Day 260 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

Philippians 2:12-29. The Apostle Paul urged the believers to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. Yes, salvation is past tense (for by grace have you been saved), present tense (work out your own salvation) and future tense (you will be saved). God is independent of time (He existed before time and space. Time and space only has meaning after creation of matter). Paul ended the chapter talking about Timothy and Epaphroditus.

Isaiah 63. The day of the Lord’s vengeance is coming where “the grapes of wrath are trod” and there was no one to help. Then God will show His mercy and provide salvation, but will people listen?

Isaiah 64. A prayer of petition and penance: “All our righteousness are as filthy rags”

Psalm 81, of Asaph. A Psalm for the Feast of Tabernacles.

Day 256 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

Ephesians 5. The Apostle Paul gave good advice: Walk in love, walk in light, and walk in wisdom, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;  Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” Then Paul gave Godly advice on marriage  and likened it to the relationship between Christ and the church.

Isaiah 56. Salvation will be open to all. In Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial will be remembered “Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.” Yet, Israel still have wicked leaders.

Psalm 80, of Asaph. A prayer for restoration of Israel, mentioning the Shepherd of Israel, a heartfelt and urgent plea.

Day 255 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

Ephesians 4:17-32. The Apostle Paul reminded the Ephesians they are children of light, do not grieve the spirit, and “do not let the sun go down on your wrath“.

Isaiah 54. After the gigantic chapter 53, writing about the sin-bearing, suffering servant the narrative switches back to God’s servant, Israel, and the Covenant of Peace. It ends with “no weapon formed against you shall prosper”

Isaiah 55 gives the invitation to abundant life. Remember this: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Psalm 79, of Asaph. A cry for help, for the heathens were devastating Jerusalem, the Temple and the people. The Psalmist confessed their collective sins and pleaded for restoration, always with praise and thankfulness.

On this, the 22th anniversary of September 11, let us remember the cross at Calvary, the cross at Ground Zero, and the offense of the cross to all who refuse to believe.

This year, president Biden has decided to sit out the 22 anniversary of the 9/11 attack by being in Alaska. He had to be at the G20 conference but decided to add a trip to Vietnam after the conference. He should have done it before, showing the importance of Vietnam and their rare earth metals. But then again, wisdom has never been the characteristic of Joe Biden:

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 14:1)

https://lenbilen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/ground_zero_cross.jpg

The original location where the iron cross was found, standing out in the rubble like this.

For Muslims the cross is an offense since it contradicts the Holy Quran. For them Jesus did not die on the cross but was directly translated to God. For atheists and humanists the cross is an offense since to them it suggests we need a redeemer, and that reminds them of their mortality. But to us who believe it is the symbol of redemption and new eternal life in Christ. If they were not pricked in their hearts when they see the cross they would not be offended.

Christ died  on the cross at Ground Zero.

We have only one risen hero.

But the fools reject grace,

stay condemned, cannot face

The truth in The Cross at Ground Zero.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (St. John 3:16-17)

https://lenbilen.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/iron-cross.jpg

An intermediate location for the cross

https://lenbilen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/cross.jpg

The final resting place for the Iron cross near the 9/11 museum.

In 2015, the guest host on OAN shared these thoughts on Aug 28, in preparation for 9/11.

These were the final words of Governor Sarah Palin after a successful week anchoring “On Point” with the One America News.

Governor Palin is a true servant. Her parents, Chuck and Sally Heath, worked at the stinky Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island, New York in January and February 2002 as part of a federal Department of Agriculture program.

In a telephone interview, Mr. Heath said he and his wife had worked to keep sea gulls and rats from scavenging the human remains in the debris. Mr. Heath, then 70, a retired science teacher, and Mrs. Heath, then 68, a retired secretary, had worked for the Agriculture Department for 15 years. They traveled around the world dealing with “nuisance” animals like rats and bears.

“A lot of people just didn’t like the job, it was kind of a morbid thing,” he said of the work at the landfill. “But I thought it was part of history.”

This is the attitude of a servant.

After the 9/11 attack the country got together to rebuild the country again. Many quoted Isaiah 9:10 “The bricks have fallen down,
    but we will rebuild with dressed stone;
the fig trees have been felled,
    but we will replace them with cedars.”

Isaiah 9:10 has been quoted by politicians as a message of resilience and hope. This message was scribbled by President Obama in 2012 on a building near Ground Zero. Other Politicians have quoted Isaiah 9:10. John Edwards quoted it directly on the third anniversary of 9/11, not realizing that the message is not one of hope, but of utter arrogance. Today’s message by President Biden is “Build back better”, same message, one of utter arrogance. It is clear from the context:

What comes before the message that came down on Israel? Of course verse 6 and 7:

Child born: Shows the humanity of Christ

Son given, shows the deity of Christ

It also shows the unity of God as Father, Prince of Peace as Son and Wonderful Counselor which is the Holy Spirit, three aspects of God, three in one, the triune God, the Trinity.

https://lenbilen.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/slide1091.jpg

This message brings us full circle back to Jesus Christ, the one who died at the original Ground Zero, but rose again. There will be no “build back better” unless there is a revival, a return to God, a great awakening. This present government has by its actions shown that American Exceptionalism is dead, we will do better by abandoning our citizens and allies and negotiate with terrorists who will be fully installed in Afghanistan on 9/11. We will from now on be under Global Governance.

The aim of China is to be the dominant force in the world by 2030. Recent events have made them speed up the time table by at least 5 years after successfully interfering in the last election by openly favoring Joe Biden. The greatest fear of the Chinese Government are the 300 million or so closet Christians in China, a number that just keeps growing. The other fastest growing churches are the Christians in Iran and Afghanistan. In Myanmar Christians are now openly persecuted and some are killed, in Pakistan many are persecuted for blasphemy. There are now more Christian martyrs than ever in history, and even our own State Department considers evangelical Christians our greatest threat, greater than Taliban.

Pray for a worldwide revival of God’s people and an even greater awakening of Biblical Proportion!

Day 249 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

Galatians 6. Bear one another’s burdens and at the same time each one should carry his own burden. A man reaps what he sows, be generous and do good, especially to those of the household of faith. Glory only in the cross. After these admonitions the Apostle Paul gave his final blessings.

Isaiah 43 speaks of the redeemer and the rebirth of Israel, which took place in 1948. It happened in spite of Israel’s unfaithfulness only by God’s mercy, and His promise that He would do a new thing.

Psalm 78, a maskil of Asaph. “This is the longest of the historical psalms. Its lesson is that history must not repeat itself. The people must never again be unbelieving.” (James Montgomery Boice)

Day 248 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

Galatians 5: 16-25. “ Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” The Apostle Paul spoke of christian liberty, love fulfills the law and is accomplished by walking in the spirit.

Isaiah 41 waxes eloquent about the helper of Israel. “How firm a foundation” is to stand with God. Compare that to the futility of idols!

Isaiah 42 records the Servant of the LORD as a light for the Gentiles. The sons of Kedar will sing a new song, which is not the doctrine of Islam, as some Muslims claim, but as so often was the case, Israel was still blind and deaf.

Psalm 77, of Asaph. No matter how dire the circumstances the believer can still sing God’s praises and recall God’s wonders.

Day 238 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

Corinthians 9. The Apostle Paul gave advice in how to administer the gift, one way being the cheerful (hilarious) giver. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!

Isaiah 21. The prophecies continue, this time against Babylon, Edom and Arabia.

Isaiah 22 contains a prophecy about Jerusalem.

Psalm 75, of Asaph. A song of praise to the LORD. The theme is: He executes proper judgement. It ends with: All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off, But the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

Day 239 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

2 Corinthians 10. The Apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians that this is a spiritual war “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.”  He defined his authority and the limits of his authority; it is all in Christ: “But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

Isaiah 23 records a prophecy about Tyre.

Psalm 76, of Asaph. A song that praises the LORD, how He confounds the “stouthearted” but saves the meek.

Day 237 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

2 Corinthians 8. The Macedonians excelled in giving, but first they gave their own selves to the Lord. Christ is our pattern in giving himself. The Corinthians took up a collection for the Judean saints. Titus was sent to the Corinthians.

Isaiah 18 features a prophecy against Cush (with a vignette from modern Sudan).

Isaiah 19 gives an oracle about Egypt and tells of the future blessing of Assyria, Egypt and Israel.

Isaiah 20 is very short and contains a prophecy against Egypt and Cush.

Psalm 74, of Asaph. This Psalm describes the destruction of the Temple. This Asaph may have been penned by a descendant of the earlier musician, or may be prophetic. In any case he asked God to defend His case against the evildoers.

Day 236 of reading the Holy Bible in 365 days.

2 Corinthians 7 is an exhortation to holiness, and the entire church is included. The Apostle Paul rejoiced in their sorrowing to repentance, and was comforted that Titus had been together with the believers.

Isaiah 15 is a prophecy against Moab.

Isaiah 16 speaks of the destruction of Moab.

Isaiah 17 tells of the oracle against Damascus (with a side note featuring Nancy Pelosi in Damascus)

Psalm 73 begins Book Three of Psalms, (Psalms 43-89) . It is of Asaph, a great singer and musician from the time of David and Solomon. He complained about the good fortune of the wicked and the misfortune of the righteous until he “went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end.