,
Blessed Be He,
To Set Up His Kingdom,
And Make All Things Right.

God Bless America.

ML/LTOS

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Mark 4
The Parable of the Mustard Seed

30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

_______________________________________________________

New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Last night, I taught my student how to know when to change chords when figuring out how to play a song. Back in the Day, we didn't have the Internet to give us the chords, so we had to play the record over and over until we could discern where the changes had to take place. From this experience, I devised the NUMBER ONE RULE OF CHORDS:

When the Chord you're Playing
Sounds LOUSY with the note you're SINGING,
It's Time to CHANGE the Chord."

With that in mind, we began to figure out the chords to a Grateful Dead song called "Ripple".

The first line of the Chorus is:

"Ripple in still water
Where there is no pebble tossed..."

I explained to my young student that a tiny ripple in a still pond gets bigger and bigger until it fills the whole pond. So it is that everything you do or say will go out and reverberate in ways that we will never know. That's why it is important to be aware or our words and actions and what they can become.

I have limited space for an herb garden, but I really love the taste of fresh herbs in my cooking. The deck was perfect for growing herbs in little pots, and it was right off the kitchen. Some herbs are perennials, which means that they will come back every year, if planted in the ground. Remembering the charming herb gardens of Plymouth Plantation and Colonial Williamsburg, I gleefully divided up my tiny yard into plots using the ubiquitous rocks that plagued the Pilgrims 400 years ago. A few garden sculptures, a birdbath, and voila! a Colonial Herb Garden!

Basil and Thyme are annuals, so they didn't go into the garden. Rosemary is tricky, and may or may not survive the Winter. But Mint, Sage, Rue, Yarrow, and a few others, came out of their pots and got a nice spot in the beds formed by the stone borders. It was going to be so pretty, and it would come back every year.

I didn't realize that these particular herbs propagate via underground runners, and are not constrained by little stone borders.

The following year, my entire yard was taken over by Mint. The Rue had climbed up a sculpture and covered it completely. Removal was complicated by the fact that, if even ONE runner was left in the ground, it would become exactly the same NEXT Year. In order to have a decent herb garden, the "labor-saving" perennials had to be dug up and constrained to pots again.

For the tiny amount of Mint I would have used in cooking, it wasn't worth growing at all. I had heard that rodents don't like the smell of Mint, but even a yard full of it didn't seem to deter them.

However, now that I have Tippy (The Mighty Huntress), mice are no longer a problem.

We talked about the Mustard Seed when we saw the Parable in the Gospel of Matthew. Most scholars interpret this story as an illustration of the exponential growth of the Kingdom from small beginnings. This is supported by citing Jesus when He said

..." I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." (Matthew 17:20 KJV)

There are, However, those who believe that the Parables involving the Mustard Seed indicate the growth of corruption in a church that starts out pure, but allows sin to sneak in. They point to the Parable of the Leaven to support this theory. Leaven is often cited as a symbol for sin. They also point to Jesus saying:

"Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees" (Luke 12)

The "Leaven of the Pharisees is further explained as "Hypocrisy". It can also be thought of as Legalism, which has ruined many a nascent church.

Whether one believes one interpretation or the other (or both), the theme is the same. Something very small and insignificant can grow to be something so enormous that it takes over.

That is a fact of life that we should all remember.

Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[Hebrews 11:6]

I have a fond memory of taking Todd, my Jewish commercial realtor, to lunch at the Mustard Seed restaurant in Long Beach. I used the opportunity to present the entire Gospel to him. Our [Christian] waitress walked by and told him, "He's right, you know."

I'm still laughing, and I'm still praying for Todd.

And I'm still praying for the peace of Jerusalem. I haven't been there yet, and I plan to visit during the Millennium--and I want it to be intact. So, AMEN!

[etabeta]

Great lesson for all of us.

Joining in prayer, always. God bless.

[redryder_90]

Amen

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Hebrews 11:6, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Etabeta, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, redryder_90, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[DarthVader]

Amen !!! <><

Psalm 73

A Psalm of Asaph.

1 Truly God is good to the upright,*
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 For they have no pain;
their bodies are sound and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not plagued like other people.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out with fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues range over the earth.

10 Therefore the people turn and praise them,*
and find no fault in them.*
11 And they say, ‘How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?’
12 Such are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain I have kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all day long I have been plagued,
and am punished every morning.

15 If I had said, ‘I will talk on in this way’,
I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I perceived their end.
18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20 They are* like a dream when one awakes;
on awaking you despise their phantoms.

21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was stupid and ignorant;
I was like a brute beast towards you.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterwards you will receive me with honour.*
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength* of my heart and my portion for ever.

27 Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;
you put an end to those who are false to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
to tell of all your works.

[NEWwoman]

Amen, left that other site

Joining in prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem and for our beloved America.

Love the song, Ripple, my favorite Grateful Dead song.

Your take on mustard seed and leaven is in line with the Scoffield reference Bible notes.

The birds in the mustard tree can be seen as evil. As one of Jesus’ parables, the sower, interprets birds as evil.

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, DarthVader, For Your Prayers and Wonderful Psalm For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, NEWwoman, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[TianaHighrider]

Thank you. Blessings and Prayers up.

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, TianaHighrider, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS