Sunday, October 21, 2007: If
you want to be in a relationship with someone
and you want that relationship to grow, you
have to make time for them, you have to talk to
them, you have to listen to them, and you have
to share yourself with them, whether by sharing
your hopes, dreams and aspirations, or just
sharing your feelings. These are ways we
nourish a relationship to make it grow.
The same rules apply if you want a relationship
with God, only these same acts (talking, making
time, listening, sharing) are called prayer
when dealing with God. God wants a
relationship with you...He is your heavenly
Father, He created you, and He gives you life.
It is only right that we make time for God,
that we talk with God, and that we try to
listen to God.
Prayer isn't only a repetitive
set of words or set prayers, like the Our
Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be... Prayer is
communication, and through prayer we
communicate our needs, our desires, our praise
and our thanks to God. But prayer is not
one-sided and selfish. When you talk with
someone, you listen to them too. When you
want something from someone, you don't just
give them a list of demands or chores...you ask
them what they need to carry out the tasks, or
provide the means to accomplish the tasks.
God doesn't need anything we have to offer, but
He isn't a magical genie there to grant us our
every wish either. When we pray, we
should look for signals from God that our
prayers are being answered. Sometimes
God's answer is a "No" and other times it's a
"Not yet." This is why we should not give
up on praying when our prayers aren't answered
immediately, or are not answered in the way we
think they should be answered.
Sometimes in prayer we need the
help of others...not just ourselves. It's
interesting to note that since prayer is about
communication and relationship with God, that
God makes prayer more powerful when we pray
with others with whom we have some sort of
relationship...a spiritual relationship.
Matthew
18:19-20
"19
Again I say unto you, That if two of
you shall agree on earth as touching
any thing that they shall ask, it
shall be done for them of my Father
which is in heaven.
20
For where two or three are
gathered together in my name, there
am I in the midst of them."
The importance of persevering in
prayer and faith are demonstrated in many
places in the Holy Bible, but there are two
stories that illustrate well the importance of
persistence and perseverance. The first
is an excerpt from Exodus, when Amalek declared
war on Israel...Moses told Joshua to gather men
for battle, and Moses said he would stay on a
hilltop with the rod of God in his hand.
As long as Moses' hands were up, Israel
prevailed, but when his hands came down, Amalek
began to prevail in battle. Look at the
importance of the help of others in this
passage (verse 12):
Exodus 17:8-13
"8
Then
(A)Amalek
came and fought against Israel at
(B)Rephidim.
9
So Moses said to
(C)Joshua,
"Choose men for us and go out, fight
against Amalek Tomorrow I will
station myself on the top of the hill
with
(D)the
staff of God in my hand."
10
Joshua did as Moses told him, and
fought against Amalek; and Moses,
Aaron, and
(E)Hur
went up to the top of the hill.
11
So it came about when
Moses held his hand up, that Israel
prevailed, and when he let his hand
down, Amalek prevailed.
12
But Moses' hands were heavy. Then
they took a stone and put it under
him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and
Hur
(F)supported
his hands, one on one side and one on
the other. Thus his hands were steady
until the sun set.
13
So Joshua overwhelmed
Amalek and his people with the edge
of the sword."
Jesus gives a parable
which describes the importance of
perseverance/persistence in prayer.
He gives account of an unrighteous
judge who feared neither God nor
respected man. A widow pestered
him to make a righteous judgment for
her, and he wouldn't. Then he
thought about it and thought that if
he made a righteous judgment in favor
of the widow, she would stop
bothering him and there'd be no
chance of a retaliation by her:
Luke
18:1-8
"1
Now He was telling them a
parable to show that at all
times they
(A)ought
to pray and not to
(B)lose
heart,
2
saying, "In a certain city
there was a judge who did
not fear God and did not
(C)respect
man.
3
"There was a
widow in that city, and she
kept coming to him, saying,
'Give me legal protection
from my opponent.'
4
"For a while he was
unwilling; but afterward he
said to himself, 'Even
though I do not fear God
nor
(D)respect
man,
5
yet
(E)because
this widow bothers me, I
will give her legal
protection, otherwise by
continually coming she will
(F)wear
me out.'"
6
And
(G)the
Lord said, "Hear what the
unrighteous judge said;
7
now, will not God
(H)bring
about justice for His
(I)elect
who cry to Him day and
night, and will He
(J)delay
long over them?
8
"I tell you that He will
bring about justice for
them quickly. However, when
the Son of Man comes,
(K)will
He find faith on the
earth?"
This parable
tells us that if we are
praying for something we
really need, want or desire
for someone else, we should
continue praying, even when
it looks like God is not
answering our prayer, or
when it looks like God's
answer is "No" because
sometimes He may grant the
prayer request just to
appease you (to use a
cliché, "the squeaky wheel
gets the oil"), or just so
you'll stop pestering Him
about it. But
remember, if God does not
grant a prayer request, or
answers with a "No", it is
usually in your best
interest.
You might
find that if you finally
got your prayer answered to
your liking, life will not
necessarily be great
because of it. For
example, let's say you were
praying persistently for a
material thing...say a
sports car. Years
later, you find one you can
afford, or you win one
through a contest or
something like that.
Not long after you get it,
you may find that you
either can't afford the
insurance, or the car
breaks down a lot, or worse
yet, maybe you get into an
accident and it ends up
costing you lots of money
or maybe the accident makes
you afraid to drive again.
Any number of negative
things could happen, not
because God didn't want you
to have the car, but
acquiesced to your prayers
and decided to smite you,
but rather the negative
things would have happened
anyway but God was keeping
them from you by not
granting your prayers until
such time that He knew you
could handle them.
Here's a
clip from American Dad.
In this episode, Stan
(stand-up, right-wing
Republican and Christian)
meets a great new friend,
but that friend is an
atheist. Stan tries
converting him throughout
the entire episode, but his
new friend just doesn't
accept God. Stan
decides to make bad things
happen in his friend's life
so that he'll turn to God
for help, but it all
backfires on Stan. In
this clip, his friend is
comatose in the hospital,
so Stan prays to God to
bring him back:
So, keep in
mind that God wants a
relationship with you, God
knows what's best for you,
and God wants you to talk
to him, communicate your
feelings and desires, make
time for him, listen for
Him, look for signs that
your prayers are being
answered. Go to
church to experience the
power of group prayer in
your life, or just to find
spiritual companions who
will pray with you.
You'll be amazed at how
many different ways God
communicates with you.
Maybe you'll find an answer
listening in meditation, or
maybe you'll pass a store
you've never been in that
has that thing you've been
looking for, and it's less
expensive than other places
you've looked. Maybe
someone you know, or even a
stranger, perhaps an angel
in human disguise, will
approach you with a word of
encouragement or
instruction. You
never know how God will
respond, and He will only
respond if you make an
effort to be in loving
relationship with Him.
May God
bless you and hear your
prayers and show you in a
unique way that He is
listening and responding,
in Jesus' name.
Sunday, October 14, 2007: How
many times when you pray do you give thanks to
God? Many people find themselves praying
when they realize they have run out of options,
when they realize they cannot do it on their
own, as a last resort, or only in emergencies.
Others pray daily, basically giving God tasks
to do, people to bless, asking for things they
want in their own lives...we've all done it,
and there's nothing wrong with asking God for
things, but it's VERY important to thank God
for those things and blessings that He has
already put in your life. Why?
Because he wants us to thank Him. It's a
way of praising God when you give Him thanks
and He deserves it.
Personally, I believe that
thanking God for whatever it is we are grateful
for keeps us humble. When we thank God
for our health, our life, our material
possessions, our relationships, our whatever,
at the same time we our humbling ourselves
because we are acknowledging that God made
these things possible...not ourselves.
It's important to remember we accomplish
nothing on our own, but that God has helped
make it possible. He gives us breath and
life and without either one of these two
things, we are dead organic material, or just
dead bodies and dead weight.
By thanking God we let Him know
that we know He is responsible for all the good
things in our life, we also are praising Him
for them, and that makes God happy and more
likely to fill our lives with more of the same
things, and He will fill our lives with so much
more and so much more abundantly when we are
grateful for what we already have and for what
He has already given us.
All we need do is have a
grateful spirit and tell God thank you for
those things for which we are grateful.
We can also be more creative in our
thanksgiving to God in many different ways.
We can make a new song and sing it for God, or
if we are less musically talented, we can learn
to play a new song on a musical instrument.
Other ways to thank God might be offering our
time by volunteering for a charity or at
church, or to the homeless person living under
the bridge (maybe offer him/her food or
clothing or asking what the person is most in
need of other than money...many times they
could use clean underwear or socks).
These are but a few ways of thanking God, get
creative and thank God in your own way.
God does not expect us to pay for blessings
like healings, but He does expect a grateful
heart: "8
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the
lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received,
freely give." (Matthew 10:8)
In today's Gospel reading (Luke
17:11-19) and the reading from the Old
Testament (2 Kings 5:14-17) we see stories of
lepers being cleansed and healed by the power
of God. In the Old Testament reading,
Naaman approached the prophet Elisha and asked
how to be cured of his leprosy, and Elisha told
him to dip into the Jordan river seven times
and he would be cleansed of his leprosy.
Naaman didn't like what Elisha said because it
was too simple and he didn't want to do it,
until his men convinced him that if Elisha had
told him to do something extraordinary, he
would have done it, so why not something
simple? He goes ahead, dips himself in
the river seven times and is healed. He
is so grateful that he tries to pay Elisha, but
Elisha would not accept any gifts for the
healing. Not only that, but Naaman tells
Elisha he will no longer offer holocausts or
sacrifices to any other god but the God of
Israel (Yahweh). That is a truly grateful
heart in God's eyes.
2 Kings 5:9-17
"9
So Naaman came with his horses and
his chariots and stood at the doorway
of the house of Elisha.
10
Elisha sent a messenger to
him, saying, "(I)Go
and wash in the Jordan seven times,
and your flesh will be restored to
you and you will be clean."
11
But Naaman was furious and
went away and said, "Behold, I
thought, 'He will surely come out to
me and stand and call on the name of
the LORD his God, and wave his hand
over the place and cure the leper.'
12
"Are not Abanah and Pharpar,
the rivers of Damascus, better than
all the waters of Israel? Could I not
wash in them and be clean?" So he
turned and (J)went
away in a rage.
13
(K)Then
his servants came near and spoke to
him and said, "(L)My
father, had the prophet told you to
do some great thing, would you not
have done it? How much more then,
when he says to you, 'Wash, and be
clean'?"
14
So he went down and dipped
himself seven times in the Jordan,
according to the word of the man of
God; and (M)his
flesh was restored like the flesh of
a little child and (N)he
was clean.
15
When he returned to the man of
God with all his company, and came
and stood before him, he said,
"Behold now, (O)I
know that there is no God in all the
earth, but in Israel; so please
(P)take
a present from your servant now."
16
But he said, "(Q)As
the LORD lives, before whom I stand,
(R)I
will take nothing." And he urged him
to take it, but he refused.
17
Naaman said, "If not, please
let your servant at least be given
two mules' load of (S)earth;
for your servant will no longer offer
burnt offering nor will he sacrifice
to other gods, but to the LORD."
In the Gospel reading from Luke,
ten lepers approach Jesus on the road, keeping
their distance, and asking for mercy.
Jesus tells them to show themselves to priests,
and as they go on their way, they are all
healed. However, only one of the ten
healed lepers makes his way back to Jesus to
thank Him or praise God. The one that
came back and gave thanks to Jesus and praised
God was a Samaritan, considered a foreigner to
the Jews and a pagan and unclean. For
coming back and giving thanks, the Samaritan
was saved, while the other 9 lepers were
not...they were only healed.
Luke 17:11-19
"11
While He was
(A)on
the way to Jerusalem,
(B)He
was passing between Samaria and
Galilee.
12
As He entered a village, ten leprous
men who
(C)stood
at a distance met Him;
13
and they raised their voices, saying,
"Jesus,
(D)Master,
have mercy on us!"
14
When He saw them, He said to them, "(E)Go
and show yourselves to the priests."
And as they were going, they were
cleansed.
15
Now one of them, when he saw that he
had been healed, turned back,
(F)glorifying
God with a loud voice,
16
and he fell on his face at His feet,
giving thanks to Him. And he was a
(G)Samaritan.
17
Then Jesus answered and said, "Were
there not ten cleansed? But the
nine--where are they?
18
"Was no one found who returned to
(H)give
glory to God, except this foreigner?"
19
And He said to him, "Stand up and go;
(I)your
faith
[a]has
made you well."
So have a grateful
heart and give thanks to God for all
good things.
Heavenly Father, I
thank you for life, breath, health,
use of my limbs, my senses, my
schooling, my family, my friends, my
loved ones, dreams in the night,
those times I feel like you are near
to me, answering past prayers, all
the times you blessed me by saving me
from myself (whether it was
preventing a wreck in traffic or
preventing me from dying by
electricity or when I've jumped out
of planes, or from any other stupid
thing I've done in my youth that
could have resulted in my death or in
the death of others). Thank you
for healing me and making me able to
walk again without pain. Thank
you for giving me control of my
drinking habits. Thank you for
blue skies, thank you for clouds that
cover the sun on a hot day, thank you
for shade from the sun, cool breezes
on hot days, birds, butterflies,
squirrels and all your creatures that
make me smile when I look upon them,
especially my pets. Thank you
that I have people who care for me
and look after me, thank you for ups
and downs, thank you for music,
dancing, friends to hang out with,
time alone and solitude, parties.
Thank you that I have food on my
plate, and gas in my car and money in
the bank (even when it's not very
much). Thank you for windy
days, oceans and rivers, mountains
and hills, flat land, trees, the
moon, stars. Thank you for
clothes. Thank you for
television, or (for those that have
it) being able to pay the cable bill,
high speed internet. Thank you
for all those times I feel like you
are communicating with me in Your own
personal way. Thank you for
always being faithful, even when I am
not. Thank you for always
loving me, even when I don't love
myself. Thank you for hearing
my prayers, and answering them, even
if your answer is "No." Thank
you being a good God. Thank you
for your mercy and infinite love.
Thank you for Jesus. Jesus,
thank you for dying on the cross for
a sinner like me. Have mercy on
me and help me not to sin again.
Thank you for the Holy Spirit.
Thank you that I can speak with you
and ask you questions, and you will
answer in unique and interesting
ways. Thank you for helping me
in my times of need. Thank you for
sending me help when I needed it and
forgot to ask. Thank you for
keeping evil far from me. Thank
you for all the good things and
people you bring into my life.
These are just a few
of the things for which I am
grateful. What are you grateful
for in your life? Have you told
God thank you yet?
Sunday, October 7, 2007: Words
are powerful, so it's important to watch what
we say. Words from a coach can motivate a
team or a personal life, and they can inspire
us to great things. The wrong words can
hurt our feelings, hurt our relationships,
destroy friendships, or scar us for life,
whether it be through gossiping, a stern
tongue-lashing, or whether they are spoken in
the heat of anger. Finally, words
combined with faith can bring about miracles.
The Bible gives us clear insight
into the power of words:
Proverbs 18:20-21
"20 A man's belly
shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth;
and with the increase (produce) of his lips
shall he be filled.
21 Death and life are in
the power of the tongue: and they that love it
shall eat the fruit thereof."
These verses tell us our words
are power and that what we say fills our life
(belly), so we should choose our words
carefully. Our words have even the power
to revive a person's spirit or to kill it,
literally and figuratively.
Examples of this:
Proverbs 18:4
"4 The words of a man's
mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of
wisdom as a flowing brook."
In other words, deep waters can
be tread, swam upon, can become rough as with a
storm, and can drown or kill a person.
This is the spiritual power of our words.
Use self restraint in speech to prevent rough
waters. Words can also be a grand source
of wisdom, help, or advice to someone in need
of it.
Proverbs 18:6
"6 A fool's lips enter
into contention, and his mouth calleth for
strokes (blows)."
This means that words from fools
enter into or cause contention (quarrels,
arguments, fights, competition). The last
half of the verse can be taken to mean the fool
would call for or instigate violence on
another, OR could mean the fool might get a
response of violence on the fool him/herself
due to the fool's words.
Proverbs 18:7
"7 A fool's mouth is his
destruction, and his lips are the snare of his
soul."
This suggests the fool's words
cause the fool's own downfall, loss of
credibility, or even their own death.
Lips as a snare of the soul- a snare can be
disabled so as not to cause harm (snare as in
trap), or it can be a loaded trap for the
fool's soul. This is part of why it's
better to choose our words carefully.
Proverbs 18:8
"8 The words of a
talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into
the innermost parts of the belly."
The words of a gossip or a
slanderer hurt others to the inner depths of
their souls, as if physically wounding them.
Their words are felt and usually felt as pain.
The pain felt is actually from a spiritual
wound received through words.
Proverbs 18:13-15
"13 He that answereth a
matter before he heareth it, it is folly and
shame unto him.
14 The spirit of a man
will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded
(broken) spirit who can bear?
15 The heart of the
prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the
wise seeketh knowledge."
v.13- It is wise to first hear a
matter or a person out completely before
responding. (This is used widely in
business as a customer service skill).
Otherwise you are being foolish and it reflects
on you as shameful, and possibly arrogant and
stupid.
v.14- With a strong spirit you
can overcome obstacles, like infirmities
(sicknesses), but if your spirit is broken, for
example- by words, then no one can help you but
God. The military uses this tactic of
breaking one's spirit to train their soldiers
to follow orders. Solitary confinement in
prison to break the spirit of the
troublemakers, and torture to break the spirit
of captured enemy soldiers.
v.15- Spend more time getting
knowledge (learning new things), facts, wisdom,
and less time talking is the point of this
verse.
Proverbs 18:19
"19 A brother offended is
harder to be won than a strong city: and their
contentions are like the bars of a castle."
Words can easily offend, and
once the damage is done (once the wrong words
are spoken), the words can't be taken back, and
the most difficult thing to do is to repair the
damage caused to a relationship (even a member
of your own family) by the offences of the
mouth (words).
What we should do:
Proverbs 16:21-24
"21 The wise in heart
shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of
the lips increaseth learning.
22 Understanding is a
wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but
the instruction of fools is folly.
23 The heart of the wise
teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his
lips.
24 Pleasant words are as
an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to
the bones."
v.21-23-- Wise people
train their mouth so they can control the words
that come out of it. Listen to people
cuss everyday...you'll hear them say something
like "G-d dammit!" Instead of blurting
out a curse (telling God to damn something),
why not work on changing the words that come
out of your mouth and say something like "G-d
bless it!" or leave God's name/title out of the
equation and just say "Bless it!", because when
you do that, God can change the circumstance
that made you upset enough to blurt out a curse
and make it work to your advantage (whether it
be something as simple as spiritual growth in
training your mouth, or something more
complicated like getting you to view your
situation from a different and peaceful point
of view).
v.24- Pleasant and sincere words
are health to our bodies and spirits, and they
are sweeter to hear than phony peoples'
insincere and usually degrading, hurtful and
unhelpful words. It's like when people
say something like "a true friend would have
told me" such and such...what that means is
that the person doesn't want to hear insincere
words like "oh yeah, that looks good on you"
when it really looks horrible and the person is
counting on your honesty for their own sense of
vanity; or when a person asks for an honest
opinion, sometimes a true friend will have to
say something the other doesn't want to hear
and that may hurt them a little to hear, but
it's more important to the person to hear the
truth, rather than not know or to be told what
they think they want to hear.
More wise advice on life, but
that also applies to our use of words and how
words can affect others:
Proverbs 14:29-30
"29 He that is slow to
wrath is of great understanding: but he that is
hasty of spirit exalteth folly.
30 A sound heart is the
life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of
the bones."
More scriptural quotes on the
power of the tongue (our words) and how we
should use them:
Psalm 34:12-14
"12
What man is he that desireth life,
and loveth many days, that he may see
good?
13
Keep thy tongue from evil, and
thy lips from speaking guile.
14
Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it."
Proverbs 6:16-18
"16
These six
things doth the LORD hate:
yea, seven are an
abomination unto him:
17
A proud look, a lying
tongue, and hands that shed
innocent blood,
18
An heart that deviseth
wicked imaginations, feet
that be swift in running to
mischief,"
Proverbs
15:1-4
"1
A soft answer
turneth away
wrath: but
grievous words
stir up anger.
2
The tongue of the
wise useth
knowledge aright:
but the mouth of
fools poureth out
foolishness.
3
The eyes of the
LORD are in every
place, beholding
the evil and the
good.
4
A
wholesome tongue
is a tree of
life: but
perverseness
therein is a
breach in the
spirit."
Proverbs 21:23
"23 Whoso
keepeth his mouth
and his
tongue
keepeth his soul
from troubles."
Proverbs 26:28
"28
A lying tongue
hateth those that
are afflicted by
it; and a
flattering mouth
worketh ruin."
Proverbs 28:23
"23 He that
rebuketh a man
afterwards shall
find more favour
than he that
flattereth with
the
tongue."
James 3:5-8
"5
Even so
the
tongue
is a
little
member,
and
boasteth
great
things.
Behold,
how
great a
matter
a
little
fire
kindleth!
6
And the
tongue
is a
fire, a
world
of
iniquity:
so is
the
tongue
among
our
members,
that it
defileth
the
whole
body,
and
setteth
on fire
the
course
of
nature;
and it
is set
on fire
of
hell.
7
For
every
kind of
beasts,
and of
birds,
and of
serpents,
and of
things
in the
sea, is
tamed,
and
hath
been
tamed
of
mankind:
8
But the
tongue
can no
man
tame;
it is
an
unruly
evil,
full of
deadly
poison."
1 Peter
3:9-11
"9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it."
Matthew 12:33-35
"33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things."
Matthew 15:17-20
"17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man."
The power of faith combined with words:
Luke 17:5-6
"5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you."
Bringing dry bones to life: God brought the prophet Ezekiel to a valley full of dry bones, and told him to speak to them certain words and they regrouped into skeletons and then flesh came upon the bones and then breath came into them and they lived.
Ezekiel 37:1-10
"1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath (spirit) to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above (over): but there was no breath (spirit) in them.
9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army."
Finally, a clip from the season finale of the new Doctor Who (Last of the Time Lords)...this is a spoiler. Martha Jones reveals how she carried out the Doctor's orders to save the world by telling his story, not using weapons...her weapon was simply words. This is analogous to our job of spreading the good news and story of Jesus Christ. Enjoy the clip:
Sunday, September 30, 2007: This
week many churches celebrate the Feast of St.
Francis of Assisi this coming week by bringing
their animals to the church grounds to be
blessed. Here's a little bit about him
from (other than what he is most noted for:
founding the Franciscan order of monks).
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Francis/default.asp
:
-"St. Francis of Assisi, the
patron saint of animals and ecology, was a
Roman Catholic saint who took the gospel
literally by following all Jesus said and did."
- "St.
Francis of Assisi, lover of all creation,
champion of justice, patron saint of animals
and the environment, founded the Franciscan
Order of monks. His feast day is October 4."
St. Francis of Assisi is most
associated as the patron saint of animals, but
really other saints are better known as the
patron saints of animals, including: 1)
Anthony of Padua - "A gifted speaker, he
attracted crowds everywhere he went, speaking
in multiple tongues; legend says that even the
fish
loved to listen. Wonder worker."
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainta01.htm
; 2) St. Anthony the Abbot - "His
relationship with pigs
and patronage of
swineherds
is a little complicated. Skin diseases were
sometimes treated with applications of pork
fat, which reduced inflammation and itching. As
Anthony's intervention aided in the same
conditions, he was shown in art accompanied by
a pig.
People who saw the art work, but did not have
it explained, thought there was a direct
connection between Anthony and pigs
- and people who worked with swine
took him as their patron."
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainta06.htm
; 3) Blaise - "Healer
of men and animals;
according to legend, sick
animals
would come to him on their own for help, but
would never disturb him at prayer."
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintb04.htm
; and 4) St. Nicholas of Tolentino - "A
vegetarian, Nicholas was once served a roasted
fowl; he made the sign of the cross over it,
and it flew out a window."
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintn07.htm
. Click on the links to read more about
each of these saints...they did many wondrous
things during their lives.
God made animals as helpers and
companions for man. Genesis 2:18-20
states:
"18Then
the LORD God said, "It is not good
for the man to be alone;
(A)I
will make him a helper
[a]suitable
for him."
19(B)Out
of the ground the LORD God formed
every beast of the field and every
bird of the sky, and
(C)brought
them to the man to see what he would
call them; and whatever the man
called a living creature, that was
its name.
20The
man gave names to all the cattle, and
to the birds of the sky, and to every
beast of the field, but for
[b]Adam
there was not found
(D)a
helper suitable for him."
We are told by today's
society that just by having pets we
as people become less stressed, live
longer, and we learn to put others'
needs before our own. In the
past people relied on animals, not
the machines we rely on, for
agriculture whether as livestock or
helpers to till the ground.
Shaolin monks studied animals and
learned to adapt their movements into
various martial arts for their
survival. Others use them for
food and clothing. Animals are
important to humans, and humans
should at the very least recognize
the importance of animals and treat
them with the respect and kindness
they deserve.
The Bible has a great
story about a prophet that was about
the be killed by an angel's sword.
The prophet did not see the angel,
but the donkey he was riding did see
it, and kept trying to avoid the
angel's sword. The prophet got
mad at the donkey, and began to beat
it, but God opened the donkey's mouth
and allowed him to speak to the
prophet, then God opened the
prophet's eyes so that he could see
the angel with the sword pointed at
him. Animals aren't as dumb as
some people think:
Numbers 22:21-33
"21(A)So
Balaam arose in the
morning, and saddled his
donkey and went with the
leaders of Moab.
The Angel
and Balaam
22But
God was angry because he
was going,
(B)and
the angel of the LORD took
his stand in the way as an
adversary against him. Now
he was riding on his donkey
and his two servants were
with him.
23When
the donkey saw the angel of
the LORD standing in the
way with his drawn sword in
his hand, the donkey turned
off from the way and went
into the field; but Balaam
struck the donkey to turn
her back into the way.
24Then
the angel of the LORD stood
in a narrow path of the
vineyards, with a wall on
this side and a wall on
that side.
25When
the donkey saw the angel of
the LORD, she pressed
herself to the wall and
pressed Balaam's foot
against the wall, so he
struck her again.
26The
angel of the LORD went
further, and stood in a
narrow place where there
was no way to turn to the
right hand or the left.
27When
the donkey saw the angel of
the LORD, she lay down
under Balaam; so
(C)Balaam
was angry and struck the
donkey with his stick.
28And
(D)the
LORD opened the mouth of
the donkey, and she said to
Balaam, "What have I done
to you, that you have
struck me these three
times?"
29Then
Balaam said to the donkey,
"Because you have made a
mockery of me! If there had
been a sword in my hand,
(E)I
would have killed you by
now."
30The
donkey said to Balaam, "Am
I not your donkey on which
you have ridden all your
life to this day? Have I
ever been accustomed to do
so to you?" And he said,
"No."
31Then
the LORD opened the eyes of
Balaam, and he saw
(F)the
angel of the LORD standing
in the way with his drawn
sword in his hand; and he
bowed all the way to the
ground.
32The
angel of the LORD said to
him, "Why have you struck
your donkey these three
times? Behold, I have come
out as an adversary,
because your way was
(G)contrary
to me.
33"But
the donkey saw me and
turned aside from me these
three times. If she had not
turned aside from me, I
would surely have killed
you just now, and let her
live." "
Sunday, September 23, 2007: We
are commanded to love each other, but sometimes
it seems that other people, even our own selves, make
this a difficult thing to do.
We find that people (or ourselves) fall short
of our expectations, let us down in several
ways, irritate us, impose on us, don't seem to
carry their own weight in the house or on the
job, their differing views on matters conflict
with our own (or we find ourselves acting
contradictory to our own values)...etc.
And those are just the people we get along with
and love.
How much more difficult it is to
forgive and accept these qualities in total
strangers, especially those who steal from us,
cheat us, try to hurt us for our material
possessions, those who oppress us because they
know they can get away with it. It's even
worse when such atrocities are committed by
people we previously considered friends,
family, or lovers.
Yet, Jesus commands us to do
more than just love those who love us.
The Old Testament stresses the importance of
loving others, yet securing your right to
retaliation. Jesus changed that focus
into love for those who love you AND love for
your enemies, because if you just love or act
loving to those who act loving to you or those
who love you, then you are being no different
than anyone else...even evil people do the
same. Jesus wants us to stand out so he
can see us as His, be perfect like our Heavenly
Father, who is kind to the good and the evil.
Matthew 5:38-48
38"(A)You
have heard that it was said, '(B)AN
EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A
TOOTH.' 39"But
I say to you, do not resist an evil
person; but
(C)whoever
slaps you on your right cheek, turn
the other to him also. 40"If
anyone wants to sue you and take your
[a]shirt,
let him have your
[b]coat
also.
41"Whoever
forces you to go one mile, go with
him two.
42"(D)Give
to him who asks of you, and do not
turn away from him who wants to
borrow from you.
43"(E)You
have heard that it was said, '(F)YOU
SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
(G)and
hate your enemy.'
44"But
I say to you,
(H)love
your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you,
45so
that you may be
(I)sons
of your Father who is in heaven; for
He causes His sun to rise on the evil
and the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and the unrighteous.
46"For
(J)if
you love those who love you, what
reward do you have? Do not even the
tax collectors do the same?
47"If
you greet only your brothers, what
more are you doing than others? Do
not even the Gentiles do the same?
48"Therefore
(K)you
are to be perfect, as your heavenly
Father is perfect.
Luke 6:27-36
27"But
I say to you who hear,
(A)love
your enemies, do good to those who
hate you, 28bless
those who curse you,
(B)pray
for those who mistreat you.
29"(C)Whoever
hits you on the cheek, offer him the
other also; and whoever takes away
your coat, do not withhold your shirt
from him either.
30"Give
to everyone who asks of you, and
whoever takes away what is yours, do
not demand it back.
31"(D)Treat
others the same way you want them to
treat you.
32"(E)If
you love those who love you, what
credit is that to you? For even
sinners love those who love them.
33"If
you do good to those who do good to
you, what credit is that to you? For
even sinners do the same.
34"(F)If
you lend to those from whom you
expect to receive, what credit is
that to you? Even sinners lend to
sinners in order to receive back the
same amount.
35"But
(G)love
your enemies, and do good, and lend,
expecting nothing in return; and your
reward will be great, and you will be
(H)sons
of
(I)the
Most High; for He Himself is kind to
ungrateful and evil men.
36"Be
merciful, just as your Father is
merciful.
The movie Peaceful
Warrior (based on the book by Dan
Millman: Way of the Peaceful Warrior)
illustrates this lesson well.
Socrates (the old man played by Nick
Nolte) is teaching Dan about knowing
the cost of certain pleasures (like a
night out drinking), after having
made him give up drinking and drugs
and sex entirely. Outside the
bar, Dan gets sick, and a gang of
thugs approaches. Socrates,
though old, can easily take all three
of them if he wanted to, but decides
to teach Dan another lesson about
letting go of pride and material
possesions. Enjoy:
Sunday,
September 16, 2007: Jesus
has authority (and has given his disciples
authority) over demons and spirits. One
grand example of his authority over them is
exemplified in the story of Legion. Jesus
casts out a multitude of demons or evil spirits
out of a man. The spirits/demons made
this man live in tombs, crying and cutting
himself. No man could bind the possessed
man (he'd break the shackles or chains), and no
man could tame or control the possessed man.
Mark 5:1-15
"1And
they came over unto the other side of
the sea, into the country of the
Gadarenes.
2And
when he was come out of the ship,
immediately there met him out of the
tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
3Who
had his dwelling among the tombs; and
no man could bind him, no, not with
chains:
4Because
that he had been often bound with
fetters and chains, and the chains
had been plucked asunder by him, and
the fetters broken in pieces: neither
could any man tame him.
5And
always, night and day, he was in the
mountains, and in the tombs, crying,
and cutting himself with stones.
6But
when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran
and worshipped him,
7And
cried with a loud voice, and said,
What have I to do with thee, Jesus,
thou Son of the most high God? I
adjure thee by God, that thou torment
me not.
8For
he said unto him, Come out of the
man, thou unclean spirit.
9And
he asked him, What is thy name? And
he answered, saying, My name is
Legion: for we are many.
10And
he besought him much that he would
not send them away out of the
country.
11Now
there was there nigh unto the
mountains a great herd of swine
feeding.
12And
all the devils besought him, saying,
Send us into the swine, that we may
enter into them.
13And
forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And
the unclean spirits went out, and
entered into the swine: and the herd
ran violently down a steep place into
the sea, (they were about two
thousand;) and were choked in the
sea.
14And
they that fed the swine fled, and
told it in the city, and in the
country. And they went out to see
what it was that was done.
15And
they come to Jesus, and see him that
was possessed with the devil, and had
the legion, sitting, and clothed, and
in his right mind: and they were
afraid."
--------
Just for fun, I
thought I'd include a clip from Ghost
Rider here to illustrate how one
person can have multiple unwanted (or
even wanted) spirits or demons.
In this scene, Satan's son collects
the souls of a million evil spirits
and Ghost Rider uses this to his
advantage. Enjoy:
Friday,
August 17, 2007: I
have compiled all the scriptures I could find
on familiar spirits, divining spirits, and
sorcery for people that have them. It's
important to understand that if you are not
baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit of
God, then those spirits or forces that are
hanging around you are most likely demons...and
demons CAN appear as angels of light because
they once were angels of light...and when they
fell from grace they became demons...they can
still deceive you into believing they are "of
the light" as New Agers might say. This
is not to say that all people that think they
are getting communications from their angels
are not actually getting communication (or even
seeing) angels, but you should KNOW the risk
and the REALITY. God does NOT want us
using divining spirits or consulting people
with divining spirits as you'll see if you read
the scriptures:
Sorcery, Familiar Spirits, Divining Spirits,
and Wizards
-
Leviticus 19:31
Regard not them that have
familiarspirits,
neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by
them: I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19:30-32
(in Context)
Leviticus 19
(Whole Chapter)
-
Leviticus 20:6
And the soul that turneth after such as have
familiarspirits,
and after wizards, to go a whoring after them,
I will even set my face against that soul, and
will cut him off from among his people.
Leviticus 20:5-7
(in Context)
Leviticus 20
(Whole Chapter)
-
Leviticus 20:27
A man also or woman that hath a familiar
spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be
put to death: they shall stone them with
stones: their blood shall be upon them.
Leviticus 20:26-27
(in Context)
Leviticus 20
(Whole Chapter)
-
Deuteronomy 18:10-14
10There
shall not be found among you any one that
maketh his son or his daughter to pass through
the fire, or that useth divination, or an
observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
11Or
a charmer, or a consulter with familiar
spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12For
all that do these things are an abomination
unto the LORD: and because of these
abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them
out from before thee. 13Thou
shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. 14For
these nations, which thou shalt possess,
hearkened unto observers of times, and unto
diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God
hath not suffered thee so to do.
-1
Samuel 28:3-223Now
Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented
him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own
city. And Saul had put away those that had
familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the
land. 4And
the Philistines gathered themselves together,
and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul
gathered all Israel together, and they pitched
in Gilboa. 5And
when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he
was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. 6And
when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD
answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by
Urim, nor by prophets. 7Then
said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman
that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to
her, and enquire of her. And his servants said
to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a
familiar spirit at Endor. 8And
Saul disguised himself, and put on other
raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and
they came to the woman by night: and he said, I
pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar
spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name
unto thee. 9And
the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest
what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those
that have familiar spirits, and the wizards,
out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a
snare for my life, to cause me to die? 10And
Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the
LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen
to thee for this thing. 11Then
said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto
thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. 12And
when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a
loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul,
saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art
Saul. 13And
the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what
sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I
saw gods ascending out of the earth. 14And
he said unto her, What form is he of? And she
said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered
with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was
Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the
ground, and bowed himself. 15And
Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted
me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am
sore distressed; for the Philistines make war
against me, and God is departed from me, and
answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor
by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that
thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.
16Then
said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of
me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and
is become thine enemy? 17And
the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me:
for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine
hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to
David: 18Because
thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor
executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek,
therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto
thee this day. 19Moreover
the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee
into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow
shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD
also shall deliver the host of Israel into the
hand of the Philistines. 20Then
Saul fell straightway all along on the earth,
and was sore afraid, because of the words of
Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for
he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the
night. 21And
the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was
sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine
handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put
my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy
words which thou spakest unto me. 22Now
therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto
the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a
morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou
mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy
way.
-2 Kings
21:1-61Manasseh
was twelve years old when he began to reign,
and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem.
And his mother's name was Hephzibah. 2And
he did that which was evil in the sight of the
LORD, after the abominations of the heathen,
whom the LORD cast out before the children of
Israel. 3For
he built up again the high places which
Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he
reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as
did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the
host of heaven, and served them. 4And
he built altars in the house of the LORD, of
which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my
name. 5And
he built altars for all the host of heaven in
the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6And
he made his son pass through the fire, and
observed times, and used enchantments, and
dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he
wrought much wickedness in the sight of the
LORD, to provoke him to anger.
-
2 Kings 23:24
Moreover the workers with
familiarspirits,
and the wizards, and the images, and the idols,
and all the abominations that were spied in the
land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put
away, that he might perform the words of the
law which were written in the book that Hilkiah
the priest found in the house of the LORD.
2 Kings 23:23-25
(in Context)
2 Kings 23
(Whole Chapter)
-
-
1 Chronicles 10:13
So Saul died for his transgression which he
committed against the LORD, even against the
word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also
for asking counsel of one that had a
familiarspirit,
to enquire of it;
1 Chronicles 10:12-14
(in Context)
1 Chronicles 10
(Whole Chapter)
-
2 Chronicles 33:6
And he caused his children to pass through the
fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also
he observed times, and used enchantments, and
used witchcraft, and dealt with a
familiarspirit,
and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the
sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
2 Chronicles 33:5-7
(in Context)
2 Chronicles 33
(Whole Chapter)
-Isaiah
8:19-2219And
when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them
that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards
that peep, and that mutter: should not a people
seek unto their God? for the living to the
dead? 20To
the law and to the testimony: if they speak not
according to this word, it is because there is
no light in them. 21And
they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and
hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when
they shall be hungry, they shall fret
themselves, and curse their king and their God,
and look upward. 22And
they shall look unto the earth; and behold
trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and
they shall be driven to darkness.
-Isaiah
19:2-42And
I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians:
and they shall fight every one against his
brother, and every one against his neighbour;
city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3And
the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst
thereof; and I will destroy the counsel
thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and
to the charmers, and to them that have familiar
spirits, and to the wizards. 4And
the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of
a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over
them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
-Ezekiel
13:6-96They
have seen vanity and lying divination, saying,
The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent
them: and they have made others to hope that
they would confirm the word. 7Have
ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not
spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The
LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken? 8Therefore
thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken
vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am
against you, saith the Lord GOD. 9And
mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see
vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be
in the assembly of my people, neither shall
they be written in the writing of the house of
Israel, neither shall they enter into the land
of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord
GOD.
-Acts
16:14-3514And
a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of
purple, of the city of Thyatira, which
worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord
opened, that she attended unto the things which
were spoken of Paul. 15And
when she was baptized, and her household, she
besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be
faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and
abide there. And she constrained us. 16And
it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a
certain damsel possessed with a spirit of
divination met us, which brought her masters
much gain by soothsaying: 17The
same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying,
These men are the servants of the most high
God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
18And
this did she many days. But Paul, being
grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I
command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to
come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
19And
when her masters saw that the hope of their
gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and
drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,
20And
brought them to the magistrates, saying, These
men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our
city, 21And
teach customs, which are not lawful for us to
receive, neither to observe, being Romans. 22And
the multitude rose up together against them:
and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and
commanded to beat them. 23And
when they had laid many stripes upon them, they
cast them into prison, charging the jailor to
keep them safely: 24Who,
having received such a charge, thrust them into
the inner prison, and made their feet fast in
the stocks. 25And
at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang
praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
26And
suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that
the foundations of the prison were shaken: and
immediately all the doors were opened, and
every one's bands were loosed. 27And
the keeper of the prison awaking out of his
sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he
drew out his sword, and would have killed
himself, supposing that the prisoners had been
fled. 28But
Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do
thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29Then
he called for a light, and sprang in, and came
trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
30And
brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I
do to be saved? 31And
they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32And
they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and
to all that were in his house. 33And
he took them the same hour of the night, and
washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and
all his, straightway. 34And
when he had brought them into his house, he set
meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in
God with all his house. 35And
when it was day, the magistrates sent the
serjeants, saying, Let those men go.
-Acts
13:4-124So
they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost,
departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they
sailed to Cyprus. 5And
when they were at Salamis, they preached the
word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and
they had also John to their minister. 6And
when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos,
they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet,
a Jew, whose name was Barjesus: 7Which
was with the deputy of the country, Sergius
Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas
and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
8But
Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by
interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn
away the deputy from the faith. 9Then
Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with
the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him. 10And
said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief,
thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all
righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert
the right ways of the Lord? 11And
now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee,
and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for
a season. And immediately there fell on him a
mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking
some to lead him by the hand. 12Then
the deputy, when he saw what was done,
believed, being astonished at the doctrine of
the Lord.
-
-
Revelation 21:8
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the
abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers,
and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars,
shall have their part in the lake which burneth
with fire and brimstone: which is the second
death.
Revelation 21:7-9
(in Context)
Revelation 21
(Whole Chapter)
-
Revelation 20:11-Revelation 21:811And
I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on
it, from whose face the earth and the heaven
fled away; and there was found no place for
them. 12And
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before
God; and the books were opened: and another
book was opened, which is the book of life: and
the dead were judged out of those things which
were written in the books, according to their
works. 13And
the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and
death and hell delivered up the dead which were
in them: and they were judged every man
according to their works. 14And
death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death. 15And
whosoever was not found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 211And
I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the
first heaven and the first earth were passed
away; and there was no more sea. 2And
I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a
bride adorned for her husband. 3And
I heard a great voice out of heaven saying,
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and
he will dwell with them, and they shall be his
people, and God himself shall be with them, and
be their God. 4And
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death, neither
sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any
more pain: for the former things are passed
away. 5And
he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I
make all things new. And he said unto me,
Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6And
he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give
unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the
water of life freely. 7He
that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I
will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8But
the fearful, and unbelieving, and the
abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers,
and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars,
shall have their part in the lake which burneth
with fire and brimstone: which is the second
death.
-
Revelation 22:1-171And
he shewed me a pure river of water of life,
clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne
of God and of the Lamb. 2In
the midst of the street of it, and on either
side of the river, was there the tree of life,
which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded
her fruit every month: and the leaves of the
tree were for the healing of the nations. 3And
there shall be no more curse: but the throne of
God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his
servants shall serve him: 4And
they shall see his face; and his name shall be
in their foreheads. 5And
there shall be no night there; and they need no
candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord
God giveth them light: and they shall reign for
ever and ever. 6And
he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and
true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets
sent his angel to shew unto his servants the
things which must shortly be done. 7Behold,
I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the
sayings of the prophecy of this book. 8And
I John saw these things, and heard them. And
when I had heard and seen, I fell down to
worship before the feet of the angel which
shewed me these things.
-
Revelation 22:1-17
(continued) 9Then
saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am
thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the
prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of
this book: worship God. 10And
he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the
prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
11He
that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he
which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and
he that is righteous, let him be righteous
still: and he that is holy, let him be holy
still.
12And,
behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with
me, to give every man according as his work
shall be. 13I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end,
the first and the last. 14Blessed
are they that do his commandments, that they
may have right to the tree of life, and may
enter in through the gates into the city. 15For
without are dogs, and sorcerers, and
whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and
whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 16I
Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you
these things in the churches. I am the root and
the offspring of David, and the bright and
morning star. 17And
the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him
that heareth say, Come. And let him that is
athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely.
Friday,
August 17, 2007: If
you have ever watched The Active Word with
Pastor Bob Coy (Fort Lauderdale based), and
seen his podium, you've seen this image of a
swooping dove, representative of the Holy
Spirit:
When I was in grade school (sometime between
3rd and 6th grade) I made this Holy Spirit dove
in art class...LONG before I EVER had any
interest in my religion, and decades before
hearing about Pastor Bob Coy:
They both look the same, including the larger
left side wing. I wonder if it's a staple
Christian image or a freaky-cool coincidence.
Okay, the right wing is a little different, but
still very close!
Monday,
August 6, 2007: Have
you ever felt like your faith grew to a certain
point (maybe from zero faith to believing
enough to pray to God), and then maybe God
didn't respond the way you expected, or not at
all (at least in your limited perception), and
you just got frustrated and decided God wasn't
real or prayer wasn't for you?
Everybody goes through this...it's called a
test of faith. God tests our faith to
help us realize how limited our faith is, or
how shallow or how broken it is. God is
capable of anything, but it's our minds and how
we pray or what WE expect from God that limits
God's power. And because we are but dust
and water with breath, living in our fleshly
bodies, we get frustrated and tired and
irritable when things don't go our way.
And sometimes we want to yell out to God and
ask him why He's letting these things happen to
us.
And that's okay to do. God understands
that we get tired, irritable, frustrated with
life and with Him, especially when we feel like
God isn't answering us. The fact is, we
CAN yell at God, and though many times God WILL
answer us, it is God's right to choose whether
or not to answer us. Second fact is,
watch what you say in those times of anger or
frustration, because even though we have the
freedom to yell at God, EVERY word we speak,
every thought we have, every single thing we
do, we will give account of at our time of
judgment.
The movie Bruce Almighty shows us an example of
someone (Bruce, played by Jim Carrey) in such a
situation, after feeling like his career is at
a standstill, having lost a promotion to
anchorman to a co-worker...Bruce yells at God
after trying to pray for guidance, and wrecking
his car in the process. King David may or
may not have yelled at God, but we can read the
Psalms and see definite frustration...wouldn't
you be if the King you served personally had
made you go into hiding because he was jealous
that God left him and was with you, and
therefore the King sent his men after you to
kill you...over the course of many years?
That was David's experience under King Saul.
Here's a clip of Bruce losing it and yelling at
God. Below are some Psalm verses that
match what's going on in the movie to a degree:
Psalm 77:
1-3
"1
I cried unto God with my voice, even
unto God with my voice; and he gave
ear unto me.
2
In the day of my trouble I
sought the Lord: my sore ran in the
night, and ceased not: my soul
refused to be comforted.
3
I remembered God, and was
troubled: I complained, and my spirit
was overwhelmed. Selah."
Psalm 142
"1
I cried unto the LORD with
my voice; with my voice
unto the LORD did I make my
supplication.
2
I poured out my
complaint before him; I
shewed before him my
trouble.
3
When my spirit was
overwhelmed within me, then
thou knewest my path. In
the way wherein I walked
have they privily laid a
snare for me.
4
I looked on my right
hand, and beheld, but there
was no man that would know
me: refuge failed me; no
man cared for my soul.
5
I cried unto thee, O
LORD: I said, Thou art my
refuge and my portion in
the land of the living.
6
Attend unto my cry;
for I am brought very low:
deliver me from my
persecutors; for they are
stronger than I.
7
Bring my soul out of
prison, that I may praise
thy name: the righteous
shall compass me about; for
thou shalt deal bountifully
with me."
(And most
fitting for the above clip)
Psalm 102:1-2
"1
Hear my prayer, O
LORD, and let my
cry come unto
thee.
2
Hide not thy face
from me in the
day when I am in
trouble; incline
thine ear unto
me: in the day
when I call
answer me
speedily."
--------------------------
The clip below
from Bruce
Almighty deals
with Bruce
meeting God after
he lost it and
wrecked his car
and yelled at
God. God
shows him a
filing drawer
full of
everything Bruce
ever said, did or
thought about
doing. This
is a good
illustration of
Isaiah 45:21-23;
Matthew 12:34-37;
and Romans
14:9-13...basically
that we too will
give account unto
God for every
word spoken,
every thing we've
ever done, and
even everything
we've ever
thought of doing.
After convincing
Bruce that the
file cabinet
drawer was no
trick, Bruce
still doesn't
believe he's
talking to God,
and asks him to
guess how many
fingers he's
holding behind
his back.
God (played by
Morgan Freeman)
quotes the Bible,
"Thou shalt not
test the Lord thy
God."
(We will give
account of all
our actions,
words, and
thoughts)
Isaiah
45:21-23
"21
Tell
ye, and
bring
them
near;
yea,
let
them
take
counsel
together:
who
hath
declared
this
from
ancient
time?
who
hath
told it
from
that
time?
have
not I
the
LORD?
and
there
is no
God
else
beside
me; a
just
God and
a
Saviour;
there
is none
beside
me.
22
Look
unto
me, and
be ye
saved,
all the
ends of
the
earth:
for I
am God,
and
there
is none
else.
23
I have
sworn
by
myself,
the
word is
gone
out of
my
mouth
in
righteousness,
and
shall
not
return,
That
unto me
every
knee
shall
bow,
every
tongue
shall
swear."
(We
will
give
account
of all
our
actions,
words,
and
thoughts)
Matthew
12:34-37
"34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
(We will give account of all our actions, words, and thoughts) Romans 14:9-13
"9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way."
(Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God) Deuteronomy 6:15-17
"15 (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
17 Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee."
(Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God) Psalm 78:40-42
"40 How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
41 Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
42 They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy."
(Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God) Matthew 4:5-8
"5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;"
Sunday,
July 22, 2007: Back
from a wonderful trip, browned by the sun, and
over the excess of solar radiation with which I
let myself overindulge. God bless my
relatives and friends back there, and please
heal Tio Carlos' wrist, Tia Marta's knees and
eyes, Ceci's body from M.S., Tia Regina's pain
or discomfort, and help Elsie find Mr. Right,
and Freddy to keep on with school and work and
whatever she wants to gain from it. Also,
guide those that need guiding and comfort those
that need comforting, and bless all my family
back there, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Thank you for this vacation, Lord, and bless my
dad and mom for making it possible!
---------------
Examples
of How to Live and Be More Like Jesus:
1) Stop
sinning
2) No
deceit in your words or from your mouth
3) When
reviled by others, don't revile them back
4) When
others make you suffer, don't threaten them,
but rather commit yourself to God
5) Live
righteously
(from 1
Peter 2:21-25):
"21For
even hereunto were ye called: because
Christ also suffered for us, leaving
us an example, that ye should follow
his steps:
22Who
did no sin, neither was guile found
in his mouth:
23Who,
when he was reviled, reviled not
again; when he suffered, he
threatened not; but committed himself
to him that judgeth righteously:
24Who
his own self bare our sins in his own
body on the tree, that we, being dead
to sins, should live unto
righteousness: by whose stripes ye
were healed.
25For
ye were as sheep going astray; but
are now returned unto the Shepherd
and Bishop of your souls."
------------
How to walk in love
and receive eternal life:
1 John 2:24-25
"24 Let that therefore
abide in you, which ye have heard
from the beginning. If that
which ye have heard from the
beginning shall remain in you, ye
also shall continue in the Son, and
the in the Father.
25 And this is the
promise that he hath promised us,
even eternal life."
Rules 1) Love one
another and 2) believe in the name of
Jesus, that Jesus is the son of God
and came in the flesh...other
doctrines are of Satan. Loving
others requires action on our
part...not just praying for those
that need help.
1 John 3: 11-24
"11For
this is the message that ye
heard from the beginning,
that we should love one
another.
12Not
as Cain, who was of that
wicked one, and slew his
brother. And wherefore slew
he him? Because his own
works were evil, and his
brother's righteous.
13Marvel
not, my brethren, if the
world hate you.
14We
know that we have passed
from death unto life,
because we love the
brethren. He that loveth
not his brother abideth in
death.
15Whosoever
hateth his brother is a
murderer: and ye know that
no murderer hath eternal
life abiding in him.
16Hereby
perceive we the love of
God, because he laid down
his life for us: and we
ought to lay down our lives
for the brethren.
17But
whoso hath this world's
good, and seeth his brother
have need, and shutteth up
his bowels of compassion
from him, how dwelleth the
love of God in him?
18My
little children, let us not
love in word, neither in
tongue; but in deed and in
truth.
19And
hereby we know that we are
of the truth, and shall
assure our hearts before
him.
20For
if our heart condemn us,
God is greater than our
heart, and knoweth all
things.
21Beloved,
if our heart condemn us
not, then have we
confidence toward God.
22And
whatsoever we ask, we
receive of him, because we
keep his commandments, and
do those things that are
pleasing in his sight.
23And
this is his commandment,
That we should believe on
the name of his Son Jesus
Christ, and love one
another, as he gave us
commandment.
24And
he that keepeth his
commandments dwelleth in
him, and he in him. And
hereby we know that he
abideth in us, by the
Spirit which he hath given
us."
Love is of
God and God is love.
Only those that love know
God:
1 John
4:7-10
"7Beloved,
let us love one
another: for love
is of God; and
every one that
loveth is born of
God, and knoweth
God.
8He
that loveth not
knoweth not God;
for God is love.
9In
this was
manifested the
love of God
toward us,
because that God
sent his only
begotten Son into
the world, that
we might live
through him.
10Herein
is love, not that
we loved God, but
that he loved us,
and sent his Son
to be the
propitiation for
our sins."
What it is to
walk in love:
walk in his
commandments, and
greet not those
that have not
this doctrine,
nor bid them any
greeting,
otherwise you
partake of their
evil deeds:
2
John 1:6-11
"6And
this is
love,
that we
walk
after
his
commandments.
This is
the
commandment,
That,
as ye
have
heard
from
the
beginning,
ye
should
walk in
it.
7For
many
deceivers
are
entered
into
the
world,
who
confess
not
that
Jesus
Christ
is come
in the
flesh.
This is
a
deceiver
and an
antichrist.
8Look
to
yourselves,
that we
lose
not
those
things
which
we have
wrought,
but
that we
receive
a full
reward.
9Whosoever
transgresseth,
and
abideth
not in
the
doctrine
of
Christ,
hath
not
God. He
that
abideth
in the
doctrine
of
Christ,
he hath
both
the
Father
and the
Son.
10If
there
come
any
unto
you,
and
bring
not
this
doctrine,
receive
him not
into
your
house,
neither
bid him
God
speed:
11For
he that
biddeth
him God
speed
is
partaker
of his
evil
deeds."
True
characteristics
of
love:
1
Corinthians
chapter
13:
(PS-
The
term
"charity"
is
synonymous
with
"love"
and is
defined
as such
in
verses
1, 8,
and 13.
It
doesn't
mean
giving
to a
charitable
organization.)
"1Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
4Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."
------------
Rest in peace Tammy Faye. I only fell in love with you as a person after watching you on the Surreal Life. May Jesus accept you into heaven. Here's an article about her:
Saturday,
July 7, 2007: This
will be my last post for a couple of weeks
because I'll be out of town.
Today I
updated the info in the link to
God the Father
at the top of the middle frame of the webpage (www.JesusIsMyRedPill.com)
to include the various names of God listed in
the Holy Bible.
-----------
How to
discern (distinguish) between heavenly wisdom
("wisdom from above") and devilish or demonic
or worldly wisdom - (James 3:13-James 4:4)
Heavenly
wisdom is 1) pure, 2) peaceable/gentle, 3) easy
to ask for and receive, 4) full of mercy and
good fruits of the spirit, 5) impartial...with
God there is no respect of persons, and 6) it
is sincere (not hypocritical).
Demonic/Devilish/Worldly wisdom is 1) full of
bitter envying and strife in peoples' hearts,
2) is not asked for from God, or if it is asked
for, it is asked improperly for the sake of our
lusts 3) may come from the lusts that war in
our bodies, 4) and is friendly towards world,
which means it is at odds with the will of God
and therefore is at war with God.
(James
3:13-James 4:4)
"13Who
is a wise man and endued with
knowledge among you? let him shew out
of a good *conversation (*=defined as
"conduct") his works with meekness of
wisdom.
14But
if ye have bitter envying and strife
in your hearts, glory not, and lie
not against the truth.
15This
wisdom descendeth not from above, but
is earthly, sensual, *devilish
(*=defined as "demonic")
16For
where envying and strife is, there is
confusion and every evil work.
17But
the wisdom that is from above is
first pure, then peaceable, gentle,
and easy to be intreated, full of
mercy and good fruits, without
partiality, and without hypocrisy.
18And
the fruit of righteousness is sown in
peace of them that make peace.
James 4
1From
whence come wars and fightings among
you? come they not hence, even of
your lusts that war in your members?
2Ye
lust, and have not: ye kill, and
*desire to have (*=defined as
"covet"), and cannot obtain: ye fight
and war, yet ye have not, because ye
ask not.
3Ye
ask, and receive not, because ye ask
amiss, that ye may consume it upon
your lusts.
4Ye
adulterers and adulteresses, know ye
not that the friendship of the world
is enmity with God? whosoever
therefore will be a friend of the
world is the enemy of God."
----------
I'll leave you with a
couple of clips from the movie
Orgazmo, which is about a Mormon that
goes to Hollywood to spread the word
and earn enough money to marry his
fiancée back in Utah. The movie
starts out with a couple of Mormons
going door-to-door to spread the good
news about Jesus (first clip), and
then they stumble upon the house of a
pornographer that is shooting a movie
(second clip). The security guy
tells the pornographer who's at the
door, so the pornographer tells the
security guys to "kick their asses",
but the main character Mormon (Joseph
Young) knows self defense and beats
them up instead in old kung fu movie
style. Enjoy them:
Sunday,
July 1, 2007: The
Prophecy of the New Covenant- Today I was
reading the Bible and came across the prophecy
in the book of Jeremiah (Old Testament) which
speaks of the the New Covenant God will make
with His people (through Jesus...the New
Testament), and this ties nicely with my last
entry on June 28, 2007, which cross references
the New Testament (Hebrews 8:6-13 and Hebrews
10:16-18).
(Jeremiah
31:31-34)
"31Behold,
the days come, saith the LORD, that I
will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel, and with the house
of Judah:
32Not
according to the covenant that I made
with their fathers in the day that I
took them by the hand to bring them
out of the land of Egypt; which my
covenant they brake, although I was
an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
33But
this shall be the covenant that I
will make with the house of Israel;
After those days, saith the LORD, I
will put my law in their inward
parts, and write it in their hearts;
and will be their God, and they shall
be my people.
34And
they shall teach no more every man
his neighbour, and every man his
brother, saying, Know the LORD: for
they shall all know me, from the
least of them unto the greatest of
them, saith the LORD: for I will
forgive their iniquity, and I will
remember their sin no more."
------------------
Today I also started reading the
Epistle of James, and while reading
the introduction (which discusses
faith, faith and works, and the
functions of faith), it painted a
picture in my head that seemed
metaphorical in relation to how God
set us up and uses us so we will
grow. In my head is
that saying, "planting seeds of
faith", and when I read this
introduction (below) "seeds of faith"
became "people". With seeds of
faith you can move mountains...Jesus
said if our faith were the size of a
mustard seed (the smallest known seed
by people at the time), we could tell
a mountain to move and it would (Matthew
17:19-21), or tell a shrub
to uproot itself and be replanted in
the ocean, and it would obey (Luke
17:5-7).
In
order to make a seed grow, you must
first plant it (bury it), water it so
it will sprout and grow, fertilize
it, guard the sprout until it can
survive on its own and grow, give it
light, etc. If the phrase
"seeds of faith" in the introduction
to James' epistle is changed to
"people", then we see that people
need the same things to grow
spiritually: first you must
bury it (baptism: buried with Jesus
to sin, and death of old self;
baptism washes you and cleans you and
gives you life, so baptism is the
water that sprouts you and gives you
life in Jesus); then you must
fertilize it (the Holy Bible/ God's
word is the fertilizer that gives you
all those necessary spiritual
nutrients which tell you the nature
of God and people, His expectations,
our failures, what is to come, how to
behave, how to stay alive, etc);
guarding the sprout (there will
always be a period in which you draw
away from the world, your own world
or the world in general, and discover
and spend time with others of the
faith, and this helps guard you from
losing your faith and spiritual life
until such time as you are ready to
take on the world without worries of
getting trapped back in the world);
and give it light (spread the word to
others...this is where you return to
the world to find others that are to
be saved and testifying about Jesus
and living the word...this is giving
light...someone gives it to you
first, then you learn and make it
part of you, and then you
spread/share it with others).
The overall picture the introduction
painted in my head (using what I
described above) boils down to:
God created the world (potting soil
and pot) and man (seeds of faith).
God is a farmer, planting seeds, and
he wants to reap a great harvest
(people for himself), so the universe
is his land and resources. He
plants us in the world, expects us to
die like a seed must die before it
grows into a plant, rise above the
world (grow out of the ground), and
eventually be harvested (join God in
heaven). So, basically, it
brings to mind Jesus' parables of the sower:
(Matthew 13:3-9)
"3And
he spake many things unto
them in parables, saying,
Behold, a sower went forth
to sow;
4And
when he sowed, some seeds
fell by the way side, and
the fowls came and devoured
them up:
5Some
fell upon stony places,
where they had not much
earth: and forthwith they
sprung up, because they had
no deepness of earth:
6And
when the sun was up, they
were scorched; and because
they had no root, they
withered away.
7And
some fell among thorns; and
the thorns sprung up, and
choked them:
8But
other fell into good
ground, and brought forth
fruit, some an hundredfold,
some sixtyfold, some
thirtyfold.
9Who
hath ears to hear, let him
hear. "
and (Matthew
13:18-23)
"18Hear
ye therefore the
parable of the
sower.
19When
any one heareth
the word of the
kingdom, and
understandeth it
not, then cometh
the wicked one,
and catcheth away
that which was
sown in his
heart. This is he
which received
seed by the way
side.
20But
he that received
the seed into
stony places, the
same is he that
heareth the word,
and anon with joy
receiveth it;
21Yet
hath he not root
in himself, but
dureth for a
while: for when
tribulation or
persecution
ariseth because
of the word, by
and by he is
offended.
22He
also that
received seed
among the thorns
is he that
heareth the word;
and the care of
this world, and
the deceitfulness
of riches, choke
the word, and he
becometh
unfruitful.
23But
he that received
seed into the
good ground is he
that heareth the
word, and
understandeth it;
which also
beareth fruit,
and bringeth
forth, some an
hundredfold, some
sixty, some
thirty."
--------Another
parable of a
sower (which
describes how and
why evil is in
the world)
(Matthew 13:
24-30)
24Another
parable put he
forth unto them,
saying,
The kingdom of
heaven is likened
unto a man which
sowed good seed
in his field:
25But
while men slept,
his enemy came
and sowed *tares
(*weeds,
plants not of
harvest, evil.
These are my own
words)
among the wheat,
and went his way.
26But
when the blade
was sprung up,
and brought forth
fruit, then
appeared the
tares also.
27So
the servants of
the householder
came and said
unto him, Sir,
didst not thou
sow good seed in
thy field? from
whence then hath
it tares?
28He
said unto them,
An enemy hath
done this. The
servants said
unto him, Wilt
thou then that we
go and gather
them up?
29But
he said, Nay;
lest while ye
gather up the
tares, ye root up
also the wheat
with them.
30Let
both grow
together until
the harvest: and
in the time of
harvest I will
say to the
reapers, Gather
ye together first
the tares, and
bind them in
bundles to burn
them: but gather
the wheat into my
barn.
"
And our job
(being the
growing plants
for harvest) is
to increase the
yield of the
harvest by
spreading the
word of God and
the testimony of
Jesus Christ our
Lord by using
faith. Here
is the
introduction to
James, which also
describes the
functions of
faith:
(Preface to the
Epistle of James,
King James
version):
"Faith without
works cannot be
called faith.
"Faith without
works is dead"
(2:26), and a
dead faith is
worse than no
faith at all.
Faith must work;
it must produce;
it must be
visible.
Verbal faith is
not enough;
mental faith is
insufficient.
Faith must be
there, but it
must be more.
It must inspire
action.
Throughout his
epistle to Jewish
believers, James
integrates true
faith and
everyday
practical
experience by
stressing that
true faith must
manifest itself
in works of
faith.
Faith endures
trials.
Trials come and
go, but a strong
faith will face
them head-on and
develop
endurance.
Faith understands
temptations.
It will not allow
us to consent to
our lust and
slide into sin.
Faith obeys the
Word. It
will not merely
hear and not do.
Faith produces
doers.
Faith harbors no
prejudice.
For James, faith
and favoritism
cannot coexist.
Faith displays
itself in works.
Faith is more
than mere words;
it is more than
knowledge; it is
demonstrated by
obedience; and it
overtly responds
to the promises
of God.
Faith controls
the tongue.
This small but
immensely
powerful part of
the body must be
held in check.
Faith can do it.
Faith acts
wisely. It
gives us the
ability to choose
wisdom that is
heavenly and to
shun wisdom that
is earthly.
Faith produces
separation from
the world and
submission to
God. It
provides us with
the ability to
resist the Devil
and humbly draw
near to God.
Finally, faith
waits patiently
for the coming of
the Lord.
Through trouble
and trial it
stifles
complaining.
The name Iakobos
(James) in 1:1 is
the basis for the
early title
Iakobou Epitole,
"Epistle of
James."
Iakobos is the
Greek form of the
Hebrew name
Jacob, a Jewish
name common in
the first
century."
Thursday,
June 28, 2007: The
New Covenant- God will put His laws in
our minds and write them in our hearts.
He will be merciful to our unrighteousness, and
will no longer remember our sins and
iniquities. The old covenant is no more.
All this because of Jesus' holiest sacrifice
(Himself) as high priest of a more perfect
ministry. Hebrews 8:6-13, and Hebrews
10:16-18.
(Hebrews 8:6-13)
"6But
now hath he obtained a more excellent
ministry, by how much also he is the
mediator of a better covenant, which
was established upon better promises.
7For
if that first covenant had been
faultless, then should no place have
been sought for the second.
8For
finding fault with them, he saith,
Behold, the days come, saith the
Lord, when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the
house of Judah:
9Not
according to the covenant that I made
with their fathers in the day when I
took them by the hand to lead them
out of the land of Egypt; because
they continued not in my covenant,
and I *regarded them not, saith the
Lord. (* = disregarded
them)
10For
this is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel after those
days, saith the Lord; I will put my
laws into their mind, and write them
in their hearts: and I will be to
them a God, and they shall be to me a
people:
11And
they shall not teach every man his
neighbour, and every man his brother,
saying, Know the Lord: for all shall
know me, from the least to the
greatest.
12For
I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins and
their *iniquities will I remember no
more. (* = lawless deeds)
13In
that he saith, A new covenant, he
hath made the first old. Now that
which decayeth and waxeth old is
ready to vanish away."
and
(Hebrews 10:16-18)
"16This
is the covenant that I will
make with them after those
days, saith the Lord, I
will put my laws into their
hearts, and in their minds
will I write them;
17And
their sins and iniquities
will I remember no more.
18Now
where remission of these
is, there is no more
offering for sin."
----------------
Please pray
for Carl and Ed. They
run the Houston ARE Center
(Edgar Cayce
Center....Association for
Research and
Enlightenment), and are
good acquaintances of mine
and Sue's. They were
in an accident and Carl is
in intensive care with
possible neurological
damage. Ed is not
family and is having
difficulty getting in to
see Carl.
Also, I
found out an old neighbor's
daughter is suffering an
eating disorder and the
neighbor is not confident
that the place they are
going to send her to will
help. The daughter is
very sick and has not yet
gained weight with a tube
in her stomach feeding her.
Finally,
please pray for Fred to
have a safe trip back to W.
Virginia to see his mother,
and a safe return home.
Heavenly
Father, in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, have
pity on these people and
shine your face upon them,
you love upon them, and
your healing power upon
them, if it be your will in
Jesus' name. Thank
you God!
----------------
A pretty funny Billy Graham
joke. Thank you Rose,
Babydoll, for sending this
one!:
Billy
Graham
was
returning
to
Charlotte
after a
speaking
engagement
and
when
his
plane
arrived
there
was a
limousine
there
to
transport
him to
his
home.
As he
prepared
to get
into
the
limo,
he
stopped
and
spoke
to the
driver.
"You
know"
he
said,
"I am
87
years
old and
I have
never
driven
a
limousine.
Would
you
mind if
I drove
it for
a
while?"
The
driver
said,
"No
problem.
Have at
it."
Billy
gets
into
the
driver's
seat
and
they
head
off
down
the
highway.
A short
distance
away
sat a
rookie
State
Trooper
operating
his
first
speed
trap.
The
long
black
limo
went by
him
doing
70 in a
55 mph
zone.
The
trooper
pulled
out and
easily
caught
the
limo
and he
got out
of his
patrol
car to
begin
the
procedure.
The
young
trooper
walked
up to
the
driver's
door
and
when
the
glass
was
rolled
down,
he was
surprised
to see
who was
driving.
He
immediately
excused
himself
and
went
back to
his car
and
called
his
supervisor.
He told
the
supervisor,
"I know
we are
supposed
to
enforce
the
law...
But I
also
know
that
important
people
are
given
certain
courtesies.
I need
to know
what I
should
do
because
I have
stopped
a very
important
person."
The
supervisor
asked,
"Is it
the
governor?"
The
young
trooper
said,
"No,
he's
more
important
than
that."
The
supervisor
said,
"Oh, so
it's
the
president."
The
young
trooper
said,
"No,
he's
even
more
important
than
that."
The
supervisor
finally
asked,
"Well
then,
who is
it?"
Thursday,
June 21, 2007: Jesus
tells us in the Gospel of Luke chapter 16 a few
interesting things about the afterlife, heaven
and hell, and how those in heaven will be able
to see those in hell and vice versa. If
you watch the movie Little Nicky, you get what
a modern day version of this might look like
based on our technology of broadcast video.
Here's the story Jesus tells in Luke 16:19-31
"19There
was a certain rich man, which was
clothed in purple and fine linen, and
fared sumptuously every day:
20And
there was a certain beggar named
Lazarus, which was laid at his gate,
full of sores,
21And
desiring to be fed with the crumbs
which fell from the rich man's table:
moreover the dogs came and licked his
sores.
22And
it came to pass, that the beggar
died, and was carried by the angels
into Abraham's bosom: the rich man
also died, and was buried;
23And
in hell he lift up his eyes, being in
torments, and seeth Abraham afar off,
and Lazarus in his bosom.
24And
he cried and said, Father Abraham,
have mercy on me, and send Lazarus,
that he may dip the tip of his finger
in water, and cool my tongue; for I
am tormented in this flame.
25But
Abraham said, Son, remember that thou
in thy lifetime receivedst thy good
things, and likewise Lazarus evil
things: but now he is comforted, and
thou art tormented.
26And
beside all this, between us and you
there is a great gulf fixed: so that
they which would pass from hence to
you cannot; neither can they pass to
us, that would come from thence.
27Then
he said, I pray thee therefore,
father, that thou wouldest send him
to my father's house:
28For
I have five brethren; that he may
testify unto them, lest they also
come into this place of torment.
29Abraham
saith unto him, They have Moses and
the prophets; let them hear them.
30And
he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if
one went unto them from the dead,
they will repent.
31And
he said unto him, If they hear not
Moses and the prophets, neither will
they be persuaded, though one rose
from the dead.
The interesting thing about this is
that not only can those in heaven see
those in hell and vice versa, but
neither can cross over, even if they
wanted to, and when the rich man in
hell asked that they send one back
from the dead to convince them to
live right by God, he was told that
even if someone came back from the
dead, the people would not listen or
be persuaded to change...which
foreshadows exactly what Jesus
did...he died and came back to life
from the dead to show us the way we
should live in obedience to God.
Anyway, Little Nicky is a movie about
the sons of Satan trying to take over
their father's throne prematurely.
Little Nicky is the good boy of the
three sons of Satan in that he loves
his father Satan and tries to stop
his brothers from taking the throne.
In this clip, Nicky just had a run in
with one of his brother's on earth in
human form, and they both died.
Nicky winds up in heaven and meets
his mother, an angel, while his
brother returns to hell and wonders
where Nicky is. Nicky's mother
shows him how they can see anything
anywhere on earth or in hell from her
place in heaven (at the end of the
clip).
***NOTE:
The full clip is no longer available on You
Tube, so if I get my hands on the DVD I'll put
the clip I wanted here. There are two
clips in the movie that show this concept of
those in heaven and hell able to see each
other...the one described above, and towards
the end of the movie Satan and Nicky talk to
Nicky's mother (the angel) through said
"device".
Sunday,
June 17, 2007: Today
I updated two links on the home page (God
the Father and
God the Holy Spirit).
The link for God the Father goes to a
compilation I made a long while back from the
Bible detailing God the creator and Father of
us all, along with character traits and how
much we should reverence Him. The God the
Holy Spirit link goes to a compilation I made
today, so that is a new page.
-------
I love Family Guy, and have collected a number
of clips from the show and placed them on this
website, but I just found this online...a
collection of ALL the known God and Jesus clips
in Family Guy. Some I find offensive, but
again I'm relying on God's sense of
humor...forgive me Lord if any of it is
offensive to you. Enjoy:
Sunday,
June 10, 2007: If
you haven't already noticed or if you are
reading this on MySpace, today I updated the
main page on the website (www.JesusIsMyRedPill.com
for those of you on MySpace), specifically
adding the pages/links "The
Bad News" and "The
Good News". Click each one to
read.
Got Jesus? Get Jesus! Enjoy this
clip from South Park. Kenny dies and goes
to heaven? Nope.
Tuesday,
June 05, 2007: Few
people today believe in demons and evil
spirits, but they exist, and Jesus even warned
us about them. Jesus gave us power over
evil spirits and even gave us ways to oust the
difficult and powerful ones. Pastor Chris
Simpson (I know him through my friend Minister
Bo) wrote a booklet called "Deliverance From
Evil Spirits", and it is available for viewing
for free online at
http://www.newwineonline.com/files/pdf/publications/newwineDES.pdf
.
So I thought I'd post a bit from the
booklet..."WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF INDWELLING
SPIRITS?":
"What
Are the Symptoms of Indwelling Spirits?
Areas
of the life that are dominated by the following
characteristics generally reveal the presence
of the
demonic: captivated feelings, drivenness,
torments, compulsions, or feelings of being
pushed, pestered or
controlled by a force other than yourself. So
many relegate these symptoms in their life and
in the lives of
their
children to natural causes. It’s essential,
however, that the true source be revealed so
that full
deliverance can occur.
The
following are seven symptoms that reveal the
possible presence of evil spirits in a person’s
personality, mind, body or emotions:
1)
Emotional Problems:
Persistent, recurring disturbances in the area
of the emotions: resentment,
anger,
fear, rejection, self-pity, depression,
inferiority, insecurity, etc.
2)
Mental Problems:
Disturbances in the mind and thought life:
mental torment, procrastination,
indecision, confusion, doubt, rationalizations,
and loss of memory.
3)
Speech Problems:
Outbursts or uncontrolled use of the tongue:
lying, cursing, criticism, gossip,
mocking, etc.
4) Sex
Problems:
Compulsive, recurring unclean thoughts and
acts: fantasy sexual thoughts, lusts,
perversions, masturbation, pornography,
seduction, homosexual tendencies, etc.
5)
Addictions:
Examples of bondage in this area: nicotine,
alcohol, drugs, food, television, trashy
novels,
unhealthy and dependent relationships, etc.
6)
Physical Infirmities:
Physical afflictions due to spirits of
infirmity: arthritis, skin diseases, cancers,
headaches, heart problems, etc. (see Luke
13:11)
7)
Religious Error: Any
degree of involvement in the following can
bring about severe demonization: the
occult
or related practices; Eastern religions; secret
societies and mystery cults; psychological
practices in
the
areas of hypnosis, guided imagery, or
biofeedback, unscriptural doctrines and
teachings, etc."
Sunday,
May 27, 2007: Today
I added the main page links for "What
is hell" under the area for Hell and
the Lake of Fire, and under the Health area the
links for "Physical
body" (keys to physical health) and
"Your
Quality of Life".
_______
My last entry included an insight on Sabbaths,
and later I encountered this verse on Sabbaths
in my reading, and feel I should include it:
Isaiah 58:13-14 13"If
thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from
doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the
sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord,
honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing
thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure,
nor speaking thine own words:
14Then shalt thou delight in thyself in the
Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the
high places of the earth, and feed thee with
the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth
of the Lord hath spoken it."
Tuesday,
May 8, 2007: Here's
a funny clip from Scrubs. I found a funny
Krishna clip for a Krishna friend the other
week, and was wanting a Jesus clip for my website, and
today this episode came on in syndication:
Insight on the
Sabbath (day of rest)
Nehemiah
13:15-22 shows how easy it is for people to
corrupt something as simple as a day of
rest...something most everyone wants or needs,
but something few people give themselves.
People (I do anyway) seem to think of a day of
rest as an impossibility because there's always
something to do, there is always something to
be done, and there is always stuff we are
behind on and need to catch up on.
Think about
it...God gave us a commandment to take a
vacation...a day off...EACH AND EVERY WEEK.
When I think of it like this, it seems to me a
person would have to be crazy or stupid to turn
this down. One day off each week, do
nothing but think on God, praise Him, and be
with family. Once day off each week to
say "Screw work." We are given a day each
week to focus on God and enjoy Him and His
creation as intended...a taste of paradise,
perhaps, to remind us of the goal of all our
hard work: eternal life.
These verses in
Nehemiah show how easy it is for us as people
to give in to a form of bondage: work.
If we buy, someone must work to sell.
Rather than God's possible intention that
everybody be off on the same day. This
way family and friends could all be available
for get-togethers (a form of
communion)...visiting, spending time together,
bonding.
God wants us to
commune with Him, and He wants us to commune
with each other. Make time to do this,
and you will see it can be a battle, is a
lifelong war with yourself because the world is
continually trying to put you behind, making
you feel unable to accomplish something that
should be simple...taking one day off each
week. But it will be worth the fight.
God is ultimate potential and power. We
have potential and potential for power.
Yet God is able to do so much more than we ever
could. He created everything out of
nothing, speaking it into existence. He
gives each and every thing that lives life and
breath. He provides for all our varied
needs, as well as those needs of the animals,
insects, the life in the sea, in the universe,
and everything. We, on the other hand
must be coerced to take care of our own needs,
or the needs of those close to us. Let
alone, every single thing out there.
Imagine God and His potential and his real-life
activity zone (including abilities, powers,
knowledge, etc.) as the entire range of the
electromagnetic spectrum from Cosmic rays all
the way to Electric power and whatever may lie
above:
See that rainbow on the chart above? That
is the visible light spectrum. Now
picture human potential as the same chart, but
our real-life activity zone (or what we
actually exhibit from our potential) would just
be the part of the spectrum from say yellow to
red in the visible light spectrum, or some
small range from adjacent colors. Notice
God is a master of them all, we are masters of
none, and active in few.
We, His creation, do not operate in the full
spectrum of our potential. The Bible
tells us because of sins.
When you get right with God, you gain access to
operating with more of the spectrum (handled by
God) through a right relationship with him.
You get in a right relationship with Him
through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, along with prayer and a personal
relationship with Him.
Thursday, March 8, 2007: "THE
BOOK OF REVELATION: THE MARK OF THE
BEAST"
This post is in response to the antichrist cult
I saw a little of on a program called
"Heartland" on a Fox News Channel (cable
channel 38 in Houston) and another (possibly
the same? I don't know) cult in Sugarland,
TX in which the leader claims to be Jesus
returned, and who owns a tattoo parlor,
patented a 666 tattoo design in the shape of a
flower (sort of...imagine a set of three 6's
with the loops touching but the top part facing
away from each other), and asks his followers
to receive the tattoo mark. He preaches
that there is no such thing as sin and "getting
the mark" is meaningless. True, at this
point in time, it is, and it will probably be
in the future when the real Jesus returns and
the antichrist comes to power. I'll
explain further down.
When people read the book of the Revelation of
Jesus Christ (by John), and come across the
reference to the mark of the Beast, they assume
it is the number "666" since that is what is
stated...or so it would seem. But this is
not necessarily so.
Revelation 13:18 reads:
18Here
is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding
count the number of the beast: for it is the
number of a man; and his number is Six hundred
threescore and six.
Before going
further, let me backtrack and explain the
relevance...in the end times (based on the book
of Revelation and on the gospels in which Jesus
taught about the end times), Satan will come to
power, deceive the whole world, make everyone
receive his mark in order to buy and sell and
to show loyalty and in essence submissive
worship to his beast and antichrist, and hunt
down those that will not worship and those that
will not receive his mark on their wrist or
foreheads.
Matthew 24:4-5
(Jesus tells us, after being asked what the
sign of his coming and the end of the world
will be):
4 And Jesus
answered and said unto them,
Take heed that
no man deceive you.
5
For many shall
come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall
deceive many.
In verse 22 of
the same chapter, Jesus tells us the days will
be shortened, otherwise no flesh would be
saved, even the elect of God. To me that
could mean the days will no longer be 24 hours
in length, or it could mean the number of days
of tribulation would be shortened.
In verses 23-26
Jesus tells us more about the false prophets
and false Christs in the end times and who not
to believe:
Matthew
24:22-26:
22And
except those days should be
shortened, there should no flesh be
saved: but for the elect's sake those
days shall be shortened.
23Then
if any man shall say unto you, Lo,
here is Christ, or there; believe it
not.
24For
there shall arise false Christs, and
false prophets, and shall shew great
signs and wonders; insomuch that, if
it were possible, they shall deceive
the very elect.
25Behold,
I have told you before.
26Wherefore
if they shall say unto you, Behold,
he is in the desert; go not forth:
behold, he is in the secret chambers;
believe it not.
In verse 27,
Jesus tells us about his own return in the end
times:
27For
as the lightning cometh out of the
east, and shineth even unto the west;
so shall also the coming of the Son
of man be.
28For
wheresoever the carcass is, there
will the eagles be gathered together.
29Immediately
after the tribulation of those days
shall the sun be darkened, and the
moon shall not give her light, and
the stars shall fall from heaven, and
the powers of the heavens shall be
shaken:
30And
then shall appear the sign of the Son
of man in heaven: and then shall all
the tribes of the earth mourn, and
they shall see the Son of man coming
in the clouds of heaven with power
and great glory.
31And
he shall send his angels with a great
sound of a trumpet, and they shall
gather together his elect from the
four winds, from one end of heaven to
the other.
These
are some specific details of the coming of the
end and of Jesus' return. So, if you
didn't see him come down from heaven in a
cloud, then the person claiming to be Jesus is
NOT in fact Jesus returned. This is
important to know, because the false prophet,
under Satan's plan, will attempt to deceive the
whole world, including Christians, so don't
think he's above making a false prophet with
the same marks as Jesus (pierced hands and feet
from crucifixion, and pierced side, etc).
`
There are three
time periods referenced in the Bible, and each
time period has its requirements for entry into
heaven after death. Those that don't get
into heaven go into hell, awaiting final
judgment and those whose names are not listed
in the Lamb's Book of Life (the Lamb being
Jesus) will be cast into the Lake of Fire for
eternity, along with death and hell, Satan and
his angels, the antichrist and finally the
beast.
----
Revelation 19:20
20And
the beast was taken, and with him the false
prophet that wrought miracles before him, with
which he deceived them that had received the
mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his
image. These both were cast alive into a lake
of fire burning with brimstone.
Revelation
20:7-15 describes what happens after Satan is
released from the bottomless pit after the
Millennial reign of Christ Jesus:
7And
when the thousand years are expired,
Satan shall be loosed out of his
prison,
8And
shall go out to deceive the nations
which are in the four quarters of the
earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them
together to battle: the number of
whom is as the sand of the sea.
9And
they went up on the breadth of the
earth, and compassed the camp of the
saints about, and the beloved city:
and fire came down from God out of
heaven, and devoured them.
10And
the devil that deceived them was cast
into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet
are, and shall be tormented day and
night for ever and ever.
11And
I saw a great white throne, and him
that sat on it, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away; and
there was found no place for them.
12And
I saw the dead, small and great,
stand before God; and the books were
opened: and another book was opened,
which is the book of life: and the
dead were judged out of those things
which were written in the books,
according to their works.
13And
the sea gave up the dead which were
in it; and death and hell delivered
up the dead which were in them: and
they were judged every man according
to their works.
14And
death and hell were cast into the
lake of fire. This is the second
death.
15And
whosoever was not found written in
the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire.
----
The time periods
are: 1) Old Testament age to before
Christ died and resurrected (BC),
2) the New Testament age (church age through
the rapture), and 3) the Tribulation age (from
the rapture through the end of time or until
the millennial reign of Christ). In the
Old Testament age, you had to live by the
Mosaic law and not die in sin (without atoning
for sin by blood sacrifice of animals according
to the law in the book of Leviticus and the
book of Deuteronomy). In the church age,
mankind is to spread the gospel and preach
repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38...38Then
Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost.).
In the Tribulation age (the first three and a
half years of it) God's angels will seal
144,000 people with the seal of the living God
and have them preach the gospel of going to
wherever the beast/antichrist/Satan has set up
to behead Christians, and have their heads cut
off in order to get into heaven...very simply
put, during those three and a half years, you
get into heaven automatically if you did not
receive the mark of the beast, did not worship
the beast, and you got your head cut off for
this reason. (Revelation 7:2-4...
2And
I saw another angel ascending from
the east, having the seal of the
living God: and he cried with a loud
voice to the four angels, to whom it
was given to hurt the earth and the
sea,
3Saying,
Hurt not the earth, neither the sea,
nor the trees, till we have sealed
the servants of our God in their
foreheads.
4And
I heard the number of them which were
sealed: and there were sealed an
hundred and forty and four thousand
of all the tribes of the children of
Israel.)
----
Also
Revelation 20:4 specifies beheading:
4And
I saw thrones, and they sat upon
them, and judgment was given unto
them: and I saw the souls of them
that were beheaded for the witness of
Jesus, and for the word of God, and
which had not worshipped the beast,
neither his image, neither had
received his mark upon their
foreheads, or in their hands; and
they lived and reigned with Christ a
thousand years.
----
In the
final three and a half years of the
Tribulation, angels will fly around preaching
that the way to get into heaven is by NOT
receiving the mark of the Beast and not
worshiping him. Also, in the final three
and a half years of tribulation, you won't be
able to die, no matter what...God won't let
you, so that you experience His wrath to give
you opportunity to repent:
Revelation 9:6
6And
in those days shall men seek death, and shall
not find it; and shall desire to die, and death
shall flee from them.
(in context):
Revelation
9:1-12
1And
the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a
star fall from heaven unto the earth:
and to him was given the key of the
bottomless pit.
2And
he opened the bottomless pit; and
there arose a smoke out of the pit,
as the smoke of a great furnace; and
the sun and the air were darkened by
reason of the smoke of the pit.
3And
there came out of the smoke locusts
upon the earth: and unto them was
given power, as the scorpions of the
earth have power.
4And
it was commanded them that they
should not hurt the grass of the
earth, neither any green thing,
neither any tree; but only those men
which have not the seal of God in
their foreheads.
5And
to them it was given that they should
not kill them, but that they should
be tormented five months: and their
torment was as the torment of a
scorpion, when he striketh a man.
6And
in those days shall men seek death,
and shall not find it; and shall
desire to die, and death shall flee
from them.
7And
the shapes of the locusts were like
unto horses prepared unto battle; and
on their heads were as it were crowns
like gold, and their faces were as
the faces of men.
8And
they had hair as the hair of women,
and their teeth were as the teeth of
lions.
9And
they had breastplates, as it were
breastplates of iron; and the sound
of their wings was as the sound of
chariots of many horses running to
battle.
10And
they had tails like unto scorpions,
and there were stings in their tails:
and their power was to hurt men five
months.
11And
they had a king over them, which is
the angel of the bottomless pit,
whose name in the Hebrew tongue is
Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath
his name Apollyon.
12One
woe is past; and, behold, there come
two woes more hereafter.
-------------
Okay, that was a
lot of info, not enough info, and too much info
to be understandable without you having read
the Bible or the Book of Revelation. So,
let me try to make sense out of it by posting
all of Revelation chapter 13, for clarity and
then continue with more on the number of the
Beast:
----
Revelation 13
1And
I stood upon the sand of the sea, and
saw a beast rise up out of the sea,
having seven heads and ten horns, and
upon his horns ten crowns, and upon
his heads the name of blasphemy.
2And
the beast which I saw was like unto a
leopard, and his feet were as the
feet of a bear, and his mouth as the
mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave
him his power, and his seat, and
great authority.
3And
I saw one of his heads as it were
wounded to death; and his deadly
wound was healed: and all the world
wondered after the beast.
4And
they worshipped the dragon which gave
power unto the beast: and they
worshipped the beast, saying, Who is
like unto the beast? who is able to
make war with him?
5And
there was given unto him a mouth
speaking great things and
blasphemies; and power was given unto
him to continue forty and two months.
6And
he opened his mouth in blasphemy
against God, to blaspheme his name,
and his tabernacle, and them that
dwell in heaven.
7And
it was given unto him to make war
with the saints, and to overcome
them: and power was given him over
all kindreds, and tongues, and
nations.
8And
all that dwell upon the earth shall
worship him, whose names are not
written in the book of life of the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world.
9If
any man have an ear, let him hear.
10He
that leadeth into captivity shall go
into captivity: he that killeth with
the sword must be killed with the
sword. Here is the patience and the
faith of the saints.
11And
I beheld another beast coming up out
of the earth; and he had two horns
like a lamb, and he spake as a
dragon.
12And
he exerciseth all the power of the
first beast before him, and causeth
the earth and them which dwell
therein to worship the first beast,
whose deadly wound was healed.
13And
he doeth great wonders, so that he
maketh fire come down from heaven on
the earth in the sight of men,
14And
deceiveth them that dwell on the
earth by the means of those miracles
which he had power to do in the sight
of the beast; saying to them that
dwell on the earth, that they should
make an image to the beast, which had
the wound by a sword, and did live.
15And
he had power to give life unto the
image of the beast, that the image of
the beast should both speak, and
cause that as many as would not
worship the image of the beast should
be killed.
16And
he causeth all, both small and great,
rich and poor, free and bond, to
receive a mark in their right hand,
or in their foreheads:
17And
that no man might buy or sell, save
he that had the mark, or the name of
the beast, or the number of his name.
18Here
is wisdom. Let him that hath
understanding count the number of the
beast: for it is the number of a man;
and his number is Six hundred
threescore and six.
----
Six hundred threescore and six = 666.
BUT, that number is just the number
identifying the Beast...it is the
number of a man. The number the
Beast gives for people to receive on
their wrist or forehead, can be ANY
number or ANY symbol. God does
not require us to take a mark, so if
someone requires you to take one,
especially to buy and sell, then
refuse it. The number the Beast
gives can be disguised as an icon or
symbol of any sort.
Consider the potential/possibility
for the number the Beast gives to be
"333". Why that number?
Think about it. Satan must
duplicate everything God does in
order to deceive mankind. The
above scriptures tell us the number
of the beast is the number of a man.
Well, if Satan copies God, and God is
three aspects in one God (God the
Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God
the Holy Spirit...all one God), and
God created man with: 1) a body, 2) a
soul, and 3) a spirit, then Satan
must duplicate that (and will) by
having three parts of himself: 1)
Antichrist (makes fire come down from
heaven), 2) False Prophet (who will
rise from the sea...probably meaning
a political figure), and 3) the Beast
(that "spake as a lamb", which is a
direct reference to Jesus, who is
called "the Lamb of God").
Tally the numbers: God has 3
aspects, Man has 3 aspects, and Satan
(in duplicating God) will have 3
aspects, for a "333" number.
Now
try this...make a clover out of three
3's. A 3 facing down, a 3
facing left, and a 3 facing to the
right, all joined at their respective
ends...this forms a clover, like the
Diamond Shamrock symbol, for example,
before they changed to Valero.
This is ONE possible representation
of what the number of the beast might
look like, hidden as a symbol, to
deceive people (especially
Christians, since Christians will
argue that the Bible says "666" is
the number they should not take, so
"333" is okay...that would be wrong
and a deception cleverly designed by
Satan. Remember, Satan is a
spirit and spirits NEVER tire and
NEVER need rest, and therefore think
how long he has planned and designed
for the last days). Play with
making a variety of figures out of
three number "3"s, and you'll find
they can merge to look like a plane
in flight, two hearts, waves, a pair
of glasses, etc and so on.
Below are a few I made to illustrate:
As you
can see, you can arrange three number
3's in a variety of ways...each of
the above is an example.
----
Revelation 14:6-7 describes the
angels charged with preaching who to
worship (God, not the Beast):
6And
I saw another angel fly in
the midst of heaven, having
the everlasting gospel to
preach unto them that dwell
on the earth, and to every
nation, and kindred, and
tongue, and people,
7Saying
with a loud voice, Fear
God, and give glory to him;
for the hour of his
judgment is come: and
worship him that made
heaven, and earth, and the
sea, and the fountains of
waters.
----
Revelation 15:5-8 describes how
heaven will be closed/shut until the
7 plagues of the wrath of God are
fulfilled. And, if you connect
that with Revelation 18:23, which
says there will be no more heard the
voice of brides or bridegrooms, there
is indication that there will be no
newborns, other than those already
born before the plagues begin,
because there will be no chance for
them to enter into heaven, and God
gives life to everyone with the grace
to get into heaven, and would not
give life to anyone if they had no
opportunity to get into heaven.
Read below:
Revelation 15:5-8
5And
after that I looked, and,
behold, the temple of the
tabernacle of the testimony
in heaven was opened:
6And
the seven angels came out
of the temple, having the
seven plagues, clothed in
pure and white linen, and
having their breasts girded
with golden girdles.
7And
one of the four beasts gave
unto the seven angels seven
golden vials full of the
wrath of God, who liveth
for ever and ever.
8And
the temple was filled with
smoke from the glory of
God, and from his power;
and no man was able to
enter into the temple, till
the seven plagues of the
seven angels were
fulfilled.
----
Revelation 18:23
23And
the light of a candle shall shine no
more at all in thee; and the voice of
the bridegroom and of the bride shall
be heard no more at all in thee: for
thy merchants were the great men of
the earth; for by thy sorceries were
all nations deceived.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007:
This is what I spoke about in church this past
Sunday to counter the claims of the James
Cameron docu-drama on the allegedly found "Tomb
of Jesus". First, let's not get excited
about this find...the EXACT same thing happened
back in 1926. The following is taken from
http://www.jesusfamilytomb.com/the_tomb/yeshua_bar_yosef.html
:
Back in 1926,
another “Jesus,
son of Joseph”
ossuary was
discovered
languishing in
the basement of
what is now the
Rockefeller
Museum—by none
other that
Eleazer Sukenik,
the archaeologist
famous for his
1948 discovery of
the Dead Sea
Scrolls. The
Hebrew University
professor did not
publicize his
astonishing find
until 1931 at a
conference in
Berlin. The news
made headlines
around the world.
And then the
world forgot all
about it.
Today, that
same ossuary is
on display at the
Israel Museum. It
is in no way
connected with
Jesus of Nazareth
but instead is on
display to send a
message: don’t
get excited if
you find
archaeological
mention of any
“Jesus.” The name
is common.
The discovery of the other tomb in 1980, which
is the basis for Cameron's film, does have many
more Biblical names that seem to fit, and may
possibly be the tomb of the family of Jesus,
but I guarantee there are no bones of Jesus the
Christ in there, which I will prove Biblically.
Also, the film biases a viewpoint that Jesus
and Mary Magdalene were married and had a son,
but the film doesn't even consider the
possibility that the tomb was a shared
tomb...(keep in mind early Christians sold
their property and shared their possessions
with other Christians, viewing each other as
brothers and sisters, whether or not there was
a blood relation). So, the tomb may
contain Mary Magdalene, but that does not mean
she and Jesus were married and had a kid.
Keep in mind that all of the apostles
(excepting for Paul) were martyred for
spreading the gospel...Dr. Gene Scott once said
that if Jesus and his resurrection and
ascension into heaven (and his divinity) were a
lie, and if Jesus were just dilly-dallying
around with a family, Jews from wherever he
lived would notice, but more importantly the
apostles would NOT have suffered the torture
and death, nor laid down their lives for a
lie...would you? No. It was a
dangerous time spreading Jesus' gospel back
then, and punishment in the form of
scourging
(click link to find out what scourging
is), stoning to death (people hurling big
stones at you until you die), and
crucifixion
(which resulted in death). Do you
know ANYONE crazy enough to suffer these things
for a lie? Let alone 12 disciples at the
start? I don't think so.
And though Paul didn't die by crucifixion, he
began as a top leader in the Pharisees (the
religious leaders of the Jewish faith) who was
going around intent on killing and harassing
the early Christians, imprisoning them as well.
Jesus appeared to Paul (Saul at the time), and
made him blind, sent him to a Christian
community and he became one of the most
faithful believers/converts of all the apostles
of Jesus, spreading his word and starting
churches up in much of the known world.
He also wrote a majority of the New Testament
in the Holy Bible.
With this in mind, let's look at some
scriptural proofs of Jesus' death and
resurrection. The night before writing
this I caught a show called Heartland on a Fox
News channel, and they were doing the show on
the upcoming Tomb of Jesus docu-drama that
aired Sunday (3/4/07), and they had on a guest
speaker for a "Christian" cult whose leader
(years ago) claimed to be the reincarnation of
St. Paul, then later years changed his stance
to that of being Jesus Christ returned, and now
who claims to be the Antichrist (and whose
followers give up to 50% of their income and
accept a tattoo of 666 on their wrist or
foreheads)...so, the following scriptural
proofs counter that foolish cult as well:
-------------------------
(Prelude to concrete proofs)
2 Timothy 4:3-5
3For
the time will come when they will not
endure sound doctrine; but after
their own lusts shall they heap to
themselves teachers, having itching
ears;
4And
they shall turn away their ears from
the truth, and shall be turned unto
fables.
5But
watch thou in all things, endure
afflictions, do the work of an
evangelist, make full proof of thy
ministry.
-------------------------
2
Peter 1:16
16For
we have not followed cunningly
devised fables, when we made known
unto you the power and coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, but were
eyewitnesses of his majesty.
-----------------------
2
Thessalonians 2:1-12
1Now
we beseech you, brethren,
by the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and by our
gathering together unto
him,
2That
ye be not soon shaken in
mind, or be troubled,
neither by spirit, nor by
word, nor by letter as from
us, as that the day of
Christ is at hand.
3Let
no man deceive you by any
means: for that day shall
not come, except there come
a falling away first, and
that man of sin be
revealed, the son of
perdition;
4Who
opposeth and exalteth
himself above all that is
called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as
God sitteth in the temple
of God, shewing himself
that he is God.
5Remember
ye not, that, when I was
yet with you, I told you
these things?
6And
now ye know what
withholdeth that he might
be revealed in his time.
7For
the mystery of iniquity
doth already work: only he
who now letteth will let,
until he be taken out of
the way.
8And
then shall that Wicked be
revealed, whom the Lord
shall consume with the
spirit of his mouth, and
shall destroy with the
brightness of his coming:
9Even
him, whose coming is after
the working of Satan with
all power and signs and
lying wonders,
10And
with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in them
that perish; because they
received not the love of
the truth, that they might
be saved.
11And
for this cause God shall
send them strong delusion,
that they should believe a
lie:
12That
they all might be damned
who believed not the truth,
but had pleasure in
unrighteousness.
---------------------------
(Proofs of Resurrections)
Lazarus raised from the dead by Jesus
(4 days dead):
John
12:17-19
17The
people therefore that was
with him when he called
Lazarus out of his grave,
and raised him from the
dead, bare record.
18For
this cause the people also
met him, for that they
heard that he had done this
miracle.
19The
Pharisees therefore said
among themselves, Perceive
ye how ye prevail nothing?
behold, the world is gone
after him.
-----------------------------
Accounts of Jesus raised
from the dead:
Acts 3:14-15
14But
ye denied the
Holy One and the
Just, and desired
a murderer to be
granted unto you;
15And
killed the Prince
of life, whom God
hath raised from
the dead; whereof
we are witnesses.
(the "Holy One
and Just" and
"the Prince of
life" is
Jesus..."desired
a murderer to be
granted unto you"
refers to when
Jesus was on
trial and Pontius
Pilate found no
cause for Jesus
to die, the
custom at the
time was for the
Roman governor to
release a
prisoner to the
people on a
certain day, and
he offered them
Jesus and
Barrabas...Barrabas
being a
murderer/insurrectionist
against the
Romans.
"Whereof we are
witnesses" refers
to Peter (the
lead apostle and
the other
apostles
testifying to the
Jews about Jesus,
just weeks after
his death and
resurrection)).
----
Acts 13:34
34And
as concerning
that he raised
him up from the
dead, now no more
to return to
corruption, he
said on this
wise, I will give
you the sure
mercies of David.
("now no more to
return to
corruption"
refers to the
fact that when
Jesus resurrected
he defeated
death, and
therefore death
could NO LONGER
stake a claim on
Jesus...so for
those that think
that Jesus could
have resurrected
and gone on the
live a normal
life again until
he died a second
time...that would
not happen.
Also, he ascended
into heaven
physically (and
he was not the
first to do
so...in the Old
Testament a man
named Enoch was
taken physically
by God and never
died: Genesis
5:23-24
23And
all the
days of
Enoch
were
three
hundred
sixty
and
five
years:
24And
Enoch
walked
with
God:
and he
was
not;
for God
took
him.).
I will
show
the
verse
concerning
Jesus'
ascension
into
heaven
a
little
further
down.
----
Romans
4:24-25
(Paul
witnessing)
24But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
25Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
("delivered" means killed, and "raised again" means he came back to life)
----
Galatians 1:1
1Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)
----
Other scriptural references to Jesus having been raised from the dead include the following links to the passages Colossians 2:12 (12Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.), 1 Thessalonians 1:10 (10And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.), 2 Timothy 2:8-10
(8Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:
9Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.
10Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.),
1 Peter 1:21 (21Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.)
---------------------
Jesus bodily raised to heaven (physically ascended to heaven) after his resurrection
(after having appeared to many witnesses, numerous times after his resurrection)
Mark 16:19-20
19So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
20And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
----
Luke 24:51
51And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.
----
Acts 1:9-11 (describes Jesus ascending into heaven bodily by the apostles and then 2 angels appear to them)
9And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
(Verse 11 dispels the antichrist "christian" cult leader's claim at one time to have been Jesus Christ returned...Jesus will return coming down from heaven on a cloud and ALL peoples will see it)
-----------------
Countering and warning the Antichrist cult members against taking the mark of the beast "666"
(I don't know the name of the cult...didn't catch it on that program)
Revelation 13:15-18
15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
----
(Before dying, those that worship the beast/antichrist and take his mark will suffer the following gruesome plagues: 1) Noisome and grievous sores upon them, which will make them gnaw their tongue and blaspheme God for the pain, 2) All water on earth and under it becomes blood...nothing to drink, 3) everything in the seas die because the water turned to blood, 4) They will be scorched by the sun with great heat and fire by the angel that has power over the sun, 5) Great earthquakes destroying all cities of the nations, and 7) Great hail falling from heaven and no place to hide from it, each hail stone weighing about the weight of a talent. All occuring in the last days.)
Revelation chapter 16
1And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
2And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
3And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
4And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
7And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
10And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
11And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
12And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
15Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
17And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
18And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
----
Revelation 14:9-11 (after the plagues, an eternity in the Lake of Fire, a place in which the Beast, the Antichrist, Satan and his angels, hell, death, and those whose names are not written in the book of Life of the Lamb (Jesus) will end up)
9And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007:
Tonight was the first night I was told to teach
Bible Study. I was told last Thursday or
Friday and had no topic until last night at
10:30pm. So I finally decided on the
topic of "Love", researched it and took notes
until 1:30am, and below is what I taught
tonight at church:
LOVE:
There are 3 types of love in the Greek
language:
1)
Agape (og-ah-pay) = Love in the holy sense.
Unconditional love. Divine love.
Self-sacrificing love.
2)
Eros = Romantic or sexual love.
Passionate or erotic love
3)
Philia = brotherly love. The love between
friends.
What follows below is applicable to ALL 3 types
of love.
In
the Bible, the word "charity" is the equivalent
of "love"...they are synonymous.
1Though
I speak with the tongues of men and
of angels, and have not charity, I am
become as sounding brass, or a
tinkling cymbal.
2And
though I have the gift of prophecy,
and understand all mysteries, and all
knowledge; and though I have all
faith, so that I could remove
mountains, and have not charity, I am
nothing.
3And
though I bestow all my goods to feed
the poor, and though I give my body
to be burned, and have not charity,
it profiteth me nothing.
What this says
is that without love, no matter what
you do, no matter what gifts God has
given you, and no matter what good
deeds you perform, you are nothing
and your deeds do you no good if you
have no love.
-----------------------
Verse 4:
4Charity
suffereth long, and is kind; charity
envieth not; charity vaunteth not
itself, is not puffed up,
Tells us:
-Love suffers
long and is kind.
-Love doesn't
envy (envy = resentful desire for
another's possessions or advantages)
-Love vaunteth
not itself (vaunt = boast or brag or
self-praise)
-Love is not
puffed-up (puffed-up = marked by
exaggerated self-importance: pompous)
---------------
Verse 5:
5Doth
not behave itself unseemly, seeketh
not her own, is not easily provoked,
thinketh no evil;
Tells us:
-Love does not
behave itself unseemly (unseemly =
not conforming to what is proper or
in good taste; in the Bible it is
defined in this verse as "rudely")
-Love seeketh
not her own ( = love is selfless and
self-sacrificing)
-Love is not
easily provoked (provoked = To cause
anger, resentment, or deep feeling
in; To cause to take action; Stir to
action). A good example of this
is the incident in the Bible in which
the Pharisees brings a woman to Jesus
in front of a crowd, the woman having
been caught in the very act of
adultery. The typical sentence
for this was to be stoned to death
(and not in the good way...but
pummeled by rocks thrown by people).
Jesus said, "Let him who has no sin
cast the first stone. One by
one everybody dropped their rocks and
went away. The woman was left
standing with Jesus and he asked
where everyone went. The point
of the story is that Jesus was
without sin and could easily have
thrown the first stone and had the
woman killed for her sin, but he
didn't. He knew what was in the
hearts of the Pharisees and that they
were wicked. He gave the woman
another chance and did not condemn
her, but told her to avoid that sin
in the future.
-Love doesn't
plan out or set one's mind on or
dwell on evil thoughts.
---------------------
Verse 6:
6Rejoiceth
not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the
truth;
-It's self
explanatory
---------------------
Verse 7:
7Beareth
all things, believeth all things,
hopeth all things, endureth all
things.
-Love bears all
things (bear = to have a tolerance
for: endure)
-Love believeth
in all things, hopeth all things,
endureth all things.
--------------------
Verse 8:
8Charity
never faileth: but whether there be
prophecies, they shall fail; whether
there be tongues, they shall cease;
whether there be knowledge, it shall
vanish away.
-Love never
fails.
---------------------
Verse 13:
13And
now abideth faith, hope, charity,
these three; but the greatest of
these is charity.
-Out of faith,
hope, and love, love is the greatest.
----------------------
1 Corinthians
14:1
1Follow
after charity, and desire spiritual
gifts, but rather that ye may
prophesy.
-Paul tells us
to follow after love (charity)
---------------------------
Jesus
gave us instructions on how to love
as well. Below are some
instructions from Jesus:
1) Matthew
5:38-48
Verses 38-39:
38Ye
have heard that it hath
been said, An eye for an
eye, and a tooth for a
tooth:
39But
I say unto you, That ye
resist not evil: but
whosoever shall smite thee
on thy right cheek, turn to
him the other also.
-In the Mosaic
law one was allowed to return evil
for evil, hence the saying "an eye
for an eye and a tooth for a tooth".
Jesus instructs us to resist the
impulse to return evil for evil and
instead allow it to occur, to the
extent that if someone hits you or
slaps you on the cheek, that we
should offer them the other cheek to
strike, rather than strike them back.
----------------
Verse 40:
40And
if any man will sue thee at the law,
and take away thy coat, let him have
thy cloak also.
-In Mosaic law,
judges were responsible for settling
matters between people. Jesus
would rather we settle with others
before it goes to court, because
courts are notorious for being unfair
or very fair (depending on whether
you win or lose the case)...even back
then. So, Jesus tells us that
if a matter goes to court and they
win against you, let them have more
than they won.
---------------
Verse 41:
41And
whosoever shall compel thee to go a
mile, go with him twain.
-If someone
wants you to go somewhere with them,
or if you offer someone a ride, go
that extra mile for the person and
make sure their needs are met.
Jesus wants us to do more than just
the bare minimum for others.
-----------------
Verse 42:
42Give
to him that asketh thee, and from him
that would borrow of thee turn not
thou away.
-Jesus tells us
to not only give to those that ask of
us, but also that we should not hide
ourselves from those we know need
something from us. God always
will pay you back, count on it.
The person may not, but rest assured
God will repay you for your kindness,
whether it be monetarily, or some
other blessing worth at least as
much.
-----------------
Verses 43-47:
43Ye
have heard that it hath
been said, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour, and hate
thine enemy.
44But
I say unto you, Love your
enemies, bless them that
curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for
them which despitefully use
you, and persecute you;
45That
ye may be the children of
your Father which is in
heaven: for he maketh his
sun to rise on the evil and
on the good, and sendeth
rain on the just and on the
unjust.
46For
if ye love them which love
you, what reward have ye?
do not even the publicans
the same?
47And
if ye salute your brethren
only, what do ye more than
others? do not even the
publicans so?
-Jesus tells us that
instead of "love your
neighbor, hate your enemy",
love your enemies and bless
them that curse you, and do
good to them that hate you
and pray for them that use
you despitefully
(despitefully = spitefully
or maliciously), and those
that persecute you. Verse
45 says that if we do these
things, we are counted as
God's children, because he
gives sun and rain to the
good and evil, the just and
the unjust.
-In verses
46-47, Jesus says that if we only
love those that love us, or only
greet our brethren (brothers and
sisters in Christ), then we are not
doing (loving) enough, because even
those people that are considered
sinners or unsaved do the same...they
love each other, they greet each
other. We are called to be
better than that.
-----------------
Verse 48:
48Be
ye therefore perfect, even as your
Father which is in heaven is perfect.
-Jesus calls us
to be perfect as our Father (Almighty
God) is perfect. He wants us to
exemplify the same attributes as
Father God.
-----------------------
2) Mark
12:30-31 (further instructions from
Jesus on love...The first
commandment, and what the other
commandments boil down to)
Verse 30:
30And
thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy mind, and with all
thy strength: this is the first
commandment.
Verse 31:
31And
the second is like, namely this, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
There is none other commandment
greater than these.
-------------------------
3) John 14:21
and v23 (Clues to indicate you've got
it right):
Verse 21:
21He
that hath my commandments, and
keepeth them, he it is that loveth
me: and he that loveth me shall be
loved of my Father, and I will love
him, and will manifest myself to him.
-Jesus tells us
that if we have his commandments and
keep them are the ones that love him,
and those that love Jesus are loved
of Almighty God. Jesus will
love you for it AND manifest himself
to you.
Verse 23:
23Jesus
answered and said unto him, If a man
love me, he will keep my words: and
my Father will love him, and we will
come unto him, and make our abode
with him.
-Jesus says if
we love him, and follow his
commandments both he and Almighty God
will abide (dwell) inside us.
-----------------------------------------------
SOME EXAMPLES
OF GOD'S LOVE:
1) Luke
7:41-43
41There
was a certain creditor
which had two debtors: the
one owed five hundred
pence, and the other fifty.
42And
when they had nothing to
pay, he frankly forgave
them both. Tell me
therefore, which of them
will love him most?
43Simon
answered and said, I
suppose that he, to whom he
forgave most. And he said
unto him, Thou hast rightly
judged.
-In this
parable taught by Jesus, Almighty God
is the creditor, and the debts are
sins. We need forgiveness of
sins because the wages of sin are
death (Romans 6:23 states:
For the
wages of sin is death; but the
gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.).
This is why it is CRITICAL to be
baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ...without it, your
ultimate eternity will be the Lake of
Fire...baptism cleanses us from sin
in the spirit world. ALL people
are sinners, therefore we all owe a
debt, and those of us that receive
forgiveness from more sins that other
people end up loving God more because
he spared them of that much
punishment.
-Verses 46-48
is a real life exemplification of the
above parable: (Jesus speaking)
44And
he turned to the woman, and
said unto Simon, Seest thou
this woman? I entered into
thine house, thou gavest me
no water for my feet: but
she hath washed my feet
with tears, and wiped them
with the hairs of her head.
45Thou
gavest me no kiss: but this
woman since the time I came
in hath not ceased to kiss
my feet.
46My
head with oil thou didst
not anoint: but this woman
hath anointed my feet with
ointment.
47Wherefore
I say unto thee, Her sins,
which are many, are
forgiven; for she loved
much: but to whom little is
forgiven, the same loveth
little.
48And
he said unto her, Thy sins
are forgiven.
-------------------------
-Another
example of God's love is that he
self-sacrificed his only beloved son
(Jesus, the only one that has ALWAYS,
since his spiritual creation in the
very beginning before the world was
created, obeyed God and never sinned)
into the hands of wicked men, and a
sinful world, to be crucified
(killed) as a spiritual blemish-free
lamb for the sins of mankind that the
world might be saved.
John 3:16:
16For
God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.
-Jesus (God in
the flesh) exemplified the ultimate
love by laying down his own life (the
ultimate self-sacrifice) so that we
might be saved.
----------------------------
MISGUIDED,
INCORRECT, WRONG TYPES OF LOVE:
1) Matthew
23:5-7
5But
all their works they do for
to be seen of men: they
make broad their
phylacteries, and enlarge
the borders of their
garments,
6And
love the uppermost rooms at
feasts, and the chief seats
in the synagogues,
7And
greetings in the markets,
and to be called of men,
Rabbi, Rabbi.
-The
Pharisees were generally
charged with these, but it
applies to anyone that does
works to be seen of men;
who love the benefits of
God's love, the upper rooms
at feasts, and chief seats
in the synagogue, or being
greeted and noticed
by others as important,
rather than loving God and
loving others. Also,
those that love titles of
honor for the prestige it
projects.
------------------
2)
Matthew 24:12
12And
because iniquity shall
abound, the love of many
shall wax cold.
-Loving iniquity (sin)
makes the love of many grow
cold. Why? I
ask myself. Then it
dawns on me: iniquity
is selfish and it imposes
itself on others at their
expense, and no one likes
to be imposed upon
especially at our own
expense.
---------------
3)
Lovers of themselves:
2
Timothy 3:1-3
1This
know also, that
in the last days
perilous times
shall come.
2For
men shall be
lovers of their
own selves,
covetous,
boasters, proud,
blasphemers,
disobedient to
parents,
unthankful,
unholy,
3Without
natural
affection,
trucebreakers,
false accusers,
incontinent,
fierce, despisers
of those that are
good,
4Traitors,
heady, highminded,
lovers of
pleasures more
than lovers of
God;
5Having
a form of
godliness, but
denying the power
thereof: from
such turn away.
-All these people
will be MOST
prevalent in the
last days before
the wrath of God
(which might be
REAL soon
considering the
Mayan calendar
"ends" on
December 22,
2012, when one
age will end and
another (the
Millennial reign
of Jesus Christ)
will begin).
Other
conspiracies
abound about the
end-time, as well
as other known
"ages"...specifically,
we are in the
zodiac age of
Pisces, and about
to change into
the age of
Aquarius.
Go
here
or
here
to learn more
about the end of
the Mayan
calendar, the
approaching Age
of Aquarius, and
other end time
type prophecies
from around the
world.
-------------
4) Mark
10:17-22
17And
when he
was
gone
forth
into
the
way,
there
came
one
running,
and
kneeled
to him,
and
asked
him,
Good
Master,
what
shall I
do that
I may
inherit
eternal
life?
18And
Jesus
said
unto
him,
Why
callest
thou me
good?
there
is none
good
but
one,
that
is,
God.
19Thou
knowest
the
commandments,
Do not
commit
adultery,
Do not
kill,
Do not
steal,
Do not
bear
false
witness,
Defraud
not,
Honour
thy
father
and
mother.
20And
he
answered
and
said
unto
him,
Master,
all
these
have I
observed
from my
youth.
21Then
Jesus
beholding
him
loved
him,
and
said
unto
him,
One
thing
thou
lackest:
go thy
way,
sell
whatsoever
thou
hast,
and
give to
the
poor,
and
thou
shalt
have
treasure
in
heaven:
and
come,
take up
the
cross,
and
follow
me.
22And
he was
sad at
that
saying,
and
went
away
grieved:
for he
had
great
possessions.
-This scripture
tells us that
loving money $$
and possessions
is a trap.
Jesus tells the
rich person to
sell his stuff,
give to the poor
and follow him
because he
detected in this
person's heart
that money and
possessions were
too important in
this person's
life, more
important
possibly than
God. Never
put anything
before God,
whether it be
money, drugs or
alcohol, friends,
yourself, an idol
or
whatever....nothing
should take God
out of first
place in our
lives. 1
Timothy 6:10
tells us that "10For
the love of money
is the root of
all evil: which
while some
coveted after,
they have erred
from the faith,
and pierced
themselves
through with many
sorrows."...Money
is the root of
all evil.
--------------------
5) John 12:43
43For
they loved the
praise of men
more than the
praise of God.
-Another misguided love is
the love of being praised
by men more than being
praised by God.
---------------------------
FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS ON
LOVE AND OTHER PERTINENT
INFORMATION ON LOVE
1)
Romans 12:9-10
Verse
9:
9Let
love be without
dissimulation. Abhor that
which is evil; cleave to
that which is good.
-(Dissimulation
= concealed under a false appearance.
Disguising one's true feelings or
intentions.) In other words,
don't hide love.
Verse 10:
10Be
kindly affectioned one to another
with brotherly love; in honour
preferring one another;
-----------------------
2) 1 Corinthians
2:9
9But
as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, neither have entered into the heart of
man, the things which God hath prepared for
them that love him.
-God has such great
things in store for us, our life, our family,
etc, if only we would love Him in the way He
wants us to love Him (putting Him first in
everything and obeying Him and His
commandments) that not one person on earth
could even fathom them, nor see them, nor hear
about them because it's a personal thing
between us and God. He blesses us each in
different ways if we love Him.
----------------------
3) 2 Corinthians
6:6
6By
pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by
kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
-Love is not feigned
(faked). Love is truthful, honest, and
sincere in other words.
----------------------
4) Faith works by
love, therefore faith is fueled by love.
Galatians 5:6
6For
in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth
any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which
worketh by love.
-----------------------
5) Love is a fruit
of the Spirit. We are encouraged to
develop fruits of the Spirit, and love is one
type of "fruit".
Galatians 5:22-23
22But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith,
23Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no
law.
------------------------
6) Husbands are to love
their wives as their own bodies. If you
love your wife, you love yourself. Jesus
said when God joins a man and woman in marriage
they are no longer 2 people, but rather they
are 1 person.
Ephesians 5:28-29 and
verse 33
28So
ought men to love their wives as
their own bodies. He that loveth his
wife loveth himself.
29For
no man ever yet hated his own flesh;
but nourisheth and cherisheth it,
even as the Lord the church:
33Nevertheless
let every one of you in particular so love his
wife even as himself; and the wife see that she
reverence her husband.
-Keep in mind that the
Bible tells us the husband is the head of the
wife and the wife is the head of the
husband...they are one.
----------------------
7) Love comforts
our hearts. Colossians 2:2
2That
their hearts might be comforted, being knit
together in love, and unto all riches of the
full assurance of understanding, to the
acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of
the Father, and of Christ;
----------------------
8) Love is a labor
(you must work for it, work on it, and work at
it). 1 Thessalonians 1:3
3Remembering
without ceasing your work of faith, and labour
of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus
Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
---------------------
9) Love and Faith
are the breastplate in the armor of God.
1 Thessalonians 5:8
8But
let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting
on the breastplate of faith and love; and for
an helmet, the hope of salvation.
--------------------
10) Love not the
world or the things in it, because they all
will perish and be replaced. Not only
that, but the world is not our permanent
home/abode. They physical world was
ruined and slated for destruction when sin
entered into it. God destroyed the world
once with water (the Great Flood), and will
destroy it again with fire in the end time,
along with those people and things in it that
are not slated to be saved.
1 John 2:15
15Love
not the world, neither the things that are in
the world. If any man love the world, the love
of the Father is not in him.
--------------------
11) 1 John 4:18
There
is no fear in love.
18There
is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth
out fear: because fear hath torment. He that
feareth is not made perfect in love.
--------------------
12) God rebukes and
chastens those he loves. Revelation 3:19
19As
many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be
zealous therefore, and repent.
(rebuke = an act or
expression of criticism and censure; "he had to
take the rebuke with a smile on his face";
call on the carpet: censure severely or
angrily; "The mother scolded the child for
entering a stranger's car"; "The deputy ragged
the Prime Minister"; "The customer dressed down
the waiter for bringing cold soup")
(Repent = be sorry
for...to the point that you turn away from it)
Tuesday, January 30, 2007:
Last night, I was reading my normal chapter
from the Old Testament, chapter from the New
Testament, and chapter of Revelation. I have
lately felt like God has been distant in my
readings. I used to get some really great
insights and understanding from the Holy Spirit
after reading. Lately, I have felt like my
relationship with God has been ritualistic and
not the intimate friendship it was for the last
couple of years back...not that I felt
abandoned by God, but that He has not made his
presence known in such intimate fashion as of
late via reading. My prayers had become stale
and repetitive, and seemingly unanswered in
what to me are vital questions that I need
answers to...guidance and such.
Well, I was finishing the Gospel of Luke,
chapter 24 v. 51, "And
it came to pass, while he
(Jesus)
blessed them, he was parted from them, and
carried up into heaven."
when I noticed a cross-reference to Psalm
68:18, a prophetic verse about Jesus, which
reads: "Thou
hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity
captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea,
for the rebellious also, that the Lord God
might dwell among them."
When I read that I felt like God had
reconnected that personal touch to our
relationship because that verse answered one of
the vital questions I had been seeking guidance
on. THANK YOU, JESUS!!!!!!!!!!
Then I came across
Psalm 142-144,
which were of even more comfort to my soul. I
really felt like God was still with me. And
then I turned on the television and came across
a new favorite "preacher" (more of an educator
of Jesus and apostles' histories), the late Dr.
Gene Scott. I got turned onto his show after I
could not take my eyes off his widow Pastor
Melissa Scott (until just now I thought she was
his daughter, then I looked at their website
http://www.drgenescott.org/ ). She
is difficult to follow sometimes, but one of
the most beautiful women to watch, and she
sings well too. Dr. Gene Scott's presentation
last night focused on Psalm 143, which was one
of the above mentioned Psalms which I felt was
God's way of comforting me and answering me at
the same time. The show focusing on said
verse just made that feeling even MORE
substantial. THANK YOU, FATHER GOD, JESUS, AND
HOLY SPIRIT!!!!!!!!
Monday, January 29, 2007:
Last Friday or Saturday on the job (I'm a
handyman's assistant...the handyman is my
pastor), we went to buy tin roofing for a room
addition we are finishing up. The business is
owned by a Christian, so when we went in the
office to pay for the materials, on the counter
was a business card that read, "Please take one
with you" and beneath it was "The Resume of
Jesus Christ". I thought that was really cool,
and I'm sure this has probably been an email
circulation, but I thought I'd post it anyway.
Here are some pics of it:
Thursday, January 11, 2007:
Belated Happy New Year! Actually, I'm early
for Chinese New Year and Muslim new year I
think...maybe it's just Iranian new
year...yeah, that might be it. Anyway, I am
reconstructing the front page in hopes that I
will better organize the clutter monster the
blog has become...Thank you God for helping me
find the search engine code!
I
had an odd dream image from a week or so ago.
I remember seeing about 5 or 7 railroad spike
type "nails" that would be used in
crucifixion. I remember that each one was in
front of me, and each looked a little different
from the others. Some looked nice and shiny,
others old and worn, some with designs or
unused, others plain or used. I think they
were in a hand...not through a hand, but
presented on the palm of a person's hand.
Well, today I was working on a roof on a
mosque, and I find this on the roof (I had been
up there before and not seen this):
This is a much smaller
version of what I dreamed, but it looks VERY
much the same in shape. Weird that it
manifested into my reality. This looks like a
miniature railroad spike that I imagine is a
smaller version of what pierced Jesus' hands or
wrists in crucifixion. I keep wondering,
should I be worrying???
Well, I have been very
lax in my website duties, but vow to improve my
postings, especially more scripturally
relevant, spiritually important, and still fun
stuff.
--------------------
This past Sunday for my
words of exhortation by the ministers, I did a
bit about the movie Run Lola Run, and how as a
movie unlike others, it gives us a better idea
of how far above OUR ways God's ways are. The
Bible says that God's ways are so far above our
ways, that "the foolishness of God is wiser
than men, and the weakness of God is stronger
than men"
1Corinthians 1:25
. What I mean is that most movies go in
a linear fashion, or in the case of Pulp
Fiction, a disjointed linear
fashion...something happens, the characters
react to situation, movie continues on that
line of reaction to situations. In Run Lola
Run, the first 20 minutes of the movie sets up
the situation: Lola gets a frantic call from
her boyfriend Manni stating that he lost the
American equivalent of $60,000 of his mob
boss's money and if she can't help him come up
with that money in the next 20 minutes, he'd be
a dead man. The movie then takes the viewer
through 3 different versions of what happens in
the next 20 minutes of their lives. What does
that have to do with God's wisdom, or how his
ways are so far above ours?
Well, Proverbs 5:21 tells
us "The ways of man are before the eyes of the
Lord, and he pondereth all his goings." In the
movie, the three different "next 20 minutes"
result in drastic results for each of the
characters involved (or encountered by Lola or
Manni). The movie does a "photo flash forward"
of each of the characters Lola or Manni
encounters, showing what happens to each of
them in the near and distant future. In each
of the different 20 minute scenarios, the
characters either end up going a certain way
and getting mugged, but from that meeting their
future wife, or in one or another character
will die by the end of the 20 minutes. The
point is that tiny little changes (like Lola
tripping down the stairs at the start of the
second 20 minute sequence) made her get to her
dad's office (the only person she could think
to rely on to come up with the $$, since he
works at a bank) results in her walking in on
her father in the middle of an argument with
his mistress. This time her anger gets the
better of her and she robs her dad's bank. In
the first sequence she got there a little
before the fight, but still walks in on her dad
and his mistress talking, and he says he'll
help her as he escorts her out in her
confusion. Proverbs 14:12 says "There is a way
which seemeth right unto a man, but the end
thereof are the ways of death." In the first 2
sequences, it doesn't turn out well for neither
Manni nor Lola. But in the third sequence
things obviously come out the best way possible
for everyone. Well, God has a plan for our
lives and he wants our lives to be lived
abundantly and fully. We can ONLY receive this
kind of life when we are in line with His word
and have a personal relationship with Him. He
considers every possibility and outcome, and
wants to give us those things we want and need
(the Bible says "we have not because we ask
not" (exact verse:
James 4:2-4).
The movie only considers 3 scenarios in the
lives of a limited number of people and the
variety of outcomes possible from simple and
seemingly unimportant happenings...like someone
stopping on your car to delay you long enough
to avoid a fender bender (in the movie). God
considers a multitude more possibilities for
each and EVERY one of our lives...imagine the
complexity of THAT!!! And he has our best
interests at heart, so it's best to get in line
with him.
A nice side-story in the
movie is the character Mr. Meyer, as business
associate of Lola's dad. In each of the 20
minute sequences this poor man gets in fender
bender. In the first 2 sequences, Lola runs
past his vehicle as he exits a parking garage,
and distracted by her he ends up hitting the
same white car...first time in the front
broad-siding the car, and in the second
broad-siding the rear of the same car. In the
third sequence, Lola jumps stumbles onto his
hood and stays long enough for Mr. Meyer to
miss the car, get to her father on time to pick
him up for a lunch meeting, thereby making Lola
miss her dad entirely by the time she gets to
his office at the bank. So, she finally gets
it right and prays to God that he help her,
saying she'll keep running and she'll leave it
to God to stop her at the right place. On the
way, a truck nearly runs her over, but sees her
chance (I won't give it away, but don't try it
if you see the movie). On her way back to
Manni, an ambulance stops suddenly near her,
and she hops in, only to discover Mr. Meyer
inside and the paramedic frantic and unable to
stabilize his condition or his vitals. Mr.
Meyer extends his hand, and Lola takes it in
her hands, sits there holding his hand looking
him in the eyes. His vitals become slow and
steady. The paramedic is astounded and
relieved. Lola became Mr. Meyer's comforter.
"Comforter" is another name for the Holy
Spirit. This scene demonstrates healing touch,
which is mentioned numerous times in the Bible
(touch is usually a precursor to many healings
in the Bible).
Mark 1:39-45
is a perfect example, in which a leper showed
his faith in Jesus by saying if he willed it
Jesus could will that he (the leper) would
become whole (healed). In this scene, Mr.
Meyer didn't have faith in the paramedic, and
he was undoubtedly afraid. Lola, because he
knew her and she was with him was his
comforter, and by touching him, he felt that
comfort even more.
I challenged everyone to
be more like God and consider the possible
consequences of their actions or inactions
(like not talking to people about Jesus and
getting saved)...it could result in their death
or the eternal loss of those peoples' souls.
Also, I challenged them to be comforters to
others. That is part of our duty...to comfort
those that need comforting...just look at the
parable of the good samaritan (Luke
10:30-37).
Tuesday, December 19, 2006:
Lord Jesus, I thank you for Sue. Sue, happy
birthday!!! ILU!
Here's a clip from Clerks II in which Jay (of
Jay and Silent Bob) explains how he can sell
weed and stay sober through the power of
Christ. Then he tells his customers to read
the Bible:
Sunday, December 17, 2006:
Here's an introduction into who Satan is, how
Satan works in everyone's life, but most
importantly showing that destroying your soul
is such a way of life for Satan that he'll
distract you with whatever works. He's a liar,
and his job is to deceive you into a sense of
security when in reality your life or your soul
is in eternal peril. Satan also fills up your
daily life with unimportant things like tv,
games, chores, distractive people, and work to
such an overwhelming degree as to disconnect
you from God, life, and peace in your daily
life. He can appear as addictions, aberrant
emotional behaviors or addictions, or as people
and/or angels of light. Satan was God's number
one angel until he fell from grace, continued
to fall, and never returned.
The music video below is called "Liar" by
the Henry Rollins Band (thank you so much for
the music videos Rose! Mwaah!) When I first
saw this video in the early 1990s, I only saw
it as a bad boy slimy guy video. But now I see
it as a perfect metaphor for how Satan works
his way into our lives, and as far as I know
the lyrics are not gender-specific to the
song. The video imagery in the music video
itself seems to lend credence or validity to
this point (when he sings the chorus "I'm a
liar", he is painted red, which is typically
how Satan is propagated in today's society;
also, there is always fire burning in the
background as he sings the chorus, and one of
the lines is "I'll burn your soul"). So, for
the person I spoke with at the party this
weekend who was determined to burn in hell for
her beliefs even if God were to tell her they
were wrong, here's an introduction to Satan as
envisioned by the Henry Rollins Band (whether
they know it or not)...the song is "Liar"
Enjoy.
Saturday, December 9, 2006:
Forgive me, I have been lax in my website
duties. I saw Clerks II, and will include some
clips from that movie here on the site soon.
Also, expect the look of the page to change...I
am thinking out how to improve the site with
better organized areas and hopefully a search
engine for the site (I'll need to research
that). So, bear with me through the changes.
This past Thursday the ministers and I were
supposed to come up with a 10 minute speech on
Baptism, so here is an outline of what I came
up with:
I. Baptism as defined by the dictionary:
A. Baptism (defined):
1) A Christian sacrament marked by
symbolic use of water to rid the recipient of
original sin and resulting in admission into
Christianity.
2) A ceremony, trial, or experience by
which one is initiated, purified, or given a
name.
3) A submergence in Spirit or
purification by Spirit.
B. "Baptism of fire"
(defined):
1) A soldier's first combat experience.
2) A severe ordeal experienced for the
first time
C. Baptize: (defined)
1) To cleanse or purify
2) To initiate
3) To administer baptism
D. Why Use Water and Fire
for Baptism?
1)
Both water and fire are agents or catalysts
used in the purification of people, places, and
things according to
Numbers 31:23
.
a) Water: cleans (under the Law
it was necessary to wash things or yourself to
be purified from defilement and or diseases
like leprosy), it brings life (water sates our
thirst and without water we die in days; also,
water makes seeds sprout and grow into food and
materials for our needs). The Great Flood
purified the world by water. God used water to
destroy Egypt's grip of bondage/slavery on the
Jews. The Jews had to cross the river Jordan
(a body of water) to be purified again before
entering the Promised Land, and these same
waters purified the minds of the people in the
sense that it was reinforced in their heads and
the heads of the survivors, "There is a God,
and nothing can reckon with God."
b) Fire: mostly purifies
metals, but in the spirit world, God is a
consuming fire, Jesus will baptize us with fire
(God or the Holy Spirit), visible evidence of
the Holy Spirit was as tongues of fire resting
above the heads of the apostles (Acts
2:3). Fire purifies by destroying
impurities: examples Sodom and Gomorrah (two
cities leveled and destroyed by fire from the
sky (meteors or volcanic rocks, either way sent
by God) (Genesis
19:20-30), and in the final days
fire will destroy most life on earth (Revelation
8:1-13)
---------------------------------------
***Note: Before I go on with what I came up
with, I spoke with the pastor to review
everything I had come up with, and he wanted me
to know the official 4 Baptisms recognized by
the apostles: 1) Noah, 2) Moses, 3) John
(repentance), 4) Peter (Acts 2:38 repentance
and rebirth)****
----------------------------------------
Continuing what I came up with...mostly me
jotting ideas down as the popped into my head,
then getting the supporting verses, I may as
well sort the info here before posting, so it's
not as disjointed as my notes:
II. Types of Baptisms found in the Holy Bible
A. Baptism unto Noah-
Out of the entire world, only 8 people survived
the flood released by God almighty to purify
the earth from all the evils spawned by not
only man, but also by the power men were
endowed with when the sons of God mated with
the earthly women. Water destroyed to purify.
8 people overcame the water, saved by
righteousness (Genesis
chapters 6-9)
B. Baptism unto Moses-
1) Moses led the Jews out of bondage
(slavery) in Egypt by parting the Red Sea for
safe passage for the Jews, and then closed the
sea on Pharaoh's army as they chased after the
Jews. (Exodus
Chapter 14) So, water saved from
bondage by destroying the evil, again.
2) Not even Moses made it to the
Promised Land, the land promised by God
almighty as an heritage for the Jews, but Moses
DID get to see if from a mountain peak before
he died. The whole lot he took out of Egypt
had to die before God let the Jews into the
Promised Land (Deuteronomy
chapter 34)...that means only the
young next generation was allowed in...again,
God purifying the people before starting them
anew elsewhere. Point is, they had to cross
the Jordan river in order to get into the
Promised Land. The Jews were the seed and the
Jordan river was the means of watering the seed
of the promised generation. Also, this could
be symbolic of feet washing as well...walking
across the river is sure to wash your feet
before entering the new land of promise (Joshua
1:1-8), also for another mention of
the baptism unto Moses (1
Corinthians 10:2-4).
C. Baptism unto John-
Repentance for the Remission of Sins
(Mark
1:4-5) (Jesus was baptized this
way)
1)
People were baptized in water
2) They confessed their sins before
being dunked
D. Baptism unto Peter (Acts
2:38) - Repentance and Spiritual
Rebirth into Lord Jesus the Christ (you become
one in/with the body of Christ)
1)
Baptize in water in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ
2) You are buried to sin (going into
the water) (Colossians
2:12), and
3) You are born a new creature (Galatians
6:15), no longer bound by death in
sin (spiritual rebirth or better put: actual
spiritual resurrection
4) You can now have the opportunity
to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (God
himself living inside you, interacting with you
on a personal level)...but you don't have it
yet...you must either tarry for the Holy Spirit
or a minister or qualified pastor must lay
hands on you and the Holy Spirit will be upon
your body. (Acts
8:13-16)
------------------------------------
Okay, that covers the technically accepted
forms or instances of baptisms. But here's
more of the stuff I found that qualify as
either interesting to know, or needs to be
looked into more:
-------------------------------------
E. Other "Baptisms":
1)
Baptism unto Elias (aka Elijah)- Elias/Elijah
sealed up the sky for 3 years, letting no rain
fall in Israel, causing a drought for that time
period. (James
5:17 and
1 Kings17:1-3)
2) Baptism of Fire (Matthew
3:11) (defined in dictionary as 1:
Soldier's first combat experience or 2: A
severe ordeal experienced for the first time)
a) Jesus' Baptism of Fire- the
abuse and death he must go through, by the very
people he came down to earth to save, will
likely be God's first taste of death, so this
may better be named "Jesus' baptism of death",
since God, the source of life, has never been
dead. Jesus makes mention of this in
Luke 12:49-13:5
and it foreshadows the kind of death he
must endure.
b) Elijah also brought down
fire from heaven on a few occasions: once to
prove his God was the real God and disprove the
false prophets he called fire down from heaven
to consume a water-drenched meat sacrifice (1
Kings 18:20-38), which in turn was
surrounded by a trough of water, like a mote;
the other 2 times it was to consume the 50 men
and soldiers sent by the king to talk to
him...each time killing 50 men for a total of
100 men killed. (2
Kings Chapter 1) and (Luke
9:54)
c) Baptism of the Holy Ghost
(aka "Baptism of Fire") (again
Matthew 3:11,
Mark 1:8
tells us Jesus will baptize us with the
Holy Ghost). God is described as a consuming
fire (as we saw with Elijah's accounts), but
also describing the look of God and sometimes
angels (Daniel
10:5-12). Another way to receive
the Holy Ghost: laying on of hands by qualified
minister or qualified pastor (Acts
8:14-17). Jesus tells us in the
gospel of
John 3:1-8
that in order to enter into the kingdom
of heaven, you must be born again of water and
of spirit, so getting the gift of the Holy
Ghost/Spirit is a requirement for getting into
heaven, and you can't get it until you've first
been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Also in
Acts 2:1-5 we
see an account of the Holy Spirit visible as
tongues of flame that came down and rested
above the heads of the apostles when they
received the Holy Spirit with evidence of
speaking in tongues.
3) Baptizing in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
(Matthew
28:16-20) as commanded by Jesus. I
believe that means initiating the world into
the laws of the Father (Old Testament Law and
commandments), the Son (Jesus's laws and
commandments), and the Holy Spirit
(gifts/talents/powers and abilities you receive
when you get the gift of the Holy Spirit).
4) Baptism unto the angel in the pool
of Bethesda for healing (John
5:1-8)
F. The Benefits of Baptism
1) If we believe and are baptized, we are
saved (Mark
16:16-18 shows the signs that follow
believers)
2) Purification and cleansing in
the spirit world.
3) Initiation and assimilation into
the Body of Christ. You become inseparable
like a blood cell...but beware: if you become
"cancerous" to the body of Christ you will be
removed.
4) You now may receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit by either
a) tarrying for the Holy
Spirit (a sort of group chanting meditation
using Jesus)
b) or by the laying on of
hands by a qualified minister or qualified
pastor.
5) God will no longer tune out your
prayers. God will tune INTO your prayers will
answer you in ways you won't imagine or believe
until it happens to you.
6) You have become born of water
(one of the prerequisites for entry into
heaven) (John
3:5)
7) You have what it takes to be
born of spirit now (receiving the gift of the
Holy Spirit...baptism is a pre-requisite for
having the Holy Spirit alive, active and able
to communicate to you from within you.
And to conclude here, since I couldn't think
where to put this tidbit of info...here's an
example from the Bible of an unusual experience
occurring from a baptism. Philip was baptizing
a eunuch and the Spirit of the Lord caught
Philip away to another place almost instantly
(Acts
8:36-40).
And that concludes everything you never wanted
to know about Baptism. Now GET BAPTIZED in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ and save
yourselves!