Jo’s Place

Songs for Pilgrims (Psalms 121 & 122)  First, a song for those ascending to God’s Holy Mountain I look up to the mountains—  does my help come from there?  My help comes from the Lord,  who made heaven and earth!  He will not let you stumble; the One who watches over you will not slumber.  Indeed, He who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.  The Lord Himself watches over you!  The Lord stands beside you as your Protective Shade.  The sun will not harm you by day,  nor the moon at night.  The Lord keeps you from all harm  and watches over your life.  The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.  Now for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.  I was glad when they said to me,  “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”  And now here we are, standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is a well-built city;  its seamless walls cannot be breached.  All the tribes of Israel—the Lord’s people— make their pilgrimage here.  They come to give thanks to the na

Judgment and Final Salvation The Lord says,  “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help.  I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for Me.  I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’  to a nation that did not call on My name.  All day long I opened My arms to a rebellious people.  But they follow their own evil paths and their own crooked schemes.  All day long they insult Me to My face by worshiping idols in their sacred gardens.  They burn incense on pagan altars.  At night they go out among the graves, worshiping the dead.  They eat the flesh of pigs  and make stews with other forbidden foods.  Yet they say to each other,  ‘Don’t come too close or you will defile me! …I am holier than you!’  These people are a stench in My nostrils, an acrid smell that never goes away.  “Look, My decree is written out in front of Me:    …I will not stand silent; …I will repay them in full!  Yes, I will repay them— both for their own sins and for those of their ancestors,” says the Lord.  “For th

The Lord’s Charge to Joshua After the death of Moses, the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua, son of Nun, Moses’ assistant.  He said, “Moses My servant is dead… Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River, into the land I am giving them.  I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you…’  No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live.  For I will be with you, as I was with Moses.  I will not fail you or abandon you.  “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people, to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors that I would give them.  Be strong and very courageous.  Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you.  Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left.  Then you will be successful in everything you do.  Study this Book of Instruction continually.  Meditate on it day and night, so you will be s

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven.  You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.  This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world.  It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives… just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth… about God’s wonderful grace.  You learned about the Good News from… our beloved co-worker.  He is Christ’s faithful servant, and he is helping us on your behalf.  He has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.  So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you.  We ask God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 

Sin’s Power Is Broken Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace?  Of course not!  Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?  Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined Him in His death?  (The dear of sin.) For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism.  And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.  Since we have been united with Him in His death, we will also be raised to life, as He was.  We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives.  We are no longer slaves to sin.  For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.  And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with Him.  We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and He will never die again.  Death no longer has any power over Him.  W

Another Warning about Immoral Women Follow my advice, my son;  always treasure my commands.  Obey my commands and live!  Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes.  Tie them on your fingers as a reminder.  Write them deep within your heart.  Love wisdom like a sister;  make insight a beloved member of your family.  Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman,  from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.  While I was at the window of my house, looking through the curtain, I saw some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense.  He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman,  strolling down the path by her house.  It was at twilight, in the evening,  as deep darkness fell.  The woman approached him,  seductively dressed and sly of heart.  She was the brash, rebellious type, never content to stay at home.  She is often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner.  She threw her arms around him and kissed him, an

Avoid Immoral Women My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel.  Then you will show discernment,  and your lips will express what you’ve learned.  For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil.  But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword.  Her feet go down to death;  her steps lead straight to the grave.  For she cares nothing about the path to life.  She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it.  So now, my sons, listen to me.  Never stray from what I am about to say:  …Stay away from her!  Don’t go near the door of her house!  If you do, you will lose your honor  and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved.  Strangers will consume your wealth, and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor.  In the end you will groan in anguish when disease consumes your body.  You will say, “How I hated discipline!  If only I had not ignored all the warnings!  O

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that He was baptizing and making more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself didn’t baptize them—His disciples did).  So He left Judea and returned to Galilee.  He had to go through Samaria on the way.  Eventually He came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.  Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.”  He was alone at the time because His disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.  The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.  She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”  Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and Who you are speaking to, you would ask Me, and I would give you living water.”  “But sir