Heavenhigh

The Book of Life!

# 18 2022 Dev. Rev.20:12. The Book of Life! Read all of Rev. 20 first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think and interact with. This is God’s story. Will it affect your story? All passages are taken from the NIV

Rev.20:12 “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life.”

Intro. These visions that John sees are not actual events but will and have come to pass at one time or another and will be repeated in increasing intensity until the end. The vision is put into the words of men so that those who believe will understand by the power of the Holy Spirit. What is being described here is from eternity to eternity. God, who is outside of time, operates in the eternal present, represents to us what is about to happen in time, as long as time lasts.

Rev.20 is a chapter of Judgment, it is also a controversial chapter because of the different interpretations of the meaning of the thousand-year reign of Christ. A full review is beyond the scope of this devotional. The most common view is the “Premillennialists view: the thousand-years is literal, all believers who died are raised, the devil is bound, Christ will reign, add to that the “dispensationalists view”, meaning that Christ will reign from Jerusalem, the temple is rebuilt, Israel restored, for a time of peace and tranquility for a thousand-year on earth before the end. It is therefore that they call the people of God, Israel. Reformed people call Christians as Israel referring to the Old Test. and the New Test. Church. Further, Jesus, while on earth said we are in the last days: designating the thousand years from the time of Jesus’ incarnation to the time of His return.Our Lord reigns now, amen!

Vs.1-3 John, in a vision sees “an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand-years.” The names are familiar to us, the same names in Ch.12:9 are repeated here. After the thousand-years he will be released for a short time.

Vs.4-6 Now the vision is in heaven: “I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.” All believers, all those not deceived by the beast from the beginning of time to the time of Jesus’ return are resurrected spiritually into heaven. Scripture confirms this in many places but the most convincing is Jesus telling the thief on the cross next to him: “today you will be with me in paradise.” This is the first resurrection. “The second death has no power over them…they will reign with him for a thousand years.” I believe that is going on right now. Amen?

Vs.7-10 Back on earth: “when the thousand-years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations…” We get the impression that he is impotent, harmless when bound, but no, not the case, he is bound by a chain, he can’t get to you, but you can get to him, and many people do. There is a war going on right now, a spiritual war as well as physical wars. God is in control as we see in the vision “fire came down from heaven and devoured them.” That is what we pray for concerning all war, “and the devil was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur.” Along with Putin.

Vs.11-15 Back to heaven: “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.” The dead stood in front of the throne, everyone that had died, all people were judged according to what they had done. All not written in the book of life are lost, all Christians would be lost if we relied on our works, but by God’s grace, his election and by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, our names are written in the book of life. Praise be to God!

Captives

# 17 2022 Dev. Psalm 137:4. Captives! Read all of Psalm 137 first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story. How will it affect your story? All passages are taken from the NIV.

Psalm 137:4 “How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?”

Intro. Ps. 120-137 is a series of Psalms that include 15 “songs of ascents.” Songs of ascents were sung at the temple by the Priests walking up the 15 steps entering the sanctuary, also sung by pilgrims going up to Jerusalem for the three feasts required, Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles, as well as during the return from Babylon back to Jerusalem. Ps’. of ascents ended with Ps.134.

Psalm 137 Is a lament, a complaint, about captivity of their own making. It is a three stanza Psalm, rededicating themselves to God and the place of worship of their God, Jerusalem. Can we identify with this lament? We have separated ourselves from God in many ways: we have failed to keep God’s precepts, we have not loved Him or others as we should, we have not completely depended on Him. God wants to bring us back to Himself, as He brought back His people so long ago.

Vs.1-3 “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remember Zion.” They remembered what they had lost, they understood that there was no way back. O, how we remember our freedom, before the problems of life set in: the addictions the broken relationships, the time lost, the missed opportunities! There is no way back.

Vs.4-6 “How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?” They were not to forget what they had lost, they were to pine after the worship lost, desire it, like life itself. This was an extreme event in the life of God’s people, something they were not likely to forget. Some of us are in a foreign place in our lives, not how we grew up, not like we ever imagined, not what we wanted, but here we are! There is a way out!

Vs.7-9 “Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell.” Remember, Lord, when we were lead astray, the day we became captive to sin, to the ways of the world. Rescue us, Lord, set us free, forgive us as you did your people long ago. “Put us on the rock that is higher than us” (Ps.61:1-5). Thank you Lord Jesus, for bringing us out of the captivity of our mistakes, out of the captivity of our self-will and into the peace of trusting you alone and placing us into your Kingdom now and for evermore, thanks be to God!

God Reigns

# 16 2022 Dev. Rev.19:6. God Reigns! Read all of Rev.19 first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think and interact with. This is God’s story. Will it affect your story? All passages are taken from the NIV.

Rev.19:6 “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.”

Rev.19 is a chapter of praise and it Is the beginning of the end of time and the beginning of the end of evil in the world. It includes a “Threefold Hallelujah Over Babylon’s Fall”. Babylon represents: the godless cultures of all time, often found in the city, the smoke of her burning goes on forever. This chapter includes the defeat of the beast, the false prophet and all those who followed them, those who have their mark. Again, this is visionary language.

Vs.1-8 Three Hallelujahs! “The roar of a great multitude, Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,” Hallelujah! God has judged! The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God,” Hallelujah! “For our Lord God Almighty reigns.” Rejoice, “for the wedding of the Lamb has come.” Marriage, the metaphor for the love and commitment of Jesus Christ to the church and the commitment and love in a Christian marriage “Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ.” Eph.5:21-33. “The bride has made herself ready. Fine linen… was given her.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people) made “bright and clean” by the blood of Christ.

Vs.9-10 “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb! This feast goes on forever as the smoke of the fire of hell goes on forever. Unless there is repentance, those committing the atrocities of today will burn forever without burning up.

Vs.11-21 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.”

There is no doubt that this is the Christ, He is called: “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Using the language of the day: “The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen.” We can only imagine what that will be like when the time actually comes. It will be amazing and like it is described here, over quickly. The Beast is captured along with the false prophet and thrown into the lake of fire. The rebellious kings of the earth (Including Putin and every other killer-dictator who ever lived and will live were killed) all people following the beast will be killed by the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the white horse. Killed by the Word of God! In contrast to the wedding feast of the Lamb the birds are gathered to feast on the dead. It gives us an awful picture and demonstrates the seriousness of rejecting Jesus’ salvation and is a metaphor of the suffering of hell that goes on forever.

This chapter ends on a negative note, do not let that distract you from the message of the book of Revelation:

“Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!” Amen and Amen!

God Love!

# 15 2022 Dev. Psalm 136:1. God Love! Read all of Psalm 136 first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story. How will it affect your story? All passages are taken from the NIV.

Psalm 136:1 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.”

Psalm 136 a liturgy of praise to God as the Creator and as the Redeemer, the Savior of Israel and the Savior of mankind. God’s love is highlighted: “His love endures forever.” Repeated 26 times. God Love Never Stops! The call to worship, 3 verses, thanks for creation, 6 verses, God saves, 6 verses, God leads, 1 verse, the struggles on the way to the promised land, 6 verses, a summary, 4 verses.

Vs.1-3 “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.” The call to thanksgiving is repeated three times for emphasis.

Vs.4-9 praises God, “who alone does great wonders,” God’s glory, His power, His infinite wisdom is on display all around us day and night. God’s great love is on display to us from creation into eternity, “His love endures forever” Take the time to sit and ponder God’s love, soak in God’s grace, feel his care, the sun the wind, thank God for his creation.

Vs.10-15 displays God as the Redeemer of Israel from Egypt, but this has historical implications for the redemption of mankind and for our personal redemption. Israel is rescued from the slavery of Egypt; people are recued from the slavery of sin today. There was great opposition from the Egyptians; we are in a battle with the evil powers of this world, but Jesus says: “take heart! I have overcome the world!” “His love endures forever.”

V.16 give thanks “to him who led his people through the wilderness;” Jesus is leading us today, on our way to the promised land: The New Heaven and the New Earth.

Vs.17-22 Israel is out of slavery but not out of the wilderness, there are those who oppose them, there are temptations. We are out of the slavery of sin; we are forgiven but we are not out of the woods. Satan throws obstacle’s in our way: temptations, illnesses, pandemics, mandates, shutdowns, masks, vaccines and therapeutics, some good, some bad, some supported by government, some are not. Think of the chaos in Ukraine, the lock down in Shanghai, some are innocent victims, some of it self imposed. Jesus said: “In this world you will have trouble.” What is the answer? Well, we must not depend on ourselves or on the government, we must put our trust in Jesus and in Him alone. Amen!

Vs.23-26 four verses that tells us of God’s care but in the reverse order of how God cares for us in the above verses. “He remembered us… He freed us… he gives food… His love endures forever.” Verse 26 start back at the beginning and sums up for us that God loves us: “Give thanks to the God in heaven. His love endures forever.” Amen and Amen!

God’s Call!

# 14 2022 Dev. Rev. 18:4. God’s Call! Read all of Rev.18 first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think and interact with it. This is God’s story. How will it affect your story? All passages are taken from the NIV.

Rev.18:4 “‘Come out of her, my people,’^[^b^] so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues;”

Intro. These visions that John sees are not actual events but will come to pass at one time or another from the time of John’s writing and will be repeated in increasing intensity until the end. The vision is put into the words of men so that those who believe will understand by the power of the Holy Spirit. What is being described here is from eternity to eternity. God, who is outside of time, operates in the eternal present, represents to us what is about to happen in time, as long as time lasts.

Rev.18 continues from Rev.17 where Babylon is introduced as: “The mother of all prostitutes! And of the abominations of the earth.” She is the secular civilizations of the world, anti God, anti justice, anti peace and the exploiters of the poor that stand against all that is good, all that is decent, all that God wants for His world. Ch.18 describes her destruction. She is Babylon of old, she is Rome during John’s time and she is every city and every country, pretending to be good and just, but are not!

Vs.1-3 “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!” (Isaiah 21:9). A powerful glowing angel announces the fall of the civilizations and the result of her abominations.

Vs.4-5 “‘Come out of her, my people,’ (Jer. 51:45). God calls His people: run for your spiritual lives, even today He calls! Separate yourselves from even a hint of cooperation with anything that opposes God. This is of utmost importance today: look at the culture around us! How is it interwoven into our lives? How could it be woven into our church culture? Look at the world, Russia, China, Iran, N. Korea and some African countries, perhaps our own country as well. Ukraine, not without corruption, Yet, many followers of Jesus are the latest victim of the prostitute of Moscow.

Vs.6-8 Return to her as she has given, “a double portion from her own cup.” “In her heart she boasts,” (Is.47:7-9). That sounds like Putin, like China, it sounds like our own leaders, who talk big but do little, we can go on and on, but the point is made. Without warning, “plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire” God is the one judging the nations.

Vs. 9-20 “Threefold Woe Over Babylon’s Fall” The kings who committed atrocities with her stand afar off, there is no love here, only self-pity. “Woe! Woe to you, great city” The kings weep and the merchants, the exploiters of the poor weep, no one will buy, no one to exploit, anymore.

“’Woe! Woe to you, great city,” in all your splendor, gold and pearls! It only took one hour to take you down. That is my prayer for Putin and his generals.

“the merchants…will weep and mourn and cry out: Woe, woe to you, great city,”But there is no help from them, love has grown cold! That is on display in our world right now! Every sea captain…and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off.” They mourn the loss of the city and of their living, no love lost here, only self-pity.

V.20 “Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.” I trust we will rejoice with Ukraine, when God sends retribution on those committing horrible atrocities’.

Vs.21-24 A third mighty angel comes on the scene to demonstrate finality of Babylon’s doom. He picks up a huge boulder and plunges it into the sea, never to be seen again. What follows is a description of all that is good in a civilized, God fearing society, that will never be seen again, from which the nations were led astray. The leaders of the city/ of society had the blood of the prophets and God’s holy people on their hands. They had the blood of all innocent people “who have been slaughtered on the earth,” on their hands. Our God is Holy and Righteous, He will not sit by to what is happening on the earth, praise Him!

God is Good!

# 13 2022 Dev. Psalm 135:3. The Lord is Good! Read all of Psalm 135 first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think and interact with it. This is God’s story. How will it affect your story? All passages are taken from the NIV.

Psalm 135:3 “Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.”

Psalm 135 Is a Psalm of praise, a call to praise during worship, it is a Temple Liturgical Psalm and framed with “Hallelujahs”. Ps 135 is part of the Great Hallel.

Vs.1-4 “Praise the Lord” is the call to praise, calling those serving in the Temple and now is calling us today. Calling all who follow Jesus through life, all who are temples of God, all who are “his treasured possession.”

Vs.5-7 The greatness of God is acknowledged, He is the only God, He controls the seas, the clouds, the wind, the lighting and the rain.

Vs.8-12 make up the middle of the Psalm. The Psalmist recalls the redemptive history of the exodus that foreshadows the history of the church and our personal salvation. Jesus released us from the slavery of sin, brings us to waters of baptism and is leading us through the wilderness of this world to the promised land, the New Heaven and the New Earth. Amen!

Vs.13-14 “Your name Lord, endures forever…” At that name every knee will bow, and God will validate His people, chosen from the beginning. Praise Him!

Vs.15-18 “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands.” Many are the idols of this world; pride, possessions, selfish gratification of all kinds, prominence and selfish ambition. All humanistic, devoid of God and those who trust in them do not see, do not hear, do not feel, they are dead.

Vs.19-21 “All you Israelites, praise the Lord;” All you who follow Jesus, praise the Lord, praise be to God who now lives in us by His Holy Spirit, praise to Jesus who intercedes for us and praise God who comforts us and guides us on our way. “Praise the Lord,” Hallelujah!

God in Control

# 12 2022 Dev. Rev. 17:17. God in Control! Read all of Rev. 17 first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think and interact with it. This is God’s story. How will it affect your story? All passages are taken from the NIV.

Rev.17:17 “For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled.”

Rev.17 carries on from Rev. 16. “One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me,” Vs. 1-2 “come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute,” she was mentioned in Ch. 14:8 and Ch.16:19 and we are about to see her downfall.

Vs.3-8 “The angel carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast,” The woman is not the woman of Ch.12 who fled into the wilderness but the beast is the beast of Ch.13, it represents the corrupt state. The state is established for our good, Rom.13, Satan has turned the state into an instrument of rebellion to all that is good in God’s world, exploitation, conflict, anti God, anti church and anti justice. We see it in the actions of Russia today, they are committing war crimes. But we have it in our own country, the rejection of all that is normal in a country said to be under God, the government is anti Christian, the church has no influence, no wonder, many leaders pretend to be church goers and Jesus followers in name only, no action. The Woman is dressed to the nines, she holds “a golden cup in her hand filled with abominable things…” Her name: “Babylon The Great the Mother of Prostitutes and of The Abominations of the Earth.” She is secure, arrogant, all powerful, but she falls in a day. Who or what is she?

Vs.9-11 John “was greatly astonished.” The angel explains the vision: “The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits.” The seven hills indicate the city of Rome at the time of John, persecuting the followers of Jesus. But “They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has yet to come;” that is the eighth king. “He belongs to the seven…” Rome is not the only city meant here, it includes Babylon of old, Nineveh, Egypt, but it could include Moscow, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, you name the city bogged down in corruption, crime and injustice.

Vs.12-14 “The ten horns you saw are ten kings…” Their reign is short and their purpose is to “give their power and authority to the beast.” They make war ‘against the Lamb,” the Lamb wins, “he is Lord of lords and King of kings – and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” Praise the Lord!

Vs. 15-18 “The prostitute who sits by many waters,” these waters are the people of the world, “multitudes, nations and languages.” Who are involved with her. The beast and the ten horns turn on the woman, and destroy her. “For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose…” Praise the Lord, God is in control, even in the Russian and Ukraine war.” Help us the rely on you Lord Jesus as we cannot see good right now, Amen and Amen.

Praise!

# 11 2022 Dev. Psalm 134:2. Praise! Read all of Psalm 134 first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think and interact with it. This is God’s story. How will it affect your story? All passages are taken from the NIV.

Psalm 134:2 “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.”

Psalm 134 is the last song of ascents in this series. It is a Praise exchange between the worshipers and the Levites who stayed at the temple at night. Levites were assigned to the temple day and night 1Ch.9:33.

V.1 “Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord”. All of us who follow Jesus are God’s servants, but there are those chosen by God and by their peers to lead in our churches, schools, and church organizations. Those of us not in leadership positions are responsible to encourage them, to pray for them, and support our institutions financially.

V.2 “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.” Those leaders need to take the lead in prayer and in praise, lifting up our hands in prayer and in praise Ps 64:4. In times of joy and in plenty and in times of hardship. We pray for the leaders in Ukraine, and for the people of the churches and for all the people subjected to unprovoked, violence and destruction. Lord Jesus, put an end to the violence and bring forth peace!

V.3 The leaders respond to the the encouragement of the worshipers; “May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who is the Maker of heaven and earth.” A blessing from Almighty God, the Creator, as all leaders of God’s people must do daily! We extend that blessing to all oppressed people and to all people working hard to help them, Yes! Bless them Lord Jesus and give them peace, in your name, Amen!

God’s Wrath!

# 10 2022 Dev. Rev. 16:1. God’s Wrath! Read all of Rev. 16 first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think and interact with it. This is God’s story. How will it affect your story? All passages are taken from the NIV.

Rev.16:7 “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.”

Intro. This vision that John sees are not actual events but will come to pass at one time or another from the time of John’s writing and will be repeated in increasing intensity until the end. The vision is put into the words of men so that those who believe will understand by the power of the Holy Spirit. What is being described here is from eternity to eternity. God, who is outside of time, operates in the eternal present, represents to us what is about to happen in time, as long as time lasts.

Rev.16:1 “Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, ‘Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth’”, continuing the scene from Ch.15. Take note that these plagues are meant to punish the people who have the mark of the beast.

V.2 “The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out…” This harks back the the 6^th plague on Egypt.

V.3 “The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea” this harks back to the 1^st plague on Egypt, the sea turns to blood, every living thing in it dies. Take note that the oceans today are polluted with plastic and many other items. Also, the punishment of the bowls is complete while the trumpets only effected a third.

V.4 The third angel polluted the springs and rivers. Not only the oceans, of today, but many rivers and streams are polluted as well.

Vs.5-7 Another angel speaks, he is “in charge of the waters.” There is an intermission to praise God for His actions, so to speak, he says: ‘You are just in these judgments, O Holy One’. This is retribution, ‘for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets.’” This was going on at the time of John’s writing and it is still going on today. Look at Russia; the head of the Orthodox Church is in league with Putin, there are many sincere Orthodox Christians in Russia, but the religious leaders and the political leaders are the beast we are reading about in Revelation. Are we reading the religious leaders in the West correctly? “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.” Bring your judgment to bear on the “beasts” of today!

Vs.8-9 “The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun…” people were scorched but they refused to repent and glorify God. Global warming may be a preview.

Vs.10-11 “The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness.” That was the ninth plague of the Exodus. It was so dark that it could be felt. Still no repentance, only cursing God, it is the way of the world.

Vs.12-14 “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up…” The river is considered the boundary between the people of God and the world. Three frogs (frogs are mostly harmless, not these frogs) appear from the beast, the dragon, and the false prophet. “They are demonic spirits”, to influence the world to war. Is that what we are looking at right now? Yes, most wars are between good and evil, certainly this one in Europe is. It is a preview of what is coming.

V.15 Here there is a quick pause of assurance. “Look, I come like a thief!” Paul said that to the Thessalonians, talking about the “day of the Lord”. I believe Jesus is speaking here, telling us to always be prepared spiritually, that day will come when everyone is saying peace and safety, Paul tells us, that day comes when we least expect it.

V.16 They gathered the kings at Armageddon, the frogs. A place where Israel has had many a battle in history.

V.17-20 “The seventh angel poured out his bowl onto the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’” God said that as He finished Creation, Jesus said it from the Cross, and God says it here, at the end of judgment. He will say it only one more time. The scene described here is devastating, all of creation is destroyed. But we wait in the assurance of the promised land, the New Heaven and the New Earth. That is what the people in Ukraine are looking for, better days ahead. The end of the world may not be upon us yet. May God bring comfort to His and to all the people. Pray for peace!

Unity!

# 09 2022 Dev. Psalm 133:1. Unity! Read all of Psalm 133 first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think and interact with it. This is God’s story. How will it affect your story? All passages are taken from the NIV.

Psalm 133:1 “How good and pleasant is it when God’s people live together in unity.”

Psalm 133 is a three verse song of ascents. For the most part David is considered the author. It is suggested that this was written at a time when the nation came together, perhaps under a king, or at a time of war and victory. We are starting to see the importance of unity in our church and in our county.

V.1. “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”

Given the woke culture of today unity is impossible when even a small disagreement on issues facing us make the other person the enemy. Today there is no attempt to continue fellowship by agreeing to disagree. At first it seemed that the world was divided over Ukraine, but how sweet it is to see people to come together and the unity that has now developed.

V.2 describes unity in an emblematic way: unity “is like precious oil poured on the head…” The oil is precious, it is aromatic, filling the room with fragrance, it reflects well being, there was a lot of it, “running down Aaron’s beard, down the collar of his robe.” It is reserved mostly for ordination of kings and priests. James 5:13-15 recommends that those who are ill be anointed with oil in the name of the Lord and prayed over in faith, the oil being medicinal, promoting wellbeing and healing. James ends this prayer with: “If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.”

V.3. Unity, “It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.” The dew on Mount Hermon is a marine layer coming off the Mediterranean Sea. We experience them here in California, it is a thick mist, wetting everything down. On Mount Hermon it comes at the hottest times of the year, and it runs in rivulets off the mountain watering the valley below. Like the blessings of Mt. Zion, God’s residence, now in our hearts, “For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.” Let us pray in faith for unity in our churches, in our country, and in our world, Amen! It is a matter of life and death.