2 Chr 15: 1-8

The world is full of conditions or what I call the "if - then" statements. Asa was told this via a prophet as the Spirit of God gave to Oded’s son, Azariah a message for King Asa. This is the only reference to Azariah, so we do not know any more about him. As Asa returned from the battle to Jerusalem, Azariah went to meet him. He spoke to Asa and to all the people that were with him. The message that Azariah brings is a simple one. The message is as true for us as it was for Judah. If they were loyal to the LORD, the LORD would be with them. Those who look for God will find him (Deuteronomy 4:29). But they must obey the LORD. If they turn away from him, the LORD will turn away from them. We can take this two ways - we can do what Asa did and continue to be the leader and rid himself and the land of idols that could ensnare and bring him down. Or we can believe the lie, that we can do all things and not be held accountable for our actions. The verse in the Bible that I feel gets misused and abused is the one that states "I can do all things through Christ" where people justify all actions even though their motives and actions weren't "through Christ". Is God part of the solution and is He and his Word in us daily or are we violating His trust and his Word? I often think of Bob Dylan's song - With God on our side and the chilling lyrics that even the skeptics can claim false motives under the pretense of Christianity. I'm not saying that all that the song is a litmus test of what is false or right but we should think, pray and then pray again, read His word and pray again before acting on things that really matter. Asa was a man who could see the "forest from the trees" and thus acted accordingly. He proceeded to "clean up" and repair the nation and in turn, himself. He restored the temple and continued to rid the nation of idols. Actions do speak louder than words.

The trip out here to CA was grueling as we didn't arrive until 3AM - CA time. We then had to turn around a few hours later and pick GG up at the airport. Unbeknownst to us was the SF Marathon was in town and albeit smaller than the NYC one still caused havoc on the roads. Met our guide for the day, Derek Ong who gave us a spectacular but grueling walking and public transportation tour of the city that was 5 hours long and we all met up with Alison (my niece) and our friends Dan, Jenny and baby Ethan for dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant which featured dungeoness crab -two ways. Good times and very enjoyable.

Today will be less intense and relaxing - going to the SF office to see peeps and later heading off to the Mets/Giants game later.

Praise for today: But it is good for me to draw near to God; I put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all Your works. Psalm 73:28.

2 Chr 14: 8-14

Ever face a problem or a situation that seemed insurmountable or hopeless on the surface? Asa did as his much smaller army (albeit brave) went up against an army that was probably twice his size. The Cushites decided to attack the Judeans and thus pushed Asa's back to the wall. Knowing the fragility of the situation, he did what an godly king did - he prayed. His prayer was fervent and since he was a righteous man, God did answer him and his people with a resounding victory and to the victor belongs the spoils. Victory against the Judean would be a defeat against the Lord and knowing this was enough for the Lord to carry them to victory. The other result was that the neighboring armies would not attack Judea given the decisive and overwhelming victory that the Lord did against the Cushites. It is so refreshing to read about a man who "truly gets it". Asa got it and is a shining example of what a godly king should be. I'm sure he had his faults, but so far the good far outweigh the bad.

Good day yesterday which culminated with me going to a Blue Rock game with a fellow co-worker. Still careful of what I ate over the past few days since I have an extensive blood work exam today. Praying for favorable results.... Still sooooooo looking  forward to my vacation starting this weekend.


Praise for today: Lord, there is none like you to help the powerless against the might. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and in your name we have come against this vast army. O Lord, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you. 2 Chr 14:11

2 Chr 14: 2 - 7

This is a refreshing time in the land of Judah. Asa, the son of Abijah is now the king and there is a decade of peace and spiritual tranquility under his regime. v2 said that he did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord. What that means to me was the he wasn't about the "show" but about the "go" especially since the eyes of the Lord sees everything and especially the heart. He restored the worship of the Lord  and He only  by tearing down the idol worship which pleased God. He also used this time to fortify the cities given the weakness and vulnerability of the land. It does go to prove that there were some that despite their surroundings can rise above the noise and do the right thing not just some of the time but all of the time. It doesn't mean that they or I can't sin (since we all do) but do we have a heart for and of God. Do we love Him enough to turn from what displeases him and what breaks his heart. I hope I do...

Decent day yesterday despite the lack of bodies in our group yesterday. Another long day on tap and it proves to be another hot and steamy one. Maybe a BR game on tap later if the weather holds up. So glad that our friend Hei, was able to join her husband and the rest of the vacationers on their cruise. So looking forward for my vacation as well this weekend. It's been since March that I took any meaningful time off and I am ready.

Praise for today: The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side. 2 Chr 14:6

2 Chr 13: 13- 14:1

I guess they didn't listed to the claims of Abijah and proceeded to attack Jerusalem from the back and front. Judah did the only "logical" thing that they could do - cry out to the Lord. They sounded the battle cry and with that the Lord routed Jeroboam and all Israel (10 tribes) before Judah. Ultimately, the Israelites were inflicted heavy losses (500,000) which was more than the Judean army since they relied upon the Lord. Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took from him the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron as well as surrounding villages. Jeroboam never regained power after the defeat the Lord gave him and struck him dead. Abijah, on the other hand grew in strength and had (via 14 wives) 22 sons and 16 daughters. What was interesting according to the commentary was that there would be no king from the lineage of Jeroboam since his line was destroyed. Abijah also disobeyed God about having one wife as his father Solomon did. However, it was still recorded that he rested with his fathers and his son Asa succeeded him and the country was at peace for 10 years.

Great weekend weather-wise! Very relaxing weekend overall with minimal stuff done. Have to do additional blood work this week which will be a challenge with the staffing but hope to get this done on Thursday morning. Good time yesterday at church with Pastor Dave Beidel and catching up with him and sharing the vision!!!

Praise for today: Show us your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. Psalm 85 :7

2 Chr 13: 1- 12

During the three years that marked Abijah's reign after his father Rehoboam died was to defend what was his. The crux of Abijah's rule was the war with Jeroboam and the components were massive. He had 400,000 men and Rehoboam had 800,000. What was interesting was the speech that he gave to his troops and to the armies of Israel. He uses the fact that the kingdom of the nation was to come from the lineage of David and berated the Israelites for their false gods and stating that Judah was going to be blessed being on God's side. He pointed to their idol worship and how they drove the lineage of Aaron away. He makes himself and Judah to be holier than holy when in reality they have fallen short of His glory as well. He pleaded with the Israelites not to fight against the Lord since they will not succeed. He would be right but for the wrong reasons - it would be solely on the promise to David by the Lord that would bring them victory.

Per the commentary: The LORD is our God. Judah has no other gods. Judah has remained loyal to the LORD. Still the priests and the Levites carry out their duties in the temple. They and the people in Judah do what the LORD had told them to do. But the people in Israel (the northern kingdom) have turned away from the LORD. This is Abijah’s opinion. But Judah had not been loyal to the LORD in the past. Abijah himself was quite as bad as his father had been (1 Kings 15:3). He was not as loyal to the LORD as he pretended. The two kingdoms were in the plan of God (1 Kings 11:31). So, Abijah used these arguments about religion for his own political purposes. But as the northern kingdom had turned from the LORD, his argument was good.

Yesterday was marked with disappointing news, praying for GG and his outlook. Glad to hear that he is ok after last night's shooting at a movie theater close to him. Also for Hei, who has to delay her vacation due to legal issues - praying that she will rejoin the troops soon. Prayers also for a co-worker who is  looking to pass her licensing exam today. Glad to hear about the rain, but it stinks since it will jam up my ride home.

Praise for today: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. Psalm 111:10

2 Chr 12: 1-16

The first few years of Rehoboam's rule was marked with dependency upon God and thus obedience to Him. As the years progressed, he turned from God as his kingdom began to have stability and prosperity. This angered the Lord who allowed the king of Egypt to form an attack against Rehoboam and his kingdom. Rehoboam was petrified and sought the reasons why this attack would be allowed to happen and fearing losing this battle (and the aftermath). Basically he was told that the Lord would abandon him since he abandoned the Lord. Rehoboam and the people repented and truly were sorry for their actions and the Lord spared them but still allowed the attack to happen. Shishak, the king of Egypt took the decadence (gold shields) that marked the Solomon age but didn't destroy Jerusalem. Left with nothing to show, Rehoboam had bronze shields to replace the gold ones that marked his father's prosperity. After Shishak left, the restoration began and normalcy return to Judah.

God wants us to be his daily and not just when we need him or think we need him. The lessons that are taught from thousands of years ago are still applicable today. I know that this is the case at least for me.  Praying for safety and enjoyment for David and his fellow cruisers today. Also prayers for GG as he undergoes his upgrade exam soon. Looking forward to the temp break later and the weekend.

Praise for today: Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Psalm 95:1

2 Chr 11:18-23

The balance of the chapter is on the king Rehoboam and his "expansive" family. Following in the footsteps of his father, Solomon, he had 18 wives and 60 concubines which probably led to some interesting episodes. Still this was in direct conflict with what written in Deut 17:17 regarding the king and his marital status : He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. This was the downfall of Solomon whose heart was led away from the Lord to worship other gods by his various foreign wives. Clearly Solomon had nearly 1000 wives over his lifetime which seemed like a matter of convenience rather than love. From the commentary: 23 Rehoboam loved Maacah more than he loved Mahalath. And he gave to Abijah, son of Maacah, the position that he should have given to his first son Jeush. In this, he did not obey God’s law (Deuteronomy 21:15-17). The choice of Abijah as the chief prince might mean that Abijah ruled with his father. In the same way, David made Solomon king while David was still alive (1 Chronicles 23:1). Such a decision might have caused a lot of trouble in the family. Rehoboam was wise to send his sons to different parts of his kingdom. He gave to them authority over cities. He provided them with all that they needed. He even found wives for them. In this way, he made sure that they would not oppose his choice of Abijah.

Overall a decent day with few incidents. It amazes me that the work ethic of a few seems to be lax once the lack of supervision is evident. Still things do get done and all is well. Gym time soon and late night later, hopefully with little excitement. Blood work tomorrow which means early dinner and no snacking.... especially my cherries.

Praise for today: I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints. Ps 52: 9

 

2 Chr 11:5-17

It seems that Judah was where the Lord would be worshipped under Rehoboam, He fortified his kingdom of Judah against Jeroboam who controlled the north and Egypt who was friendly to Jeroboam. Not  only were the cities stronger against attack, but they were stocked with food. The Levites from the entire nation migrated to Judah as they came to serve the Lord as did Rehoboam. What was especially noteworthy to the writer was that they left their homes and their prosperity to serve and to honor the Lord since Jeroboam turned his back to the Lord and refused to serve him. Jeroboam's intent was to destroy the unity of Israel to solidify his rule. If the feasts and the daily routines of worship were maintained, the nation that was founded by the love and the serving of God would gravitate the people to be loyal to the house of David rather than him. He would allow sporadic worship and at places away from a temple. He also had idols (bulls) set up for worship under the pretense that they would be worshipping God thus violating the first few Commandments. The people rebelled against this and refused to worship these idols. As for Rehoboam, his efforts to promote worship lasted three years and for the next fourteen years they stopped as his loyalty to the Lord waned.

All in all, good weekend with the church picnic having great weather - overcast and cool with little humidity and a nice consistent breeze. Got to see my old friend, Billy Trimarco (aka Turner) and reminisced albeit it was in a real dive joint. Good to catch up and pray with him. Decent day at church and relatively good ride home and down to Delly. No gym today - wanted my body to rest and catch up on some sleep.

Praise for today: But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. Ps 71: 14

2 Chr 11:1-4

The plan of God is taking shape as the nation is divided in two - Judah, with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin loyal to the throne of David and the other 10 forming Israel. It was the desire of Rehoboam to rule the entire nation and he hoped the 180,000 men he had would be able to accomplish his goal. God didn't want a civil war and sent a man of God to dissuade him and reveal God's plan. Convinced now that he could not win against the plan of God, he saw that discretion was the better part of valor. The message was also delivered to Israelites as well. They averted a civil war that no one would benefit or win against the Lord's plan.  The nation now had two kings - Jeroboam for Israel and Rehoboam for Judah.

Spoke and prayed with GG last night and it was good to hear his heart - love that boy! He is very much like me in many ways - the sense of independence and willing to pay dues. He has a plan(s) but still is very dependent upon God to see it through. Am praying for his upgrade exam and his well-being daily. Looking forward to getting home tonight!

Praise for today: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1

2 Chr 10

The die is cast and the two kingdoms are starting to take root. The new king, Rehoboam was already king of Judah and was seeking the same from Israel. With his father's death, he met with the Israelites and Jeroboam who had returned from Egypt after his exile. They had pleaded with him to be more lenient than his father (who had become cruel after he turned from the Lord) and had the choice of two counsels. The elder counsel was one who worked with Solomon and had some of his wisdom and advised him to use the "carrot" approach and he would win them over forever. The younger counsel told him to use the "stick" approach and due to the Lord's influence - he chose that one. The result was a divided kingdom since they rejected Rehoboam as their king and killed  Hadoram was the officer who forced the people to do hard labour. As a result, Rehoboam fled to Judah with his life to escape the wrath of the Israelites. Since then the Israelites rejected the sons of David as their king.

What a story and we see the two kingdoms starting to emerge after the death of Solomon. Why was he so stupid when he was handed the answer on a silver platter? He did use some judgment when he said that he would return in three days with his decision but chose poorly and it cost. Needless to say, he didn't seek counsel from the one who could have prevented all of this but he didn't - God was not in his equation despite seeing the temple his entire life as well as the sacrifices and the history that was his to grasp.

Good day yesterday, reading outside was a treat. Already looking forward to the weekend and the church picnic.

Praise for today: By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me - a prayer to the God of my life. Ps 42: 8

2 Chr 9:13-31

The balance of the chapter speaks of the great wealth that Solomon and his kingdom amassed on an annual basis. Every year he would receive 666 (why that number???) talents of gold - with each talent the equivalent of 75 pounds especially with today's price of gold hovering around $1,600 per oz. Needless to say, he did alright by himself. On top of that, he would receive wealth from neighboring countries like Arabia. So what is a king to do with all this gold? Make shields with them, of course to adorn his palace. He also made a throne of pure ivory and gold. Every thing was made from gold especially the cups and chalices since the people placed much less value on silver. Still Solomon continued to impress the visiting kings with his wisdom as they came to seek his advice. With the advice came the additional wealth as they paid for the advice similar to the Warren Buffett charity lunch which draws thousands for charity just to listen to him. The rest of the passage speaks of Iddo who probably wrote the book of Kings. Per the commentary: the prophet Iddo seems to have been the author of three books. He wrote about Jeroboam and Solomon. Then he wrote about Rehoboam and his family history (12:15). Later he wrote about Abijah (13:22). People were careful to record the major events in the lives of the kings such as Solomon. Solomon had ruled for 40 years in Jerusalem. He died and the people buried him in the city of David.

All in all, thankful for a quiet week so far and the break in the weather. While I am savoring the quietness, I am still looking forward to the weekend and church picnic. Heard that GG made a cameo appearance at home and will head back to Denver later but still praying for him when he tackles his upgrade exam.

Praise for today: Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength; we will sing and praise your might. Psalm 21: 13

I found that being complacent is not what I should be so I decided to read the passages in 1 Kings 11 which elaborates further on Solomon and his adversaries. What I did find interesting was how "mixed marriages" brought down his kingdom and ultimately split the nation in two. v 30-39 foretells of the "then" when God is not pleased and is angered. For the sake of David, he allowed Solomon to finish his reign but the worse is yet to come. Similarly to Saul and David, Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam who rebelled against the king since Solomon turned away from the Lord.

What a great day it was weather wise. I found it a blessing to be able to read Scripture outside and well as read more of the Jobs bio. Good deal!

2 Chr 9:1-12

Perhaps this was a defining moment in the reign of Solomon - the visit by the Queen of Sheba. We don't even know her name but we do know where this land is : The country called Sheba was on both sides of the Red Sea where it joins the Gulf (bay) of Arabia. It was in the modern countries called Yemen, Djibouti and east Ethiopia. The kingdom of Sheba was famous because of its trade in gold and spices. Perhaps her visit was two fold because she came to meet Solomon because of his great wisdom and asked the hard questions. She came bearing gifts as well but what astounded her was the wisdom he had, the wealth that he amassed, the food on the table and the dress of his workers and she felt overwhelmed.  She also acknowledged who gave and blessed Solomon - the Lord. She gave gifts and shared her wealth which was unique to her land. In return, Solomon gave her all that she desired and asked for as well as more than what she came with. The commentary also eluded to a very favorable trade agreement between the two nations.

Good day all in all yesterday and very relaxing. I started to read the Steve Jobs biography and so far have not been disappointed. This is a long book (500+ pages) and from what I gather from others, it should be a good read. Very, very thankful for David for working on getting my Slingbox in working order.

Praise for today: Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold then forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness. 2 Chr 9: 8

2 Chronicles 8

It seems that this chapter lists the other activities that consumed Solomon during his reign. At the end of the 20 years, his palace and the temple was completed. He also built towns for the Israelites to live. as store cities and a few places as fortified cities with gates and bars. The non-Israelites were used as his slave force for the manual labor while the Israelites were not - they became his army and chief officials. Apparently, Solomon intermarried with an Egyptian (Pharaoh's daughter) and built her a palace since the places that his father David made were holy. It seemed like she and her entourage didn't worship God but rather her own and thus could not live in those places. However, Solomon adhered to the sacrifices and the feast via Levittical law and it seems that the balance of the chapter states that his reign thrived (particularly in commerce).

Pretty decent day yesterday, teaching HS class was a little rough since someone tossed my lesson and I had to "wing" it. Still I think it went well. Drives to and from NYC weren't bad and also down to Delly as well. Quiet evening and got my ironing done. Should be a relaxing week at work and now looking forward to the church picnic on Sat and praying for decent weather. The heat wave has taken a break this week so thankful for that. Saw the new Spidey movie with the fam (less GG) and went out for  a cheap dinner on Sat. - still another $100 day after the smoke cleared.

Praise for today: With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord; in the great throng I will praise him. Psalm 109:30.

I have decided that while the morning my time is limited to read and comment on the passage when I can, I will add to the posts as the Lord gives me more understanding. One of the facts that I seemed to gloss over has been that it took Solomon 7+ years to build the temple for the Lord but after it was done, it took 13 years to build his palace. His intermarriage has some points to consider as far as why the Lord allowed it and didn't hold it against him. According to the commentary:

This wife brought her own maids and servants with her from Egypt. She and they probably did not worship the LORD. They had their own gods. Perhaps that is why Solomon kept them away from David’s palace and from the LORD’s temple. There is a tradition that gives her name as Bithiah. That name means ‘a daughter of the LORD who worships him’. So if the tradition is correct, this wife did worship the LORD. But we do know that many of Solomon’s later wives worshipped false gods.

Again the problem of purity both as nation is compromised especially when condoned and practiced by the leader. Still overall, the Lord did bless the marriage and his reign up to this chapter.

2 Chr 7:11-22

The famous "if then" statement or the conditional blessing. If you do this then I will do this. We encounter that all the time in life because there is no such thing as a free lunch. The balance of this chapter happens over 13 years later than the first part of the chapter since it mentions the completion of the royal palace. Solomon, in his own mind, was done with building since his temple was completed. The Lord appeared to him at night and told him very bluntly His "if then" statements. The most famous of which is v. 14. There will always be a reason why God would not bless the people and the land and the sole reason is that the people are proud and seek other things away from God. Anything that does not please God is and always will be - wicked. The same would be true with Solomon and anyone else who follows in his father, David's footsteps. As great as the temple is to show the glory of God, it also serves a reminder that it will also reveal the wrath of God as well.

Not a bad day all in all, the family is back safe in their destinations and I got a lot done as well. The Mets won 2 of 3 from the Sillies and I got my laundry done rather than lug it back home. Dinner was light but decent and I am going home. Not looking forward to the heat this weekend and hopefully I will crank up the grill for some dinner Saturday. Still praying for my peeps and for their well-being.

Praise for today: If my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chr 7:14

2 Chr 7: 1-10

The time has come for the Lord to respond and respond He did by sending fire to consume the sacrifices that were laid in the waiting at the temple. The Lord then via the cloud came and filled the temple with His Presence. It was so huge that the priests had to leave the temple so that the Lord could be there. Per the commentary: The people stood in the areas round the temple. They all saw the fire as it came down from heaven. Also, they saw the glory of the LORD above the temple. The glory of the LORD was probably like a bright cloud over the temple. They all bent down with their faces to the ground. This is the way that the Israelites worshipped God.

v 4-6 Solomon and the people respond by giving enormous amounts of animals to be sacrificed while the priests and musicians praised God with the instruments that David made for them. Since the altar was too small, Solomon sanctified the middle area in front of the Lord's temple for sacrifices. The festival lasted for 14  days and occurred in our October. People far and wide came to witness this.

Again a very graphic and awesome passage which mere words cannot portray.

A very quiet and peaceful day with me finally cleaning out the kitchen and making it look as when I first moved in nearly 6 years ago. Scorcher of  a day but I did get some pool time in after making dinner and letting it rest. The firework display looked great both in Phillie and NY but glad I stayed in. Looks like a repeat of yesterday, weather wise and will be through the weekend.

Praise for today: I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints. Ps 52: 9

2 Chr 6:12-42

The time has come for the temple to be dedicated and who better than Solomon to do it? He stood on a bronze altar/platform so as to be seen and heard. On his knees, he proceeds to ask the Lord to bless the temple and remind the people that it is only be His grace that they are where they are and will remain favored if they draw and keep close to the Lord. He acknowledges who the Lord is and how he works - the temple cannot contain him and then Solomon proceeds to remind the people and himself that the Lord is in charge. The temple is for the people to find God not contain him. From 12-42 Solomon addresses 7 situations that might happen - the address of the problem, prayer in the temple, God hears the problem and God answers the problem. We do sin - both publicly and privately and thus we need to confess to God since He sees and hears and knows it all. The situations are 1. a legal difficult problem where there are no witnesses 2. Defeat because of Israel's sin 3. No rain due to sin 4. Disasters and diseases 5. A foreigner's prayer because that person is God's creation and child as well 6. God ordering Israel to go to war and 7. Exile because of Israel's sin. Quite a broad spectrum but still a great and mindful prayer for all. I love v 36a since it is so Romans oriented!

It is nice having a mid-week break today but still lonely... Still, much I can and will try to do around here. Glad  I did the gym thing late yesterday so no guilt in skipping it today. Cleaning and some lenghty cooking on the agenda today with maybe some food shopping, pooltime (weather permitting) and watching my Mets whip up on the Sillies (hopefully). Debating whether or not to see a movie...

Prayers for Matt as he is traveling home today and for the family in FL. Also prayers persist for those who are on my mind - PAL & family, Roy and Caroline Smith, family, the Rodgers family and for Andy and Marty who are traveling home after their recent gig.

Praise for today: Now arise, O Lord God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. 2 Chr 6: 41

2 Chr 6: 1-11

The Lord throughout Scripture had made His presence known as dark cloud. This was true in Exodus as he led the people as a cloud by day and fire by night. When Moses went to see Him in the mount, He appeared as a cloud. The pattern was set so the acceptance and the dwelling of God in His temple was the culmination of the new nation of Israel and its home. Gone were the nomadic surroundings and ways - they truly settled in to Jerusalem. Solomon knew this and address the people with a brief history lesson and that the Lord is pleased since they saw the cloud at the temple. Still this was a spectacular sight and a once in a lifetime event. Wish I could have been there....

Long day yesterday since I didn't get out there until 6 PM. It was one of those days where you are doing a ton of things and never getting even or ahead. Still living to fight another day today. Decided to skip the gym today and workout tomorrow morning. May even go after work today for a quickie and skip tomorrow but I wanted to give my knee a rest - still not just right. Tomorrow will be a day of apartment cleaning and maybe some pool time if the weather holds out. I might even slip in a movie.

Prayers still for those who are in need and the fam down in FL. Also prayers for PAL and his family as they go to Asia for a month - for stamina and for spiritual refreshment and fulfillment.

Praise for today: Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory, Amen and Amen. Psalm 72: 18-19

2 Chr 5:11-14

After all of the planning, work and sacrifice has been done - the time is now set for the Lord to occupy the temple. All of the servants - priests, musicians and guards now gather to call upon the Lord and pray and welcome His coming. They were dressed in white linen as a bride meets her groom and singing"God is good. His love continues for all time." v 14 says it all:  The priests could not continue their work because of the cloud. And the LORD’s glory filled God’s temple.

There was a time to plan, a time to work and a time to gather and sing - this was truly a time to witness and be silent. I remember a chorus from a long time ago. "the Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord is in his holy temple, let all the world be silent, be silent". When God is there, what can we say - nothing, what can we do - nothing, for who are we? Nothing compared to the glory of the Lord. I can only imagine Isaiah and what he felt in c 6.

Decent weekend, home alone and got stuff done on Sat around the house and had lunch with an old friend and caught up with each other. Sunday was good - had a great HS class and prayer time with the other elders/pastor and traffic out of NYC was better than I expected. Got down to Delly with some traffic but at a reasonable time and with a "prime-time" parking spot so I am grateful and thankful. Weird this week being off on Wed and staying down here but that will give me time to clean this place as it should be and maybe some pool time.

Prayers for the Rodgers family persists and for Nicole who banged her ankle up and will need surgery. Prayers also for PAL and his family as they head out to Asia for a month.

Praise for today:He is good, his love endures forever 2 Chronicles 5: 13