Her Gnome

The Road to Bustablado

…..To Gods elect, strangers in the world…..

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Everything is permissable for me – but I will not be mastered by anything. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lords freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christs slave. Since you call on a Father who judges each mans work impartially, live your lives as strangers in reverant fear.

And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

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     Make it your ambition to live a quiet life,…..

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be still and know that I am God…..

     When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’,’No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
     Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.

          But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

     I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.
     “Who is it he is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast? For it is:

                         Do and do, do and do,
                         rule on rule, rule on rule;
                         a little here, a little there.”

     Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, to whom he said, “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”; and “This is the place of repose” – but they would not listen. So then the word of the Lord to them will become:

                         Do and do, do and do,
                         rule on rule, rule on rule;
                         a little here, a little there –

so that they will go and fall backward, be injured and snared and captured.

     What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and faith in God. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. But grow in the grace and knowledge of out Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.

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     Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say? Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

…..”Listen and understand. What goes into a mans’ mouth does not make him ‘unclean’, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean’.

…..For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

     Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom…..

     But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

     “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

     Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

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     Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. “Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!’

    Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all sexually immoral. “If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived with many lovers – would you now return to me?’ declares the Lord.

    Have you not just called to me: ‘My Father, my friend from my youth, will you always be angry? Will your wrath continue forever?’ This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can.” Another thing you do: You flood the Lords’ altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.

    Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly off-spring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. “I hate divorce,” says the Lord God of Israel,…..

    How can you say ‘We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord,’ when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have? Therefore, I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.

…..When a man or woman wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the Lord, that person is guilty and must confess the sin he has committed…..

    Now make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do his will. Seperate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives.

              I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings; with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

    He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

    Repent then, and turn to God, so that your sins my be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me wilh all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Come near to God and he will come near to you…..

              I have considered my ways and turned my steps to your statutes.

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…..He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

     But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint…..I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.

     …..his hair is wavy and black as a raven. His eyes are like doves by the water streams, washed in milk, mounted like jewels. His cheeks are like beds of spice yielding perfume. His lips are like lilies dripping with myrrh. His mouth is sweetness itself;

     You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed by grace, since God has blessed you forever.

          Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face.

     Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him

…..They bound him…..he had Jesus flogged and handed over to be crucified. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then wove a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, King of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.

     Just as there were many who were appalled at him – his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness –

     Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

     The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the Lord is against those who do evil…..

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Be still, and know that I am God;…..

     Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep. For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits’ end. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.

     He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.

             That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

             He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

                  He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
                  They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

     …..When I awake, I am still with you.
     Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

     Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts….. 

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     And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he seperated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” and the darkness he called “night”. And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day.

     Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God…..For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

     When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.

     As the Scripture says, “Everyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

     Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

     Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

     There remains, then a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;

     On the first day of the week we came together to break bread…..On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

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                                                    Mercy

     …..Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water. For I desire mercy, not sacrifice…..

     At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

     But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.

     When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 

    At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 

    “No one, sir,” she said. 

    “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” 

    Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful…..because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement!   

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 A father to the fatherless…..

     I write to you fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

          Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and with all you strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

          “Honor your father and mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you…..

     …..continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

          All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

          But from everlasting to everlasting the Lords’ love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their childrens’ children –

     I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.

          …..for in you the fatherless find compassion.

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