Power of Positive Thinking

[WayneC777]

lololo ya think

[Tina]

Guess no one is thinking positively anymore :(

[WayneC777]

wow tina, I think this one is deas ha

[*~1Best~*]

The Throne in Heaven

1After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." 2At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. 4Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits[a] of God. 6Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." 9Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11"You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being."

[*~1Best~*]

God Is Almighty The Bible uses the word "almighty" fifty-seven times, and only of God, for only God is all-mighty.

Only God has all might, all power, is omnipotent. There is no power outside of God's power. And that power that is His is without measure of quality or quantity.

As God is infinite in all His other facets, so He is in power.





Combine the power of all the atoms in God's universe in their various forms of nuclear release, and God's power is still greater by an immeasurable multiplication. The awesome energy of ten million times ten million suns would not light a birthday candle compared to God's power. His power is infinite, without end, without measure. There is no power like His. No power that can withstand Him. No power that can oppose Him. He is supreme, LORD God of all!

And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns." (Revelation 19:6)

Whatever the LORD God wants to do, He can do. He speaks universes into existence, and can speak them out of existence. Those who swagger before Him as His enemy, fall by the whisper of His breath. Lighting splits heaven and earth at His approach; mountains thunder and smoke at His presence; prophets and priests prostrate themselves in fear at the sight of the omnipotent God of the universe! In His hand, all that He has created and all His creatures are but dust. "Tremble, O' Earth, for thy LORD God cometh to thee on clouds of fire."

In days long past, men and women spoke of our God in whispered awe and reverential tones, lest lighting flash from heaven and consume their impertinence. They might not even be followers of Christ, but they were fearers of God. Mary, Queen of Scots, feared the prayers of John Knox because she feared his God. And though he often preached against her and she had the power to behead him, she would not because she was afraid that he would pray to God against her before he died. Better to face his public scorn than to face his omnipotent God.

Those who rebel against God, believe in their ignorance that they have succeeded in their foolishness because God has chosen not to respond to their rebellion in this age. They believe God is too weak and impotent to affect them. They scorn His name and mock those who believe in Him and His Christ. "Perhaps your God is dead," they laugh, and speak of themselves as God-in-themselves. "I am God," they brag, and expound on their incarnation into Godhood and scorn belief in a living, personal, God—Creator and sovereign LORD of all. But the inspired Apostle wrote,

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. (Galatians 6:&)

For it is written:
"As I live," says the Lord,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God."
So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans 14:11-12)

Ten seconds after our last heart beat, each of us will stand in the presence of that God who contains all power within Himself—that omnipotent God who answers to no one and to whom everyone answers. In days long past, priest and prophet, saint and sinner, fell before the manifestation of the power and glory of God; whether it was a burning bush at the mountain of God, a thundering Sinai smoking with fire, a blinding light on a dusty Damascus road, or a glorious theophany on an isolated rock-bound shore of a lonely island.

Of his vision of the glorified Christ on the Island of Patmos, the beloved Apostle John whom the Lord Jesus loved, testified, "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying to me, 'Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last'" (Revelations 1:17). About this awesome Jesus-made-Christ (Acts 2:36), Paul wrote, "We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ" (Romans 14:10). Those who know not Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior in this life, will know Him as Judge in the next.

"And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Bur rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell [Greek: Gehenna]." (Matthew 10:28)

The Lord once said to the Sadducees, who believed neither in the resurrection nor in angels, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God" (Matthew 22:29). It is the power of our omnipotent God that will raise us from the dead and change us into the image of His beloved Son. We will look like Him and be like Him, eternal mirrors of the Son of God. And in His image we will stand forever as testimony and witness to the exceeding riches of God's grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.



http://www.omegafaith.org/godisalmighty.htm


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtTmNTh9IPs





El Shaddai

The Lord God Almighty

“I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless." Genesis 17:1

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1

http://www.crossroad.to/Victory/extra/narule.gif

“Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?" Job 11:7

Job tried, and his enduring faith puts many a modern Christian (including me) to shame. The Lord Almighty, who had called him "a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil,” [Job 1:8] had suddenly removed His protective "hedge" around his servant and allowed Satan to strike. Now, prompted by incomprehensible suffering and three challenging friends, Job sought answers to some hard questions.

But Job's finite wisdom was no match for God's infinite design. So the Almighty One spoke and gave His servant a new perspective of divine sovereignty.

“Where were you," He asked, "when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! ... To what were its foundations fastened?" Job 38:4-6

The mighty Creator of the universe continued speaking. He pointed to His sovereign hand behind light, behind the ocean tides, behind the evaporating waters that rise as clouds over the seas before watering the land, and behind the wind currents that warm and cool the planet according to His divine providence:

"Who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth...
When I said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther,
And here your proud waves must stop!’...

Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.
Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
By what way is light diffused,

Or the east wind scattered over the earth?...



Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you set their dominion over the earth?
Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
That an abundance of water may cover you?" Job 38:8-34

When God finally finished, his humbled servant had learned a vital lesson. Having glimpsed the mysteries of God's majestic ways, he saw his own limitations. "I have uttered what I did not understand," answered Job. "Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know."

Today, about four thousand years later, mysteries and mistakes still abound. Our pride and imagination still feed foolish claims and philosophies that mock the Almighty. Even churches reject the truths revealed to Job -- that God created the universe, hung the planets in space, positioned the stars in their galaxies, and breathed life into man.

Nothing is too difficult for Him! For with a word He stills storms, frees captives, comforts the needy, brings order in chaos and light out of darkness. With a touch of His hand He can heal the sick, restore the broken and bring sight to the blind. "Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in the earth, in the seas and in all deep places." Psalm 135:6

He promised His followers, "you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses...." Acts 1:8

Unlike today's profusion of spiritual counterfeits, God's will and power can't be manipulated. His plan, written in eternity past and accomplished in His intended time, was designed by His heart of wisdom, love and justice. Even our foolish attempts to sidestep His order become part of His blueprint for ultimate victory. For nothing happens apart from His perfect or permissive will. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked....” Galatians 6:7

Daily He reminds me of "the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe." [Ephesians 1:19] Yet, still earth-bound and finite, I cannot now fathom the glorious might and majesty hidden in those words. He who is "beautiful beyond description," is indeed "too marvelous for words." But in my weakness, I can delight all the more in the promise of a heavenly banquet where I shall see Him face to face. Until then, I will sing His songs and join the joyful chorus that praises His name and awaits His coming.

I stand, I stand in awe of you.
Holy God, to whom all praise is due.
I stand in awe of you.[1]

In His ultimate plan, it doesn't matter that I am small and weak, for His "power is perfected in weakness." [2 Corinthians 12:9] But I can't forget that the all-sufficient power He offers His followers is not primarily intended for great feats or miracles. His power is first for living a life of worship, surrender, obedience and daily victory over every sin and evil.

Jesus spent most of His days on earth in quiet obedience to His Father, showing few signs of His infinite heavenly resources. Then one day He had a wonderful opportunity to bring a four-fold blessing with one simple miracle: He could provide needed wine at a wedding, save His host embarrassment, reveal His identity as the Son of God, and demonstrate the mighty Power of God.

Yet, Jesus hesitated. Until the Father initiated, the Son would do nothing. His initial response was simply and humbly, "My time has not yet come." (How quickly I might do something "good" without waiting to seek the perfect will and timing of my Lord!)

But with the Father's nod, Jesus acted; and nothing could hinder the mighty flow of heavenly power from accomplishing the full purpose of Almighty God for that moment.

 "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?
"For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to Whom be glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:32-36

http://www.crossroad.to/Victory/extra/narule.gif

Almighty Sovereign God, my strength and my Life, train me to walk with you as an ambassador and servant of your heavenly kingdom. Build in me a sober fear of the terrifying consequences of presumptuous rebellion against your sovereign reign. And enable me to "work out" my salvation "with fear and trembling," ready to obey whatever you ask, confident that you are faithful as well as mighty -- well able to perform all you have promised.

“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty!" Revelation 11:17

http://www.crossroad.to/Victory/extra/narule.gif

References: Isaiah 40, 43 and 44; Isaiah 45:5-12; Jeremiah 9:23-24, 10: 10-12,

27:5, 32:17-19, 27; Luke 9:1-2; John 1:12, 2:1-11, 5:19; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:13-14, 15:13;

2 Corinthians 4:7, 12:9-10; Ephesians 1:18-19, 3:16-21; Colossians 1:9-12, 29;

1 Timothy 1:9; 1 Peter 1:3; Revelation 4:8-11; 11:17-18.


http://www.crossroad.to/Victory/names/almighty.htm

[*~1Best~*]

Proverbs 3:5,6 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths....

Trust in the Lord

A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick

Late one afternoon a hiker, climbing along a steep mountain ridge slipped and fell down the side of the mountain. Fortunately, he was able to grab onto a small tree growing out from the rock, and hung on for dear life. Suddenly the hiker heard a voice from above calling to him by name, saying, "Just let go, and you will land safely on a ledge below. Just trust me." For a moment the man was silent. Then he called back, "Is there anyone else up there?"

Proverbs 3:5,6 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Here is a wonderful promise: "He, the Lord, will make your paths straight". (He shall direct thy paths.) What does that mean? Three ideas come to mind.

He will make your paths level, remove the stumbling blocks, keep you from tripping and falling. This is the same promise given to the captives returning from Babylon: "Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain." (Isaiah 40:4) Remember, we are as captives returning back to our home city, the Heavenly Jerusalem.

He will bring about a successful end, or lead you safely to your destination. Those who trust in the Lord, until the end, will be saved. This is a guarantee, paid for by the death of Jesus and His resurrection.

He will keep you from wandering off the path of righteousness, so that you will not be drawn into sin. It reminds us of the assertion in the 23rd Psalm, "He leads me in the paths of righteousness." In a day when temptations are so abundant, we need to hear this promise, and be motivated to follow His leading.

This is the promise, "He will make your paths straight." But as with every promise of God, there is a condition to fulfill. In this case, the condition is, Trust, or Faith. The basic message is this: Trust God, Distrust Yourself.

Notice that the rest of the statement (in Proverbs 3:5,6) helps us to understand what "trust in the Lord" means. First, it means "don't lean on your own understanding", and second, "in all your ways acknowledge Him".

Take the second. To acknowledge God simply means that we know that God is there in every situation. Any day of week. Every location imaginable. Whatever you may be doing, whom ever you may be with - God is there. Of course someone might say, "But sometimes I don't feel His presence." One of the significant issues today is that we have a great number of people trying to find "it" - the feeling, as though the feeling authenticates the presence. In fact, rather often, people tell me this was their problem, they just didn't feel the Lord being with them. Within the Pentecostal tradition we are especially vulnerable, because we tend to promote the idea that God can, and should be experienced. The danger of this is that we end up reducing our Christian life to an emotional experience. If there's no emotion, we think that God isn't there for us.

We want something that is tangible, something which can be experienced with one of our senses, or at least one of our emotions. But to acknowledge God in all our ways is to declare, by faith, that He is there, in every situation. One of the very fine organizations for Christian girls is Pioneer Clubs. Perhaps we all should learn their slogan, "Christ in every Phase of Life."

But also notice that trusting in the Lord means that we don't lean on our own understanding. Does that mean that while making decisions, we should neglect our own mental powers, or the wisdom we have gained throughout our lives? Of course not. These are gifts of God to be developed and used. The point is that we ultimately must rely on a wisdom that is beyond and above ours. In other words, "don't rest confidently upon" your own understanding, trust in the overriding providence of God.

By the way, the word "lean on" is connected to two ancient images.

One is to lean on one's sword, or shepherd's staff. For the soldier, the sword, and for the shepherd, the staff is always available to lean on, to take a break and rest for a moment. But the deeper message has to do with reliance, "Don't rest on your sword, soldier - it won't deliver you". Rather, "Trust in the Lord." The message here is, "Don't rest on your staff, shepherd, it won't be able to provide all that is needed in every situation." Rather, "Trust in the Lord." For us this could refer to whatever it is that we do in our work - it can't be ultimately relied upon.

The other image is a reference to the king who in public appearances would be seen leaning on his assistants, both physically if he is old and weak, and figuratively - the king relies on the counsel of his advisers. The message is clear: "Don't rely on human counsel. Trust in the Lord."

Now let's get to this idea "trust". It's a familiar expression to us. Every day we use it. Whenever we handle our money, there is this constant reminder: "In God We Trust".

The word "trust" is "batakh", which literally means "to cling to", to "confide in", or "to set one's hope and confidence upon".

I like the idea "cling to". How well I remember walking along Main Street in Rockport, Massachusetts on July 3rd. Fire works were popping all around us as we moved with the throng approaching the beach where the bon fire was blazing. The orchestra was in the band shell across the street, scores of boats filled the cove. We had brought our dog Cloudy with us, but it had become obvious that we shouldn't have bothered with the leash - the whole way there Cloudy clung to my leg for dear life. I could hardly walk.

That's a picture of each of us, in times of high anxiety and stress, clinging onto the leg of God, receiving both guidance and protection.

Actually, this trust which is "to set one's hope and confidence upon" is a trust that we exercise every day as a matter of routine. We understand what it means - the challenge is to direct this trust "in the Lord."

In the Old Testament story of "Daniel's Three Friends", we have a dramatic example.

Daniel 3:28 - Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God."

But notice these three factors:

Trusting God was a habit which had been practiced at the very beginning of their captivity. When the trainers wanted them to eat the "king's meat", they asked to be exempted because it violated their religious convictions about unclean foods. So they negotiated a trial period during which they would only eat vegetables, and trusted God to enable them to be approved. This is a model for us to follow today.

One day some years ago I accompanied a parent to her child's school to meet a teacher who was requiring reading material which was offensive. In preparation, I asked the child to bring with her a book, recommended by the librarian, to be of the same reading level, so that we could ask the teacher to be willing to let the child substitute this book for the offensive one.

The three Hebrew men openly declared their trust in God. They said, "The God we serve is able to save us." (Daniel 3:17) This is the "confession with the mouth." Saying it out loud is important. Unfortunately we live in a land where "tolerance" has become the expected attitude, and this often results in silence. No longer are we willing to publicly declare our faith in God, because someone will get offended with our taking on this superiority complex, and sound like we're judging all those who don't believe the same as we do.

They were willing to trust God even if it would not result in physical salvation. (Daniel 3:18) Here's the ultimate test of faith, a willingness to sacrifice everything in our declaration of devotion to worship and serve God.

Let me tell you the touching story about a man who worked for the MacDonald's corporation. His assignment was to play the part of Ronald MacDonald. Once a month he would go to the hospitals in a given area and try to bring a little cheer to the children there. One of the rules he was bound by was that he was never to touch any of the children for fear that he would carry germs from one patient to another. If he were to break this rule, it could mean losing his job. Here's what Jeff McMullen wrote:

Toward the end of my fourth year of "Ronald Days," as I was heading down a hallway after a long day in grease paint and on my way home, I heard a little voice. "Ronald, Ronald."

I stopped. The soft little voice was coming through a half-opened door. I pushed the door open and saw a young boy, about five years old, lying in his dad’s arms, hooked up to more medical equipment than I had ever seen. Mom was on the other side, along with Grandma, Grandpa and a nurse tending to the equipment.

I knew by the feeling in the room that the situation was grave. I asked the little boy his name - he told me it was Billy - and I did a few simple magic tricks for him. As I stepped back to say good-bye, I asked Billy if there was anything else I could do for him.

"Ronald, would you hold me?"

Such a simple request. But what ran through my mind was that if I touched him, I could lose my job. So I told Billy I could not do that right now, but I suggested that he and I color a picture. Upon completing a wonderful piece of art that we were both very proud of, Billy again asked me to hold him. By this time my heart was screaming "yes!" But my mind was screaming louder. "No! You are going to lose your job!"

This second time that Billy asked me, I had to ponder why I could not grant the simple request of a little boy who probably would not be going home. I asked myself why was I being logically and emotionally torn apart by someone I had never seen before and probably would never see again.

"Hold me." It was such a simple request, and yet...

I searched for any reasonable response that would allow me to leave. I could not come up with a single one. It took me a moment to realize that in this situation, losing my job may not be the disaster I feared.

Was losing my job the worst thing in the world?

Did I have enough self-belief that if I did lose my job, I would be able to pick up and start again? The answer was a loud, bold, affirming "yes!" I could pick up and start again.

So what was the risk?

Just that if I lost my job, it probably would not be long before I would lose first my car, then my home . . . and to be honest with you, I really liked those things. But I realized that at the end of my life, the car would have no value and neither would the house. The only things that had steadfast value were experiences. Once I reminded myself that the real reason I was there was to bring a little happiness to an unhappy environment, I realized that I really faced no risk at all.

I sent Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa out of the room, and my two McDonald’s escorts out to the van. The nurse tending the medical equipment stayed, but Billy asked her to stand and face the corner. Then I picked up this little wonder of a human being. He was so frail and so scared. We laughed and cried for 45 minutes, and talked about the things that worried him.

Billy was afraid that his little brother might get lost coming home from kindergarten next year, without Billy to show him the way. He worried that his dog wouldn’t get another bone because Billy had hidden the bones in the house before going back to the hospital, and now he couldn’t remember where he put them. These are problems to a little boy who knows he is not going home.

On my way out of the room, with tear-streaked makeup running down my neck, I gave Mom and Dad my real name and phone number (another automatic dismissal for a Ronald McDonald, but I figured that I was gone and had nothing to lose), and said if there was anything the McDonald’s Corporation or I could do, to give me a call and consider it done. Less than 48 hours later, I received a phone call from Billy’s mom. She informed me that Billy had passed away. She and her husband simply wanted to thank me for making a difference in their little boy’s life.

Jeff was willing to make the sacrifice required - he took a great risk in order to do what he felt was the right thing to do. Are we as willing to do as much? Are we willing to place our trust in God to the extent that we will stand up for Him, even in the face of suffering and death?

Francis Schaeffer, in his book "The God Who Is There", imagines a situation similar to the humorous story I told you at the beginning of the sermon. A man is caught in a storm on the side of a mountain in the Swiss Alps. The swirling snow makes it impossible for him to see more than a few inches. The man, squatting on a narrow ledge, hears a voice urging him to leap off the ledge to a safe path below which will take him to safety. If an unknown voice is heard, the man will probably not want to take the risk of jumping into the unknown abyss. But when the voice identifies itself as belonging to a well known experienced mountain guide, the man is willing to leap, and ultimately finds his way to safety.

The point of the story is this, we can trust in the "Voice", because we know from the reports of others, as well as from our own past experience, that He is trustworthy, and we can rely on Him to lead us out of this blinding storm.

Discussion Questions
Trust

1. What promise to the returning Babylonian captives that is similar to "he will make your paths straight"? (Isaiah 40:4)

2. What resource is available to Christians to help them keep on the "path of righteousness" (Psalm 23)?

3. In the Christian's daily life, what part is played by "feelings"?

4. To have trust in God requires us to abandon what other trusts?

5. Does trusting God mean that we should ignore common sense, wisdom gained through experience, and the wise counsel of mature Christians?

6. Two ancient images - leaning on one's sword, or shepherd's staff, and a king leaning on his assistants - are connected to the phrase "lean on." What is the message here for us?

7. The message "In God We Trust" is a part of everyone's life. Why is it significant that this message appears on our money?

8. How do the three words "cling", "confide", and "confidence" relate to trust?

9. How did Daniel and his three Hebrew friends express their trust in God when refusing to eat the king's meat?

10. How would you paraphrase the answer given by the three Hebrew men when faced with the threat of the furnace?

11. These men demonstrated their willingness to sacrifice everything in their declaration of devotion to worship and serve God. How was this reflected in the story of Jeff McMullen who played the role of "Ronald McDonald"?

12. What is the difference between faith in God and "blind faith"?

http://www.webedelic.com/church/trust.htm

[*~1Best~*]

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

The Wills of God: Deuteronomy 29:29
http://www.rbvincent.com/BibleStudies/willsofgod.htm



~~~


HOW GOD REVEALS HIS WILL

Men have learned to communicate with each other by means of language, signs, signals, symbols, gestures, expressions of the face, attitudes of the body, through characters, pictures, etc. They communicate even at a distance with the telephone, telegraph, heliograph, wireless telegraph, and other means. [Remember, this was written about 1910, (*smile*) ] Even the very intensity of feeling or desire is conveyed to others about them. That man is so sensitive to the will and desire of his fellow men, yet not sensitive to the will of God, and without comprehension of it is, to say the least, most unlikely. In fact, everything is favorable to God’s revealing his will to us, provided that we shall turn our attention towards finding what it may be.

The Method of Revelation

First, his will is revealed to the reason, through nature. Paul said, “That which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them; for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead” (Rom. 1:19, 20). The Psalmist tells us that “the heavens declare the glory of God.” We observe the things that are. We see them constantly changing. We inquire of their origin. We see forces working in an orderly way, and our reason tells us that “the heavens declare the glory of God.” We observe the things that are. We see them constantly changing. We inquire of their origin. We see forces working in an orderly way, and our reason tells us that there must be an intelligent control over all these things. We consider the immensity of space, and the mighty forces that are working, and so realize the greatness of the controlling power. The silent, solemn majesty and grandeur of the starry heavens declare to us the majesty of the God who made and regulates them. Again we see design in creation, and this clearly points out to us wisdom and intent in God. We see God’s benevolence in the gentle dew, the rain, the sunshine. Every piece of iron, every lump of clay, and every provision in nature for the good or happiness of man and the other creatures, testifies to the greatness and to the character of God. What we find within ourselves is a revelation of God’s character; hence, a revelation of his will. There is also direct personal revelation of his will to our reason. God has a way if impressing upon the human intelligence a knowledge of his will. He does this in various ways, which will be referred to further on.

Second, God reveals himself to the conscience. Paul, speaking of this, said, “When the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, there have not the law, are a law unto themselves: which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another” (Rom. 2:14-15). That inner light “which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” leaves its impression on the conscience of every soul. All who have arrived at reasoning age are morally conscious of good or ill desert belonging to themselves. They have a consciousness of moral quality in their actions. Their conscience approves or disapproves of their conduct. When conscience and reason operate together, they reveal much of God and his will. To be sure, the conscience may be seared so that it feels very little, or it may be perverted through wrong teaching until it is not a safe guide. But the un-perverted conscience teaches us much of God’s will, by revealing to us the natural principles of righteousness in our inner consciousness.

God works upon the conscience to arouse and quicken it. At such a time it becomes uneasy, restless, and troubled. This quickens the attention of the intellect, and directs it to a consideration of the moral questions involved in the conduct. The judgment of the intellect is then brought to bear. With attention and judgment brought to bear upon conduct, conscience quickens the more, and through this process God has the opportunity to reveal his will. Sometimes the intellect deals with problems of right and wrong, and of our relations with God, from an abstract standpoint. We arrive at a conclusion with the same methods that we arrive at other conclusions. But sometimes we know things without waiting for our minds to reach a conclusion through such a process.

Revelation has two sides. There is “the light and the eye, the voice and the ear, the characters and the understanding.” We must supply the “seeing eye”, the “hearing ear”, and the “understanding intellect”, and apply ourselves to know the Word of God, if we shall know the will of God.

Revelation Through the Spirit

Jesus promised that when the Holy Spirit was given he should guide us into all truth. This applies to the direct action of the Holy Spirit, which makes things known to our intelligence. This revelation of truth is gradual, never reaching the ultimate of knowledge in this life, but still we are not left as some, “ever learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Christ led his apostles on step by step into the truth. We may expect to be led in the same way. As the bud gradually opens to our understanding, until finally, in the world to come, we shall “know even as we are known.” When we become spiritual through the process of regeneration, we have a spiritual understanding, a comprehension of which is greatly quickened. The Bible truly becomes a new book to us. There are many gleams of light which shine out from its pages where before, perhaps, we saw only darkness and obscurity.

The regenerated mind looks at truth from a new standpoint, a sympathetic, understanding stand point. It has a new view of truth, and an attitude toward truth that makes the revelation of truth and the understanding of truth far easier than before. Thus, it happens that ignorant and unlearned people are often wiser in spiritual matters than many of the learned. The wicked, generally speaking, know not God. They have no true apprehension of him or his will. This is largely because they have no desire to know him, unless it be as a matter of philosophy, from which is detached all sense of personal obligation to truth and to the God of truth. They feel a wholly impersonal relation to truth and to the will of God. They look upon it much as they would ancient history or chemical affinity. As long as people hold this impersonal attitude toward God and truth, they can never learn as the Christian learns, nor know as the Christian knows. Their method is wrong; therefore, their results are likely to be wrong. What they know of God is merely an abstraction. By the methods they have adopted, they can never learn of the real God or know him as he is It may also be noted that such persons have only a limited capacity to know, for spiritual things must be spiritually discerned. Young converts sometimes know far more concerning God than do some theological professors. They have not more theoretical knowledge, but more true and actual knowledge. The eyes of the understanding must be enlightened by the Holy Spirit. We must be able to compare spiritual things with spiritual. The unrighteous are not able to do this. Lack of spirituality makes the eyes dim, and the ears dull of hearing. Being religious does not insure that one has a correct knowledge of God, because formality often obscures light. This is clearly illustrated by the Jews. They had obscured the truth with their traditions. Their forms and ceremonies had come to mean more to them than the principles of righteousness. When the great light of truth burst in upon them, at the coming of Jesus Christ, their eyes were not able to see, nor their ears to hear. Instead of being enlightened, they went into greater darkness. This has been frequently paralleled in modern times. How many there are who are “wise in their own conceits,” but ignorant in reality! Scientific and technical language is often a jargon of confusion to the ignorant, but perfectly clear to others. So the Scriptures often present to the unspiritual mind only a maze of conflicting statements. The more people with such minds search the Scriptures, the greater their confusion; while the enlightened soul, illuminated by the Spirit of God guided into the truth, finds the Scriptures plain, simple, understandable, and corresponding with its needs.

There are times when the Holy Spirit especially illuminates the reason, and great floods of truth seem to flow into the soul. The Spirit searches the deep things of God, and throws them before the mind as a picture is thrown upon a screen. Many times Scripture texts which seemingly have been without meaning, or imperfectly understood, are opened up and a world of meaning is then seen in them. Often, in time of need, texts of Scripture are brought to the mind that relate to the need and flood us with light. Often the Spirit takes a text of Scripture and gives it a special application to the present need, so making it a vehicle of revelation, even where the text itself has no direct reference to the thing revealed.

Sometimes God has spoken with audible voice, as when he said to the multitude, “This is my beloved Son” (Matt. 17:5; 3:17; see also Isa. 6:8; Acts 9:4-7; Exod. 33:11). Sometimes he speaks words direct into the mind. They are clearly audible to the inner ear, yet inaudible to those about us. Nevertheless, there is a consciousness that it is the voice of God which speaks. At other times God suddenly flashes a great light upon our duties, or upon our privileges, pointing them out to us as we never had seen them before. We may become conscious of God’s will very definitely without any realization of mental action. This may come suddenly, as through a great spiritual illumination, or it may come gradually through a growing conviction. Many tell us that these things are only the results of the working of the subconscious mind. While God can, and no doubt often does, use the subconscious mind to work out his purpose, he is not confined to any such method, but can, and often does, work entirely apart from it, or he may direct its operations. In any case, it is the fact, not the method, which is important. That we have a real knowledge of God’s will is the vital thing. The process of our learning it is of little consequence.

The Spirit often uses us, if we are submitted to the will of God, far beyond our knowledge. My own experience in this matter is, no doubt, the experience of many of my readers. I have preached many things that I did not know, and have been astonished at the truths that flowed from my lips, under the anointing of the Spirit of God. Things that have always been mysterious to me, I have found myself explaining with the greatest clearness without being conscious of having reasoned them out. There is no telling what God will do for or through a soul that belongs to him! We need not be surprised at any of the manifold workings of God’s Spirit, but may confidently rely upon God to fulfill our every need. The Spirit of God is not dead---he is working in the same way that he did in years gone by. He is using the same methods of revelation. Those who walk close with God may hear his voice speaking in their hearts, when he sees there is need to speak. They may have their minds enlightened, and illuminated, and may know the truth that makes them free.

Other Means of Revelation

God also reveals truth through human instrumentality. There are some who think that all revelations of the will of God must come direct from God, either through his Word or through his Spirit. This is not the case, however. God used human instrumentality to give us the entire Bible. He has set some in the body to be teachers, preachers, prophets, etc., and these all must fulfill their duty. It is our duty, and our privilege, to be taught by them. We may learn the will of God through public or private teaching, in conversation, and sometimes through mere casual remarks that perhaps the person making them had no thought of giving as instruction to us, but they are used by the Spirit to reveal God.

His will is also revealed through his providences. Many times circumstances point out duty and reveal God’s will. God opens the way before us, or he hedges up the way. He provides opportunities. He, at times acts directly in natural or spiritual things, and by his providence he often throws a flood of light upon his will for the soul who is searching to know it.

He also makes himself know through the love that he sheds abroad in our hearts. Love for God in us, reveals him, for love instinctively understands. Mother-love often knows the desire of the child before that desire is put into words; so love to God often instinctively knows the will of God. The more we love God, the more likely we are to understand his will, and the easier it is for him to reveal himself to us.

Most of us, no doubt, might have a better knowledge of the will of God if our hearts were wider open to him, if we sought more earnestly to know his will, if we so yielded ourselves to him and so sought his spiritual guidance as to give opportunity for him to increase our spiritual understanding and to make us know the deep things of God. Too many of us remain children in understanding. There are many things we cannot tell children, for they cannot comprehend them. There are many things we must put into a child’s language, in order that he might understand. This language is all too inadequate to convey the full truth. So many times God can only reveal his will partially to us, because of our defective understanding. It is his will that our understanding be developed until it will be able to comprehend the heights and depths of truth, until we shall be “filled with the knowledge of God.” We know the difficulties in trying to explain some complex thing to a child. Spiritual truth is complex, because principles are interwoven, but it can be made clear to the spiritual understanding. Those who put away childish things and who grow up into Christ, those who compare spiritual things with spiritual, those who dwell in the illuminating presence of the Spirit, have opened before them the realm of truth and are bidden to explore it as they will. They are provided with a Guide to direct them on their way, and to make them understand the truth as they explore it. Thus the simple-hearted, spiritual child of God may so know God’s will that he rests in full assurance and peace of soul.


http://www.whatistruth.info/story3/4story6.html

[*~1Best~*]

Proverbs

The authorship of Proverbs has not been easy to determine.

Solomon’s name appears in Proverbs 1:1, "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, King of Israel", although this does not necessarily mean that he was the author. It was often the custom to place the name of the King or someone of prominence in writings in order to honour them, or to give those writings more prestige. However, Solomon is often mentioned as someone who has extensive wisdom in the Bible as well as in extra-biblical literature. In 1 Kings 4:29-34 3000 proverbs and over 1000 songs are said to have come from Solomon. It is also said that people came from all over to hear the wisdom of Solomon. The general assumption is that Solomon was a part of the authorship to some extent, but that the book was not solely his work. There are also names linked to other sections of the book, as well as elements of disunity within the book that suggest more than one author. Some of the authorship is attributed to "Men of Hezekiah", though it is stated that they simply transcribed the proverbs rather than writing them of their own accord.

~~~

Freemasonry is a fraternal organization. Arising from obscure origins (theorized to be anywhere from the time of the building of King Solomon's Temple to the mid-1600s), it now exists in various forms all over the world, and claims millions of members. All of these various forms share moral and metaphysical ideals, which include in most cases a constitutional declaration of belief in a Supreme Being.[1]

The fraternity is administratively organized into Grand Lodges (or sometimes Orients) that each govern their own jurisdiction, which consists of subordinate (or constituent) Lodges. Grand Lodges recognize each other through a process of landmarks and regularity. There are also appendant bodies, which are organizations related to the main branch of Freemasonry, but with their own independent administration.

Freemasonry uses the metaphors of operative stonemasons' tools and implements, against the allegorical backdrop of the building of King Solomon's Temple, to convey what is most generally defined as "a system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols."[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Proverbs

[*~1Best~*]

CNBC and other media hypers... penetrading to universities and every home...

Latest phrase, "Financial Terror" is worse than "Terrorist attacks".



~~~

Yes, CNBC was promoting "Financial Terror" yesterday, after a few weeks of subprime drama.

Financial terror from subprime is worse than terroristic attacks.


It is not just this country, but it is world wide that big money is scooping all the money in the world to get richier and to promote power....


It is all about money & power.

[*~1Best~*]

God’s Creation: It Declares His Glory - Genesis 1:1 is the very first verse in the Bible and lays a foundation for the rest of the scriptures. The heavens declare His glory and everything was created at His command. (Psalm 19:1, 148:3-5) We understand these things by simple faith. (Hebrews 11:3) Jesus Christ was there at the beginning and He is the creator of all things. (Genesis 1:1, Genesis 1:26-27, Isaiah 44:24, John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:16, Hebrews 1:8-10) Jesus Christ became flesh and blood and walked on the very same ground that the rest of humanity walked upon (John 1:14) and eventually returned to the glory that He shared with His Father. ( John 17:4-5) The Bible tells us that the whole earth needs to fear the Lord. (Psalm 33:6-9)



God’s Creation: Show His Existence And Our Responsibility To Him - The Bible tells us that the wrath of God is upon all people who deny the existence of God, because they suppress the truth in their own unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18-20) When mankind refuses to give God the glory and thanks that are due Him, their heart becomes spiritually darkened and, according to the scriptures, they become foolish. The scriptures tell us that there will be no excuse for anyone because God has revealed Himself even in His creation. The visible creation is a testimony to the invisible eternal God! The downward spiral continues for the unrepentant sinner. Many will turn to the worship of animals or to the worship of created mankind (man or woman), thus creating their own “gods” and often making “graven images” of them. They end up exchanging the truth of God for a lie. (Romans 1:20-25) This is why the Lord gave commandments to His people to set them free from such idolatry. (Exodus 20:4-6) The Lord of Israel is the very same Jesus Christ, the Word of God, who created all things (Isaiah 45:11-12, John 1:1-3) and we need to stand still and consider His wondrous works. (Job 37:14-20)

http://www.riseupandpreach.com/creationwp.htm


It's TOTAL Eclipse...


Watch a virtual eclipse
Posted: Monday, August 27, 2007 9:03 PM by Alan Boyle
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20425640/

EPA
CLICK IMAGE FOR GUIDE
The full moon can turn red
during a total eclipse, as
seen in this March 2007
view from Macedonia.

Most Americans didn't get a chance to see the year's first total lunar eclipse back in March - but we're in a much better position for the year’s second lunar eclipse, taking place in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

On the East Coast, the moon could be close to setting just when the show is getting good, with totality beginning at 5:52 a.m. ET. The timing is somewhat better for the West Coast, where the eclipse will play out during the middle of the night. But even if you're outside the prime eclipse zone, or clouds get in the way, don't despair: You can get a taste of totality by tuning in real-time Webcasts from around the world. And if you sleep through the whole eclipse, you can still catch the replays in the morning.


http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/08/27/335236.aspx

[*~1Best~*]

"This is the day the Lord has made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it." PSALMS 118:24

[*~1Best~*]

In search of God's blessing

After all we have meditated in this work we see how God has blessed his creation, he has blessed some holy men and women put aside for his plan of salvation, he continues to bless us daily with all his gifts.

In return we must come to him daily to obtain his blessings, we must bless him back and we must become a blessing for all our brothers and sisters. We may find great inspiration in the psalms and in the song of the three young men.

We must have great faith in Jesus who is the way to the Father, the Lord of our Salvation. We must thank God and praise Him for his Omnipotence, his Wisdom and His unconditional Love and Mercy. We must rejoice whenever we come to meet him in our prayers, we must ask him to shine his light upon us and to forgive us our sins, we must ask him to favour us with his grace and blessings. God is our healing and sanctification.

When we come before God we must annihilate ourselves in true humility, our objective must not be to come with a list of petitions to be answered, we must come full of praise and thanksgiving, we must simply put our selves before Him silently as he has taught us : Be still and know that I am the Lord your God. (Psalm 46:10)

Let us seek God just because He is God and we need him so much in order to love him with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our souls and with all our strength. Even though we may need so much from Him, let us simply come seeking his Kingdom within us and trusting that everything will be given unto us (Matthew 6:33).

As we come before him we must leave all our material world behind, we must allow our spirits to come forth in order to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:23).

We must desire to be with God, our zeal must be very ardent as the fire of the seraphim who burn with desire of God, who cover their eyes in humility before his Presence, and their feet in order not to go away from Him, who fly in the spirit always before him, saying: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord our God, Heaven and earth are full of your Glory. (Isaiah 6:2-3)

Let us remember that whenever we come before God, we will always be blessed, Moses' face was always shining after he spoke with the Lord, Jacob wrestled with God until he obtained his blessing, you and me must pray ardently and ask the Lord to bless us, knowing that in our joy and peace is manifested the Presence of his Love.

When the three young men in the furnace started blessing and praising God, the angel of Lord came down to protect them and saved them from the blazing fire. When all those who were sick came with faith to trust in Jesus the Son of the Living God, they were healed according to their faith. When Paul and Silas were in prison, having their hands and feet bound in chains, they did not despair but at midnight they started singing praises to God, they blessed him and trusted in Him, there was an earthquake and their chains were removed, they were set free. (Acts 16:23-27).

It is a privilege to be a Catholic because we are blessed also in the Sacraments. The seven Sacraments of Baptism, Confession, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Matrimony, Anointing of the sick, and Holy Orders are real encounters with God's blessing. They mean much more to us when we come reverently to receive them in faith and humility. To come to God in our prayers is also an encounter that will derive great blessings in accordance to our faith.

So with great faith, let us come before God to receive His blessing, full of confidence in His infinite Mercy. God is rich in blessings, he is waiting for our visit.

By guidance of the Holy Spirit, I have written this prayer which I do daily in intimate moments of conversation with the Lord. I experience his blessing in a physical and spiritual way. During my moments of praise I experience sighs and moans, cries and sometimes my entire body jumps with joy as if I had an electric shock in my heart. I urge you my dear friend in Christ to take advantage of the great blessings that God has in store for everyone of us:


Bless me, O Lord


Heavenly Father, Almighty God.

I humble myself before your Presence. What a joy it is to come to you.

I thank you and I praise for your infinite Majesty, Omnipotence and Perfections.

Please forgive me all my sins.

Lord I come to you in my nothingness.

I want to worship you and adore you, to love you with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul and with all my strength.

I want to burn with desire for you like an angel.

I need you my Lord, I am nothing without you.

I ask you to raise me before your Glory.

Shine your light upon me, allow me to walk with you and always do your Holy Will , protect me and bless me O Merciful Lord.

Fill me with your Holy Spirit, grant me peace, love and joy. Heal me, bless me and sanctify me O Lord; make me a blessing for all those around me.

Amen.

http://www.theworkofgod.org/LIBRARY/Joseph/Bless9.htm

http://www.andiesisle.com/Blessings.html

[*~1Best~*]

The Divine Praises

This prayer of praise is used by the Church especially during the time spent before the Blessed Sacrament prior to Benediction by the priest. It may be used anytime, in fact it should be used frequently since it is an acclamation of our Catholic faith.

Blessed be God.
Blessed be His Holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus.
Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be His Most Precious Blood.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most Holy.
Blessed be her Holy and Immaculate Conception.
Blessed be her Glorious Assumption.
Blessed be the Name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse.
Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints.

The Gloria

(Hymn of Praise. This is usually prayed in the beginning of the Holy Mass on Sundays, Church feasts and the octave after Christmas and after Easter. However, this should be the first prayer we should pray every day when we wake up.)

Glory to God in the Highest,
and Peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your Glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father,
receive our prayer.
for you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

[*~1Best~*]

David blesses God


1 Chronicles 29:10- (Paralipomenon)

10 And he blessed the Lord before all the multitude, and he said: Blessed are You, O Lord the God of Israel, our father from eternity to eternity.

11 Yours, O Lord, is magnificence, and power, and glory, and victory: and to You is praise: for all that is in heaven, and in earth, is yours: yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are above all princes.

12 Yours are riches, and yours is glory, you have dominion over all, in your hand is power and might: in your hand greatness, and the empire of all things.

13 Now therefore our God we give thanks to you, and we praise your glorious name.

20 And David commanded all the assembly: Bless you the Lord our God. And all the assembly blessed the Lord the God of their fathers: and they bowed themselves and worshipped God, and then the king

David blesses the Lord - Psalms

1:1 Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of pestilence.

2:13 When his wrath shall be kindled in a short time, blessed are all they that trust in him.

3:9 Salvation is of the Lord: and your blessing is upon your people

5:13 For you will bless the just. O Lord, you have crowned us, as with a shield of your good will.

16:7 I will bless the Lord, who has given me understanding: moreover my reins also have corrected me even till night.

17:47 The Lord lives, and blessed be my God, and let the God of my salvation be exalted

21:7 For you shall give him to be a blessing for ever and ever: you shall make him joyful in gladness with your countenance.

24:3-6 Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord: or who shall stand in his holy place?
4 The innocent in hands, and clean of heart, who has not taken his soul in vain, nor sworn deceitfully to his neighbour.

5 He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his Saviour.

6 This is the generation of them that seek him, of them that seek the face of the God of Jacob.

26:12 My foot has stood in the direct way: in the churches I will bless you, O Lord.

28:6 Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the voice of my supplication.

28:9 Save, O Lord, your people, and bless your inheritance: and rule them and exalt them for ever.

29:10 The Lord makes the hood to dwell: and the Lord shall sit king for ever. The Lord will give
strength to his people: the Lord will bless his people with peace.

31:22 Blessed be the Lord, for he has shown his wonderful mercy to me in a fortified city.

32:1-2
1 To David himself, understanding. Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord has not imputed sin, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord: the people whom he has chosen for his inheritance.

34:2 I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall be always in my mouth.

35:9 9 O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet: blessed is the man that hopes in him.

37:22 For such as bless him shall inherit the land : but such as curse him shall perish.

40:5 Blessed is the man whose trust is in the name of the Lord; and who has not had regard to vanities, and lying follies.

41:2 Blessed is he that understands concerning the needy and the poor : the Lord will deliver him in the evil day.

41:3 The Lord preserves him and gives him life, and makes him blessed upon the earth : and delivers him not up to the will of his enemies.

41:14 Blessed by the Lord the God of Israel from eternity to eternity. So be it. So be it.

45:3 You are beautiful above the sons of men: grace is poured abroad in your lips; therefore has God blessed you for ever (Jesus)

63:5 Thus will I bless you all my life long: and in your name I will lift up my hands.

65:5-6 Blessed is he whom you have chosen and taken to you: he shall dwell in your courts. We shall be filled with the good things of your house; holy is your temple,
6 wonderful in justice. Hear us, O God our saviour, who are the hope of all the ends of the earth, and in the sea afar off.

66:8 O bless our God, you Gentiles: and make the voice of his praise to be heard.

66:20 Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

67:2 May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may he cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.

67:7 the earth has yielded her fruit. May God, our God bless us,

67:8 may God bless us: and all the ends of the earth fear him.

68:20 Blessed be the Lord day by day: the God of our salvation will make our journey prosperous to us.

68:27 In the churches bless you God the Lord, from the fountains of Israel.

68:36 God is wonderful in his saints: the God of Israel is he who will give power and strength to his people. Blessed be God.

72:15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Arabia, for him they shall always adore: they shall bless him all the day.

72:17 Let his name be blessed for evermore : his name continues before the sun. And in him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed: all nations shall magnify him.

84:5 Blessed are they that dwell in your house, O Lord: they shall praise you for ever and ever.

84:8 For the lawgiver shall give a blessing, they shall go from virtue to virtue: the God of gods shall be seen in Sion.

84:9 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob.

84:13 He will not deprive of good things them that walk in innocence : O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusts in you.

85:2 Lord, you have blessed your land: you have turned away the captivity of Jacob.

89:16 blessed is the people that knows jubilation. They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance:
17 and in your name they shall rejoice all the day, and in your justice they shall be exalted.

89:53 Blessed be the Lord for evermore. So be it. So be it.

94:12 Blessed is the man whom you shall instruct, O Lord: and shall teach him out of your law.

96:2 Sing you to the Lord and bless his name: show forth his salvation from day to day.

103:1 For David himself. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and let all that is within me bless his holy name.

103:2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all he has done for you.

103:20 Bless the Lord, all you his angels: you that are mighty in strength, and execute his word, hearkening to the voice of his orders.

103:21 Bless the Lord, all you his hosts: you ministers of his that do his will.

103:22 Bless the Lord, all his works: in every place of his dominion, O my soul, bless you the Lord.

104:1 For David himself. Bless the Lord, O my soul: O Lord my God, you are exceedingly great. You have put on praise and beauty:

104:35 Let sinners be consumed out of the earth, and the unjust, so that they be no more: O my soul, bless you the Lord.

106:3 Blessed are they that keep judgment, and do justice at all times.

106:48 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say: So be it, so be it.

107:38 And he blessed them, and they were multiplied exceedingly: and their cattle he suffered not to decrease.

108:18 And he loved cursing, and it shall come unto him: and he would not have blessing, and it shall be far from him. And he put on cursing, like a garment: and it went in like water into his entrails, and like oil in his bones.

109:28 They will curse and you will bless: let them that rise up against me be confounded: but your servant shall rejoice.

112:1 Blessed is the man that fears the Lord: he shall delight exceedingly in his commandments.

112:2 His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the righteous shall be blessed.

113:2 Blessed be the name of the Lord, from henceforth now and for ever.

114:20-26
20 The Lord has been mindful of us, and has blessed us. He has blessed the house of Israel: he has blessed the house of Aaron.

21 He has blessed all that fear the Lord, both little and great.

22 May the Lord add blessings upon you: upon you, and upon your children.

23 Blessed be you of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

24 The heaven of heaven is the Lord's: but the earth he has given to the children of men.

25 The dead shall not praise you, O Lord: nor any of them that go down to hell.

26 But we that live bless the Lord: from this time now and for ever.

118:26 Blessed be he that comes in the name Lord. We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.

119:1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.

119:2 Blessed are they who search his testimonies: that seek him with their whole heart.

119:12 Blessed are you, O Lord: teach me your justifications.

124:6 Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us to be a prey to their teeth.

127:5 Blessed is the man that has filled the desire with them; he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate.

Ps 128
1 Blessed are all they that fear the Lord: that walk in his ways.

2 For you shall eat the labours of your hands: blessed are you, and it shall be well with you.

3 Your wife as a fruitful vine, on the sides of your house.

4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that fears the Lord.

5 May the Lord bless you out of Sion: and may you see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of your life.

6 And may you see your children's children, peace upon Israel.

Psalm 134

1 Behold now bless you the Lord, all you servants of the Lord: Who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.

2 In the nights lift up your hands to the holy places, and bless you the Lord.

3 May the Lord out of Sion bless you, he that made heaven and earth.

135:19 Bless the Lord, O house of Israel: bless the Lord, O house of Aaron.

135:20 Bless the Lord, O house of Levi: you that fear the Lord, bless the Lord.

135:21 Blessed be the Lord out of Sion, who dwell in Jerusalem

145:1 I will extol you, O God my king: and I will bless your name for ever; yea, for ever and ever.

145:2 Every day I will bless you: and I will praise your name for ever; yea, for ever and ever.

145:10 Let all your works, O Lord, praise you: and let your saints bless you.

145:16 you opened your hand, and filled with blessing every living creature.

145:21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless your holy name for ever; yea, for ever and ever.

146:5 Blessed is he who has the God of Jacob for his helper, whose hope is in the Lord his God:

148:13 Because he has strengthened the bolts of your gates, he has blessed your children within you.

http://www.theworkofgod.org/LIBRARY/Joseph/Bless5.htm

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Moses


After these times of plenty when the Israelites benefited so much from Pharaoh, there came a time when there were so many of them in the land, the Egyptians did not like them very much because they were foreigners, little by little they made them slaves until the time when they even sent an order to kill all the male babies born to the Israelites. Moses was saved by being put in a basket, which floated on the river, at that time the daughter of the Pharaoh saw the baby and she decided to raise him as her own son.

Moses became great before the Egyptians and then was chosen by God to deliver the Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians. He was the first great blessing for the people of God, as a deliverer he prefigures Christ in many ways.

The Passover meal, great blessing

Pharaoh hardened his heart even tough the Lord sent seven plagues on Egypt. But the last punishment on the Egyptians came as the slaughtering of all the first born males both Egyptians or slaves, including Pharaoh's first born son.

The Lord instructed Moses to celebrate a Passover Meal which would protect anyone following his instructions. Every family had to slaughter a one year old lamb, without blemish. They had to separate the blood from the flesh, they had to roast the flesh and eat it with unleavened bread. They had to take some blood and put it on the doorposts and the lintel of their houses. When the angel of the Lord came he spared the houses of those who followed the Lord's instructions, but killed the firstborn in every house without the blood marks.

This great blessing of the Lord for the Israelites is a symbol of the great blessing that we have in the true lamb of God (John 1:29) who takes away the sins of the Lord, whose flesh and blood we have to eat and drink (John 6:53) in order to be spared from the anger of God, because our sins will be forgiven in Him who has the power to save. In the Old Testament sacrifices of animals were offered to God for the forgiveness of sins, in the New Testament, God the Son becomes the Altar, the Victim and the Sacrifice that is pleasing to God for the forgiveness of our sins.

Moses and the Israelites crossed the red sea by the power of God who caused the waters to be divided making way for the Israelites. All Pharao's army was destroyed that day by the Lord.

The crossing of the Red Sea

After eating the Passover meal, the Israelites were free to leave Egypt under the guidance of Moses. Moses was given power from God to lead and to command the elements. As they came to the Red sea, the Lord instructed Moses to extend his road over the waters and they divided, so that the people of God could cross on dry land, after they had crossed, the Egyptians followed them, but the Lord allowed them to go between the two walls of water, then when the whole army of Pharaoh was there the Lord instructed Moses to stretch his hand, at that moment the waters returned to their place and killed all the soldiers and horses of Pharao's army.

That day Israel was blessed with the gift of freedom and the knowledge that the Lord was with them and their servant Moses.

The priestly blessing

Aaron and his sons were priests of God appointed by Moses,
Numbers 6:22-27

22 The LORD said to Moses,
23 "Say to Aaron and his sons, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
24 The LORD bless you and keep you:

25 The LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you:

26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

27 "So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."

This blessing was to be continued by all priests and servants of God, we may use it too since we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, so that we may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9).

Perhaps people don't bless anymore because we have lost the true faith, once upon a time everyone who passed by a Church used to make the sign of the cross. Nowadays, many Catholics are ashamed of blessing themselves in public, the custom of the parents blessing the children is disappearing and we certainly don't know what we are missing by not blessing ourselves and others.

God blesses obedience

Moses said to the people:

Deuteronomy 7:11-16

You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which I command you this day.
12 "And because you hearken to these ordinances, and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love which he swore to your fathers to keep;
13 he will love you, bless you, and multiply you; he will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the young of your flock, in the land which he swore to your fathers to give you.
14 You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.
15 And the LORD will take away from you all sickness; and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict upon you, but he will lay them upon all who hate you.
16 And you shall destroy all the peoples that the LORD your God will give over to you, your eye shall not pity them; neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.

God's choice: blessing or curse

Deuteronomy 30:16-20

16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you this day, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to take possession of it.
17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them,
18 I declare to you this day, that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land which you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live,
20 loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him; for that means life to you and length of days, that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."

God blesses charity

18 but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.
19 "When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow; that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.
21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.
22 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.

Blessing of Moses before his death

1 This is the blessing, wherewith the man of God Moses blessed the children of Israel, before his death.

2 And he said: The Lord came from Sinai, and from Seir he rose up to us: he has appeared from mount Pharan, and with him thousands of saints. In his right hand a fiery law.

3 He has loved the people, all the saints are in his hand: and they that approach to his feet, shall receive of his doctrine.

4 Moses commanded us a law, the inheritance of the multitude of Jacob.

5 He shall be king with the most right, the princes of the people being assembled with the tribes of Israel.

6 Let Ruben live, and not die, and be he small in number.

7 This is the blessing of Judd. Hear, O Lord, the voice of Juda, and bring him in unto his people : his hands shall fight for him, and he shall be his helper against his enemies.

8 To Levi also he said: your perfection, and your doctrine be to your holy man, whom you hast proved in the temptation, and judged at the waters of contradiction :

9 Who has said to his father, and to his mother: I do not know you; and to his brethren: I know you not: and their own children they have not known. These have kept your word, and observed your covenant,

10 your judgments, O Jacob, and your law, O Israel: they shall put incense in your wrath and holocaust upon your altar.

11 Bless, O Lord, his strength, and receive the works of his hands. Strike the backs of his enemies, and let not them that hate him rise.

12 And to Benjamin he said: The best beloved of the Lord shall dwell confidently in him: as in a bride chamber shall he abide all the day long, and between his shoulders shall be rest.

13 To Joseph also he said: Of the blessing of the Lord be his land, of the fruits of heaven, and of the dew, and of the deep that lies beneath.

14 Of the fruits brought forth by the sun and by the moon.

15 Of the tops of the ancient mountains, of the fruits of the everlasting hills:

16 And of the fruits of the earth, and of the fullness thereof. The blessing of him that appeared in the bush, come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.

17 His beauty as of the firstling of a bullock, his horns as the horns of a rhinoceros: with them shall he push the nations even to the ends of the earth These are the multitudes of Ephraim and these the thousands of Manasses.

18 And to Zabulon he said: Rejoice, O Zabulon, in your going out; and Issachar in your tabernacles.

19 They shall call the people to the mountain: there shall they sacrifice the victims of justice. Who shall suck as milk the abundance of the sea, and the hidden treasures of the sands.

20 And to Gad he said: Blessed be Gad in his breadth: he has rested as a lion, and has seized upon the arm and the top of the head.

21 And he saw his pre-eminence, that in his portion the teacher was laid up: who was with the princes of the people, and did the justices of the Lord, and his judgment with Israel.

22 To Dan also he said: Dan is a young lion, he shall flow plentifully from Basan.

23 And to Nephtali he said: Nephtali shall enjoy abundance, and shall be full of the blessings of the Lord: he shall possess the sea and the south.

24 To Aser also he said: Let Aser be blessed with children, let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.

25 His shoe shall be iron and brass. As the days of your youth, so also shall your old age be.

26 There is no other God like the God of the righteous: he that is mounted upon the heaven is your helper. By his magnificence the clouds run hither and thither.

27 His dwelling is above, and underneath are the everlasting arms: he shall cast out the enemy from before you, and shall say: Be you brought to nought.

28 Israel shall dwell in safety, and alone. The eye of Jacob in a land of corn and wine, and the heavens shall be misty with dew.

29 Blessed are you, Israel: who is like to you, O people, that art saved by the Lord? the shield of your help, and the sword of your glory: your enemies shall deny you, and you shall tread upon their necks.

Moses received the ten commandments from the Lord and instructed the Isarelites to obey them. He anointed Joshua son of Nun to continue his mission to direct the people of God.

http://www.theworkofgod.org/LIBRARY/Joseph/Bless4.htm

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Blessings on Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

Genesis 14:18-19 King Melchizedek of Salem blesses Abram with God's blessing.

Genesis 22:17 Because Abraham obeyed God's voice, he was blessed by becoming the father of many nations, his blessing was promised to all his descendants as well.

Genesis 24:35 Abraham was blessed in many ways, including being very wealthy.

Genesis 25:11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac.

Genesis 26:12-13
12 Isaac sowed seed in that land, and in the same year reaped a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him,
13 and the man became rich; he prospered more and more until he became very wealthy.
14 He had possessions of flocks and herds, and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him.

Genesis 27:27-29 Isaac blesses his son Jacob

27 So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, "Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed.
28 May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine.
29 Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!"

Second blessing:

Genesis 28:1-4

1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, "You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women.
2 Go at once to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father; and take as wife from there one of the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother.
3 May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and numerous, that you may become a company of peoples.
4 May he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien -- land that God gave to Abraham."

Jacob wrestles with God to obtain a blessing

Jacob is blessed by God before he meets his brother Esau who hates him to death because he took away his blessing deceitfully from his father.

Genesis 32:24-30
24 Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
26 Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me."
27 So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."
28 Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed."
29 Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him.
30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved."

Genesis 35:9-15
God appears to Jacob again

9 God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and he blessed him.
10 God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; no longer shall you be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name." So he was called Israel.
11 God said to him, "I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall spring from you.
12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you."
13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had spoken with him.
14 Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured out a drink offering on it, and poured oil on it.
15 So Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

The blessings on Joseph

Joseph was the youngest son of Jacob, he won the favour of his father and because of this he was hated by his brothers. He was sold to some Ismaelites on the way to Egypt. Joseph ended up in the house of one of Pharao's officials and became highly appreciated by Pharaoh because he was a very wise man and he could interpret dreams.

Genesis 39:4
Joseph is favored with the blessing of the Lord

5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had, in house and field.
6 So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge; and, with him there, he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate.

There was a time of great famine in the land, Judah son of Jacob, went to Egypt to get some food. Joseph was the person in charge of the food supplies, when they came to ask for food Joseph recognized them, but they did not, so he asked them to bring their father and their younger brother. They were very confused about it because they did not know the whereabouts of Joseph. He revealed his identity to them later and forgave them, he asked them to bring his father before him.

They did so, then Joseph was reunited with his family. Jacob, Joseph's father whose name was changed to Israel, blessed Pharaoh, and his blessing was upon the land of Egypt.

Jacob blesses his twelve sons

Before Jacob died, he summoned his twelve sons to appear before him and he blessed each one of them with a suitable blessing, he told them that they were the great people of God, the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel.

This is what he said to them:
Genesis 24:25-28
25 by the God of your father, who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father are stronger than the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills; may they be on the head of Joseph, on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey, and at evening dividing the spoil."

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God blesses his creation


(Genesis 1:22) God blesses the seventh day, because he rested from the work he had done in creation.

It was at the moment of contemplation, a moment of triumph and joy that God blessed his creation, at the end of each day, when he finished His work, God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good, (Genesis 1:31).

By His act of approval and contentment, God blessed everything that He created, until finally at the end of creation He created man and woman in His own image, then He blessed them, desiring for them the best He could offer them in creation.

God curses man's disobedience

Man was created to know, love and serve God, to bless Him and thank Him daily for the abundance of His blessings. Man was immortal in body and soul by God's promise, He was pure and holy in the image of God, sin had not come into the world, until that day when Adam and Eve sinned by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. At the suggestion of the tempter, they didn't trust God anymore and they listened to that serpent who was promising that they would become like God. He lied by saying that if they would eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree they would not die as God had said, and that their eyes would be opened and they would have wisdom as God. In other words, the devil made them despise the blessings that God had offered them and enticed them to commit the sin of pride and arrogance which is the beginning of all other sins.

Sin was attractive to man and in his weakness he fell, not only to lose the life of his body, but to risk the loss eternal life by being condemned in hell.

God was very angry and he cursed man and the serpent. To man He said: "You are dust and to dust you shall return" by this command, we, all the children of Adam have to experience old age, desease, sufferings and death.

Many of the blessings that God had bestowed upon creation were taken away. Man would have to work in order to survive, it became difficult for man to till the earth, thorns and thistles sprang up, many of the friendly animals God created turned wild and dangerous, the weather became also another scourge for man. The doors of Paradise were locked and man was thrown out into the world of today which is full of difficulties.

God in his mercy allowed man to come back to him through repentance in order to obtain His blessings, first of all by His forgiveness and then by experiencing His faithful love.

The consequences of the fall of man continue to be our daily scourge, and we must come to the Lord to experience His forgiveness and to partake in the blessings that He has in store for all those who repent and come back to Him.

With tears and pain we are born, with tears and pain we die, part of our daily bread is the bread of suffering which is the curse God placed on creation because of the sin of disobedience.

But in the Mercy of God he placed in man's heart that need to come to Him, so that even tough we are sinners we may repent and obtain His grace and blessings. He has sent his Son into the world to undo the curse of Paradise by becoming Himself a curse for us on the cross. (Galatians 3:13). And God loved the world so much that He sent His only begotten Son into the world, so that anyone who believes in Him will not perish but inherit eternal life. (John 3:16).

Having the reassurance of God in our hearts, we are saved in Him, who has died for our sins. Christ is the great blessing of the Heavenly Father upon humanity so that we can be born again in Him, and inherit everlasting life and joy in Paradise.

God blesses his people

Enoch was one of the first men blessed by God, it is said that he walked with God and that he was no more because God took him (Genesis 5:24). He lived three hundred and sixty five years. One of his sons was Methuselah who was blessed with the longest life a human being has ever lived, nine hundred and sixty-nine years. Methuselah was the father of Lamech. When Lamech had lived one hundred eighty-two years, he became the father of a son; he named him Noah, saying, "Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the toil of our hands."

Blessing on Noah

Noah was a righteous man who walked with God (Genesis 6:8), at that time humanity was very corrupted and Lord regretted having created man.

Genesis 6:5-8
5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.
6 And the LORD was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
7 So the LORD said, "I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created -- people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."
8 But Noah found favor in the sight of the LORD.

The Lord spoke to Noah about his plan and instructed him to build an ark in which he would stay with his family during the time of the great flood that would come upon the earth. In it he was instructed to put all kinds of animal male and female. Noah did as the Lord commanded and the waters came and destroyed all the living creatures of earth. Noah remained safe inside the ark during one hundred and fifty days of the flood.

After the flood, the Lord blessed Noah and his family (Genesis 9:1), He said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

Noah received the first covenant from the Lord after the flood.

http://www.theworkofgod.org/LIBRARY/Joseph/Bless2.htm

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What is a blessing?



Everything that comes from God is a blessing, we are filled with constant graces from God in every thing that happens in our lives because all things are under the watch of the Divine Will. To seek God's blessing is to seek His care for us and that He will preserve us from falling into evil.

When we bless God, we are praising Him, we are hallowing his holy name. We are acknowledging that He is our creator, that He deserves our best. We come in an effort to offer something good to Him, and yet He does not need anything from us, on the contrary we need so much from Him and we obtain it when we glorify Him. The happiness and joy of God is reflected in the happiness and joy of his creation. God created us to be in paradise, to receive all his blessings.

To bless is to desire great happiness, joy, abundance and satisfaction in the name of God. As we praise God we wish the best for Him, we exalt Him and acknowledge His holiness. The result is the reaction of God to our prayers which is manifested in His blessing.

To every action there is always a reaction. If we talk to another human being we will receive a response, therefore when we come before God and empty our souls before him in prayer, we receive his holy response which is always a blessing.

No one comes empty handed from the Presence of God!

But blessings can also flow from ourselves to other people, we can bless ourselves in the name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we can bless others in the name of God or we can bless them from the goodness of our hearts wishing the best for them, we can wear blessed objects as a sign of seeking God's blessing and protection. A parent can bless his children with the parental love God has placed in the his or her heart and everybody should bless everybody around them even if they do it secretly in their hearts, since to bless is to call upon the great gift of God on ourselves and others.

Let us bless, in order to to invoke the blessing of God upon those we love. In fact let us even bless our enemies as our Lord recommends in order to be purified by the Love of our Heavenly Father.

The blessing can be a consecrated blessing as when it comes from a priest or it can be an invocation of God's goodness for ourselves, another person or for any situation. Nevertheless, a blessing carries something very special from the heart of God.

It is most important to seek God's blessings daily and to give them to others around us. As we receive all good things in our lives we must bless God for them.

It is a very good custom for parents to bless their children, we must bless all our benefactors and pray for them, we must even bless those who do evil to us so that the Lord will react to our blessing by sending graces to our enemies. We must bless when we wake up, when we have our meals, when we do our work, when we contact the people we love and when we finish our day.

When we bless we are allowing the good fruit stored in our souls to be shared by others. If we curse then we will prove that we have nothing good to give, since the Lord says that the tree is known by its fruit. (Luke 6:43-44 )

We must obtain God's blessings in order to become a fountain of blessings for others. Being children of God, the Lord will bless those that we bless.

http://www.theworkofgod.org/LIBRARY/Joseph/Bless1.htm#What%20is%20a%20blessing

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+++++ Blessings +++++


http://www.andiesisle.com/Blessings.html

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Thy Loving Kindness ............


C G7
Thy loving kindness is better than life
C
Thy loving kindness is better than life
C7 F
My lips shall praise Thee, Thus will I bless Thee
C G7 C
I will lift up my hands unto Thy Name

C G7
I lift my hands up unto Thy Name
C
I lift my hands up unto Thy Name
C7 F
My lips shall praise Thee, Thus will I bless Thee
C G7 C
I will lift up my hands unto Thy Name

http://www.higherpraise.com/choruses/thylovingkindness.htm

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Destined To Be Holy

’Be holy, for I am holy’ —1 Peter 1:16

We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God.

Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer.

Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.

http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php?month=09&day=01

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Baptism in the Holy Spirit

This document reflects commonly held beliefs based on scripture which have been endorsed by the church's Commission on Doctrinal Purity and the Executive Presbytery.

Why is the Assemblies of God so committed to the doctrine of the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues?

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a vital experience of the Christian life. It is a special work of the Spirit beyond salvation. On the Day of Pentecost, disciples who had already made a decision to follow Jesus "were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues" (Acts 2:4). Paul asked the Ephesians disciples if they had received the Holy Spirit, after which "the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues" (Acts 19:2). New Testament believers were constantly challenged to be filled with the Spirit (Acts 1:4,5; Ephesians 5:18). The Assemblies of God is committed to the baptism in the Holy Spirit because the experience is such an important focus of New Testament Christianity.

Though many non-Pentecostals teach a baptism in the Holy Spirit without speaking in tongues, the position of the Assemblies of God is clearly declared in Section 8 of its Statement of Fundamental Truths: "The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance (Acts 2:4)." The evidence always occurred (and still does today) at the time believers were baptized in the Spirit, not at some indeterminate future time.

Speaking in tongues is the only phenomenon mentioned every time Scripture supplies details concerning the Baptism experience. Of the five instances in Acts which recount the experience of believers being baptized in the Spirit, three supply details. Speaking in tongues is the only one that occurs each time (Acts 2, 10, 19). In the Acts 10 account, tongues is specifically mentioned as proof that "the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues" (Acts 10:45, 46). The relationship between the phenomenon and the experience cannot be ignored.

In the two cases where details are not supplied, circumstances strongly imply that speaking with other tongues accompanied the experience. In Acts 8 Simon saw something (most likely tongues) that prompted him to offer money for the power to impart such a gift. In Acts 9 Saul (who became Paul) is filled with the Spirit without the mention of any details. However, Paul later testified, "I speak in tongues more than all of you" (1 Corinthians 14:18). It is logical to conclude that he began speaking in tongues when he was baptized in the Holy Spirit.

We believe the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the initial physical evidence of speaking in other tongues is the promise of the Father to every Christian who desires the experience.

CONCERNS:

Pentecostals have a legitimate concern about those who oppose the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Opponents claim narrative portions of the Bible, like the Book of Acts, are not sufficient support for tongues as the initial evidence of the Baptism. But if critics can pick and choose the portions of Scripture to be given divine authenticity and authority, who then determines which portions are most meaningful? Certainly we must take to heart the words of Paul to Timothy, "All scripture is God breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16).

We also have a concern that some Pentecostals look on the Baptism and tongues as ends in themselves rather than as means to a much greater end. The Baptism is the entry experience introducing the believer to the beauty and power of the Spirit-filled life.

In the Assemblies of God we believe the Spirit is at work in all Christians, whether they have been baptized in the Spirit or not. God can also use and does use Christians who for one reason or another have not received the Baptism experience. We must never depreciate their ministry. Yet we recognize the baptism in the Holy Spirit will make one’s life and ministry even more effective.

So for every believer the command is sounded, "Be filled [Keep on being filled] with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18).

http://www.ag.org/top/Beliefs/gendoct_02_baptismhs.cfm

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What is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?


Question: "What is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?"

Answer: The case of "blasphemy against the Spirit" in the New Testament is mentioned in Mark 3:22-30 and in Matthew 12:22-32. The term blasphemy may be generally defined as "defiant irreverence." We would apply the term to such sins as cursing God, or willfully degrading things relating to God.

It is also attributing some evil to God, or denying Him some good that we should attribute to Him. This case of blasphemy, however, is a specific one, called "THE blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" in Matthew 12:31. In Matthew 12:31-32, the Pharisees, having witnessed irrefutable proof that Jesus was working miracles in the power of the Holy Spirit, claimed instead that the Lord was possessed by the demon "Beelzebub" (Matthew 12:24). Now notice that in Mark 3:30 Jesus is very specific about what exactly they did to commit "the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit."

This blasphemy has to do with someone accusing Jesus Christ of being demon-possessed instead of Spirit-filled. There are other ways to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, but this was "THE" unpardonable blasphemy. As a result, the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be duplicated today. Jesus Christ is not on earth. but seated at the right Hand of God. No one can witness Jesus Christ performing a miracle and then attribute that power to Satan instead of the Spirit. Although there is no blasphemy of the Spirit today, we should always keep in mind there is an unpardonable state of existence--the state of continued unbelief. There is no pardon for a person who dies in unbelief.

Continual rejection of the Holy Spirit’s promptings to trust in Jesus Christ is the unpardonable blasphemy. Remember what is stated in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life." The only condition when someone would have no forgiveness is if that someone is not among the "whoever believes in Him."


http://www.gotquestions.org/blasphemy-Holy-Spirit.html

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Forgiveness Acts 17:11

Opening Riddle: The Miracle of Forgiveness

Mark 2:7-11 (Wey) "Why does this man use such words?" they said; "He is blaspheming. Who can pardon sins but One--that is, God?"... Jesus asked them, "Which is easier?--to say to this paralytic, 'Your sins are pardoned,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your mat, and walk?' But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to pardon sins"--He turned to the paralytic, and said, "To you I say, 'Rise, take up your mat and go home.'"

Conditional Forgiveness

Mat 6:12 (TEB) "Forgive us the wrongs that we have done, as we forgive the wrongs others have done us."

Luke 6:37 (NIV) "...Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

Mat 6:14-15 (NIV) "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But, if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

# Assuming the teaching of Mat 6:15 and other such verses is understood and acknowledged as true, rather than emphasize the need to forgive in this Bible study--i.e., the law--we will instead look at five cheap substitutes or impediments to forgiveness, and then at what real forgiveness is, how to attain it, and how to remain in it. And we may find that forgiveness is more difficult, and more easy, than we first thought.

Sin Is Only Human...

# What is natural to "the flesh" (the carnal nature) when we have been hurt or abused or insulted is to strike back, to plot revenge, or to simmer in bitterness. This is "only human". But God requires forgiveness, else He will NOT forgive us. If we are unwilling--or unable--to forgive, then there is no use asking God for what He has told us He will not give. For believers, dealing with the sin of unforgiveness is first priority.

Mark 11:25 (NIV) "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

# As a way to test the veracity of the following points, let us consider forgiveness in the most radical sense we can. Think of something truly wicked that has been done to you or someone you love, not by accident or error but deliberately and with malice--where you have come right up against evil and the pain caused by it in your own emotions.

1) What Forgiveness Is Not: Play Acting For Show...

# Remember when as a child you were forced by some adult to "forgive" someone who was first forced to "say sorry" to you? Is this really repentance by the perpetrator... or forgiveness by the victim? Well, perhaps so--in a few rare cases. But let us be honest and acknowledge that this charade by children is more often a temporary cessation of hostilities for the sake of the grown-ups, with the full intent to do more of the same violence (and not get caught) and/or get revenge later--when beyond the adult's watchful eye.

# Adults force children through this ritual because strife in a family or group of kids is an unbearable pain; and they want to teach. Play-acting does give at least a temporary reprieve. But God's pain is more acute when He sees our strife with each other, and His solution aims a little deeper than mere words or mimicry or delay or coating over. For He is aiming not at hypocritical play-acting, but at truth from the inside out.

# This childish pantomime of "forgiveness" often carries into adulthood as a superficial substitute for the real thing. We think by "saying so", it is so. But is God fooled by such? Is there ever a place where we can escape His penetrating gaze? Does He not see the secret meditation of revenge or the bitter hatred behind the nice smile? Since when is He impressed with mere words when hearts do not match?

Mark 7:6 (Phi) Jesus replied, "You hypocrites, Isaiah described you beautifully when he wrote: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.' These teachings are but rules made by men."

2) Is Denial Forgiveness?

# The inability to really forgive is often due to a false concept that "forgetting is forgiving". Forgetting is NOT forgiving. To be sure, if we forgive we will forget as a result. But the reverse is not true: forgetting is not forgiving--it is denial.

Ps 51:6 (NAS) Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being...

# If we attempt to achieve a bogus forgiveness by deliberately putting "out of mind" the offense, we might be fooling ourselves and others that we have "forgiven". But all of the emotions and plots and hurt are still there--only held back by force of will in deliberated denial. But then we see "that person" again and all the bitterness and pain rise up again within us. Or, in the off moment--when such mental gymnastics cannot be maintained--we catch ourselves in an elaborate meditation of revenge or fit of rage and anger. Then we see just how deep and effective this sort of "forgiveness" is.

# A mind "bent" by denial has a nasty habit of "snapping back" in the worst of moments.

1 Jn 2:9 (Wey) Any one who professes to be in the light and yet hates his brother is still in darkness.

# Denial is merely a delusion: flimsy, fake, and shallow. Forgiveness is real: robust and solid and deep. It is not an avoiding of the truth, but a dealing with it squarely, however painful.

# Consider God's perspective. Nothing is hidden from His sight: the evil intent, the hidden lust, the damage done, the choosing of that which is wrong, etc. And yet He is the author and originator of forgiveness. If we are going to really forgive, we are going to have to do it His way: with our eyes open.

# For those God chooses to forgive, He will "forget" their sins, "remembering them no more". But let us not accuse the omniscient God of not knowing something or of being ignorant of any fact. He has told us that nothing is beyond His sight. Rather let us understand the "figure of speech" and spiritual dynamic of how God forgives.

Heb 8:12 (NIV) "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

# The order here is essential. Forgiveness first, forgetting second. Until real forgiveness takes place, the offense is "in our faces" as regards that person, and it is the same with God. The sin comes between us, and cannot be "forgotten" until dealt with. If and when we enter into true forgiveness, we can then regard the person without the "offense" looming first and foremost between us.

Isa 43:25 (NIV) "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more."

3) Impediments To Forgiveness: The Lure Of Sin

# Another impediment to forgiveness is that bitterness, revenge, hatred, etc. have a perverted sort of appeal. Who has not felt the intoxicating lure of a grandiose meditation of scorching retribution? While we know this is wrong, it sure is great fun in the moment to fondle such thoughts.

Eph 4:26-27,31 (NIV) "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold... Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

4) Vengeance Is The Lord's... But Only If He Acts As My Agent?

Rom 12:19 (NIV) Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

# Surely God has more power to pour wrath on our enemies than we do, and He surely sees the evil done all to clearly. So the thought may strike us to let Him do the dirty work. But when we think this through, it may not turn out as the carnal man within us might like. For let us face the plain fact that God has this habit of forgiving people and extending great mercy, at least for the time being.

# So... we may not see fire from heaven come down to consume those we wish would receive God's vengeance. It is not that He is letting them off by some magic or deflection of mind, it is just that He may take the painful punishment Himself.

Prov 24:17 (NAS) Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles.

Mat 5:44-45 (NEB) "But what I tell you is this: love your enemies and pray for your persecutors; only so can you be like children of your heavenly Father, who makes his sun rise on good and bad alike, and sends the rain on the honest and the dishonest. If you love only those who love you, what reward can you expect? Surely the tax-gatherers do as much as that. And if you greet only your brothers, what is there extraordinary about that? Even the heathen do as much. There must be no limit to your goodness, as your heavenly Father's goodness knows no bounds."

# Let us "count the cost" of letting God deal with our "enemies". He may bless them, prosper them, and save their eternal souls, rather than strike them dead with a lightning bolt. For this is what God is like, and what He is "up to" just now. And this may not satisfy our sense of what should happen. If we "let go and let God", He may well forgive and bless and love those we have plotted against and smoldered in hatred for, and even give us this same "foolish" (1 Cor 1:25) mindset.

Luke 17:3-5 (Phi) "So be careful how you live. If your brother offends you, take him to task about it, and if he is sorry, forgive him. Yes, if he wrongs you seven times in one day and turns to you and says, 'I am sorry' seven times, you must forgive him. And the apostles said to the Lord, 'give us more faith.'"

5) Is Real Forgiveness Humanly Possible?

# It has been said, "To err is human, to forgive divine." There is a truth in this.

Luke 7:49 (GLT) And those reclining with Him began to say within themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

# For what "seems right to a man" (Prov 16:25) is revenge. If the offense is not avenged, will not the perpetrator be sanctioned in his behavior to do more of the same? What about justice and fairness? Does forgiveness even "work" at a mere human level? What would happen to our society if everyone REALLY did this? Is "loving our enemies" something that appeals to our sensibilities? Does it even make any sense to the natural man?

Which Is Easier?

# Perhaps the greatest impediment to forgiveness is the idea that we could actually do it on our own, that it is a human quality. Consider that we are as capable, and likely, to supernaturally heal someone in our own strength... as to be able to forgive them. For which is easier?

Mat 9:5-6 (NIV) Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home."

What Only God Can Do

# When God says we should do something that is reasonably within our power, then we can mistake our own carnal self-efforts for Spirit-led obedience. But when we hear Him say something impossible or impractical like "be perfect" (Mat 5:48) we despair and realize that it will only be by grace that we are saved, through faith in Him who alone has the qualities God requires. For this is "God stuff" we are talking about here. If "perfection" is not given to us from Christ, we will never get it on our own.

John 15:5 (NKJ) "...For without Me you can do nothing."

# On the scale of things Jesus told us we must do, perhaps just below His demand of "perfection" as being impossible to attain in our own resources... is forgiveness.

# Let us recognize that only God can forgive. It is not humanly possible. If we "get it" at all, it will be by God's very nature being imputed to us. And right here is the secret to real forgiveness. It is divine.

Luke 5:20-21 (NIV) When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

# Experiencing God

It is assumed that every believer will have had some experience at true forgiveness, even if vicariously through a movie or book or story. And in the range of human emotion, true forgiveness ranks as one of the sweetest and most pleasurable that a human can feel. Corrie Ten Boom called this after-effect of forgiveness "a flood of joy and peace". The burden of bitterness is removed, there is a supernatural "rightness" to it, conflict is replaced with resonance, and love floods in where hatred once ruled. This is no accident, it is the very nature of God coursing through us. It is grace at work. For the only way to truly forgive is to have His life in us. All else is play-acting, denial, or capitulation to sin.

May we be encouraged all the more to this aspect of "Christ in us", now that we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.

While many Christians are off chasing bogus revivals and spiritual hucksters making self-claims to be "anointed" or chasing some wind of doctrine to get some splash of spiritual thrill, what often goes untried is God's way of obedience. Want to experience God? FORGIVE. Want to feel His presence and power coursing through your body in a thrilling moment of supernatural encounter? Forgive.

What Comes Naturally To The Spirit In Us

Mat 6:12 (NIV) Forgive us our debts, AS WE also have forgiven our debtors.

# In other words, this forgiveness stuff should be expected as normal and intuitive for Christians. And it is. As an analogy, grace working in us through the power of the Holy Spirit is like water pressure from a faucet, where we are a hose through which that water should flow. If we are attached, the power is not ours; but the waters of life can course in and through us as we are connected to the source.

# Occasionally, though, forgiveness can become elusive--even seemingly impossible. The hose has gotten "kinked" somehow. It is not as if God has failed, or that we do not know better, or what should happen, we just cannot, for some reason, enter into obedience. If this is the case, here is some practical Biblical advice to again find the flow of God's nature and Spirit in and through you. For the way of forgiveness should be "second nature" for those born again.

Remember What We Have Been Forgiven From!

Mat 18:21-27 (NIV) Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go."

Mat 18:28-35 (NIV) "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow-servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. His fellow-servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow-servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

# Where this servant failed, then, is in FORGETTING the merciful treatment His master gave him. He FORGOT the great sin he was forgiven of.

2 Pet 1:9 (NAS) ...For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.

# Let us not make the same mistake. Let us make sure to remember our salvation from former sins, even if it means some people (who think they are serving God!) accuse us of being "negative".

# Various people and teachers will have various opinions and advice about forgiveness. But by Biblical revelation, not remembering appears to be the MAJOR reason for "kinking" the supernatural flow of forgiveness in our lives. Are we less in need of forgiveness than those we are judging and holding in unforgiveness? Really? Have we so quickly forgotten the great mercy God has shown us when we needed it?

Luke 18:9-14 (NIV) To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God..."

Mat 5:21-22 (NIV) "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment..."

1Sam 16:7 (NIV) ...The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

Authorized By Grace... We Can Do What God Does

Col 3:12-13 (Jer) You are God's chosen race, his saints; he loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same.

1 Pet 2:21-23 (NEB) To that you were called, because Christ suffered on your behalf, and thereby left you an example; it is for you to follow in his steps. He committed no sin, he was convicted of no falsehood; when he was abused he did not retort with abuse, when he suffered he uttered no threats, but committed his cause to the One who judges justly.

1 Pet 3:9 (NEB) Do not repay wrong with wrong, or abuse with abuse; on the contrary, retaliate with blessing, for a blessing is the inheritance to which you yourselves have been called.

Luke 6:27-37 (NRS) "But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you... Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same... But love your enemies, do good... and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful... Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

Eph 4:31-32 (Phi) Let there be no more bitter resentment or anger, no more shouting or slander, and let there be no bad feeling of any kind among you. Be kind to each other, be compassionate. Be as ready to forgive others as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.

Heb 12:15 (Jer) Be careful that no one is deprived of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness should begin to grow and make trouble; this can poison a whole community.

Rom 12:17-21 (Phi) Don't pay back a bad turn by a bad turn, to anyone. See that your public behavior is above criticism. As far as your responsibility goes, live at peace with everyone. Never take vengeance into your own hands, my dear friends: stand back and let God punish if he will. For it is written: "It is mine to avenge, I will repay," says the Lord. And it is also written: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Don't allow yourself to be overpowered by evil. Take the offensive--overpower evil with good!

http://www.acts17-11.com/forgive.html

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The Nature of Sanctification and Gospel Holiness

Paul's prayer for Christians is that the God of peace would sanctify them completely (1 Thess. 5:23). His assurance is that 'he is faithful, who will do it' (v. 24).

From this prayer we learn firstly, that the one who sanctifies us is God. As God gave us our beings, so he gives us our holiness. It is not by nature but by grace that we are made holy. Secondly, we learn that the one who sanctifies us is emphatically declared to be God himself. If God does not do it, no?one else will. And thirdly, we learn that the one who sanctifies us is the 'God of peace' (Rom. 15:33; 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 4:9; Hel). 13:20).

Sanctified by the God of peace

Sanctification is a fruit of that peace with God which he has made and prepared for us byJesus Christ. 'God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself' (2 Con. 5:19).

God, by sanctifying our natures, keeps that peace which we have with him. It is holiness that keeps up a sense of peace with God, and prevents those spiritual sins which still tend to break out from the corrupt nature still left within us. So God, as the author of our peace, is also the author of our holiness.

He will sanctify us completely, that is, entirely. No part of us will be left sinful or under the power of sin. Our whole nature is the subject of this work. He will make holy every part of us. And this work will eventually be perfected.

Paul prays, first, that our whole natures, our entire spirit, soul and body should be sanctified, and then he prays that we should be preserved blameless in the peace of God at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. This, he would have Christians know, is the whole purpose of our sanctification.

Sanctification the Spirit's work

Sanctification, then, is the direct work of the Holy Spirit on our whole nature. It proceeds from the peace made for us by Jesus Christ. By this peace with God through Jesus Christ, we will be preserved blameless, or be kept in a state of grace and continual acceptance with God, according to the terms of his covenant, to the end.

But before we go any further we must realize that there are two sorts of sanctification. There is that sanctification by which people or things are dedicated, consecrated, or set apart for the service of God, by his appointment. Such persons or things are in Scripture called holy. There is also that sanctification which is a ruling principle of holiness imparted to our natures, resulting in a life of holy obedience to God. We are now considering the second sort.

What, then, is holiness? Holiness is nothing but the implanting, writing and living out the gospel in our souls (Eph. 4:24). The gospel is the 'truth which is according to godliness' ('Titus 1 :1). Jesus prayed, 'Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth' (John 17:17). This is 'the truth that shall make you free' (John 8:32).

Evangelical holiness is a fruit wrought in us by the Spirit of sanctification. Holiness, therefore, is a mystery to fleshly reason (Job 28:20?23,28; 1 Cor. 2: 11, 12).

True holiness

Believers are often ignorant of true holiness. They do not fully understand its true nature, its origin or the fruits it produces. It may seem strange that though all believers are made holy they should not understand what is wrought in them and what abides in them.

But do we understand our own creation (Psa. 139:1316)? This work of holiness in us is wonderful. It is a supernatural work and is known only by supernatural revelation.

We must not be deceived by a false holiness. Holiness is not just a reformed life.

Holiness is not only for this life, but goes on with us into eternity and glory. Death has no power to destroy holiness. The activities of holiness are indeed momentary and transient, but their fruits last for ever in their reward (Rev. 14:13; Heb. 6:10). Holiness lasts for ever and enters into glory with us (1 Cor. 13:8).

Holiness reveals something of the spiritual and heavenly glory even in this world (2 Cor. 3:18). The true believer is 'all glorious within' (Psa. 45:13). Holiness, then, is a glorious work of the Holy Spirit.

God 's purpose in the gospel

God's first purpose in and by the gospel is to glorify himself, his wisdom, goodness, love, grace, righteousness and holiness by Jesus Christ, and that for ever (Eph. 1:5, 6). But the gospel simultaneously reveals the love and grace of God to lost sinners which is brought to us by the mediation of Jesus Christ. And it is only by Jesus Christ as God incarnate that God will be glorified and sinners saved (Acts26:18).

The purpose of the gospel is also to persuade men by the preaching of the truth and the encouragement of the promises to renounce their sins and all other ways of satisfying God, and to receive by faith that way of life and salvation which by the gospel is preached to them ( 2 Cor. 5:18?21; Colt 1:25?28).

The purpose of the gospel is also to be the means of bringing and giving to sinners a right and title to that grace and mercy, that life and righteousness, revealed and offered to them by the gospel (Mark 16:16). It also reveals the way and means of imparting the grace and strength of the Holy Spirit to the elect, enabling them to believe and receive salvation (Gal. 3:2).

The purpose of the gospel is also to bring believers into union with Christ as their spiritual and mystical head and to fix their hearts and souls in faith, trust, confidence and love directly on the Son of God as incarnate, and as their mediator (John 14:1). It is to invite and encourage lost sinners to believe and accept the way of grace, life and salvation by Jesus Christ.

Cod requires us to be holy. He requires us to use constantly all those means he has given us by which holiness may be attained and increased.

What God requires

God does not require us to make atonement or satisfaction for our sins ? although that is what guilty condemned sinners think (Mic 6:6, 7). But in the gospel there is offered an unconditional free pardon for sins. No satisfaction or compensation is required by God to be made by them. Christ has made a full and perfect atonement for sins. Any attempt to atone for our own sins instead of trusting in Christ's atonement is to trample over the gospel (2 Cor. 5:18?21).

What God does require is for us 'to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly' with him (Mic. 6:8). He does not require us to make ourselves righteous in order to be justified, because we are freely justified by his grace (Rome 10:3, 4; 3:24, 28; 8:3, 4).

God does not require us to purchase or merit life and salvation for ourselves (Eph. 2:8, 9; Titus 3:5; Rom. 4:4; 6:23; 11:6; Luke 17:10). Nor does he require of us good works to atone for our sins or works of supererogation to atone for the sins of others (Luke 17:10; Gen. 17:1).

God has promised to sanctify us, to work this holiness in us; he does not leave us to do it by our own ability and power (Jer. 31:33; 32:39, 40; Ezek. 36:26, 27).

God commands us to be holy and he promises to make us holy.

The believer's response

What, then, should be our response to God's command to be holy? Our first response should be that we make this duty a matter of conscience because it comes to us with all God's authority. Holiness must arise from obedience or it is not holiness. Our second response must be to see how reasonable this command is. Thirdly, we must love this command because it is holy and just and good and because the things it requires are right, easy and pleasant to the new nature.

And what should be our response to the promise that God will make us holy? Firstly, we must remember our utter inability to obey the command to be holy. Then we must see that our sufficiency is in God. Secondly, we must adore that grace which has promised to do in us what we are unable to do ourselves. Thirdly, we must pray in faith, believing God's promise to make us holy, and look to him to supply us with all grace necessary to walk in holiness. Fourthly, we should pray specially for that grace to keep us holy in times of temptation and when called to carry out special and difficult duties.

Finally, we must never forget that it is the Holy Spirit who sanctifies all believers, and who produces all holiness in them. (Psa. 51:10?12; Ezek 11:19; 36:25?27; Rom. 8:914; 1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Pet. 1:2; Isa. 4:4; 44:3, 4; Titus3:4, 5).

http://www.peacemakers.net/unity/joholyspirit14.htm

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"Fear of God" .................




"Fear of God" Bible Verses

This document is a collection of all verses from the bible that refer to the fear of God. It was compiled by scouring the New International Version of the Holy Bible for all verses containing the word "fear", or derivatives of it (feared, fears, fearing, etc), then omitting those not specifically concerned with the fear of God. Because it was done manually by a human, a few may have been missed - but not many.

Genesis

22:12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

Exodus

1:21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

14:31 And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

20:18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."

20:20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."
Leviticus

19:14 "'Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord.

25:17 Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God. I am the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy

5:29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!

6:1,2 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.

6:13 Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.

6:24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today.

9:19 I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the Lord listened to me.

10:12-13 And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

10:20 Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name.

31:12 Assemble the people--men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns--so they can listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this law.

31:13 Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess."
Joshua

4:23,24 For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God."

24:14 "Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
1Samuel

12:14,15 If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God--good! But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

12:24 But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.
2Samuel

23:3-4 The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: 'When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God,

23:4 he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.'
1Chronicles

16:25-26 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
2Chronicles

17:9,10 They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people. The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not make war with Jehoshaphat.

20:29 The fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
Nehemiah

5:9 So I continued, "What you are doing is not right. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies?
Job

1:1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.

1:8-9 Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied.

2:3 Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason."

23:13-15 "But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? He does whatever he pleases. He carries out his decree against me, and many such plans he still has in store. That is why I am terrified before him; when I think of all this, I fear him.

28:28 And he said to man, 'The fear of the Lord--that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.'"
Psalms

2:11 Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.

15:1-4 Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, ... who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord,

19:9 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous.

22:23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

25:12-14 Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land. The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.

31:19 How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.

33:8-9 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

33:18-19 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

34:7-11 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

36:1-2 An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.

40:3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

52:5-7 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at him, saying, "Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!"

55:18-19 He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. God, who is enthroned forever, will hear them and afflict them - men who never change their ways and have no fear of God.

60:4 But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow.

61:5 For you have heard my vows, O God; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

65:8 Those living far away fear your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy.

76:7-8 You alone are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry? From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet -

76:11-12 Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared. He breaks the spirit of rulers; he is feared by the kings of the earth.

85:9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.

86:11Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

89:7 In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him.

90:11 Who knows the power of your anger? For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.

96:4-5 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

103:11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;

103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

103:17-18 But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children - with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

111:5 He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.

111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

112:1-2 Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.

115:11 You who fear him, trust in the Lord-- he is their help and shield.

115:13 he will bless those who fear the Lord-- small and great alike.

119:120 My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws.

128:1-4 Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table. Thus is the man blessed who fears the Lord.

130:3-4 If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.

145:19-20 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

147:11 the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Proverbs

1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

1:29-31 Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.

2:1-5 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

3:7-8 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

8:13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.

9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

10:27 The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.

14:2 He whose walk is upright fears the Lord, but he whose ways are devious despises him.

14:16 A wise man fears the Lord and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless.

14:26-27 He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.

15:16 Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil.

15:33 The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honour.

16:6 Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil.

19:23 The fear of the Lord leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

22:4 Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life.

23:17-18 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

24:21-22 Fear the Lord and the king, my son, and do not join with the rebellious, for those two will send sudden destruction upon them, and who knows what calamities they can bring?

28:14 Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.

29:25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

31:30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Ecclesiastes

7:16-18 Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise-- why destroy yourself? Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool-- why die before your time? It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.

8:12-13 Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God. Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.

12:13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
Isaiah

8:12-13 Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy [f]; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread,

11:2-3 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him -- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord -- and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

33:6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.

50:10 Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.

59:19 From the west, men will fear the name of the Lord, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the Lord drives along.
Jeremiah

5:22-24 Should you not fear me?" declares the Lord. "Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it. But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say to themselves, 'Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.'

26:19 Did not Hezekiah fear the Lord and seek his favor? And did not the Lord relent, so that he did not bring the disaster he pronounced against them?

32:39-40 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.
Daniel

6:26-27 "I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. "For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions."
Jonah

1:15-16 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.
Zephaniah

3:7 I said to the city, 'Surely you will fear me and accept correction!' Then her dwelling would not be cut off, nor all my punishments come upon her. But they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did.
Malachi

1:14 For I am a great king," says the Lord Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations.

3:5 "So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the Lord Almighty.
Luke

1:50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.

8:24-25 He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."

12:4-5 "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

23:40 But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence?
Acts

7:30-32 "After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to look more closely, he heard the Lord's voice: 'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.' Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.

9:31Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

10:34-35 Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.
2Corinthians

5:11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.
Ephesians

6:5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.
Phillipians

2:12-13 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Hebrews

11:7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.

12:21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."
1Peter

1:17 Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.

2:17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

3:14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened."
Revelation

14:6-7 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth--to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water."

15:4 Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."

19:5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying: "Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!"


http://www.feargod.net/verses.php

[*~1Best~*]

The 23rd Psalm - The Lord is my Shepherd...

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake.



Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.



Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

-- KJV

[*~1Best~*]

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!


Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity.

Holy, holy, holy! All saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the sinful human eye thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity.


http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/h/h297.html

[*~1Best~*]

Sure, Tina Marie, you are welcome

Best Wishes

~~~


"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." —Matthew 7:7–8

God wants us to come to him with our needs and desires. He tells us that if we would only ask and have faith, we would receive.

"'Have faith in God,' Jesus answered. 'I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven my forgive you your sins.'" —Mark 11:22–25

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." —James 1:2–8

"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops." —James 5:13–18

[Tina]

That's really nice 1B

may I use that for my goal board ibox?

Thanks, again!

[*~1Best~*]

Great! Intensive, unwaving Prayers will accomplish...

Philippians 3:14

ASV: I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.






http://www.gems4friends.com/goals/articles/8.html

Self-Discipline, The Character Builder: 3 Ways to Instill It in Your Kids

Jean Tracy

In Nelson Mandela's 1994 Inaugural Speech, he instructs us to be brilliant, successful, talented, and fabulous.

Do your kids lack the self-discipline to become such a person? Are you uncomfortable showing them the way? Would you like to know how to instill self-discipline? Here are 3 ways to help your kids be the fabulous people they were meant to be.

Build Character with Chores: First, start giving your children age appropriate chores. Perhaps, when they're 3 years old, they'll start putting their toys away. Maybe they'll get dressed with some help or empty their bath water. As they get older, teach them to set the table, sweep, dust, and help fix meals.

By the time they're nine they can wash and dry clothes, take out the garbage, start dinner and much, much more. You are teaching them to take care of themselves, a valuable skill for life. You are teaching them self-discipline too.

Build Character with Earning Power: Second, teach your kids to earn what they want. If you smother your children with material things today, you'll be creating the gripers, groaners, and grumblers of tomorrow.

They'll grow up thinking the world owes them. Do your kids a favor now. Let them earn what they want. Give them a feeling of accomplishment. You'll be teaching self-discipline too.

Build Character with Goals: Third, teach them to create and achieve goals. Goals take consistent effort. Having a goal without effort is like having a front porch without steps. Coach your children to create and climb the stairs step by step. If your child wants to be the pitcher on the baseball team, encourage your child to practice.

If your child wants to pass to the next level in gymnastics, encourage your child to practice. If your child wants to learn multiplication tables, encourage your child to practice. The steps to achieving goals takes practice, practice, practice. When you coach your children to achieve their goals, you help them make their dreams come true. You are teaching them self-discipline too.

When children take care of themselves through chores, they build character. When children earn the things they want, they build character. When children create and achieve goals, they build character. With character, they become brilliant, successful, talented and fabulous, all because you led the way. .

[*~1Best~*]

Goal:

philippians 3:14

ASV: I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

[*~1Best~*]

Thanks, Tina

Have a nice day


~~~

1 Cor 13:13

~~~

Agapē (IPA: [ɑˈgɑ.pε] or IPA: [ˈɑgɑˌpε]) (Gk. αγάπη [aˈɣa.pi]), is one of several Greek words translated into English as love. The word has been used in different ways by a variety of contemporary and ancient sources, including Biblical authors. Many have thought that this word represents divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful love. Greek philosophers at the time of Plato and other ancient authors have used forms of the word to denote love of a spouse or family, or affection for a particular activity, in contrast to philia—an affection that could denote either brotherhood or generally non-sexual affection, and eros, an affection of a sexual nature, usually between two unequal partners. The term agape is rarely used in ancient manuscripts, but was used by the early Christians to refer to the self-sacrificing love of God for humanity, which they were committed to reciprocating and practicing towards God and among one another.

Agape has been expounded on by many Christian writers in a specifically Christian context. Thomas Jay Oord has defined agape as "an intentional response to promote well-being when responding to that which has generated ill-being."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agape

~~~

The Four Loves is a book by C. S. Lewis which explores the nature of love from a Christian perspective. The content of the examination is prefaced by Lewis' admission that he initially mistook St. John's words "God is Love" for a simple inroads to his topic. By distinguishing need-love (such as the love of a child for its mother) from gift-love (epitomized here by God's love for humanity), Lewis happens upon the contemplative that the natures of even these basic categorizations of love are more complicated than they, at first, seem.

As a result, he formulates the foundation of his topic ("the highest does not stand without the lowest") by exploring the nature of pleasure, and then divides love into four categories, based in part on the four Greek words for love: affection, friendship, eros, and charity. It must be noted, states Lewis, that just as Lucifer—a former archangel—perverted himself by pride and fell into depravity, so too can love—commonly held to be the arch-emotion—become corrupt by presuming itself to be what it is not ("love begins to be a demon the moment he begins to be a god").

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Loves

[Tina]

Good evening 1best. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

Thanks for the kind words.

[*~1Best~*]

"The people that do know their God shall be strong." —Daniel 11:32



Every believer understands that to know God is the highest and best form of knowledge; and this spiritual knowledge is a source of strength to the Christian. It strengthens his faith. Believers are constantly spoken of in the Scriptures as being persons who are enlightened and taught of the Lord; they are said to "have an unction from the Holy One," and it is the Spirit's peculiar office to lead them into all truth, and all this for the increase and the fostering of their faith. Knowledge strengthens love, as well as faith. Knowledge opens the door, and then through that door we see our Saviour. Or, to use another similitude, knowledge paints the portrait of Jesus, and when we see that portrait then we love Him, we cannot love a Christ whom we do not know, at least, in some degree. If we know but little of the excellences of Jesus, what He has done for us, and what He is doing now, we cannot love Him much; but the more we know Him, the more we shall love Him. Knowledge also strengthens hope. How can we hope for a thing if we do not know of its existence? Hope may be the telescope, but till we receive instruction, our ignorance stands in the front of the glass, and we can see nothing whatever; knowledge removes the interposing object, and when we look through the bright optic glass we discern the glory to be revealed, and anticipate it with joyous confidence. Knowledge supplies us reasons for patience. How shall we have patience unless we know something of the sympathy of Christ, and understand the good which is to come out of the correction which our heavenly Father sends us? Nor is there one single grace of the Christian which, under God, will not be fostered and brought to perfection by holy knowledge. How important, then, is it that we should grow not only in grace, but in the "knowledge" of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

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Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12)

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Hi Tina, Good to see you. Hope that you are doing well.

Everytime I look at you, I think of Saint Mary.

[Tina]

well yeah but I haven't been here for over 2 mos

lol

[Briboy]

Well you know why, that is because you are here

bri

[Tina]

Bri,

You're always at the perfect place at the right time.

Thanks :)

Good for you! I bet she'll appreciate the memory.

[Briboy]

Hey Tina Marie, nice to see you here

hope your day is well. I took my 11 year old daughter to my alma mater today, and used the "Power of Positive Thinking" to
find a way to get her there in 7-8 more years.

briboy

[*~1Best~*]

God vs Men

$USD vs $EURO

$USD, the design of the USD. Nothing wrong with the design. The way which it can be interpreted is that we are in this world which we live in - good and bad; therefore the design of the USD is showing the reality of the world which we are living in.

Note that the design notes, "In God, We Trust", not with the pyramid design, but it is written on the separate location ==> on the center of the design.

The design of the one dollar is reflecting "Good and Evil" of the world which we are living in, but we trust in God which is written on the center of one dollar. We need to focus on God, not others. We trust in God on the midst of "Good and Evil" as shown on the back of one dollar design.




~~~


MEN: Euro 12 stars - trusting men
The O.T. 12 tribes

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Understanding the Design and Symbolism
of the U.S. One Dollar Bill

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/triviadollar.htm


Although symbols are open to many interpretations, we believe the following information offers some historical insight (and some undocumented perceptions) about the design and meaning of some of the images on the one dollar bill. The explanations and interpretations that appear below were verified by the Truth or Fiction website, and predominantly (except where noted otherwise) reflect the official interpretations of the United States Treasury Department and the United States Department of State, the official keeper of the United States Seal.

Take out a dollar bill and study it.

The one dollar bill you're looking at first came off the presses in 1957 in its present design. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, that is when the motto, "In God We Trust" started being used on paper money. It was in use on coins long before that.

This so-called paper money is in fact a cotton and linen blend, with red and blue minute silk fibers running through it. It is actually material. We've all washed it without it falling apart. A special blend of ink is used, the contents we will never know. It is overprinted with symbols and then it is starched to make it water resistant and pressed to give it that nice crisp look.
If you look on the front of the bill, you will see the United States Treasury Seal. Although some claims have been made that the scales represent the need for a balanced budget, the Treasury Department has little to do with whether the budget is balanced, since that is actually handled by congress. The U.S. Treasury Department indicates that the balancing scales actually represent justice. In the center, some people believe there is a carpenter's T-square, a tool used for an even cut. But that image is actually a chevron with 13 stars representing the 13 original colonies. Underneath is a key that is intended to represent a symbol of authority. U.S. Treasury Department Seal

If you turn the bill over, you will see two circles. The two circles reflect the two sides of the Great Seal of the United States. Before the adjournment of the Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776, a committee was appointed to develop a seal for the United States. The committee was Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, three of the five men who had drafted the Declaration of Independence. They were merely the first committee, however. It took six years, the work of two additional committees and a total of 14 men before a final version of the Great Seal was approved. The final proposal, as accepted by Congress, was submitted on June 13, 1782, by Charles Thompson, Secretary of Congress. He brought together some of the recommendations of the three committees, their consultants, and artists.
If you look at the left hand circle, you will see a Pyramid. This pyramid was not a part of the proposals for the Great Seal until the third committee, and it was not suggested by Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams. Notice the face is lighted and the western side is dark. Although there is no "official" explanation for the shading, some interpret it as a reflection that our country was just beginning and had not begun to explore the West or decided what we could do for Western Civilization. the Great Seal and seal used on the dollar bill, pyramid side

The Pyramid is UN-capped, which may signify that our country was not yet finished. The unfinished state of the pyramid was intentional, and Charles Thompson, in his remarks to congress about the symbolism on the Great Seal, said the pyramid represented "Strength and Duration." Inside the capstone you have the all-seeing eye, and ancient symbol for divinity. Although Franklin's committee did not suggest a pyramid, it did originate the suggestion of the eye. However, the term "the all-seeing eye" was never officially used when describing it. The Franklin committee wanted the seal to include a reflection of divine providence and discussed a variety of themes including the Children of Israel in the Wilderness.

"IN GOD WE TRUST" is on this currency. The Latin above the pyramid, ANNUIT COEPTIS, means "God has favored our undertaking." It was Franklin's belief that one man couldn't do it alone, but a group of men with the help of God could do anything. The Latin below the pyramid, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM, is interpreted to mean "a new order for the world." At the base of the pyramid is the Roman Numeral for 1776.
If you look at the right-hand circle, and check it carefully, you may notice that with only slight modifications it is the Seal of the President of the United States. It also appears on every National Cemetery in the United States, the Parade of Flags Walkway at the Bushnell, Florida National Cemetery, and is the centerpiece of most heroes' monuments. On the Great Seal, the eagle faces the talon holding the olive branch. The eagle on The Presidential Seal faced in the opposite direction-toward the talon holding the arrows until 1945, when Harry Truman had it redesigned to face the olive branch as well. The eagle side of the seal shown on the dollar bill

No one knows for certain what the symbols mean. But although there is no explanation of the imagery of the eagle in the official records, most historical references to the bald eagle indicate that it represents something of uniquely American origin. One of the original design proposals for the Great Seal featured a small crested white eagle, which is not uniquely American, but this was later changed to the uniquely American Bald Eagle. An unsupported interpretation of the inclusion of the Bald Eagle is that it could also represent victory and independence, because the eagle is not afraid of a storm, is strong and smart enough to soar above it, and wears no material crown.

Also, notice the shield is unsupported. Charles Thompson said it denoted that the United State of America ought to rely on their own virtue. The shield consists of red and white stripes with a blue bar above that represents Congress. The colors are taken from the American flag and officially the red represents hardiness and valor, the white represents purity and innocence, and the blue, vigilance, perseverance, and justice. In the Eagle's beak you will read, "E PLURIBUS UNUM", meaning "one nation from many people."

Above the Eagle you have thirteen stars representing the thirteen original colonies. Again, we were coming together as one. Notice that the Eagle holds an olive branch and arrows in his talons. The official meaning is that the olive branch and the arrows "denote the power of peace and war." As noted previously, the design shows the eagle facing the olive branch. This was the opposite of the the Presidential Seal, which showed the eagle facing the arrows, until President Harry Truman had it redesigned to face the olive branch in 1945."

Some feel that the number 13 is an unlucky number. You will usually never see a room numbered 13, or hotels or motels with a 13th floor. But the significance of the number 13 in U.S. history is very strong. The number 13 as used on many U.S. symbols (the stripes on the flag, steps on the Pyramid, 13 stars above the eagle, 13 plumes of feathers on each of the Eagle's wings, 13 bars on the shield, 13 leaves on the olive branch, 13 fruits, and 13 arrows) all represent the beginning of our country, as established by the thirteen colonies. But it should also remind us of the importance of the "13th Amendment". And you can, and should, be reminded of the history of this country each time you look at a one dollar bill.


~~~



... also 1 Cor 13:13

[*~1Best~*]

JAMA, JAMA, JAMA - "911" spiritual awakening and We pray God protects US as we call upon Him!!!


"The Lamb is the light thereof." —Revelation 21:23

Quietly contemplate the Lamb as the light of heaven. Light in Scripture is the emblem of joy. The joy of the saints in heaven is comprised in this: Jesus chose us, loved us, bought us, cleansed us, robed us, kept us, glorified us: we are here entirely through the Lord Jesus. Each one of these thoughts shall be to them like a cluster of the grapes of Eshcol. Light is also the cause of beauty. Nought of beauty is left when light is gone. Without light no radiance flashes from the sapphire, no peaceful ray proceedeth from the pearl; and thus all the beauty of the saints above comes from Jesus. As planets, they reflect the light of the Sun of Righteousness; they live as beams proceeding from the central orb. If He withdrew, they must die; if His glory were veiled, their glory must expire. Light is also the emblem of knowledge. In heaven our knowledge will be perfect, but the Lord Jesus Himself will be the fountain of it. Dark providences, never understood before, will then be clearly seen, and all that puzzles us now will become plain to us in the light of the Lamb. Oh! what unfoldings there will be and what glorifying of the God of love! Light also means manifestation. Light manifests. In this world it doth not yet appear what we shall be. God's people are a hidden people, but when Christ receives His people into heaven, He will touch them with the wand of His own love, and change them into the image of His manifested glory. They were poor and wretched, but what a transformation! They were stained with sin, but one touch of His finger, and they are bright as the sun, and clear as crystal. Oh! what a manifestation! All this proceeds from the exalted Lamb. Whatever there may be of effulgent splendour, Jesus shall be the centre and soul of it all. Oh! to be present and to see Him in His own light, the King of kings, and Lord of lords!

http://www.blueletterbible.org/morneve/08/0803am.html

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Holy Spirit, The Consuming Fire:

Fire. It was there from the beginning of God's creation. He said, "Let there be light." And when we hear God say, "Let there be light," we, because of the world in which we've been raised, think of fluorescent lights or spotlights or any kind of light that can be controlled, that seems safe, that we understand. But when God created light, it came out of his fire. It was dangerous, consuming. It was hot and powerful.

Sometimes we get a little deluded by the lights and fire that warm us and give us vision. If you're convinced the lights in this room are safe, lick your finger, go to the nearest socket, and stick it inside. You'll realize that even the fire behind this light is dangerous and powerful.
Our faith should not be a pendulum, but a consuming fire.

William Berquist wrote a book called The Postmodern Organization. He refers to Illia Prigogine, the Nobel Prize winner, in his chapter called "From Pendulum to Fire."

Prigogine suggests that many processes in nature do not work mechanistically, though many scientists throughout the ages have wanted the world to resemble the pendulum or Swiss watch. Rather, many processes of the world more likely resemble the phenomenon we call fire. Fire is an enduring problem in the history of science. Prigogine notes that modern scientists, in an effort to create a coherent mechanistic model of the world, have tended to ignore the complex, transformative process of fire.

Much of what we understand about God and experience in our faith has been shaped, influenced, and corrupted by this mechanistic, orderly, Swiss-watch-framework view of God and faith. And with Prigogine and Berquist, we need to step back and say, "Is the Christian faith Jesus Christ died for better described as a pendulum or as this overwhelming metaphor of fire?"

Most of us here know fire is not God. But how many of us are aware that God is fire? That's what the mysterious writer of Hebrews tells us. In chapter 12 he says: "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." God himself is a fire, and everything he touches he envelops. No wonder throughout the Bible God made himself manifest through this incredible, powerful element of fire.

One of my favorite fire moments in the Bible is in 1 Kings 18. It's the story of Elijah as he opposed Ahab and Jezebel and all the prophets who worshiped false gods.

Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only one of the Lord"s prophets left, but Baal has 450 prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it in the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God."

So they took the bull given them and they prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. …

Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." They came to him and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which was in ruins. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, "Your name shall be Israel." With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. And then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood."

"Do it again," he said, and they did it again. "Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."

Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!"

God is a consuming fire. In his creation he made fire, and out of fire he created warmth, heat, and light, so we would have this continuous reminder of the very nature and essence of God when we come into communion with him.
God's fire leads us day and night.

Remember Moses? In Exodus 3 he sees a burning bush. He's caught by surprise. The Bible tells us he was curious and wanted to come close and see what was going on. Up to this time, everyone understood that fire consumed everything it touched. But now there's a tree and it is on fire and yet not consumed by the fire. Moses comes close and hears the voice of God. God says, "Moses, this is holy ground. Take off your sandals."

Everything God consumes, every place where God's fire comes, he purifies and makes holy. Many of us want to come near to God out of curiosity. We want to check God out and get close to his warmth, but we're terrified to get inside of God and let God get inside of us, because every place where God is becomes holy. His consuming fire purifies.

How many of us want the evidence of God? How many of us want to see fire come down from heaven without having to be burned by his fire, keeping him somewhat at a distance? Sometimes that's exactly why we come to experiences of worship like today. We hope God will speak, God will connect, God will reveal himself. We want God to make himself known in the person next to us so we can be close enough to observe it, to feel its warmth, to be exhilarated by the danger of God's fire—but not to be consumed by it.

Israel was delivered by God out of Egypt, and he chose to guide them out with a pillar of cloud in the daytime and a pillar of fire at night. It's interesting when you think about God choosing this pillar of fire at night, and it makes perfect sense. The Bible tells us God led them as a pillar of cloud in the day and a pillar of fire at night so they could travel anytime—both day and night.

When God consumes us with his fire, he purifies us and makes us holy, he swallows up, he consumes, he burns up all our pride, our greed, our jealousy, our bitterness, our anger, our self-righteousness, even our dreams, our hopes, our visions for ourselves.

God consumes us and purifies us, but not only that. When God comes in our life like a fire, he recreates us. He transforms us so that day or night, 24/7, every moment of our existence, we will be prepared to follow him and move at his initiative. Everyone who has been consumed by the fire of God is now God-mobile, day or night. When you are consumed by the fire of God, you become a journeyman in the darkness. God becomes the light. The Scriptures say the pillar of fire always stayed in front of them to lead them as God moved. God comes and consumes us not when we want God to follow us, but when we are ready to follow him.
We can be living sacrifices to God's fire.

There were once three guys. One guy's name was Meshach, the other guy's name was Shadrach, and the third guy's name was Abednego. They lived in the time of King Nebuchadnezzar. Now, King Nebuchadnezzar was enthralled with himself. He could have written Joe Namath's book long before Joe Namath: I Can't Wait Until Tomorrow 'Cause I Get Better Looking Every Day. He was thrilled with who he was, and he felt there should be some kind of idol erected in his name and image. He was going to have everyone worship him through the idol.

Well, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship the false god. They would only worship the living God. So through the advice of his counselors, King Nebuchadnezzar established a furnace. He said that anyone who would not bow down when the music played would be thrown into the furnace. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship any god except the Lord God. Nebuchadnezzar became so angry he had the furnace turned up multiple times, hotter and hotter, and threatened to throw them into the fire. They refused and said, "God can save us. He may or may not. But either way, we're not going to worship you or your god. We're going to worship the Lord God."

So Nebuchadnezzar, in his anger, had the soldiers throw them into the fire, and the Bible tells us the fire was so intense that those men who threw them in were consumed in that moment themselves. Nebuchadnezzar looked inside the fire. He saw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego inside. When God's holy fire consumes his people, as he purifies us to make us holy, not only does he make us mobile to walk in obedience to him at any time day or night, but we become a people of fire. And fire always does well in the furnace. What did Nebuchadnezzar think he could do except cause God to ignite them even more brightly in his fire?

No wonder John the Baptist, when they thought he was Christ the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, kept saying, "It's not me. It's another." He would try to give them something to look for that was different than himself. He said, "I baptize you with water." Water is a beautiful symbol of God's drenching us in his presence. We observe these baptisms today, and yet we know water isn't magical. Water isn't supernatural. Water can do nothing in and of itself to change a person. So John the Baptist says: I baptize with water, but there is one coming after me whose sandals I'm not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and will drench you with God and with fire.

It's amazing enough that when we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we are enveloped, we are literally drenched, in God through his Spirit. But he tells us we will also be receiving a baptism of fire.

No wonder when Jesus ascended to heaven and the early church erupted on the scene, tongues as of fire fell on their heads. The church was ignited by the fire of God. Fire is the perfect metaphor for communion, for worship. Fire is what happens when we come together on the altar of God and cry out to him. After all, Jesus is the ultimate sacrificial lamb, who was willing to lay down his life on the altar to be consumed by the holiness of God the Father as a sacrifice for us.

Remember Abraham and Isaac as they walked up to that critical place, that moment in history when Abraham was to sacrifice his son Isaac as a declaration of his allegiance and trust in God. I think Isaac was an intuitive person. They carried the offering up, they set it up, and he looked around. He'd been a part of many sacrifices. The people of God were to set an altar with a sacrifice on the fire, and the aroma would go to heaven. It would be a sweet aroma to God. So Isaac said, "Here's wood and here's fire." But with a deep breath, I'm sure, he asked, "Where is the sacrifice?" I have a strange feeling he already knew. He understood that you cannot simply have wood and fire, but that God demands a sacrifice on that altar. We discover that God had a ram waiting in the bushes for them to sacrifice, and that God was just testing the heart of Abraham.

But we find again in Jesus that God required a sacrifice on the altar. And we find once again in the Scriptures that the Bible commands us to become living sacrifices, placing our lives on the altar of God.
Faith is a communal experience.

But it's not just something you do by yourself. A sacrifice, the offering, and the fire was a communal experience. It was something brought before God, where all of God's people found forgiveness of sin, not just individuals. A lot of us want to become altars independently of God's people, but there's a reason why God tells us in the Scriptures that the Lord God inhabits the praises of his people. Not his person. Not just you. God inhabits the praises of his people. Why did Jesus say, "Where two or more are gathered in my name I am there in the midst"?

A lot of us have bought into this thing: I don't need the community of Christ. I don't need the body of Christ. I can worship God by myself even better than with other people. People hold me back from worshiping God. I have lain on a wooden bridge with the river passing underneath me in the middle of the Blue Ridge Parkway in the mountains of North Carolina and have experienced God for hours. That is a beautiful and indescribable experience. I've had moments as I've driven in my car alone where God has poured himself out in such a way that I knew he was real and that he was with me. But I want you to understand something: Even though we experience God independently and personally, we cannot experience God in his fullness and with all of his textures outside of community.

God himself is communal. God is relational. When he created us he said, "Let us create man in our image, in our likeness." Jesus explained to us that God had God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit commune together in oneness and unity, and that his longing was for us to experience relationship with each other as he experiences relationship. How could you think that God who is communal, God who is relational, God who expresses to us in three persons who he is, could be fully experienced just by yourself? That's thinking a lot of who you are and too little of who God intended us to be.

When you experience genuine communion, you begin to cry out, "Come, union." Not only "come, union" between God and you, but "come, union" between you and all of God's people. And you begin to realize why you need to worship in community. When you connect to God and his fire consumes you, you cry out, "Come, union. God, I want to know you and experience you and be in you and enveloped by you, consumed by you." You cry out, "Come, union. God, I want to see the unity that can only happen as you bring people together through forgiveness and mercy and compassion and tenderness."

And when you are consumed by God, you understand why God seeks and saves that which is lost, why God yearns for those who are created in his image and likeness to worship him. You understand the pain and anguish in the heart of God that those who were created by him do not know him. You begin to cry out "come, union" for all those who are outside God's presence and God's love, that they would come into union with him and with each other.

I'm reminded of Paul's words to Timothy. He tells Timothy to fan into flame the gift God had given him by the laying on of hands. AT&T says you can pick up your phone and reach out and touch someone. But I dare to propose that no matter how wonderful the phone call has been, no matter how much you've anticipated that phone call, no matter how much you love the person, in reality, no one ever touched you.

I still haven't figured out how to fulfill what the Bible talks about without human contact. Paul says to Timothy, "Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands." It tells me there is something about being a Christian that only happens when we are in human contact with each other. It requires human touch and relationship. It demands a level of intimacy that most of us are uncomfortable with.

The truth is, we can all come into the same building and really be here by ourselves. Most of you, when you look for a place to sit, are looking for an empty aisle, not one full of people. What is the point of coming together and sitting here as an individual—isolated, autonomous, disconnected—pretending you're experiencing the presence of God in communion, if you come and leave and the person next to you is just as much a stranger as he was when you began? A part of our brokenness, a part of the consequence of our separation from God, is that we would rather stand alone, although we desperately long to be in relationship with other people.

There isn't anyone here who doesn't want to be loved, who doesn't want to be connected, who doesn't long to receive some gift from God by the laying on of another person's hand. At the same time, we anguish and struggle with all the layers of who we are, all our defense mechanisms and fears and phobias. God demands that we come together in union.
We must engage our culture with God's fire.

If you follow this all the way through, it makes sense why being relevant to our culture is not optional. Many of us want to say, "Hey, we just want to worship God and experience God. Why do we have to think about the outside world?"

Did you notice there isn't one story about Jesus that doesn't describe him in a human context? Jesus came to this world and he was dark brown, maybe black. Guess what? It was not a shock to Mary. He had her skin color. When he walked around the neighborhood, people didn't say, "Look at the pink kid." Jesus was the color of the culture.

I don't want to sound sacrilegious, but Jesus smelled. He didn't just glow. He didn't just perspire. He was the son of a carpenter. There was sweat that came from that man. He had an odor and an aroma. When he smelled bad, he smelled bad like an Israelite. When he smelled good, he smelled good like an Israelite. Jesus had textures and tastes. Jesus spoke a language. If you were there in the time of Jesus as the person you are right now, you would not have understood him. You would have needed a translator, because he spoke the language of the people. Jesus encountered the culture. He became one like them.

Isn't it odd that we struggle at times with whether our church should reflect the culture in its language and its textures, in its aromas, in its images and colors? Jesus looked like an Israelite because he was one. The language and texture, the color, the aroma, the essence of our world is art and dance and film and images. It's laid back and casual, sofas and footstools. It's coffee and hot chocolate and tea and rice and chicken. And that's the texture and language the church must take on. If Jesus was not too good to encounter the culture at its level, we ourselves are not too good.

At the same time, Jesus created an encounter culture. Whenever you got around Jesus, you understood him. He smelled right. He looked right. He acted right. His language was clear. His accent was perfect. When you got around Jesus, at first you thought, Hey, I can connect. I can relate. We're of the same essence. We're the same kind of people. But then all of a sudden, boom! The consuming fire of God would enter the room, and you would know you were in the presence of God. All that comfort would change to discomfort, and you would start sweating and your heart would begin pounding like it was going to break through your rib cage and explode out of your skin, because when Jesus would speak, he would create an encounter culture. You knew God was there, and you could not run anywhere or hide anywhere from God.

We want to experience in this communion, in this fire, an encounter culture where God himself is made manifest and known. The power of the gospel can be lost if we don't allow God to bring his fire into this time in history.
Conclusion

You know the wonderful thing about fire? It's irreversible. It's a consuming experience. Some of you here are wood. You've been going to church or the temple or someplace all your life, and you carry your wood around. You're religious, and your wood is valuable to you. But you've never encountered God; he's never encountered you. You've never opened your life to him, and you've never been set on fire. So you've got all this wood—it's religion, ritual. And the way you can know you're just wood and not fire is because you're not passionate about the things of God. But be careful with your wood, because God can even consume wood that's been drenched in water.

Some of you here are ashes. What's happened with you is that you were wood, and at some vulnerable moment in your life you said, "God, I'm yours. I understand you're a consuming fire. I give you everything I am. I throw my life, my future, my dreams, my hopes, my pains, everything to you." And God consumed you in that moment, and you were burning for God. But then you let the fire go out, and you discovered you were nothing but ashes. And the way you talk is, "Man, there was a time where I knew God. There was a time I felt close to God." You keep looking back on your life, and you're just carrying around these ashes.

Others of you are little pilot lights. The song "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine" is your song. God says, "It's not enough. I don't want you to have the little, tiny light of mine. I want you to be a fire consumed in God."

Do you know how you can tell if your altar is connecting to God? It's the one that gets set on fire.

http://www.preachingtoday.com/sermons/article_print.html?id=44891

[*~1Best~*]

Let's J-A-M! JAM-JAM-JAM Jama

# Please pray for President Bush, Vice President Cheney, the Cabinet, Supreme Court Justices, governors, senators & congressmen, and mayors to revere God and seek to do His will. Pray that God would guide them and give them wisdom.

# Pray for our churches to be quick in repentance and experience revival.

# Pray that God would be the center of each family unit and that families would experience healing.

# Pray for teachers and administrative leaders to be God’s light in schools by being role models and mentors for the next generation.

# We pray that there would be a cleansing of our movies, television shows and internet sites.



GLDI (Global Leadership Development Institute)

God created this world with a glorious plan and He chooses to use His people, trained and available people, to carry out His redeeming work in this world.

Are you looking for something more in life? Do you want your life to count for something? Would you like to influence the world for the cause of Christ? Do you feel like you are destined for something greater? Would you like to be a part of an elite "army" of God? Would you like to be a person after God’s own heart? Would you like to make life-long friends that will change the world with you?

What if we told you that investing 0.001% of your life can change 99.999% of your life?

This world needs godly, creative leaders who will meet the unprecedented challenges this world faces and help make this world a better place for the glory of God. We invite you to step up to that challenge.

GLDI: 40 days of intense, wholistic training to develop Spirit-filled, competent, powerful and transforming ambassadors for changing the nation and the world for Christ.






http://www.jamaglobal.com/wp/

[*~1Best~*]

All right! Pictures speak thousands of words!!!

I need to be inspired by CLEAN mind!!

[*~1Best~*]

Cosmoworld, you are certainly thinking BIG... as your alias shows as "cosmoworld7", with the number 7 which is the day of rest after God creating the world on 6th day.

Keep being positive and spread the positive messages.

[cosmoworld7]

Quote of the Day:

"Thinking big but acting small, is the same as thinking small."

[*~1Best~*]

Thanks, Tina Marie, I hope that you had a nice, happy, and profitable day today.

You are an angel, no devil, because I am seeing your signature with nice angelic dressed up with wings.



Have a nice night