Imagine tricky….then multiply times a million….and there you have him….satan. I know, I know…I hate satan like the rest of you…and would never give him kudos…but we would be wise to understand the depths that he is willing to go to neutralize you. If he can create the opportunity….he will use your best friend in the world to shut you up (if you are a threat to his control). Yeah…I know…this sets me up as the person who has delusions of grandeur…who thinks of himself worthy of such an attack. But guess what? WE are all worthy of such an attack if we are treading on his, potentially, damned grounds. You think you are wise? Think again. JESUS CHRIST was crucified by satan. Poor satan. He underestimated JESUS. What a name! Surely…a name above all NAMES….YES INDEED…JESUS IS LORD. satan has ultimately been defeated. THANK YOU JESUS. JESUS, YOU ALONE RULE.
Eden…
I’m of the opinion that many people long for Eden. Indeed, (some of us) are aliens in this world. This world just doesn’t fit…doesn’t fulfill. And on that note…if you were given the opportunity to live in Eden…in keeping with the spirit of an ‘Eden’…who would you take with you? Any person? Your dog? Who?
Are you saved?
There are only [really] two kinds of people. Those that know Christ, and those that don’t. If you know Christ, then you know how desperate you were/are for a savior. If you don’t know Christ, then you don’t know that you even ‘need’ a savior. That might just be the easiest test, and the greatest test, all wrapped up in one. If you don’t know how great your need is for a savior, then you aren’t saved. If you do realize your need, then the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in you, and you ARE saved (there are always exceptions)! Which category do you [currently] fall in? It’s never too late you know?
John 6:37-39...All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.
John 3:16-17..."For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
Matthew 12:30..."He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters."
1 Corinthians 2:14…The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
2 Corinthians 13:5...Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realise that Christ Jesus is in you— unless, of course, you fail the test?
Are humans smart enough to rule the world?
I have the answer to that. No. Absolutely not. It’s all going to come crashing down. Your worldly wisdom, your dollars, and your gold won’t save you (Ez 7). No doubt about it. It’s inevitable. God warned the Israelites of the results of rejecting Him as their king, but they did not relent and professed their desire for a worldly king (1 Sam 8). They wanted to be like everybody else. They rejected God as their king. That is still happening today. People continue to reject God and follow men, and the ways of the world instead. Where does it lead? Yeah, it doesn’t lead to a good place. Be careful what you ask for. God doesn’t make us serve Him. He doesn’t force us. Sadly, we often have to learn the hard way. On the other hand, joyfully, God is available when we do come to our senses and return to him.
Healing and health…
For anybody out there that is struggling with mental or physical health related issues, I humbly submit the following scriptures for your perusal.
Isaiah 58:6-11…Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
Proverbs 4:20-22…My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.
Proverbs 3:5-8…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. 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.
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The mistakes we all make…
….thinking we are wiser than God. Or maybe it’s because we just aren’t aware of God’s council? No matter, in both cases, there is no excuse. Thinking you are wiser than God is folly, and ignoring the council (the Bible) that is virtually ubiquitous is also folly. Let me say again…there is no excuse. I see it in parents all the time. They withhold discipline. In doing so, they allow the children to rule over them. When they do, they do a disservice to their own children and to themselves as well. Kids need to be trained up by God fearing, and God believing parents. Yes, I said ‘fearing’. Politically incorrect…I know…but truth shouldn’t be political. Truth is truth, no matter what your political affiliation. God is wiser than man, is wiser than YOU. If you don’t believe it, go ahead and do things your way. Please, though, no complaints.
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[Proverbs 23:13] Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die. Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death.
[Proverbs 19:18] Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death.
[Proverbs 13:24] He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.
[Proverbs 22:15] Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.
[Wesley: Have not you been present when a father or mother has said, "My child, do so or so?" The child, without any ceremony, answered peremptorily, "I won't." And the parent quietly passes it by, without any further notice. And does he or she not see, that, by this cruel indulgence, they are training up their child, by flat rebellion against their parents, to rebellion against God? Consequently they are training him up for the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels! Did they duly consider this they would neither eat, nor drink, nor sleep, till they had taught him a better lesson, and made him thoroughly afraid of ever giving that diabolical answer again.
Let me reason this case a little farther with you parents that fear God. If you do fear God, how dare you suffer a child above a year old to say, "I ~will do" what you forbid, or, "I ~won't do" what you bid, and to go unpunished? Why do not you stop him at once, that he may never dare to say so again? Have you no bowels, no compassion for your child? No regard for his salvation or destruction? Would you suffer him to curse or swear in your presence, and take no notice of it? Why, disobedience is as certain a way to damnation as cursing and swearing. Stop him, stop him at first, in the name of God. Do not "spare the rod, and spoil the child." If you have not the heart of a tiger, do not give up your child to his own will, that is, to the devil. Though it be pain to yourself, yet pluck your offspring out of the lion's teeth. Make them submit, that they may not perish. Break their will, that you may save their soul.]
Romans 13:1... Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
Daniel chapter 3….When not to submit.
Exodus 20:12 ¶ "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
Deuteronomy 21:18 ¶ If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard." Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.
Proverbs 30:11 "There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers; those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth; those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful; those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth, the needy from among mankind.
Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
Ephesians 6:1 ¶ Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
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1 Timothy 3:4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)
1 Timothy 3:12 A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well.
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Isaiah 66:2 Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the LORD. "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.
Contrite: Feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses.
Deuteronomy 6:6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.
Proverbs 7:1 ¶ My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
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Exodus 21:15, 15 "Anyone who attacks his father or his mother must be put to death.
Exodus 21:17 "Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death."
Leviticus 20:9 “If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood will be on his own head."
Prov. 30:17 "The eye that mocks a father, that scorns obedience to a mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures."
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Praise God…
God’s ways are not our ways! HALLELUJAH! Oh my goodness…if it were not so, we’d be in so much trouble! If God was like us…if God was vindictive…if God wasn’t LOVE, if God wasn’t MERCIFUL….if God wasn’t FORGIVENESS….can you imagine? All would be lost. There would be no hope. GOOD NEWS…GOD’S WAYS ARE NOT OUR WAYS! Let me say again….GOD’S WAYS ARE NOT OUR WAYS…GOD’S WAYS ARE HIGHER THAN OUR WAYS!!! Dance. Sing. Praise. HALLELUJAH…there is HOPE in CHRIST! (Isaiah 55:8)