The Joy of Jesus is The Lord of all Salvation

Scripture: Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving thanks.
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his [a] ;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations

Sermon: The Lord is our salvation.

The world is faced with some rather clear choices today. We can do as we wish, or follow Jesus. Whom will you chose? Jesus is the only choice we have today. Jesus lived the life of love. We too must walk in love as well.

Jesus washed the feet of Hid disciples. We must be of service to our neighbor. Our community needs all of our prayers and love.

Jesus gave His life on the cross for the sins of the world. In this we find the source of all salvation. God raised Jesus from the grave. Jesus will return with all power and glory to seek the justice that is very much in order. We praise God and Thank God for all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus in His mighty name. A-men!

Praise God with The Joy of Jesus in Life

Psalm 47
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy.
2 How awesome is the LORD Most High,
the great King over all the earth!

3 He subdued nations under us,
peoples under our feet.

4 He chose our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
Selah

5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.

6 Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.

7 For God is the King of all the earth;
sing to him a psalm [a] of praise.

8 God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.

9 The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings [b] of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.


Footnotes:
a.Psalm 47:7 Or a maskil (probably a literary or musical term)
b.Psalm 47:9 Or shields

Prayer: Save us Jesus

Prayer: Dear God in Heaven,

We pray in the name of Jesus for Thy love.
The world is challenged in new ways.
We need Thy Love today.
We pray for the children. We pray for the homeless.
The sick, and all those lost in poverty and sin.

We thank Thee for all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.
We praise Thee for Thy Goodness and Mercy'

Praise god for whom all blessings flow. We ask that You save us all,
in Jesus Name A-men.

The Joy of Jesus is The Answer for Today

Psalm 46
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. [a]
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.

5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

8 Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.

9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields [b] with fire.

10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah


Footnotes:
a.Psalm 46:1 Title: Probably a musical term
b.Psalm 46:9 Or chariots
New International

Praise God with The Joy of Jesus Today

Psalm 145
A psalm of praise. Of David.
1 [a] I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.

4 One generation will commend your works to another;
they will tell of your mighty acts.

5 They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful works. [b]

6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works,
and I will proclaim your great deeds.

7 They will celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.

9 The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.

10 All you have made will praise you, O LORD;
your saints will extol you.

11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,

12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is faithful to all his promises
and loving toward all he has made. [c]

14 The LORD upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.

16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and loving toward all he has made.

18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.

19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.

20 The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.


Footnotes:
a.Psalm 145:1 Chapter 145 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the verses of which (including verse 13b) begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
b.Psalm 145:5 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac (see also Septuagint Masoretic Text On the glorious splendor of your majesty / and on your wonderful works I will meditate
c.Psalm 145:13 One manuscript of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac (see also Septuagint most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text do not have the last

Healing and Thanks-giving is The Joy of Jesus

Mark 1:40-45

Q. Visualize condition of the Leper.
■Rejected by family, friends, community
■Outcast from the community and city
■No one would have touched him for days. If anyone touches him, he will also become unclean.
■Leprosy is not something, you can romanticized. It is one of the most hated and rejected diseases. (Check out Jesus healing the Disabled Man at Bethesda)
■He would need physical, social, spiritual healing.
■His self-esteem would have been lost.
■According to Moses’ Law, the leper has to pass through at least 14 days of ‘cleansing’ process before he can enter the city and see Jesus.

Q. What does his request say about his state of mind?
■The leper was desperate and downcast. In Jesus, he saw his last rescue!
■His lack of confidence in himself – “If you are willing, you can make me clean!”
■This man would have tried everything, he could, to cure himself. But nothing could cure his decaying body. In Jesus, he saw hope, a healer, savior who can help him out of this condition. And so he came to him kneeling and beseeching.
■It is out of such state of mind of helplessness and self-pity, he cried out. “If you are willing, you can heal me.”
■I believe that in the Kingdom of God, this is your qualification, when you realize that you are nothing in yourself, but a helpless person, who desperately need a healer and Savior.
Q. What was Jesus’ response to the leper?
■He was moved by pity, filled with compassion.
■He stretched out his hands and touch him! people around him would have been shocked to see that!
■“How can he touch him? He would also be ‘unclean’.” Some might have whispered!
■There is a reverse phenomenon here, Jesus’ touch can cleanse the ‘unclean’.
■I believe that even Jesus’ touch would have healed his soul. For what seems like a simple gesture by Jesus, was a great expression of comfort and acknowledgment, as if Jesus is saying, “I love you and care for you despite of your wounds and disrupted body and soul.”
■Jesus healed his body and soul.
■I am not going to focus today on this man’s failure to follow Jesus’ warning. I guess his joy was too great to be contained to himself. That did caused hindrances for Jesus’ public ministry.
Bible Lessons & Prayer:
This passage is the reminder that your greatest qualification in the Kingdom of God, is when you realize your own unworthiness. How often we come to Jesus without putting aside ourselves, expecting him to do great things for us. (or expecting us to do great things for him!).

More I dig deeper into this story. I find my own story of encounter with Jesus – ‘A Leper’s Story‘!

Jesus, Even you touch is so relieving

Prayer: We pray for all people today in the names of
Jesus Christ. Praise God for all Veterans. We pray that the environment is protected and all people in need be provided during these days of hardship. We pray for love, peace and hope in the power of God in Christ Jesus name. A-men.

Baring-Gould wrote about this hymn:

Whit-Mon­day is a great day for school festival­als in York­shire. One Whit-Mon­day, thir­ty years ago, it was ar­ranged that our school should join forc­es with that of a neigh­bor­ing vil­lage. I want­ed the child­ren to sing when march­ing from one vil­lage to another, but couldn’t think of any­thing quite suit­a­ble; so I sat up at night, re­solved that I would write some­thing myself. “Onward, Christ­ian Sol­diers” was the re­sult. It was writ­ten in great haste, and I am afraid some of the rhymes are faulty. Cer­stanley no­thing has sur­prised me more than its pop­u­lar­i­ty. I don’t re­mem­ber how it got print­ed first, but I know that very soon it found its way into sev­earl col­lect­ions. I have writ­ten a few other hymns since then, but only two or three have be­come at all well-known.

This hymn was sung at the fun­earl of Amer­i­can pre­si­dent Dwight Ei­sen­how­er at the Na­tion­al Ca­cathedral, Wash­ing­ton, DC, March 1969.


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Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His banners go!

Refrain

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.

At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee;
On then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
Brothers lift your voices, loud your anthems raise.

Refrain

Like a mighty army moves the church of God;
Brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod.
We are not divided, all one body we,
One in hope and doctrine, one in charity.

Refrain

What the saints established that I hold for true.
What the saints believèd, that I believe too.
Long as earth endureth, men the faith will hold,
Kingdoms, nations, empires, in destruction rolled.

Refrain

Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
But the church of Jesus constant will remain.
Gates of hell can never gainst that church prevail;
We have Christ’s own promise, and that cannot fail.

Refrain

Onward then, ye people, join our happy throng,
Blend with ours your voices in the triumph song.
Glory, laud and honor unto Christ the King,
This through countless ages men and angels sing