Psalm 65

As I reached for the thermostat to turn up the air conditioner, I thought about the Pharaohs 0f Egypt and remembered that I had read that the royal family members of ancient Egypt had slaves, who accompanied them, and gently cooled them with hand- held fans. I smiled to myself that all I had to do was move a switch in order to receive either heat or cold in the house. I wondered if I would trade that single luxury in order to live in a Pharaoh’s palace, and decided that I wouldn’t. I believed that my life was more comfortable than a pharaoh’s!

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.(Psalm 65:8) These words, written at the time of the pharaohs, that carry the inspiration of the Creation itself, are available to me every day. A Spirit so joyful, so full of the beauty and priceless splendors of the world in which we live, are still an inspiration thousands of years after they were written down. David experienced the Spirit of God in the wilderness, while he was a shepherd, and several of his psalms extol the beauty of nature. Psalm 65 is no exception: You crown the year with your beauty, and your carts overflow ; the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain. They shout for joy and sing. (verses 11-13) In David’s eyes, the beauty of the earth is a mirror of its Creator. He can barely describe it without seeing God in the fields and mountains, and even in the rain: You visit the earth and water it. (verse 9)

David, the youngest son of Jesse, was raised as a shepherd on his father’s land. As a boy he spent much of his time in the fields with the sheep. Far from feeling disadvantaged, he recalled his time out doors in lyrical and even musical terms. Psalm 65 is introduced as written to “the Chief Musician,A Psalm and a song of David.” Though the lives of shepherds were neither comfortable nor easy, David had a boundless faith in his God, and the very earth itself was a comfort to him. When he was running from Saul in the years after David killed Goliath, he protected Nabal’s sheep with his men who followed David. Nabal’s shepherd reported to Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “David’s men were very good to us., and we suffered no harm. Whey were a wall to us both day and night while we were with them keeping the sheep. ( 1Samuel,25: 15&16) Psalm 65 is a song of joy and praise, fashioned after David’s own life in nature. His words signal a world full of the joy of life itself, and full of the comfort of a loving God.

Love in Him,

Prue

For at least eighteen hundred years the pastors or priests of many Christian churches have called to their people attending worship services: “Lift up your hearts,” to hear the response, “We lift them up to the Lord!” It is a call to worship that has been used in almost every denomination, and a response that says “I know how to ‘lift up my heart!’” I heard this call as a child and wondered what it really meant. I didn’t know how to command my heart, but it seemed like a very good thing to do. It was better than “Pay attention!”, for it focused on the Lord, and I did want to know Him better.

This call implies a unity among the people and a common focus on our God; it resounds like a royal command before the actual appearance of a King. It It also appears in Lamentations 3:41. Let us lift up our hearts and our hands and say ‘we have sinned and rebelled.’ It suggests simply that raising our hearts and our hands moves us into a position of penitence that gets God’s attention; but in church it never seemed penitential to me. Rather, it seemed like a call to put aside other concerns and face the One to whom we have come. It meant leaving behind cynicism, doubt, anxiety, and fear.

When my daughter was only four years old and taking a nap, I was in the shower when she woke up. She couldn’t find me in the house, and so she walked outside and crossed the street to knock on our neighbor’s front door. She told the neighbor, “My mommy’ is gone and I don’t know where she is.” Judi, my neighbor, looked across the street and saw my car in the driveway, and she said, “I’m sure she’s in your house, honey, If you go home, I’m sure you’ll find her.” Stephanie turned around and walked back across the street. She knelt on the sidewalk to the house and lifted her heart to God. She prayed that she would find me in the house, and by the time she entered, I was out of the shower and getting dressed. She walked into my room and ran to me. I had thought that she was still asleep in her room.

“Lift up your hearts” is a call that requires nothing of us but putting down our burdens so that we may lift our hearts. Jesus said, “Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) It was a call to individuals to “lift up your hearts.” Lifting up our hearts makes room for the wonders of the Holy Spirit to enter and provide that “rest”, and all the benefits of God’s Grace toward His people.

Love in Him,

Prue

God’s Love

God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ( Romans 5:8) St. Paul’s view of “God’s own love for us “ is not exactly the love of engaged couples, or of brother and sisters. There is no perfect comparison of God’s love in the experience of human beings, but God Himself gave the closest comparison to His prophet Isaiah: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast, and have no compassion on the child she has born? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands,” ( Isaiah 49:15)

On the night of the Last Supper, when Jesus was saying his last words toe the disciples before his arrest, he said, “You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come, but when her baby is born, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you. Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again, and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” (John 16:21-22) The apostle John also wrote, “God is love”(1 John 4:16)

Sometimes the world becomes so complicated that finding the power that resides in the simple though extraordinary love of a new mother for her infant seems irrelevant or even completely fallible, but it holds within it the promise of new life and the hope of a lifetime relationship, both of which are promises of God for His people.

The love of God cannot be measured, but ST. Paul saw Jesus’ sacrifice to be sufficient proof of an immeasurable love, not only from Jesus, but from his Father God, for it was God’s will working within Jesus that made the sacrifice. I heard a Christian woman once ask a pastor, “They say that Jesus died for me, but did he really know me? I wasn’t even born by the time he died.” The pastor answered, “Jesus died for his Father God, and his Father has known us all since before we were born.” The great love that Jesus had and has for us came from his Father God and his mother Mary. Jesus experienced both human and divine love. He became the bridge between a perfect God and imperfect human beings. His sacrifice on the cross was sufficient for all of humanity to find a way to be restored to God after the fall. The way opened a doorway, as Jesus said: “I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in and sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)

The news of Christ is better news than any other we could ever hear. His message is simple: I Love You.

Love in Him,

Prue

Since God first spoke to Abraham, and Sarah’s baby displayed evidence of a living God in the midst of the Hebrew people, people everywhere have searched for ways of finding Him themselves. In the Book of Jeremiah God made it clear that He had every desire and even plan, to be found by His people: You will seek me, and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you. (Jeremiah 29:13&14)

In the twentieth century, In his Spiritual Diary, St. Pope John Paul II wrote, “Man is the being who seeks God. And even after he finds Him, he continues to seek Him. And if he seeks Him sincerely, he has already found Him.”

Samuel “found” God when Samuel was still a child, and he never turned back. Hannah found God while on her knees praying for a son. David found God the moment Samuel anointed him.

St. Peter’s journey to finding God began when he said to Jesus, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8) Little did he know that he had found the One whom he had wanted. Jesus replied, Don’t be afraid; from now on you shall fish for people. (Luke 5:9) Peter, who barely knew that he longed for God, would later be the first to say, “You are the Messiah, the son of the Living God.” ( Mathew 16:16) When Jesus asked the twelve if they would like to leave him, Peter answered, “To whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68) Peter had found God in Jesus.

The gift of God’s son, Jesus, has spread throughout the world so that he has placed a path at the feet of human beings for finding God. Even in the Old Testament there was news of a path: Whether you turn right or left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21) The voice foretold by Isaiah is the voice of the Holy Spirit of God. His voice is also the voice of Jesus, the one whose life is literally an open book. Jesus spoke of this before his death: “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—he will testify about me. . . The Spirit will receive from me what he makes known to you.” (John 15:26, and 16:15)

It is clear throughout the Bible that God seeks a close relationship with his people, and that in sending His son, He laid a path at our feet to God Himself. God has placed His own yearning in us to find Him, and given us Jesus, a brother for the journey: “Seek , and you shall find! (Mathew 7:7) “Behold ! I am with you always! (Matthew 28:16)

Love in Him,

Prue

In the early part of the book of Psalms there is one Psalm that makes me pause whenever I read it. It’s Psalm 16, and in my mind it coalesces the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and human beings together. David wrote the psalm in time, yet, it breathes a breath of eternity: “Lord, you alone are my portion,and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” (Psalm 16:5-6) These words were written generations after the Hebrew people finally arrived at the Promised Land., and the land had been distributed by lot to each family. David’s ancestors had received a lot near the village of Bethlehem. I became the family inheritance.

Charles Spurgeon, a nineteenth century British preacher, suggested in his book The Treasury Of David, that the “boundary lines” are probably those that David and his brothers inherited from that ancient time; the very fulfillment of God’s promise to give His people land. The Psalm gives us a glimpse of God to His own word and to His people. David’s experience as a child of God is evident: “I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes on the Lord. With Him at my right hand I will not be shaken.”(verses 7&8)

The words of David in relation to God could have been written by Jesus himself. They foreshadow a relationship that Jesus had with his Father, and that through Jesus’ gift of the Holy Spirit, all humanity may share. They bring the reality of an eternal existence, an overcoming of death itself, into focus.

Jesus said, “Come unto me, all who are weary and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Mathew 11:28) David wrote, “Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices: my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will your faithful one see decay.” (verse 9-10) The accounts of Jesus ‘ life, teaching, death and resurrection are pictures that could accompany the words of the Psalm, sharing with us the experience of our loving God, bridging time and space to connect our spirits to His. The words are full of sweetness and promise: “You make known to me the path of life. You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (verse 11)

Bartimaeus began to shout, “Son of David, Have mercy on me!”. . . “Rabbi, I want to see!” “Go” said Jesus, “Your faith has healed you.” (Mark 10:48). Psalm 16 reaches across three millennia to deliver a message of “eternal pleasures.”

Love in Him,

Prue

Araxie Azarigian was a slender woman who attended my Sunday School class of senior women . She listened attentively and was well liked by the other members of the class. She was quieter than most. One day our reading was from Deuteronomy 22:8: “ When you build a new house, (in the Promised Land) make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your self if someone falls from the roof. “This was the law in my country, as well,” she said.

She was born in Armenia in 1908. We stopped reading Deuteronomy and listened to “Roxie” tell of her life, first in Armenia, and then in a Russian refugee camp, as her mother struggled to take Roxie and her two older brothers to safety from the invading Turks in Armenia. Her Father had already fled to the U.S. when The Turks started enlisting every able bodied man into their army. It would be twelve years before the family would be reunited.

Roxie didn’t recognize her father on Ellis Island when she saw him, and the authorities would not release her to him until he brought his sister-in-law to accept responsibility for the young girl and her brother. Their mother had not been able to travel due to illness, and the youngest boy stayed with her.

The United States had established a “Near East Relief” organization in Istanbul where Roxie’s mother managed to take the children after four years in Russia. The organization worked to connect refugees with relatives in the U.S. Lists of refugees were posted in major cities. Roxie’s father never saw the list in New York, but his brother in Chicago saw it and contacted her father. Roxie and her oldest brother arrived in New York in March of 1921. She lived with her aunt and uncle until her mother finally arrived with her youngest son in June of that year. Roxie was shocked to see her mother embrace her father, whom she hardly knew.

Roxie spoke in a matter of fact way of amazing hardships and difficulties. She attributed her mother’s strength entirely to her faith in Christ. Her mother took the children to church wherever they were, even in Russia. From Armenia to Russia, to Istanbul, and finally to New York, the family survived to reunite. Roxie’s mother lived the scripture of Isaiah 12: Surely God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord Himself is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation.

Love in Him,

Prue

Once when I was teaching eighth grade Sunday School, I assigned the class the task of memorizing a single passage of scripture of their own choice. Allen raised his hand and said in a sing-song voice, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whosoever believed in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Allen had memorized it previously, and didn’t want to have to learn another passage. I told him that it was an excellent choice and if he wanted to use it, he could. Allen only repeated it to the class to let them know that he didn’t have to learn another passage. The rest of the class found other passages, and the next week they had memorized them. Allen was a little bit crestfallen when I told him that he didn’t need to repeat his verse, as he had already demonstrated that he knew it.

I remember feeling regret that this passage, spoken by Jesus himself, had become so common, that the children didn’t stop to think of the meaning of the words, or even the context. It was just a famous verse that teachers and sometimes parents, believed that children should know. I, too, think that everyone should “know” it. That is, everyone should know Jesus and who he is; and this passage tells as clearly as any other, the identity of Jesus.

Jesus was talking to Nicodemus with the words of John 3:16. Nicodemus was a believer in God , but had only heard of Jesus and particularly of his miracles. Those had so impressed him that he had come after dark to talk to the one who could perform such things, and and who did them in the name of Nicodemus’ God.

It is not only Jesus’ identity that he reveals in this remarkable verse, but also his Father’s sacrifice and its origin of love in the Father. Jesus, knowing better than anyone else, tells us (and Nicodemus) openly the truth of his own and his Father’s love for the “world.” It is a statement so powerfully true, that after Jesus’ death, Nicodemus accompanied Joseph of Arimathea. risking rejection from the Temple leaders to ask Pilot for Jesus’ body, and anointed and wrapped it and carried it to a tomb.

The power of John 3:16 is undeniable. It is a clear message that has resonated for more than two thousand years, and changed the lives of many more than Nicodemus. It was a prophetic message that is still being fulfilled today.

Love in Him,

Prue

Accompanied by Ed and Vickie, friends from Kerrville, Texas, Jack and I drove to Mason, Texas in search of the legendary topaz that can be found in Mason County. The ranch where we would search, sent a cowboy to meet us at a Dairy Queen, and we followed him in Ed’s truck through ranch roads to our destination. It took us through pasture land of which we had been warned, “Don’t mind the cattle. During a drought we drive this way and feed them from the truck.” We had to drive very slowly, as the cattle were literally licking our windows.

When we finally reached the site, we parked and descended into a dry creek bed. I had inquired about snakes and was told that the drought had caused any snakes to leave to find water. In fact, we never saw one. We began to dig, , and saw quite a few pretty quartz stones, and some that looked very like Topaz, but turned out to be Quartz. We had a great tailgate lunch made by Vickie, and gazed at some breathtaking Texas scenery. Jack even found a partial arrowhead. In the town of Mason we brought what we had found to have in appraised. They were all pieces of quartz; but we had the privilege of viewing some beautiful topaz that had been found by others on the Mason ranches.

When we left, we were tired, but filled with memorable experiences. Our talk started with,”Well!” This was a big waste of time!” It ended with, “This was a great day! I’m really glad we got to do this!”

St. Augustine wrote, “Your love must migrate. Cast off your mooring from creatures; moor yourself to the Creator. Change your love, change your fear; the only things that make good or bad lives are good or bad loves. (Sermon 313A) Augustine’s words, spoken in the early 400’s AD have been strong enough to last at least until the twenty first century,with fresh signs of renewal in new publications of his writings. For our love to migrate,, we must leave behind some “love”in order to reach our migrating goal. “Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to him.” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

We didn’t find any Topaz, but we were surrounded by pristine nature, and accompanied by friends whom we value more and more. Everyone of us cherishes the experience, and has thanked our Father God for His gift.

Love in Him,

Prue

In 1821 a Cherokee Native American named Sequoyah had been making marks on paper that some fellow tribesmen believed were black magic, and, though Sequoyah was a popular member of his tribe, he was subjected to a trial by the tribal leaders. In reality Sequoyah had been composing a written language in their native language, for there were not at that time any Native people in the U.S. Who had an alphabet or written language.

Sequoyahs’ trial was successful for him, as he sent his young daughter, who knew how to read her father’s words, out of the room with a written message. Then he spoke the message to the chiefs. When she returned, his daughter read the message aloud , and the chiefs were astounded at the “miracle.” All of them wanted to learn to read, and in six months, one quarter of the Cherokee people could read in their own language. By 1827 the Cherokee people had a written Constitution, a written history, and by 1828, the first Native newspaper in America. In twenty five years the Cherokee people had a higher rate of literacy than the Non—Native population. (The Smithsonian Magazine Summer, 2026, Pg. 84)

The need and desire to communicate is universal. When Adam and Eve walked with God in the Garden of Eden, it was the fellowship of communication that they all enjoyed, the communication that was so badly broken in their fall. (Genesis3:8) Later, when Jesus began his ministry, his disciples asked him to teach them to pray, to communicate with God. Jesus was quick to respond to such a request when he gave them the “Lord’s Prayer.” The Christian faith is built on a holy communication: the Bible itself. It was writing that Moses brought down from the mountain, writing in stone by the hand of God. At every crisis in the Bible there is saving communication from God to His people: If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2Chronicles 7:14)

The Cherokee leaders witnessed a simple display of literacy and they humbled themselves to learn to read. They changed their civilization forever, ahead of all other Native tribes in North America. Today the Cherokee are literate in the English language, and some are literate in both English and Sequoyah’s Cherokee language.

God looks for those who are literate in His language, which is His Holy Spirit, accessible in the pages of His Book, the Bible.

Love in Him,

Prue