Today, I am just going to note some passages that I've written down the last few days. I may add a note or two but then, maybe not. 2 Samuel 18 : 1-3 NLT David now mustered the men who were with him and appointed generals and captains to lead them. He sent the troops out in three groups, placing one group under Joab, one under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and one under Ittai, the man from Gath. The king told his troops, “I am going out with you.”  But his men objected strongly. “You must not go,” they urged. “If we have to turn and run—and even if half of us die—it will make no difference to Absalom’s troops; they will be looking only for you. You are worth 10,000 of us,......" For some reason, when I read this passage this morning, I thought of the contrast with the disciples deserting Jesus when they arrested Him. Ephesians 1 :17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so ...

John 16:1 - 3 " 1 All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. " These are some of the words that Jesus tells the disciples before He is arrested. He is warning them what is going to happen and why.  Notice the second part of verse 2.  He is laying the groundwork for their acceptance of Saul/Paul.  "in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God."  Isn't that exactly what Saul thought when he was pursuing followers of "the Way', before He met Jesus.  See Acts 7:57 - 8:1 "At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the fe...

As I've posted before (see Feb 16 post), I've been reading/praying for pastors and their families.  I have to say this is not always easy. I frequently have to pray for myself at the same time, to make my prayer genuine, to accept and love unconditionally, to not be judgmental, etc. I've known some pastors who need a lot of prayer....at least from where I'm standing, so I need to refocus and try to understand that pastors are people too, having the same issues as I have including some I'll never have.  Some pastors (and people in general) are better at showing love and compassion to the rest of us. It is hard to not expect more from pastors that I expect from others.  I am sorry for that in myself and have to pray daily that I become more helpful and less negative. Well, today's passages for praying for pastors includes 1 Thes 5:17 and Acts 1:14.  1 Thessalonians 5:15 is short but packs a big punch; pray without ceasing . Acts 1:14a states " All these wit...