Halloween
Yes, even on Halloween God is near
and I know He is waiting…
Something stirred in my heart tonight as I watched few people walking through the streets on this Halloween. At first I thought this stirring was something rather odd so I felt as if my awareness was heightened on this night. There has been an energy within me over the last three days which gave me the opportunity to get things done that I have put off. And during this time I have pondered over Grace and Mercy… to which has lifted my heart and I find myself experiencing a New Joy knowing that God is there … waiting for the moment to step in.
The night of Halloween was quiet. The few who came out were not in costume. The area churches had invited families to enjoy this Holiday inside safe havens. Local Schools and Colleges had made suggestions and gave advice to young ones who were going to parties. Many costumes were downplayed. I did not hear music on the streets as I have in the past. The moon was full and bright and as I walked into the local pharmaceutical to pick up a prescription I noticed the counters, shelves and displays; which were full. I remembered back when you had to get there early or the shelves were bare.
I noticed something different about tonight… the air was fresh and cool, and the evening was good. I remember saying to the Lord: Lord there is a Justifiable reason for why you have chosen so much time to go by… you see Lord, I don’t believe you would have allowed so much time to pass if You knew only the mouth of Hell was outweighing what could fill Heaven. I know You would not allow things to get so bad that Your own people would think they have been forgotten. Lord people think they have been forgotten and I hear them saying: I have to take care of myself now, because no one else seems to care. I know it is not the time, I know it is not who is Governing us, and I know that businesses have failed before: taxes have risen, people have been laid off and or loss of jobs, there have been great cut backs, and Insurance companies have been denying claims for years, so my question Lord is this…
Does Mercy take place at a time when it seems as if Darkness is Ruling?
Tonight I found this message and within it I believe God answered me.
“MAN’s HOUR of DARNESS IS GOD’s HOUR OF POWER”
On Oct 11th, David Wilkerson preached an awesome word entitled
“Man’s Hour of Darkness is God’s Hour of Power!” A must-listen.
Here is the link below-
I am changing the name of the young girl to which I am about to share with you a little story. This is of course a real story and one to which today gave me quite a revelation of Truth.
Sammy is a 12 yr old girl, who for the first time is living with her mother. Sammy’s mother as a teenager fell in love with a young man and became pregnant. The young man could not see himself married, nor raising a child and the young mother was not exactly ready to handle a child on her own. The young mother had a well to do father and mother who encouraged her to keep the child, yet had their own ideas of how the child would be raised… therefore they encouraged further to allow them to raise the child. Sammy now was under the care of her grandparents; yet the grandparents having busy lives decided to hire a nanny. The nanny is my daughter. My daughter has such a role in this child’s life where Sammy considers her equal to a mom. Sammy was fortunate to have her mom, her nanny as a mom, her aunt as a mom and her grandmother as a mom; yet all three were very different. As Sammy grew she was torn between the relationships of her mom with other men, her aunt with men, and her nanny with men. Sammy wanted desperately to have a mom and dad of her own; not apart from each other, yet with each one she called mom, she saw too the young men who would come and who would go… Sammy really never had the chance to get to know any of them.
Sammy had a wonderful grandfather who spoiled her. He died a few years ago. Sammy’s aunt married, but soon divorced. Sammy’s nanny was engaged three times, but too close to the altar and the ring went back to it’s owner. Sammy’s grandmother believes she is giving her stability, but the truth is Sammy doesn’t feel as if her life is stable. What grandma wants is different than what her aunt wants and what her aunt wants is different than what her birth mother wants. Her birth mother finally settled down, married, and now has a wonderful baby boy. Sammy’s aunt married again and she has a wonderful boy. The nanny decided to give dating a break… she is a dog lover now and wants to buy a home. At first Sammy thought it might be nice to just move in with the nanny… they get along and seem to have fun, but the nanny really isn’t her mother. So this year Sammy made a choice and talked it over with her mommy and stepfather and everyone agreed that she was going to move in, start school, and this time even through the tough times they are going to work it out.
Sammy was enrolled in a christian community school; a pricey christian community school. This particular week Sammy had an idea which was very different from her mother’s idea where her plans were concerned so Sammy decided to tell a huge lie, with an added comment which was suppose to be a remark from her mother. Of course when the lie was spoken to her soon to be stepmother, who is marrying her birth father you and I know the soon to be stepmother is going to address the issue; especially since the vile language supposedly came from Sammy’s birth mother and the statement was aimed at her soon to be step sister.
When the phone call came in Sammy’s mother was shocked. When Sammy came home from school she received something she did not expect to receive… a measure of Discipline. The interesting part of this story is that during her hours at school this week the main topic up for discussion was Forgiveness. Each child in this class must keep a journal and for the most part be honest with themselves about their daily or weekly activities, or writing down something that bothers them and ponder this… why would you expect your Father to forgive you if you are not able to forgive? Since Sammy had certain restraints this week on activities she spent time thinking about what she had done. She decided to write about it in her journal.
The end of the week drew near and after school she went straight home and asked her mother if she could read the first chapter in her journal. Her mother read it and asked if they could discuss it. Sammy realized that what she had done was wrong and was now asking her mother to forgive her; with this added statement: “I will try my best not to do that again and I am sorry I hurt you”. I wondered if she realized the extent of the hurt? I actually wondered if Sammy understood she not only hurt her mother’s heart, but it goes further than this… reputation. The soon to be stepmother must have believed what Sammy said her mother said about her stepmother’s daughter; otherwise why make the phone call and scream obscenities? You see, the story line must have been believable, because of what the soon to be stepmother had heard about the birth mother.
When Sammy received the opportunity to come and live with her birth mother she told her she wanted to live with her, but she felt like a stranger. No one seemed to understand this; except for me. Yes it was clear as a bell with me. Although Sammy had many people in and out of her life there were only a few she really was able to get to know. Everyone else, including her own birth mother were people she heard about, and had moments with, but wasn’t able to truly develop a relationship with them. On occasion she would stay with her mother; yet at the first sign of trouble off she would go back to grandma. When her birth mother would visit, she was always on her best behavior, yet it was short lived. For the first time in Sammy’s life she is going to do daily activities with her mother, brother, and stepfather. For the first time in Sammy’s life she is going to only visit with those she had a full relationship with. For the first time Sammy is going to get an UP CLOSE PERSONAL LOOK AT HER MOTHER.
Yes, all that she had heard about her mother, all those preconceived ideas about her mother, and all those faded baby memories of her mother are going to change. She will begin to see for herself: what was said about her mother were those things true, and if those things were true have things changed? She won’t be living a belief system based upon what she hears from others; for the first time in her life she is going to build upon a relationship with her mother. She is going to see for herself.
It is like this with God, and it is like this with those who represent God. Many people can say they believe in God based upon what they hear, yet can they say they know God? Many people who see what Christians do are effected by how they view God. Many who only hear what is being preached to them and who only are guided by those who lead them can only say this is what I have heard and this is the way I should go; yet their ears are not open to the Spirit of God. You may visit at your local church, but does this mean you know God? You may believe in God, but does this mean you know Him? You may hear many things about God, but do you know for yourself whether what you have heard is the True character of God?
God may be a stranger to you if you have not lived with Him. How one lives with Him is when He abides inside of you. You may minister to others from what you have heard preached or taught, yet you may not know God. You may lead many programs, create many ideas, and successfully lead others to do as you do, yet can you say you have an up close personal relationship with God? Jesus tells us that no one can come to the Father, except through Him. Like Sammy we may have plenty of people to tend to our needs, yet they come and go. All she truly desired was to be with the one whom she had heard so much about. Sammy made a choice to get an up close personal look at her mother. If you want an up close personal view of God, you need to stop listening to the majority of those who claim they know God and start asking God to reveal Himself to you. You will be quite surprised to see that many things you have heard may not exactly be true, and you also may come to understand that many who say they are representatives of Christ also have a misunderstanding of God.
To the agnostic… let not your heart or mind be too concerned over those who profess to be Christian, yet have not exemplified the Fruit of Jesus toward you. You may see many who act poorly; even with actions of hatred. I tend to see you as the “I am not sure whether there is a God or not”. Hey at least you are being honest with yourself. You know even a doubter is on God’s mind. I am not here to convert you… that is what Jesus does best. I believe that what God entrusts us with we should be most honest about. Therefore I share; not because I want to convert you to religion, but due to the thought that if you do not know for sure one way or the other there is a tiny little mustard seed of hope waiting to sprout. Don’t listen to the masses… sounds like to me you may be one of them who would rather know for yourself. Sammy did and now she is up close and personal.
Forgive them all, O Lord;
our sins of omission, and our sins of commission;
the sins of our youth and the sins of our riper years,
the sins of our souls and the sins of our bodies’
our secret sins of ignorance and surprise,
and our more deliberate and presumptuous sins;
the sins we have done to please ourselves
and the sins we have done to please others;
the sins we know and remember,
and the sins we have forgotten;
the sins we have striven to hide from others
and the sins by which we have made others offend;
forgive them O Lord, forgive them all for His sake,
who died for our sins and rose for our justification
and now stands at Thy Right Hand to make intercession for us,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
a prayer by John Wesley
Losing Faith In Faith: From Preacher To Atheist by Dan Barker
Chapter 3
I Just Lost Faith In Faith
This was my first article for Freethought Today. It ran in the June 1984 issue.
Religion is a powerful thing. Few can resist its charms and few can truly break its embrace. It is the siren who entices the wandering traveler with songs of love and desire and, once successful, turns a mind into stone. It is a Venus fly trap. Its attraction is like that of drugs to an addict who, wishing to be free and happy, becomes trapped and miserable.
But the saddest part of the dependency is the fact that most participants are willing victims. They think they are happy. They believe religion has kept its promises and have no desire to search elsewhere. They are deeply in love with their faith and have been blinded by that love–blinded to the point of unquestioning sacrifice.
I know this is true because I was one of Christ’s disciples for over nineteen years, and my subsequent self-excision was/is traumatically painful.
My Dad was a professional musician during the 1940’s. At one of his concerts he met a female vocalist and, as things go, they went (lucky for me). They got married and, when I was a toddler, they both found true religion. Dad threw away his collection of original Glenn Miller recordings (ouch!), turned his back on his former “sinful” life and enrolled in seminary to become a minister. He didn’t finish because of the strong demands of raising three boys. But he lived his faith through his family and through lay ministry in local churches.
My folks’ spirituality was so strong that they often found it hard to find a church that met their needs. So we church-hopped for many years. I can’t remember all the churches, but we were Baptists, Methodists, Nazarenes, Assemblies of God, Pentecostals, fundamentalist, evangelical, “Bible-believing” and charismatic.
For a number of years we formed a family musical team and ministered in many Southern California churches–nothing fantastic–Dad played trombone and preached, Mom sang solos, I played piano, my brothers tooted various instruments and we all joined in singing those famous gospel harmonies. It was a neat experience for us kids. My childhood was filled with love, fun and purpose. I felt truly fortunate to have been born into the “truth” and at the age of fifteen I committed myself to a lifetime of Christian ministry.
My commitment lasted nineteen years. It gave my life a feeling of purpose, destiny and fulfillment. I spent years trekking across Mexico in missionary work–small villages, jungles, deserts, large arenas, radio, television, parks, prisons and street meetings. I spent more years in traveling evangelism across the United States preaching and singing in churches, on street corners, house-to-house witnessing, college campuses and wherever an audience could be found.
I was a “doer of the word and not a hearer only.” I went to a Christian college, majored in Religion/Philosophy, became ordained and served in a pastoral capacity in three California churches. I personally led many people to Jesus Christ, and encouraged many young people to consider full-time Christian service.
I served for a while as librarian for Kathryn Kuhlman’s Los Angeles choir, observing the “miracles” first-hand. I was even instrumental in a few healings myself.
For a number of years I directed the “King’s Children,” a local Christian music group that performed quite extensively including a brief term of hosting a local Christian television show.
For fifteen years I worked with Manuel Bonilla, the leading Christian recording artist in the Spanish-speaking world. I was his main producer/arranger, and working with him gave me the opportunity to learn the skills to produce many more Christian albums, including some of my own.
I have written more than a hundred Christian songs which are either published or recorded by various artists, and two of my children’s musicals continue to be best sellers around the world. (“Mary Had A Little Lamb,” a Christmas musical, and “His Fleece Was White as Snow,” for Easter, both published and distributed by Manna Music. You can see the religious symbolism: Christ, the unspotted lamb of god who became the final sacrifice for sin.)
I could go on listing my Christian accomplishments, but I think you can see that I was very serious about my faith, and that I am quite capable of analyzing religion from the inside out.
Exodus 20
The Ten Commandments Reveals the Need for Jesus
1 And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
God’s plan was to remove us from the ‘house of bondage’, yet we would rather feed from the tables of wickedness than from the manna which is given freely to us by God’s provision.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
America is filled with other gods and out of a False Love called Humanitarian Effort the professed “Christian” Nation has given her Honor over to others and her years over to the ‘cruel one’.
American Businesses and Churches love to use the term ‘ integrity’ to elude a Trust.
Integrity:
Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.
The state of being unimpaired; soundness.
The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness.
another term used is “honesty”.
But let us be real, you do not Love Honesty as You do not Love Truth.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
carvings, designs, artwork, statues: clay, metal, brass, and glass; all of which we adhere to more than God Himself.
7“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
vain: . egotistical, self-complacent, vainglorious, proud, arrogant, overweening. 3. fruitless, unavailing. 4. unimportant, trivial, trifling, nugatory. also, without real significance, value, or importance; baseless or worthless; irreverence.
America, the professing “Christian” Nation is losing it’s fear of the Lord.
8 “ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
8 “ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
We may call it the Sabbath day, yet in reality it is just another work day. Certainly if a minister works full time in the ministry he should be supported by his congregation to bring an exhortation of God’s Word to the table. And too he should be given a day for rest; yet at what we call church I never see anyone ‘rested’. The tallies are in and we are told: 20% of us are busy about God’s work, and the other 80% are pew sitters. Does this mean that only 80% of those who sit in pews understand the meaning of ‘rest’? Does this mean that those who sit in pews understand the meaning of being refreshed from their work? Does this mean the busy 20% took the time to rest on another day in order to work on Sunday?
The more we have laid out for us in our studies, through the means of already prepared material, I am so not understanding the need for ‘ much R&R’ throughout the year if we truly are setting aside ‘ Sabbath’. Honesty tells me… we aren’t.
12 “ Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
12 “ Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
America is known for it’s independence. Such that our Elders seem to be independent from the need of their children…
What I may have invested into the Social Security and Medicaid program over the last 50 years does’t necessarily imply that my need will be taken care of when I arrive at the age of great limitations. We as Americans have truly allowed this one to fall by the wayside.
13 “You shall not murder.
13 “You shall not murder.
Multitudes of women and men who are involved in Abortion are soaked with these babies’ blood upon their foreheads. I know someone who cried unto God: Lord, they want to take my child; your child, but I refuse, so if I should die during this delivery save the life of the child, if the child should die, then I shall go on, but if it be Thy Will Lord for us to die, or for us to live… LET IT BE THY WILL NOT MINE. God gave mercy upon them both… and they live today. We as professing ‘christians’ do not want to give our life that someone else may LIVE. I say let us Trust God with our children; even when at first we chose to follow the wrong path… it is not too late to turn around and give your life to Him.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
Divorce, cheating, pornography, affairs, and affairs within the heart; such as fantasizing, playful role switching, orgies, flirting, and suggestive behavior. Any such act, whether actively participating in or mindful of is a committed sin. For the ‘ church’, when she engages in Worldly Activity which is NOT pleasing to her Husbandman; the Bride’s Husband Jesus, then she has committed Adultery with the World.
15 “You shall not steal.
If you work and make an honest living you may not be tempted to steal; yet quite the opposite is prominent today. America is the Land of Opportunity! Yes, there are many, many people who live in America who have been quite deceived by ‘Honest’ working americans, ‘Honest’ Business owners, and “Honest” Authoritarians.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Discernment is wisdom which will guide me to understanding…
I better know my neighbor before I make a Judgment statement either in their favor or against their character. Yet for those who profess to be ‘ christian’, if the mote is in your eye it is better to keep your fortress door shut, but if God has removed the beam in your eye that you may be able to Judge/Examine rightly then your discerning spirit is letting you know something about your neighbor you might want to pay attention to… his witness. The key here is bearing False Witness… we see many smiles on faces while your neighbor is near, but as soon as he is out of sight we begin to sneer.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Oh the desire of want, the desire of need, the desire to have all that God gives to a prosperous preacher. Oh the desire of a new vehicle, and then a bigger vehicle, and then a faster vehicle; what the heck how about several vehicles! Oh the desire of a new house… ” God if you get me this house I promise I won’t ask for anything else… “God you didn’t hold me to that did you?”. Just look around your church and see what coveting can do for you. You may find yourself someone’s wife you may be interested in, or possibly their sports car, or their blackberry or Ipod, or lightweight laptop, super bass stereo speakers, set of drums, a red electric guitar, and possibly you may just learn how to spend $300 on whitening your teeth.
Proverbs 14:21
To despise a man for his employment or appearance is a sin.
Mr. President many professing Christians today have truly stumbled where you are concerned. Hatred of the Brethren, and too Hatred toward those with whom the Lord has put in place to Govern over us. Blatant refusal of this Authority is Willful Sin.
Proverbs 6:30
People do not despise a thief If he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving.
Wisdom tells me this pertains to those who by unfortunate circumstance would be drawn to desperate measures. Groceries were taken off my porch, yet I maintained my silence. I inquired of the Lord and He led me to do nothing.
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God did not come in flesh by Spirit to destroy the Law; for He is Perfect Law. This Perfect Law should be embedded into our conscience that we may come to Understand that we are sinners in Need of a Savior: who by His Own Righteousness; being that He Fulfilled the Perfect Law and was Guiltless of all sin, has made a Way (the Only Way) for us to enter into the Kingdom of God. Jesus is Perfect Law. No man was found Righteous, and no man will ever be found worthy to be able to Fulfill the Perfect Law of God; therefore man is unable to keep Perfect law as Jesus did. Forgive us Lord in our debts unto You, as we forgive our debtors / transgressors; willful, blatant persecutors, whose blindness is due to believing in their Independence and attributing their Freedoms to their own Might. By Your Right Hand You Free us from the chains of bondage and by Your Right Hand You will deliver us! Lead us not into the temptations of ruin or deliver our soul to the evil one. Repentence is a Gift wrought out of Mercy… let us not become as Esau did (not find repentance) and lose our Inheritance.
Religious Cain, Independent from God chose to follow in his own Righted way and thought this should please God. Cain knew not the Freedom his brother Abel had in understanding the Fear of God. Cain exchanged his inheritance with his wanting/desiring to be righted.
Religious Esau thought his inheritance was a given. He had no respect for what he thought was rightfully his when he casually exchanged his inheritance for stew? Although the blessing of this inheritance was manipulated by his brother in receiving, it was his brother who came to his senses in knowing and understanding that in order to receive this blessing it was not going to come through his father, but through God. Jacob found repentance with much struggling, yet Esau did not.
Religious Judas was quite deceived by the Religious Pharisees who thought they had much favor with God. A mere thirty pieces of silver in exchange for his inheritance.
and for this I ponder… exactly who or what stirred your flesh to exchange your inheritance ?
Proverbs 5 The Peril of Adultery 1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding, 2 That you may preserve discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge. 3 For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil; 4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of hell.[a] 6 Lest you ponder her path of life— Her ways are unstable; You do not know them. 7 Therefore hear me now, my children, And do not depart from the words of my mouth. 8 Remove your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house, 9 Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one; 10 Lest aliens be filled with your wealth, And your labors go to the house of a foreigner; 11 And you mourn at last, When your flesh and your body are consumed, 12 And say: “ How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction! 13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me! 14 I was on the verge of total ruin, In the midst of the assembly and congregation.” 15 Drink water from your own cistern, And running water from your own well. 16 Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? 17 Let them be only your own, And not for strangers with you. 18 Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth. 19 As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love. 20 For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress? 21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ponders all his paths. 22 His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin. 23 He shall die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
I have listened to this video over and over for a week now. Every time I watch this gal I get a kick out of her… mostly I am Joyed that she is not afraid to sing her heart out to Jesus ; even if it is rock and roll. There was something going on as I watched her and I do believe the Holy Ghost was in no way offended by the noise. In fact I believe God does enjoy listening to this gal’s heart of praise.
Not many viewers come this way, or rather those who do stumble into this Blog come by because of purpose. If you are here then welcome. Much of the time the comments left to tend to are marketing devices; a tag which picked up certain words inside the message and thus takes that sentence and uses it as a tool to get your attention. There are Ten and I will repeat 10 links to which I see regularly viewed. What are these Links?
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No need to sympathize here, because I am not stressed over it. I am however looking at it in another Light. I hired a secular young man who not only showed me his work, but also: gave me references, took pictures to show me right away the need and the damage, explained to me without trying to damage the other person’s reputation the error of the individuals who worked on the projects before he got there, handed me an estimate, explained the ‘what if’ scenario, and then asked me if I had any questions or concerns. Whoah! “Who is this guy” I said as I looked upward.
It was like he came quietly, handled everything quietly, and I even paid him by putting the check under the planter outside and he left a note: Thanks for the opportunity of allowing me to work. Thanks for your generosity. I would like to ask one favor… please allow time to work it out; through the elements of the wind, rain, and heat and when several months pass please give me a call to let me know if all is well. I will leave with you my cell number. If you have any other concerns please do not hesitate to call. If I am unable to assist you I will be happy to lead you to someone you can trust to get the job done. So I waited for the elements to take place and after four months I called him. Humbly he says: I am glad you called and I am pleased everything worked out.
So help me it was like I had no Hand in any of it. The whole scene actually motivated me to buy a small container of plaster… actually some really good patch stuff called plaster. I plastered my entire room divider, because when this really good patch stuff dries it has a fantastic coloration which needed no painting. The stuff really adheres to the wall! HaH@! Yes I get a kick out of stuff like that. Ok so back on track…
I came to the Blog one day and went through it… deleting a lot of stuff and suddenly my mind went blank. Every time I would Journal I would end up deleting it. I had over twenty drafts and those I deleted also. There I was looking at this Blog wondering if I wanted to just delete it all. I decided to wait and one day after several weeks of not checking email or coming to the Blog I was asked to check email because something important was sent to me. While there I saw a comment from a neighboring blogger. She said: ‘keep writing’.
I am not sure she realized the sudden eye opening moment I went through as I read those words. She actually made a small comment on a pondering, but then at the end wrote: “keep writing”. I cannot tell you what the comment was, I only remembered those two words. Quietly she came, quietly she addressed the issue, and quietly she left. Much of the time this is how God is… Quiet. Quietly He comes, Quietly He addresses the issue and Quietly He leaves.
Back to ‘ agreeing that we just don’t agree’. The Only ONE who is able to be Righted is God… for He is worthy and He is Just. I am not understanding the phrase: “agree that we don’t agree”. I am seeing and hearing it quite often; especially in ‘christian’ circles. I believe it not only is a diversion, but also it reflects a greater need not to be bothered, not to be challenged in our Faith, and a prideful way of saying: I know what the Holy Ghost said and that is that.
Have you now just beckoned me not to TEST the SPIRIT/spirit?
Please do not ask someone to hold you accountable when you don’t allow them to hold you accountable.
You see I have not come this far in the journey to get so caught up in that emotional heartfelt place where I may say to myself: this person has been following the Lord for a long time and I can see the fruit of God’s growth in them so even though I may have some questions as to what they are hearing from God, maybe I should just leave well enough alone… would not want to get too close to the Saintly Sheep with those shears now would I?
Honestly not trying to sound sarcastic… people come and they say things you seemingly need to hear and they post what they honestly believe is God, and they come to you making promises, and giving you their word and the cost is high… the rising cost of it just seems to never end.
Billions of dollars are spent on the expense of indebtedness. I can only attest to thousands out of my own pocket. I know and understand that the money I worked for came from the Lord. He led me to the Job… my boss came quietly, addressed the issue quietly and left this world quietly; and now her husband who is not so quiet hired me. Yes God can be Thunderous too. Smile.
My Boss pays well and he knows he pays well. He thinks he has to. I actually find that funny. He is generous enough to give thousands toward someone who is going to have surgery and cannot afford it, but too dumb to ask if the person has insurance; to which may just pay most of the surgery. He was informed recently that the generous amount he gave helped this person’s family take a wonderful vacation, due to the insurance covering 95 percent of the surgery. Who told him this information? I did… because I TESTED the spirit behind the purpose. I should have done this each and every time I trusted a professing ‘christian’, just as I should with those who are secular.
We are not flawless, no matter:
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how close we adhere to God’s Word,
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how much we pray,
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how much scripture we memorize,
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how much we think we know God
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how much we have protected ourselves from the world
Thanking Jesus there is forgiveness for our ignorance.
I am not perfect, and I don’t expect to be, nor do I expect you to be. We are sinners. We who believe in Jesus and have been Born Again are being renewed everyday in our minds, and in our hearts. The issue here is that we who profess to be following Christ should be showing some fruit, and some of this fruit should be embedded inside the conscience. I speak out of my own conscience… that constant awareness that really nags at me daily. Not to do what I believe is right, but to do what I believe God would desire that I do; even when everything else around me seems like whatever I touch falls apart in my hands. I love God in His thunder… those words in scripture which describe a Thunderous God, having eyes like fire is a vision I cannot seem to erase. Sounds odd, yet I love that portrayal of Him and one day I hope I get to see it. While here on this earth I will be ever so content with His coming to me quietly, addressing those issues quietly and leaving quietly. This is why I changed the Title to the Blog… Relentless Jesus… He isn’t giving up or giving in… but we do.
I desire to be liken unto Him; not you. I already am liken unto you; for this reason I look to Him.
Thanks McArthur I now realize what the Elders of the church are listening to…
and people do not think that once Born Again one is able to Fall into Deception.
… well these two have.
Robert Schuller and Billy Graham have opened their heart to the twisted lie… that sentimental emotion of reasoning which says: God is a good God; therefore those who have not been reached through the Word or if they know not Jesus yet they are separate from the World then they must be saved.
People… Jesus told us many would come in His name, but believe them not. No one… no one comes to the Father except through Me.
You see, I believe people like Abraham knew Jesus. God gave glimpses of Himself in the Son who was to come. People like Abraham and the prophets believed God for the promise of the One who would come. And I believe Abraham understood the Seed God Blessed… to which was the SEED of the ONE who CAME; Jesus, and all those who believe on this SEED shall be blessed.
Another set of ministers (Schuller and Ghraham, like Hagee), who once preached the Gospel of Jesus now are separating themselves from the Truth… Jesus was and is the spokesperson of God; who was manifested in flesh, Jesus is the Living Word of God; who stands at God’s right hand… The Sword, and Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life…
anyone who shall believe on Me should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I take this literally; not metaphorically, no figuratively, but literally.
Amazes me how even most catholics do not know what they worship, because denial to Mary worship is so commonly argued. Hootie even priests openly deny that they worship Mary and pray to the dead. Actually they believe those people they pray to aren’t dead. Only Saints go straight past purgatory and up to Heaven. Liken unto the Jews who would rather hear from Moses than to hear from God, they would rather pray to the grave than to have Jesus as their mediator.
Actually this is making unto yourself an Idol to Worship … Erected Idols which could not move, speak, touch, hear, nor see. My grandmothers were catholic; devout catholics, but so help me if Jesus did not change their heart then I most likely will not see them upward bound… no matter how good they lived their lives here on earth.
You want to tell me how people get saved even tho they have never heard of the Word of God, a preacher preach the Word of God to them, or have never heard of Salvation through Jesus? Unless Jesus came to them like He did with Saul/Paul then I cannot believe one was Born Again. And if you believe that someone can actually be Born Again without ever hearing anything of the Word then you must believe that God made another way for them and Jesus lied.
NO ONE comes to the Father except through Me. Jesus has many names… not necessarily Jesus as spelled in the English language. All I have to do is ask the question: what does that word mean and who is He to you? This is how I have found out if someone believes in Jesus; the Son of God. The spelling of His name is different, the pronunciation of His name is different, but the Gospel Message never changed. The language was hard to understand until we began to speak of God’s Only Son.
Example:
* Yohanes 14:6
LAI TB, Kata Yesus kepadanya: “Akulah jalan dan kebenaran dan hidup. Tidak ada seorangpun yang datang kepada Bapa, kalau tidak melalui Aku.”
KJV, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
TR, λεγει αυτω ο ιησους εγω ειμι η οδος και η αληθεια και η ζωη ουδεις ερχεται προς τον πατερα ει μη δι εμου
Translit Interlinear, legei {berkata} autô {kepadanya} ho iêsous {Yesus} egô {AKU} eimi {ADALAH} hê hodos {JALAN} kai {dan} hê alêtheia {KEBENARAN} kai {dan} hê zôê {HIDUP} oudeis {tidak seorangpun} erkhetai {datang} pros {kepada} ton patera {BAPA} ei {jika} mê {tidak} di {melalui} emou {AKU}
Even the Jews who have come to know Jesus:
The Orthodox Jewish Brit Chadasha, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach says to him, “I am HaDerech, HaEmes, and HaChayyim. No one comes to HaAv except through me.”
Don’t profess it if you don’t believe it.
Don’t deny it if you don’t believe it.
God told the believer He would bring all darkness into Light.
