There's no obligation here, but I thought I would put this here in case you feel lead to give.

Help Nathan and Alli Rebuild Their Life In Asheville, NC

The author lays out his core argument: The Covenant of Christ is an eternal covenant rooted in Heaven, not a national covenant rooted on earth, as the Covenant of Moses was.

Having just declared that a new covenant was necessary, he goes back and reviews how the old one worked. It had rules about rituals, the Tabernacle layout, furnishings, and those curtains. He runs through the basic design of things, including the Ark of the Covenant and what was in it. The rituals were required on a regular basis.

The author didn't want to get bogged down in the details, but the priests only entered the main chamber on a regular basis, and the High Priest saw the actual holy place representing God's throne room only once yearly. Even that single visit required offering blood for his own ritual purity, and then for the nation as a whole. And even with all that, the High Priest was at risk of dying from God's wrath.

Keeping peace with God was a very solemn and fearful thing. All of those rituals only covered the unintentional sins, not any actual rebellion against God. The whole package presumed an honest heart in submission to Jehovah. It could not solve a bad attitude. If they had clear hearts, then it allowed them gain access to the covenant blessings God had promised for those at peace with Him. The way was not fully opened as long as the old system remained.

Christ stands as the Lord of a new covenant. There is no mass of rituals and veils; the way into God's Presence and peace is opened -- the blessings that were only hinted at by the symbols of the old. The Elect of old never had any kind of assurance that they would see Eternity. In Christ, the Elect can receive that assurance of adoption as children of the Father. Jesus wiped away the sense of doubt they had harbored under the Old Covenant.

The author then shifts to the imagery of an inheritance. The one who made the will must die before it is revealed. It's just a proposal until then. Well, that first covenant was attested by death, and the bloodshed of ritual offering animals. Moses engaged in quite a rigmarole with the people to get their attention and encourage them to take it seriously. That blood was sprinkled on everything.

Just so, since the most ancient times of human memory, sin could not be covered without some bloodshed. Though as fallen creatures, we all deserved to die for our own sinful nature, God from the earliest times outside the Garden accepted the bloodshed of some proxy sacrifice as a symbol of just how grave this whole business was.

Well, the heavenly sacrifice Jesus made also included bloodshed, the final sacrifice for which all previous sacrifices were just a symbol. Approaching the actual throne of God in Heaven required a real sacrifice of genuinely innocent blood, someone who could carry the burden of the Fall.

It was an eternal sacrifice. Otherwise, we'd have the silly spectacle of Jesus having to die on the Cross again and again. The long period of symbolism is over; at the end of human probation, the final price has been paid once for all. When humans die, they face their individual judgment. When Christ returns, it will be the Final Judgment of all things. Are we not eagerly awaiting that day?

Note: For the Hebrews, the term "salvation" refers to the Covenant blessings. The blessings of the Old Covenant were merely a symbol of our Eternal blessings as Children of Resurrection in the final Promised Land.

I cannot believe I have so many prayer requests!  So many tragedies and sadness.....

My sister just let me know that our cousin Josephine (my Dad's sister's daughter), who is in her 80s and taking care of a mentally challenged granddaughter lives in the northeastern mountains of Tennessee.  From Helene, she has no water, no heating and air, no power and no wifi.  She has to go into town (not sure how far from town she is and how she gets there) to get supplies, if there are any available.

Please pray for her and her granddaughter as well.  I am going to make some calls and emails and texts to see if anybody knows anybody that might can check on her.

God bless you family!

My son-in-law just texted me that his mother just had a series of mini-strokes and is in the hospital.  He doesn't think she will be able to go home and says "I don't think it will be long".    Gosh.

Prayers for him and his siblings.  She is in her late 80's and lived quite a vigorous life until recently.  She loved to golf.

Around 14:30 this afternoon, the mailman came knocking.  He had a certified letter that I needed to sign for.  It was from the ED here in Clayton. 

I thought that odd - they wouldn't send me a bill certified.  It contained a letter and a copy of the final report of the CT scan I had last Sunday night.  Turns out I have a rare carotid artery condition called carotid web.  I guess it was important enough for them to send it to me certified to get my attention?

I've done all the research.  It is very rare; some doctors don't even know what it is.  It can cause a stroke because it is blocking my blood flow in the carotid artery in the right side of my neck.  Not sure if that is what caused my pain and discomfort at the shower last Sunday or not.  BUT, strokes from this kind of a condition are not that common.  Whew!

So, I will make an appointment with my PCP so he can get me in to see a specialist quickly.  Too much going on for me to get into all of this stuff about me, but I will keep you posted as I know more.....

I could use a couple extra prayers.   

Hope to see you all on Sunday......

Oct 4 – 15:00.  I received a missed call and voice mail from Shari, Carla’s apartment complex manager.  She said there was an emergency.  I called her back…..  Shari had been upstairs from Carla’s and when she came downstairs she thought she heard “Help” from Carla’s apartment.  She ran to get her key and went into Carla’s apartment.  Carla was in the tub where she had fallen the day before and was still there!!!!  So she could have been there for almost 24 hours!!!  

Shari said Carla was in the ambulance and they had not left yet.  I called non-emergency 911 number and asked them to ask someone in the ambulance to contact me so I could tell them where I would like them to take Carla.  One of the EMS people called me, I told them who I was, they said Carla was very confused, they asked me a bunch of questions and then off they went.  

Later on around 17:00, I heard from a case worker at the hospital to ascertain Carla’s current state as she had a lot of questions.  She said the doctor probably would not admit her (which means without a 3 night stay, she would not be eligible for rehab).  BUT she did say that they can keep her overnight and have PT evaluate her.  Apparently for no known reason, Carla was randomly selected to participate in a Medicare MPPS Value Care program and if PT determines she requires facility managed rehab, then she could be transferred to one of a VERY few facilities that participate in the program.  BUT, Carla must agree to it.  She didn’t, but then when the case worker explained to her why and that I thought it was a good idea, she agreed to it.  

While I was talking to the case worker, Carla tried to call me.  I finally called Carla back and she was scared and confused.  She did not remember talking to the case worker, she didn’t remember me talking to her yesterday, BUT she could carry on a conversation with me.  She wanted some food and a pull-up and wondered if I would call Starla (her once a week helper) to come to the ED to be with her or any of anyone else she thought of.  I said that is not possible.  My daughter and grandchildren are out of state for the weekend, so they can't help.

I told her to try to sleep, that I can’t come and won’t be able to because I don’t feel well, but she can call me.  

I called the ED nurses station and explained Carla was scared and confused.  He said that they know and that she is on 24/7 remote monitoring, so someone is keeping an eye on her……  

Normally, I would be there, but can’t this time.  Sigh    You know what to do, family.   Pray please?

Fog floating over Draper Lake on a bike ride.
   

Oddly, persimmons are ripening very early this year. Normally it requires a frost, but we haven't had one. A few of these are edible.
   

Sand mining pit -- this destroys some of our best farmland.
   

We are participating in our weekly prayer time at 5pm EST. Check out the prayer request forum for some prayer topics, but feel free to lift up your own.

You may also fast. There's no obligation or guidelines to how you should do it, or if you should do it at all. Just fast as the Lord leads and speaks to your convictions.

As most of you know, yesterday I was at my BF Michelle's son's and sister in law's baby shower.  I ended up in the ER see other post, but now we all need to pray for Baby Luca.

He was not due until Oct. 23rd.  As I just said, his baby shower was yesterday.  At 5:30AM today, her water broke and just before noon today, Luca came into the world.  So, I am thinking she was in her 36th or 37th week.  His lungs have fluid.  Not sure if he has RDS (Respiratory Distress Syndrome) or another acronym, but he had to put on a ventilator for at least the next 12 hours.  Typically, babies get better and have no long-lasting ill effects from this.  BUT, long term effects are unknown until the child gets older.

So, if you would, please, let's all pray for Baby Luca that all who have him in their care, will be patient, compassionate and endowed with the Lord's wisdom in caring for and determining what care is needed in the days ahead.  And may we pray for his parents to have courage, strength and faith (they are not believers) and not feel any guilt that they may have in any way caused the early birth and lung issues.  And, of course, pray for that precious little baby that Our Father will reach down and touch his little body and bring complete healing.

Thank you!   AMEN.....

Linda and I were texting just now. She went to the ER by herself because of sharp pains she was having while at the baby shower today. SHe has an IV right now, some meds, they drew some blood, and will be doing a CT scan. I'll post here when I know more, but let's make sure to pray for God's healing hand to do its work.