1 Timothy 1 is a personal letter from the Apostle Paul to Timothy and it starts out with a personal greeting of encouragement and a warning about false teachers for there is no other doctrine. He encourages Timothy to remember to give glory to God for His grace and fight the good fight. An interesting fact in this letter: No slave trader will inherit the Kingdom of God.
Jeremiah 5. Good men were hard to find when not one was upright. God’s judgement was coming.
Jeremiah 6. Bad news. Jerusalem will be under siege.
In between the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians and his first letter to Timothy we read two Psalms.
September 14: Psalm 104, Psalm 105 (click on the chapter to begin reading).
Psalm 104. God is Lord of all creation. He is worthy of all praise. Let us count the ways.
Psalm 105. God is faithful to His Covenant people, and retells the account of what He did for the Hebrews from Abraham to the wanderings in the wilderness.
In between the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians and his first letter to Timothy we read one chapter of Proverbs and two chapters if Jeremiah.
Proverbs 15, Proverbs of Solomon. Solomon speaks of the value of following the LORD and the pursuit of righteousness and virtue as opposed to folly, pride and wickedness, all of which God hates.
Jeremiah 3. Israel was shamelessly unfaithful, yet God was merciful and called Israel to repent and return to the LORD.
Jeremiah 4. God made one final call for Israel to repent, but, and this is the prophecy, there would be an imminent invasion and the nation was to be doomed.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 14:1)
The original location where the iron cross was found.
For Muslims, atheists and humanists the cross is an offense since it is to them the stench of death. But to us who believe it is the symbol of redemption and new and eternal life in Christ. If they were not pricked in their hearts when they see the cross they would not be offended.
He 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)
An intermediate location for the cross
The final place for the Iron cross near the 9/11 museum.
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 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 travel 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.
On April 16 2019 at the church of Notre Dame in Paris there was a fire. Much was lost.
“Art and architecture have a unique ability to help us connect across our differences and bring people together in important ways,” posted U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar. “Thinking of the people of Paris and praying for every first responder trying to save this wonder.”
No, Ms Omar, it is much more than that, rather
What nearly destroyed Notre Dame;
historical artworks for some.
Not the fall of the steeple,
God’s church is the people
the Cross stands for all who will come.
Yes, the fire was spectacular.
Yes, the cross still stands as it did when, as U.S. Rep Ilhan Omar so famously quoted “Somebody did something at 9/11”
“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 53:1)
In between the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians and his first letter to Timothy we read one Psalm and the first two chapters of Jeremiah.
Psalm 103, of David. There are many songs of praise in the Bible. This is probably the purest of them all. It combines God’s mercifulness and our shortcomings, His healing power and our frailty and above all our very limited life here on earth and the eternity of God.
Jeremiah 1, the call of Jeremiah. The key word in Jeremiah’s call is “before“. Here God confirmed His call with two visions, the branch of an almond tree and a boiling pot tilting away from the north. These were promises of the fulfillment of God’s word and of an impending disaster. God finally assured Jeremiah He will be with him, so don’t worry.
Jeremiah 2. Israel had forsaken the LORD, and God presented His case against Israel.
2 Thessalonians 2 tells of the great apostasy, when the man of lawlessness is revealed and usher in the tribulation. People will believe “The Lie” and be destroyed. Stand fast, Jesus will destroy him at his return.
Isaiah 62. Zion’s new name will be called Hephzibah and the land will be called Beulah, salvation is coming.
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?
2 Thessalonians 1, After the customary greeting and prayer of thanksgiving, Paul dealt with God’s final judgment and God’s glory.
Isaiah 60. Arise, shine, for your light has come. Gross darkness covers the people. It tells of the glory of Zion and ends with a millennial prophecy of the New Jerusalem.
Isaiah 61. This is the year of the Lord’s favor. Jesus started his ministry finding this prophecy in the scroll of Isaiah and read it but stopped mid-sentence. It also gives “beauty for ashes” and proclaims the good news of salvation.
Psalm 95 is a song of praise to God, but also a warning that they should not harden their hearts as they did in the wilderness and thus were not allowed to enter God’s rest.
Psalm 96 is to “declare His glory among the nations“, and ends up with “Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,he comes to judge the earth.”
Psalm 97 tells what it means to rejoice “for the LORD reigneth” and “For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.”
Len Bilén's blog, a blog about faith, politics and the environment. 
