Lord, the God of Israel. 3/23/15

Day 82 - Reading the New Testament in one year.

https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/dramatized/niv/Luke.1

Luke 1:57-80

The Birth of John the Baptist
57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

Zechariah’s Song
67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn[a] of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
    and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our     days.
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit[b]; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

Supplied Life Devotional by Bill Freeman

March 23rd Victims of God’s love

“Then the LORD said to [Hosea], Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the LORD for the children of Israel.” HOSEA 3:1
The phrase “loved by a lover” may be translated “loved by a husband.” This indicates that Hosea loved his wife, Gomer, who was committing adultery. So he took this wife of harlotry, and she bore children to him and then continued in that same kind of harlot living. This can be likened to your becoming a believer and knowing the Lord for a period of time, and then turning away from Him and going back to your old life-style, or manner of life, and committing spiritual adultery with many other things. Let me say to you categorically that God’s love to you is still unconditional, because you are the object of His love. It is eternal love based upon an eternal choice, and can never be destroyed or eradicated. So, in a sense, we are the victims of God’s love. We are the objects of His love. The Lord tells Hosea, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a husband and is committing adultery, just like the love of the LORD for the children of Israel.” These two words “just like”are  the key words that reveal the nature of God’s unconditional love. Humanly speaking, that woman did not deserve a thing but to be cast off. Yet God says to love that woman “just like the love of the LORD for the children of Israel.” This is what the love of the Lord is like. This is how God loves you, and how God loves me.

Pray Until Something Happens (PUSH)

A cure for the Ebola virus and the D-68 virus, Areyda, Ariel, Ariana, Cookie, Cy, Daina, David Turner, Debbie, Derithia, Heather, Mia, Marquis, Monig-get her voice back, Paul and Iyana, Robert, Peace for -Shirley and family, and Willie.

Health and Healing

Vonetta's mom and Willie

Support and Comfort

Praise Alert
Blanca is in rehab….improving.

National
Passengers in Westchester train wreck.

Conflict between citizens and  police officer. 

International

Israel and Palestine
Iraq

Syrians

Ukraine

Missing plane and passengers.
Missing Nigerian Christian girls.

Song(s) of the Day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoxopsRSfdU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsiDukXIeVY
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