Book Recommendation

      A few months ago, I recommended a book by Jonathan Wittenberg entitled "Walking With The Light". This book tells of how Rabbi Wittenberg, accompanied by his dog Mitzpah, walked from Frankfurt, Germany to the Rabbi's congregation in England carrying the light from the Frankfurt synagogue to the new synagogue in London. I enjoyed reading that book a lot, and I would still recommend it to you. 

     I read on Rabbi Wittenberg's Twitter feed this week that Mitzpah passed away. That is what got me to thinking about the book again. Whenever someone's special dog passes, I think of my old friend Toby and the good times that we had together. 

     Rabbi Wittenberg has written a book that I've intended to read, but I've had difficulty getting it through interlibrary loan here in the United States. The book is called, "Things My Dog Has Taught Me: About Being A Better Human." I saw today that it is available on Amazon here in the US now, so I will be ordering that and reading it in the near future. 

Verses For The Week

 John 14:23 -- "Anyone who loves Me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and We will come to them, and make Our home with them."

Romans 12:11 -- "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."

Weekend Sermon -- Favorite Verses -- Matthew 11:28-30

      Thank you for joining me for this week's edition of the sermon. I hope that you are all doing well and are in good health. I thank the Lord for giving me the opportunity to post the message today. 

     Last week, we began a short series of messages on what I call my favorite verses in the Bible. These are verses or short passages that have had a lot of meaning for me in my life. The passage that I would like us to focus on today is Matthew 11:28-30. Here is what Jesus says, "Come to Me. all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and My burden is light."

     This verse speaks to me for a number of different reasons. First of all, this verse tells me that Jesus will accept anyone who comes to Him. Come to me all who are weary. That is about everyone that I know. Jesus wants people to come to Him and find new life. He wants people to come to Him and find release and forgiveness from the burdens of sin and guilt. Whoever is willing to come to Jesus in repentance and faith, Jesus will accept them. He will not cast them out. 

     I find comfort in this verse because it speaks to me of the fact that Jesus is there for me when I am facing difficulties in life. Throughout my life, I have faced some difficult times. At these times, I have been able to make it through because Jesus is with me. When I am troubled and in distress, I can go to Jesus and find rest from all of the trouble that is in the world. We told us that He will never leave us or forsake us. He will be with us always throughout eternity. 

     Matthew 11:28-30 tells us that we can be free from the baggage of sin and the baggage of this world that besets us. It is a heavy load that pushes us down. With Jesus as our Savior, Lord and Friend, we can be freed from the burdens of sin and the burdens of this world. We can take up His yoke. That means that He leads us and He guides in the way and in the path of love. He is gentle and humble. He leads us in such a way that we become more like Him each day so that we can show others the path of the Lord and how it can be of benefit to their lives. 

     One thing that I want to emphasize in this passage that is important to me is that Jesus wants us to learn from Him. He wants to be our teacher. He wants to show us the way that we can have an abundant life. Jesus said that He came to bring life and life that is more abundant. 

     One of the ways that we learn from Jesus is by studying what He said and what He did while He was on this earth. I encourage everyone to thoroughly study Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Here, you will find what Jesus wants us to do. Here, we will see how Jesus acted while in this world as an example of how we should also act. In the Gospels, we have the answer to the question, what would Jesus do?

     We also learn from Jesus when we spend time with Him in prayer and meditation. When we are still in the presence of the Lord, we can allow Him to speak to our hearts so that we will know His will for the situations that we are facing in this life. It is at these times in particular that I feel the great comfort and the presence of the Lord Jesus within my life. 

     I want to close the message today by reiterating the fact that Jesus wants to have a relationship with you. He wants to have a relationship with everyone. His love is available to all. I invite you to come to Jesus and find rest for your soul today. You will find that knowing Jesus and having Jesus as Lord is the best thing that ever happened to you in your life. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     I want to thank the Lord that the heavy rain that we had last week did not cause any problems in my area. We need to continue to pray for those in Louisiana and throughout other parts of the US that were affected by the storms. Please pray that those who are in need will receive the help that they need. Please reach out to help others as you are able. 

     Continue to pray for Afghanistan. There are many still in that country that would like to get out. Pray that they can leave soon. Pray for the refugees as they are seeking a new life. 

     Pray for peace in the troubled areas of this world. Libya, Yemen, Syria and Ethiopia all need our prayers. 

     Please continue to pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. In my state, many have not taken the vaccine. Please pray that people will get vaccinated in order to help themselves and others. Pray for those who are sick that they may recover. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Bangladesh and Jordan. Pray that many will come to Jesus and find rest. 

     Next week, I will post a message about another of my favorite verses. I will post the verses on Monday, and I will have a midweek post. May God bless you all. 

Book Review

      The book that I am reviewing today is "Mason Versus The Tornado". This is a graphic novel that is for younger readers. It is part of a larger series about animal and pet rescue. 

      This book tells about a family dog in Alabama who survived being in a tornado. The book provides information for younger readers about what tornados are and the destructive potential of tornados. In addition to the information provided in the main story, there is also a presentation in the back of the book about how animals were affected by tornados in other locations. 

     This is a very short book, but it it interesting. Younger readers are sure to enjoy it. 

Verses For The Week

 I Corinthians 15:58 -- "Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

Philippians 2:16 -- "Hold firmly to the word of life; then on the day of Christ's return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work is not useless."

Weekend Sermon -- Hebrews 13:8

      Last week, we finished our series on the book of James. It has taken us almost the entire year to finish, but I believe that we learned a lot. Here is what I want to do with the sermons through the end of the year, Lord willing. Through the month of September, I will post a sermon each week on one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Starting in October, I plan to do something different. Last year, we had 30 days 30 Psalms. For the month of October, I want to do 31 days in Proverbs. I will pick a couple of Proverbs to write about each day in lieu of other posts and the sermon. Then in November, I will post sermons about some of my favorite verses again until it is time for Advent sermons. That will carry us through this year. I hope that you will be part of the journey to learn more about what the Lord has to teach us. 

     Today, I want to share with you why Hebrews 13:8 is one of the most meaningful verses in the Bible to me. Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." It is a short verse packed with a lot of meaning. 

     The main reason why this verse is so important to me is that it reminds me of the fact that I can always count on Jesus being just as He was in the Bible, and I can always count on Him to keep His promises. He did in the past, and He will keep on doing it. Let's look at this a little deeper.

     In the Gospels, we are presented with a picture of Jesus who always acts with compassion and mercy. On several different occasions, the Bible tells us that Jesus was moved with compassion. He felt compassion on those who were sick and on those who were hungry. He had compassion for those who were being led astray by the religious leaders of His day. Jesus cared about people, and He went about doing good and helping as many people as He could. 

     Since Jesus was that way while He was on this earth, I know according to Hebrews 13:8 that Jesus is that way now and will be in the future. He still is compassionate, caring and merciful. He cares that people are hurting in this world, and He wants those of us who claim to follow Him to to all that we can to help people and to make this world a better place. Jesus wants us to work for peace and for the alleviation of suffering. 

     Jesus also cared about the fact that people needed salvation and forgiveness of sins. And He certainly still does. That is why He gave His followers the Great Commission that tells us to go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Jesus forgave people while He was on earth. He even did it while He was on the cross. Jesus wants us now and in the future to share His message of love and forgiveness so that they can know Him and the peace and love that He will bring to their lives. 

     Hebrews 13:8 speaks to me because it lets me know that I can trust Jesus into the future. Jesus said that He would not cast out anyone who would come to Him. He said that He would give new life and and an abundant life to those who would trust in Him. I have put my faith and trust in Jesus believing that since I have come to Him, He has forgiven me and saved me from my sins. 

     Jesus said that He would not leave us. Hebrews 13:8 helps me to hold on that promise. Jesus was trustworthy in the past, so I can trust Him now to be with me in every circumstance that I face. He will not forsake me. 

     Jesus told us clearly that He has gone to prepare a place for us so that we would be with Him forever. I am counting on this. I believe that my family and friends are with Jesus in Heaven right now. One day, I will be with Him. I can count on Him keeping His word because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 

     Jesus also told us that He would come to this earth one day and establish His eternal kingdom. We can have confidence that this will happen just as He said because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Amen.

Prayer Requests

      There is a lot to pray for this week. The US has been devastated by the hurricane. Please pray for those in need in Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey and the many other places affected by the storm. 

     Please pray for my area. We are supposed to have a lot of heavy rain starting tonight through tomorrow. Please pray that the rain is not that heavy. We don't need a lot of rain right now. Thank you. 

     Continue to pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. Pray that the sick will recover. Please get vaccinated if you have not been already. 

     Continue to pray for Afghanistan. That whole situation is truly depressing. 

     Pray for peace in this world. Let us focus our prayers for peace on Yemen this week. 

     For our prayer focus countries, let us pray for those in Japan and Egypt. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Please keeping praying that those in Haiti affected by the earthquake will receive the aid that they need. 

     Next week, I will post the sermon on Friday. I will post the verses on Monday. I will really try to have a book review midweek. I am not reading as much as usual because I haven't been feeling well at all. When I get home from work, I often just feel too tired to do much. May God bless you all. 

Two Short Poems

 Flowering Spring tress

through morning's lifting fog

wax before the wane.

Crimson petunias

struggle as frost settles ...

clouds cover the moon