 Acts 2 16 "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:" See also Joel 2:28-29. Holy Spirit put this word on my heart this morning, along with the scripture, Mark 16:9-20. We will take a look at that scripture, and then take a quick look in scripture at some of the most noteworthy women of the Bible. Finally, we will try to understand the controversy over whether or not women should remain silent in church, as written by Apostle Paul. This is a difficult word to understand and/or write, and I pray that God guides my words in His Will, and opens the ears of His children to hear. In Jesus' Mighty Name. Amen. Admittedly, addressing this topic is something I have avoided over the years, since God awakened me to His Power. Why? Because I am a woman, so immediately anything I say could be considered biased, even by me. Over the years, however, God has proven to me repeatedly with signs and wonders in my life, and through his words in these blogs, that I am no longer my own, but His. See other words about God's Power in My Testimony and My Walk With God. Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. So, let's first look at the scripture Holy Spirit put on my heart with this word: Mark 16 9 "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. 14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen." We will break that down into two discussions, Mark 16:9-16 now, and then Mark 16:17-20 at the end of this blog. We can see in Mark 16:9 above that after His resurrection, Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, a woman, from whom he had previously cast out seven devils. This is significant because, as we will see, Jesus had every opportunity to appear first to one of His male disciples. John 20:1-10 tells us that Mary Magdalene first saw Jesus' sepulchre open, and she ran to tell Simon Peter and another disciple. Then, they all ran back to the sepulchre, and Simon Peter entered inside, and then the other disciple, and they both saw that the sepulchre was empty. John tells us that the other disciple believed, John 20:8, but "Then the disciples went away again unto their own home." John 20:10 The disciples just left. They had no idea what the empty sepulchre meant. They did not know what to make of it: "For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead." John 20:9 The disciples, including the eleven, lacked faith, and could not remember Jesus' words spoken to them in Mark 9:31: "For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day." Matthew 16 22 "Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." They could not hear His words. Furthermore, because of their hardness of heart, and unbelief, they also did not believe the women who told them the words God's angels had spoken to them from the empty sepulchre: Luke 24 1 "Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. 3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. 8 And they remembered his words, 9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not." But, Mary Magdalene, and the other women, believed. They had great faith, and "they remembered his words" verse 8. Jesus used Mary Magdalene to preach His Resurrection to His disciples, and they did not believe her, and Jesus admonished them for their unbelief and hardness of heart. Mark 16:14 above. God always uses sinners, men and women, to fulfill His Will, because we are all sinners. God does not see us as sinners, or as male and female, because to God, we are all One in Christ: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28 Recently, I heard someone describe it like this: When believers call out to God, he turns toward us to see who is calling him, and instead he sees Jesus, who is standing between us and God. This way, God does not see our sin; he sees Jesus' sacrifice and righteousness. But, for the unbelievers, or those who say they believe but have not been transformed by a renewing of their mind Romans 12:2, when they call out to God, Jesus is not standing in the Way, and God sees them and their sin, and rejects them. This is what Matthew 7:21-23 means: Matthew 7 21 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Who will God see when you call to him and he turns to see you? He will not turn to us to see if we are male or female, but only to see our righteousness through Christ Jesus, in whom we are all One. So, getting back to the scripture Holy Spirit put on my heart this morning, Mark 16:15, one of Jesus' final instructions to his disciples was, "...Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Every creature who believes in Jesus Christ, male and female, receives the same Spirit: "But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." 1 Corinthians 12:11 Is Apostle Paul speaking only to men in that verse, when he says, every man? Of course not. He is speaking to every creature at the church of Corinth, men and women, who were all listening to his words, and also every creature who will ever hear. We know that the Bible is written in an overall "masculine" form, often referring to "brethren" (brothers and sisters), "man," and "men," when referring to all of mankind, male and female. This is consistent throughout the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. We understand to whom each scripture is referring by the context of adjacent scriptures. For example, to whom is Jesus referring, when He says, "he" in Mark 16:15-16? "...Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." "He" in verse 16, when taken in context with "every creature" in verse 15, makes it clear that Jesus is referring to all of mankind, male and female. Every creature, all of mankind, male and female, who believe ...shall be saved. Verse 16 Salvation does not know if we are male or female. Salvation is for all who believe, and with Salvation comes the endowment of the Holy Spirit: John 14 16 "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." With the endowment of the Holy Spirit comes the gifts of the Spirit, as described by Apostle Paul to the entire congregation at Corinth, male and female, 1 Corinthians 12 below. Was Paul speaking only to the men when he says in 1 Corinthians 12:1 "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant." Of course not. Men and women can be saved, can receive the Holy Spirit, and can and do receive gifts of the Spirit, different gifts, same Spirit: 1 Corinthians 12 4 "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. 12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many." Next, let's look at some of the Noteworthy Women of the Bible, and then, finally, Apostle Paul's controversial words, when he said that women should not teach in the church, but should remain silent. NOTEWORTHY WOMEN OF THE BIBLE Deborah, a Prophetess, and Judge of Israel Judges 4:4 "And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time." See also, Judges 4, 5. Huldah, a Prophetess 2 Kings 22 14 "So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her. 15 And she said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me, 16 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: 17 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched. 18 But to the king of Judah [Josiah] which sent you to enquire of the Lord, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard; 19 Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. 20 Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again." See also, 2 Chronicles 34:14-33. Anna, a Prophetess, who was at the Temple day and night, and preached the Salvation of Christ Luke 2 36 "And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; 37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." The Woman At The Well: A Samaritan woman [Gentile] was the first person to whom Jesus revealed Himself as the Messiah, and many were saved through her preaching and testimony: John 4 1 "When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, 2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) 3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. 4 And he must needs go through Samaria. 5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. 7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. 8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. 16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. 19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. 27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? 28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? 30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. 31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. 32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. 33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? 34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. 35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. 37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. 38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. 39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. 40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his own word; 42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world." Sister Phebe, Servant of the Church at Cenchrea; and, Priscilla, Helpers in Christ, whom Apostle Paul praised. Romans 16 1 "I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: 2 That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also. 3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: 4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my well-beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ." OTHER NOTEWORTHY WOMEN OF THE BIBLE
See a more comprehensive list of Noteworthy Women of the Bible at the bottom of this blog. In Romans 16:2 above, Apostle Paul refers to Sister Phebe as a "saint," a true believer in Christ. In verse 5, we learn that the "church" was in Priscilla and Aquila's house: "Likewise greet the church that is in their house. . ." It was a custom at the time for churches to be in the homes of believers. We learn from Acts 18 that this same Priscilla (and Aquila), preached unto a man in the synagogue "the way of God more perfectly": Acts 18 24 "And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly." Apostle Paul does not reprove, or correct, Priscilla by telling her she should remain silent. Apostle Paul praises Priscilla's service in Romans 16:3-5 above. Paul also says at 1 Corinthians 11:5 "But every woman that prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head. . ." Paul is saying that women prophesy, and we know that no one prophesies in silence! So, we can see that, scripturally, women have played a fairly significant role in the history of mankind. Why are there so many noteworthy women, even women praised by Apostle Paul, and yet Paul seems to say in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 below that women should be silent? Is Paul contradicting himself? Of course not. 1 Corinthians 14 34 "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. 35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church." First, let's look at how the word "silent" is used here. The Greek word used, sigaō (to be silent), doesn’t necessarily mean absolute muteness. Earlier in the same chapter 14:28, 30, Paul uses it to tell tongue-speakers and prophets to be quiet if their speech would disrupt order. To understand why Paul says these things to the people of Corinth, and what it means to us today, it is important to understand the Gentile city of Corinth, to whom Paul was speaking in his letters in Corinthians. Excerpts from biblestudytools.com "Corinth was a thriving city; it was at the time the chief city of Greece both commercially and politically, and was "one of the dominant commercial centers of the Mediterranean world as early as the eighth century b.c." "Although Corinth was not a university town like Athens, it was characterized nevertheless by typical Greek culture. Its people were interested in Greek philosophy and placed a high premium on wisdom." "Corinth contained at least 12 temples. Whether they were all in use during Paul's time is not known for certain. One of the most infamous was the temple dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, whose worshipers practiced religious prostitution." "Like any large commercial city, Corinth was a center for open and unbridled immorality. The worship of Aphrodite fostered prostitution in the name of religion. At one time 1,000 sacred (priestess) prostitutes served her temple. So widely known did the immorality of Corinth become that the Greek verb "to Corinthianize" came to mean "to practice sexual immorality." In a setting like this it is no wonder that the Corinthian church was plagued with numerous problems." "The letter [Paul's letter, 1 Corinthians] revolves around the theme of problems in Christian conduct in the church. It thus has to do with progressive sanctification, the continuing development of a holy character. Obviously Paul was personally concerned with the Corinthians' problems, revealing a true pastor's (shepherd's) heart." So, the people of Corinth followed the misguided doctrine of men (mankind), still based in the practice of religious prostitution, and all manner of sexual immorality, worshipping pagan gods and goddesses like Aphrodite. Not only did they follow these doctrine, but they believed they were acceptable to God and worthy of Salvation. They were an unruly lot, prone to every manner of abomination, believing themselves to be righteous. In addition, the church of Corinth was divided, in that women sat on one side of the room, and men sat on the other side of the room. While the word was being given, unruly women would often yell out to their husbands on the other side of the room. Thus, Paul's admonition for women to remain silent. Also, because they followed the misguided doctrine of the men of Corinth, they were unable to teach sound doctrine, and, therefore, were instructed by Paul not to teach. We know that Apostle Paul wrote 13 letters, or epistles, that were specific instructions to the Gentile congregations (male and female members) throughout Asia at the time. See a timeline of these epistles at the bottom of this blog. He begins the letters to Corinth by pointing out that he had received bad reports on them from "the house of Chloe," another woman. Paul clearly valued the role of women in the church: 1 Corinthians 1 10 "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you." Paul encountered the same division, and unruly, immoral behavior, being practiced in churches from Rome to Philemon. Yet, his admonition for women to remain silent is only written to Corinth and Ephesus. He reiterates his letter to Corinth at 1 Timothy 2: Women should learn in silence, and should not be allowed to teach in the church. Let's look at 1 Timothy 2:12 "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." When we read this scripture in context with verses 9-10, Paul is saying that, just as clothing should reflect a controlled demeanor, so too should behavior in a church service reflect godliness, and women should not be loud and unruly in church. "Let all things be done decently and in order." 1 Corinthians 14: 40 When taken in context with Paul's praise of women in the church, shown herein, we understand that Paul is saying in these two instances that women should remain silent until they can speak in Truth, like Priscilla, Phebe, and other noteworthy women of the Bible. The confusion from Apostle Paul's words about women is not unlike other instances of doctrinal debate. We must study the Bible as a whole, rightly dividing the word of God. 2 Timothy 2:15. Paul's words about women remaining silent must be tempered with his other words that praise women who preach, teach and prophesy, and also tempered with Jesus' works through women, as well as the remainder of God's Word, which says, among many other things: There is only One God. We are all One in Him. There are varying gifts, but one Spirit that works in us all. In the remainder of the scripture from Holy Spirit this morning, Mark 16:17-20, God is saying, Who are you to judge your brothers (sisters) in Christ, when you do not have the faith to bring forth God's Will for believers through Christ Jesus? Mark 16 17 "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen." How many Christians lay hands on the sick, or speak with new tongues? Many Christians mock and/or crucify their brothers and sisters in Christ for performing these signs that Jesus said would follow true believers. “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.” Matthew 7:5 Remember what Apostle Paul said in Romans 15:20 "Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation:" Preach the gospel. "Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 Paul's 13 Epistles: Cities, Sexual Immorality, and Women’s Silence Paul’s letters were written to Christian communities or individuals leading them, not to Jewish synagogues as institutions. He encountered sexual immorality across the 13 cities (epistles), but writes that women should remain silent in only 2: Corinth and Ephesus.
Noteworthy Women of the Bible: Role, Scripture, Significance.
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 Heavenly Father, let all men turn from evil, seek God's righteousness, and believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. Recently, I had a discussion with someone on X.com (Twitter), who said that God must "regenerate" us, or give us a new heart, before we can believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior. He used 1 Corinthians 2:14 below to support his claim: "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." His supposition was that all men are "natural" men, born into sin, which is true: we are all sinners. Therefore, he said that we cannot see past our darkened hearts, to believe in and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, unless God first regenerates our heart, or gives us a "new heart." When asked to quote scripture that says God first regenerates our heart before we can accept Jesus, he could not, but kept quoting the same scripture, 1 Corinthians 2:14, and debating his understanding of it. First, is his understanding of 1 Corinthians 2:14 flawed? We should read 1 Corinthians 2, in its entirety, to understand the context of what Apostle Paul is talking about. Here, Paul is preaching to the sinners at Corinth, of which many confessed belief in Christ, but practiced all manner of immorality. They blindly followed the misguided men of Corinth, and believed that their behavior was normal and acceptable to the Lord. In verse 5, Paul tells them that their faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. So, he is telling these sinners at Corinth that until they put their faith in God, instead of the world, they will remain "natural" men, unable to discern God's Word. The Bible further tells us that God wants ALL men to be saved, not just the ones He picks and chooses to give a "new heart": "Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:4 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 All men. Whosoever believes. Now, the "knowledge of the truth" mentioned in 1 Timothy 2:4 above was promised by Jesus, after His death and resurrection, just before He ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven. Jesus told His disciples that He would pray the Father to send the Comforter to guide believers John 14:16-17. "The knowledge of the truth" comes from the Spirit of God (the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, all one in the same Spirit of God): "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." John 16:13 Although the twitter poster's understanding of 1 Corinthians 2:14 may be flawed, is it entirely inaccurate? The short answer is, Yes, it is entirely inaccurate. We can only receive the "knowledge of the truth," or God's Spirit, spoken of in 1 Timothy 2:4 above after accepting and believing in Jesus Christ, not before. Let's look at the specific scripture that tells us about man's new heart, Ezekiel 36:25-26: 25 "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." We can see, when taking verses 25 and 26, in context, that God will indeed "regenerate," or give us a new heart, but not before sprinkling us with clean water. Jesus is the water of life referred to in Ezekiel 36:25: John 4 13 "Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." The key, however, to understanding 1 Corinthians 2:14 is knowing that we must first seek God's righteousness: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33 Seek God's righteousness. Be not conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind: Romans 12 2 "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." Draw close to God (seek God's goodness), and He will draw close to you: "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." James 4:7 Some men will never repent of the sin in their lives. Their hearts are dark and evil, and full of every abomination. The Light of Jesus, and the Word of God, hurts their eyes and ears. It offends them. It is foolishness to them. 1 Corinthians 2:14. These "natural" men are drawn to evil because they have submitted themselves to it: Romans 6 16 "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you." "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7 The children of God. And, children of the devil: 1 John 3 10 "In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. 11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another." God sent Jesus to save all men who believe, and all men have a choice to seek God's goodness, and be called the "children of God," or live in darkness, and be called the "children of the devil." God searches the heart and tries the reins (He allows us to be tested [by Satan]), and gives us the faith of which we are worthy (Romans 12:3 above): Jeremiah 17 9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. 11 As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool." Again, God wants All Men, Whosoever Believe, to be saved. To prove this, His Word tells us that, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matthew 24:14 Some men may never repent of the sin in their lives, but we will all have a chance to be saved. We can all hear the gospel preached, if we seek the goodness of God. Let's look at the example of Cain and Abel, the intrinsically evil man versus the intrinsically good man (read more about Cain and Abel here): "The [intrinsically] good man produces what is good and honorable and moral out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart; and the [intrinsically] evil man produces what is wicked and depraved out of the evil [in his heart]; for his mouth speaks from the overflow of his heart." Luke 6:45 AMP Cain was an intrinsically evil man, a child of the devil: "Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." 1 John 3:12 Even though Cain was wicked, he also had God's Word stored in his heart, or at least knew right from wrong, as shown in Genesis 4:7, when God says to Cain, "If you do well, shall you not be accepted? and if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. . ." So, he knew to do well, and what the consequences were. He was, however, of that "wicked one," or a child of the devil. God wants all men to be saved, even Cain. And, what does God tell him to do to be accepted? Do well (or seek goodness)! Now, the day after this conversation on twitter about 1 Corinthians 2:14, God was not yet finished with this lesson, and I saw a "random" post on twitter that said basically the same thing as the previous poster, that no one can come to Jesus except God draw him near, and he posted John 6:44 "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." Now, when I first read John 6:44, I thought to myself, Was I wrong? Was I listening to myself and not God? Then, I read John 6, the entire chapter, especially verses 44 and 45: John 6 44 "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." "Every man therefore that has heard and has learned of the Father, comes unto me." Therefore, any regeneration of man's heart before believing in Jesus comes from seeking God's goodness, hearing God's Word preached, or reading it, which things "prepare" man to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, and to receive God's Spirit. Following, see Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers on John 6:44: Quote: (44) No man can come to me.—The subject is still the mystery of the varying effects of His revelation on the minds of men. These depend upon their present mental state, which is itself the result of acceptance of, or rejection of, divine influence. The Father which sent Him had, by law, and prophets, and worship, been preparing them. The history of each individual life had been a succession, in every conscious hour, of influences for good or for evil. The mind stood between these, and willed for one or other. He who day by day, with all his light and strength, however little that all might have been, had sought the pure, and true, and good—had sought really to know God—was drawn of God, and he only it was who could now come to Him whom God sent. Others were drawn of evil, because they had submitted themselves to its power. They had chosen darkness, and could not now see the light; they had bound themselves in the silken cords of sin, which had hardened into fetters of iron; they had lost themselves in the labyrinths of what they thought wisdom, and did not recognise the true and living way which was opened for them." End Quote. https://biblehub.com/commentaries/john/6-44.htm As explained in Ellicott's commentary, "The Father which sent Him [Jesus] had, by law, and prophets, and worship, been preparing them" [to believe in His Son]. John 6:45 "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." Seeking the righteousness of God, and hearing His Word, "prepares" us to believe in Jesus Christ, who was sent by God, the Father, to save us from our sins, even with eternal life. This is why Jesus' last instruction to His followers after His death and resurrection, before ascending into heaven, was: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15 The hardened heart of the "natural" man referred to in 1 Corinthians 2:14 cannot be softened unto salvation, which is Jesus Christ, unless he first seeks the goodness of God and the gospel. In one of my first testimonies about "My Walk With God (part 1)," I tell the story of my daughter, and how all odds were against her becoming a Christian, and, yet, she came to Christ before I ever returned to Him. We were chatting the other day, my daughter and I, and I mentioned how she found God without any guidance, at least from me or her dad, and she told me something I never knew. She said she was introduced to the love of Jesus when she went to a youth group with one of her friends from school. Plant the seed, and God will do the rest. Finally, let's look at the Bible story of an Ethiopian man (Egyptian), who sought God, and sought to understand His Word, and found salvation, through the preaching of the Word by a stranger, an Evangelist. Acts 8:1-40 Philip, the Evangelist, and the Ethiopian Stranger (biblehub.com) Acts 8 Quote: "In obedience to a Divine summons, Philip had betaken himself to the way that goeth down from Jerusalem to Gaza. And if at first he may have wondered why he should have been called upon to leave his rapidly progressing work in Samaria for a desert road, he was not for long left in doubt as to what was required of him. For as he walked along he was overtaken by an Ethiopian stranger returning in his chariot from Jerusalem. This man, who was the chamberlain or treasurer of Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians, had heard somehow in his distant home, of the Jewish religion, and had undertaken this long journey to make further inquiries regarding it. We are not told how he had been impressed; very possibly the actual fruits that he witnessed were very different from what he had expected. But one treasure at least he had found, a Greek copy of the prophecies of Isaiah, and this he was eagerly searching on his return journey, to see if he could find further light there. One passage specially arrested his attention, the touching passage in which the prophet draws out his great portraiture of the Man of Sorrows. But, then, how reconcile the thought of this Messiah, suffering, wounded, dying, with the great King and Conqueror whom the Jews at Jerusalem had been expecting! Could it be that he had anything to do with our Jesus of Nazareth, of whom he had also heard, and whom, because of the Messianic claims He had put forward, the Jewish leaders had crucified on a cross? Oh, for some one to help him! Help was nearer than he thought. Prompted by the Spirit, Philip ran forward to the chariot; and no sooner had he learned the royal chamberlain's difficulties than he "opened his mouth, and beginning from this scripture, preached unto him Jesus" (Acts viii.35). We are not told on what particulars Philip dwelt; but, doubtless, starting from the prophetic description of the Man of Sorrows, "despised and rejected of men," he would show how that description held true of the earthly life of Jesus. And then he would go on to show the meaning and bearing of these sufferings. They arose from no fault on the part of Jesus; but, "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities." And yet that was not the end. The life which had thus ended in shame had begun again in glory: the cross had led on to the crown. And as thus he unfolded the first great principles of the Christian faith, Philip would press home on the eunuch's awakened conscience that they had a vital meaning for him. "Repent," can we not imagine him pleading as Peter had pleaded before, "and be baptised . . . in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts ii.38). The eunuch's heart was touched, and he asked that he might be baptized. Satisfied that he was in earnest, Philip agreed to his request. And when they came to a certain water, "they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him." Thus "the Ethiopian changed his skin," and "went on his way rejoicing" to his distant home, to declare in his turn to his countrymen the tidings of great joy." End Quote. Seek God's Goodness: The Eunuch sought God: ". . . had heard somehow in his distant home, of the Jewish religion, and had undertaken this long journey to make further inquiries regarding it." Hear the Gospel Preached: "...and no sooner had he learned the royal chamberlain's difficulties than he "opened his mouth, and beginning from this scripture, preached unto him Jesus." Then, "The eunuch's heart was touched, and he asked that he might be baptized." "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15 Seek God and you will find Him. Seek God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Praise God. Amen. "SATANCON" AUDIO BLOGCalling All Prayer Warriors Roar, like the Lion of Judah!  Revelation 5 5 "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth." Jesus Christ, from the lamb who was slain to the conqueror who saves. He teaches us the Power of God's Love, God's Word, and Prayer. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. Can you name one good thing about Satan? I can. One good thing is that if people believe in Satan, then they must also believe in God, because men that follow darkness hate the light. You cannot hate something unless you believe in it. If they believe in the light, then there is always hope that they will turn back to it:
John 3 19 "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." The Satanic Temple, with its international headquarters in Salem, Massachusetts, is holding its annual convention, called SatanCon, in Boston on April 28, 29 and 30, 2023. There will be satanic rituals, costumes, souvenirs, and toys for the children, all with a satanic theme. This is a sold-out event! What can you do about it? What can one person do? For starters, pray fervently, without ceasing. I know as soon as some people read that sentence, they will stop reading this, or turn off the video. They think, Prayer is not for me. Prayer is for other people. My life has been just fine without prayer. God is not listening to me. That one time, I prayed, He did nothing to help me. He doesn't care about my prayers. These are not words that God, the Father, has instilled in your heart. These are things that Satan has whispered in your ear: I can't. I'm not good enough. Someone else will do it. There is no one else to do it. There is only us, God's Children, His Chosen, His Warriors. If you have ever thought about praying, but never started, don't know where to start, now is the time. God does not care about your grammar. He cares about your heart. How To Pray Effectively (so God will hear your prayers) Believe. Accept God, His Holy Spirit, and His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Cleanse your heart by repenting. How do you do that? Cry out to God. Let's bow our heads and pray for that right now. Say this prayer out loud, right now: Heavenly Father, thank you for Your many blessings in my life. Thank you for forgiving me of my sin. I repent of the sin in my life, and I turn away from it. I surrender to you in full obedience. I believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ is Your only begotten Son, who died on the cross for my sins. I believe you raised Him from the dead, and that He now sits on the throne, at Your right hand, in heaven. I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior, now and forever more. Amen. Now that you have repented of the sin in your life and accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, open the communication airways with God right now by standing up, yes, actually do it, stand up, raise your hands in the air like you just don't care, and cry out: All Glory, Honor, Praise and Thanksgiving to God Most High, the Living God, the God of the Living, whatever you call Him, God, the Father. Again, keep your hands in the air and say, All Glory, All Honor, All Praise and All Thanksgiving to the One True God. Hallelujah. Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. And watch God's Holy Spirit come fill you with His glory right where you are standing. Now that you have opened the communication airwaves, begin to pray. Pray for God's Spirit to rain down on SatanCon, filling the hearts, souls and minds of those attending the convention with the love of the Father and His son, Jesus Christ. Pray for a Spiritual revival right there at the convention, amongst the attendees, something that the news will have no choice but to report. Pray for an awakening of God's children, to be called out of the darkness into His marvellous light. 1 Peter 2:9 The biggest confusion for me about prayer was that I thought I just needed to pray for something one time, and, then, when God got around to it, and if it was His Will, He would answer my prayer. This is not how prayer works. Prayer is not a "one and done" deal. God's Word is alive, and His Word says, Pray without ceasing (without stopping). 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Pray until your prayers are answered. To help combat these demonic forces ascending on Boston April 28 through 30, many churches are holding prayer vigils. Our church Living Waters Assembly of God, 450 Davis Street, Greenfield, MA, will be having a prayer and fasting vigil April 28 and April 29, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and April 30, the chapel will remain open after Sunday morning worship service as long as people are praying. Fasting is another element of God's Power for men on earth. As Jesus tells us, there are some demons that can only be cast out with prayer and fasting. Matthew 17:21. If you are taking medication, or have health concerns, please consult your doctors before fasting. If you attend a church, encourage them to hold a prayer vigil for this important prayer call. If you do not attend church, find one that is having a prayer vigil, and attend it as much as you are able. If that is not for you, then pray at home, pray with your family and friends. Jesus says, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20 We pray that you will join us in crushing Satan's head at SatanCon April 28 through 30. We do not need to wait until then to pray about it. Start praying now. Pray fervently (with intensity in spirit, enthusiastically). Pray without ceasing (without stopping). They will try to hide the Spiritual Revival that will take place, but they will be unable to silence it. It will roar like the lion of Judah! Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. God bless you all. "THE NATURAL MAN" AUDIO BLOG “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14
Heavenly Father, thank you for your blessings. Bless the world. Bless Your children. Bless the lost. Bless You. In Jesus' name. Amen. The “natural man,” as opposed to the supernatural man of Christ, receives not the things of the Spirit of God…. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2 7 “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.” Let’s look at verse 7 again, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:” Jesus Christ was foreordained before the foundation of the world: 1 Peter 1 20 "Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. 22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." Jesus Christ is the word made flesh: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." And by this “wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom 1 Cor. 2:7 above,” the word made flesh, Jesus Christ, we are transformed into His image, from glory to more glory. At verse 10, “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” The Spirit of God searches man’s heart for the deep things of God. And verse 12, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” Those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior have received the spirit of God, not the spirit of the world. You can accept Jesus as your Savior by saying the Prayer of Salvation by clicking here. Accept Jesus, and listen to and obey God’s gift of the Holy Spirit inside you. 1 Thessalonians 5 19 “Quench not the Spirit. 20 Despise not prophesyings. 21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” Christians may not understand every passage in the Bible, but we understand this: God is good. “And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” Matthew 19:17 God is love. “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 1 John 4:8 Everything God created is very good. “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” Genesis 1:31 Every good and perfect gift comes from God. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17 God loves us. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 God will not forsake us. “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Deuteronomy 31:6 God is real, but so is Satan. There are only two kingdoms: God’s kingdom or Satan’s kingdom: “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” 1 John 5:19 What do we know about Satan? We know that he was subtle, cunning, wily, crafty. We know that he was a liar, and the father of lies. We know that he was the deceiver of nations, who caused the whole world to sin. We know that he came to kill, steal and destroy our blessings from God. We know that he tempted Eve in God's garden of Eden. The serpent tests Eve (“that old serpent called the Devil and Satan” Revelation 12:9). “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5 Adam and Eve choose Satan’s kingdom (evil) by disobeying God. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Genesis 3:6 However, “No sooner was the wound given than the remedy was provided and revealed.” Matthew Henry. At Genesis 3:15, only a few short verses later, God promises a Savior: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Christ was the “seed” promised to man in the beginning, to crush Satan’s head. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, man went from being perfect, walking in the presence of God, and knowing only God’s love and light, to now knowing evil and darkness. "And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:" Genesis 3:22 Man is exiled to a life outside of the presence of God. “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” Genesis 3:24 Submit yourselves to God, obey God, resist the devil by accepting and believing in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, reading God’s Word, accepting God’s love, and His Will for your lives, and the devil will flee from you. “Let Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10. Your Will, not our own. Amen. “The way, the truth and the life” for mankind: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” James 14:6 “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Jesus is man’s “way” back into the presence of God, after being exiled. Jesus crushed Satan’s head for us. Satan now has no power over us unless we let him have power: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 2 Corinthians 3 17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom] 18 And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.” Let’s look at Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Corinthians 3:12-18, from biblehub.org: Quote: “It is the duty of the ministers of the gospel to use great plainness, or clearness, of speech. The Old Testament believers had only cloudy and passing glimpses of that glorious Saviour, and unbelievers looked no further than to the outward institution. But the great precepts of the gospel, believe, love, obey, are truths stated as clearly as possible. And the whole doctrine of Christ crucified, is made as plain as human language can make it. Those who lived under the law, had a veil upon their hearts. This veil is taken away by the doctrines of the Bible about Christ. When any person is converted to God, then the veil of ignorance is taken away. The condition of those who enjoy and believe the gospel is happy, for the heart is set at liberty to run the ways of God's commandments. They have light, and with open face they behold the glory of the Lord. Christians should prize and improve these privileges. We should not rest contented without knowing the transforming power of the gospel, by the working of the Spirit, bringing us to seek to be like the temper and tendency of the glorious gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and into union with Him. We behold Christ, as in the glass of his word; and as the reflection from a mirror causes the face to shine, the faces of Christians shine also.” End quote. So, through Christ’s love, like a reflection of His light in a mirror, we, “the natural man,” once banished from God’s presence, can once again be the supernatural man of love and light God created us to be, and let our light shine into the world, into the hearts of men. You can read more about the veil of blindness over our hearts in my blog titled “The Veil” here. Also, you can read My Testimony to God’s Power, titled “The Veil and the Law of Moses” here, to learn about my husband and my experience with “The Veil.” Whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of our great God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 God bless you! Amen. "LOVE PEOPLE, HATE EVIL" AUDIO BLOG James 5 verse 16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” God says, Confess our faults one to another. How many of us like to admit that we are wrong? Probably not very many. That makes it a little difficult to confess our faults one to another. It is okay. No, it is not okay, but it is human nature, Satan’s nature, to protect ourselves and our feelings. Satan is very good at his job, but God is our protector, our provider, our shelter, and our salvation. The remainder of James 5 verse 16 tells us why God tells us to confess our faults one to another: Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. I am sure we all want to be healed, healed physically, emotionally, spiritually, body, mind and soul. Healed from years of Satan’s influence in our lives, beating us down, whispering in our ear that we can’t, we aren’t good enough, or telling us we are too good! Not too long ago, the Pastor at our church asked for testimonies, and I had this testimony with me, but when he asked, I shrunk back and hid the paper. Sly as a fox. Who else was sly? Satan! So, I did not get up and give this testimony; I’m a coward. Satan won that round, and after hearing the lesson that night, of course, I wished I had given it, because it was about sweeping Satan under the rug. Anyway, the reason you will see that I did not want to give this testimony, basically ever, is because I will be confessing my sins, my faults, one to another. God’s Word is alive, and it is written for us. His Word says, Confess your faults, and pray for one another that you may be healed! So, here goes. First, just know that I love children now. Around April 2022, Holy Spirit revealed to me how Satan operates in our lives, to keep us from fulfilling God’s Will and God’s plans for us. More specifically, He showed me how Satan has operated in my own life, basically grooming me with bad quirks, bad habits, dislikes, even hates, illnesses, and other behaviors and physical attributes that Satan thinks, hopes or counts on preventing me from obeying or freely serving God’s call now. Remember, Satan’s goal at all costs is to keep us from our rightful inheritance, and to keep us from our blessings. To see how Satan operates generally, let’s look at Genesis 3:1: “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.” Subtil means cunning, wily, crafty, deceitful, using trickery, underhanded. THAT is Satan! Still looking at Genesis 3 verse 15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” So, we can bruise Satan’s head, but he can only bruise our heel. Satan is under our feet, to be stepped on, trampled on. Some translations have it as “crush Satan’s head.” Personally, I prefer that translation: We can kill Satan in our lives; remember, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Satan cannot kill us; he can only tempt us, with worldly, material things, and evil, fleshly vices. 1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Amen and amen. Satan is only able to tempt us with these worldly things, and he is able to tempt us only so much, because God will not allow us to be tempted more than we can withstand: Our God is amazing and good - all the time. Amen. Following are two examples of how Satan has tried to work in my life, and has done a pretty good job until about four years ago. Perhaps, confessing out loud will give others the courage to recognize some of the ways Satan may be holding them back from freely fulfilling God’s Plan in their lives right now. After all, knowing is the first part of doing, or overcoming. In May of 2020, I wrote my first Testimony to God’s Power, and in that Testimony, I tell how one of the first things God put on my heart in 2019 was to quote “help the children.” Easy enough, right? Except for as long as I can remember, I would tell anyone who asked or who would listen: I don’t like children. I know, right? Who doesn’t like children? Satan! So, Satan whispered in my ear most of my life, You don’t like children, and this was one of my life’s mottos, or Satan’s mottos for my life. So, if any children are listening right now, I love you all now. God is good. Amen. Satan is evil. Now, lo and behold, decades later, after I am firmly planted in Satan’s motto for my life, and loving it, God tells me to “help the children.” You cannot make this stuff up. Do you see how God called me to do the one thing that Satan thought he had prepared me my whole life to dislike? I did help the children by donating money to various charities, and by spreading God’s Word on social media to pro-choicers for about a year and a half during lockdowns, until social media became social(ism) media. Before God called me to this service, I had no problem with abortion. I thought: there are too many unwanted children already; too many children not being raised properly; my body my choice seemed reasonable. I now despise abortion with a vehement dislike. Jesus said, Hate evil. Abortion is evil; abortion is an abomination, and nowhere in the Bible does God, the Father, tell us to murder or kill our babies, born or unborn. Bless the unborn babies, Lord, bless the little children. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. The next life motto Satan whispered to me over my lifetime, and sadly has apparently whispered to a lot of people, because I hear people say it often is: I don’t like people; I hate people; or even, I like animals more than I like people. Jesus had only two commandments: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Nowhere did Jesus say to hate people. To the contrary, He said love them, pray for them, bless them, feed them, give them something to drink and clothes to wear, love them as if they are you. We are in a time of refreshing by God right now, hallelujah! when our sins may be blotted out . . . if we repent of them. Acts 3:19 “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” How else does Satan work in our lives to try to keep us from reaping our blessings from God? Many people, including me, while we are sleeping, make grand plans of things we want to do around the house, or in life, maybe how we want to serve God, or a ministry we want to start. And, then, we wake up, and the reality of who we are, who we have become in this life, sets in. Fear sets in. Satan sets in. Then, we start talking ourselves out of it. We hear Satan there in the background saying, You can’t do that; you don’t even know where to start with something like that; no one will help you; it’s a lot of work; that’s not who you are; you have too many responsibilities already; you can just serve God another way? Man has a sinful nature, courtesy of Adam, Eve and the serpent in the garden of Eden. We must combat this sinful nature every day; we must resist Satan every day and he will flee from us. James 4:7 Amen. God forgives us for the sins for which we ask Him to forgive us. If, then, we have a sinful nature, it stands to reason we must repent to God, turn away from sin, and pray for forgiveness every day. This is why it is important to have God’s Word stored in our hearts. The more God’s Word is stored in our hearts, the less the devil will come around, and be able to steal our blessings. With God’s Word stored in our hearts, God Always Wins, and We Do Too! Amen. In 1 Corinthians 15, Apostle Paul wrote that he dies every day. How could he die every day? Because we have a sinful nature. Yes, we have the Power of God’s Spirit, God’s Word, and the blood of Jesus Christ, by which we strive to become more like Jesus on a daily basis, to overcome this sinful flesh and sinful, evil world, as Jesus overcame, but we are still human, and we still have a sinful, human nature; God’s forgiveness does not remove our sinful, human nature. 1 Corinthians 15:31 from the Amplified Bible “I assure you, believers, by the pride which I have in you in [your union with] Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily [I face death and die to self].” There are many ways we can sin against God talked about in His Word. Our lukewarm to cold society and churches have caused people to sin by teaching that because we believe in the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we can do whatever we please and are forgiven. No. This is a fallacy, an untruth, not even supported by God’s Word. To the contrary though, it is not that now we can do whatever we please, but because we have the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, now we no longer desire to do those sinful things we used to do. Amen. There are many sins talked about in the Bible. One of the greatest sins is pride in oneself, to which Apostle Paul is referring in 1 Corinthians 15:31: Because he had pride in [himself] for bringing these unbelievers in Corinth to Christ, and he is saying he sins every day and dies because of that pride. We also see the sin of pride at work in the book of Esther, where Haman’s self-pride got him executed on the hangman’s gallows that he had built specifically for Mordecai the Jew to die on, because Mordecai would not bow down to him as commanded. Haman was instead hung on the hangman’s gallows, and Mordecai, a humble servant to God, took his place, and became king Ahasuerus’ second in command. So, there are many ways a man can sin against God every day, and we can only combat those sins with prayer and His Word. Amen. In Job 33, Elihu, the only friend of the four who spoke to Job, whose words were not condemned by God, Elihu is basically telling Job to stop complaining against God; that God speaks but no one listens. Job 33 from the Amplified Bible Verse 13 “Why do you complain against Him? That He does not answer [you with] all His doings. 14 For God speaks once, And even twice, yet no one notices it [including you, Job]. 15 In a dream, a vision of the night [one may hear God’s voice], When deep sleep falls on men While slumbering upon the bed, 16 Then He opens the ears of men And seals their instruction, 17 That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep him from pride;” God speaks once, even twice, and no one listens. It doesn’t say, Maybe He speaks. It says, He speaks. He opens our ears and seals our instruction, so He can turn us aside from our conduct: our thoughts, words and actions, and keep us from self-pride, thinking we are better than our neighbor. God seals our instruction in the wee hours of sleep, and then we wake up, and Satan’s lifetime of training kicks in: sickness, fear, doubt, unbelief. Some people feel persecuted on a daily basis, oppressed, beaten down, sad - persecuted, as if they are guilty of something, of which they have no earthly clue. When we feel that way, we should go into prayer with God. Repent of our sins, cry out to Him, tell Him that we turn away from our sins, and that we surrender in full obedience to Him. Pray for forgiveness. Ask for His Will to be done in our lives. Amen. The words in the Bible are not just words. They are active and alive and powerful, and written for us. Hebrews 4 verse 12. God cannot repeat it enough: If we pray fervently, without ceasing, and meditate on His word, worship Him, give all glory, praise, honor and thanksgiving to Him, day and night, every day, it will activate enormous blessings in our lives, and we will know that He is real. Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. "CALLED OUT OF DARKNESS" AUDIO BLOG "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;" 1 Peter 2:9 Heavenly Father, thank you for our many blessings. Thank you for the Power of Your Word, Your Spirit in us, and the blood sacrifice of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Powers that are specifically for us. Transform us into Your Glory, Lord. In Jesus' Mighty Name. Amen. Around 2020, God told me, "If you touch the feet of a righteous person, they will be healed." Now, I was a baby Christian at the time, still am, but then I had only been studying God's Word for a year or so. Honestly, I didn't even know what "righteous" meant. Around that time, I looked at my husband and said, What does righteous mean? Are you righteous? Am I? A couple of years later, 2022, and I now know righteous to mean that we obey God, because if we obeyed God, then we would not sin, and we would be righteous. Around the same time, God gave me a vision of my husband and me participating in a tent revival, at which I was healing people. When I received this word and vision, we were not even attending a church. What on earth was I going to do with that information? Until we started attending our current church around August 2021, I had not told anyone about healing except my husband, and then our new pastor. Pastor David always has the right answer from God, and when I asked him what I am to do with this information, he said the Holy Spirit will tell you when the time is right and what to do. He was right! Almost a year later, and CalledOutOfDarkness.One Tent Revival Meetings came to our church, and set up a tent on the church property. My husband and I attended one of the two nights, and it was a very spiritual event, but the thought of healing, or the vision of healing in a tent, never crossed my mind, or may have crossed my mind, but not seriously. What did cross my mind was another vision I had after we started attending church: It was a tent revival at the church, with the parking lot full, and shuttles shuttling people back and forth, and I thought maybe the current tent revival was a precursor for those future tent meetings. This is so crazy. Our God is a supernatural God, right? A few months later, and a church member from the Called Out of Darkness tent meetings started attending our church, and asked me to go to another tent revival meeting in a couple of weeks. I agreed, but we failed to exchange phone numbers, and she did not come to church the next two Sundays. A few days or so before the tent revival, in my sleep, I was thinking, dreaming, having a vision, Oh well, I guess I don't have to go to the tent revival, because I'm not even sure if the person who invited me will be there. And, Holy Spirit said something that made me laugh in my dream, something like, What is wrong with you? You SHOULD GO to the tent revival meeting ANYWAY: I told you, you are going to heal. And, the light bulb went off, as it usually does, and still in my sleep, thinking to myself, I was like, Oh yeah, I should go anyway, and talk to the prayer leader about healing. Once we hear Holy Spirit speak clearly, our resolve to obey is deepened. So, I went to the tent meeting; the woman who invited me was not there, but I started talking to the prayer leader for the event, and told her that the Holy Spirit had moved me to heal, and really moved me to the event today. She said they usually vet people before letting them heal, which I understood; I told her what church I was from. She said she would let me help healing one of the tent meeting team members, who specifically had problems with her feet. So, we went up front in the tent, in front of the band, and three or four people placed hands on the person being healed, and I stooped down and touched both of her feet. The music was really loud; I don't know if it was louder because I was stooped down, but it was really loud. From the moment I touched her feet, it was like it was just her feet, not even her, just her feet, and Holy Spirit and me in the room, and the loud music, and Holy Spirit wanted to be heard above the music, and I started praying out loud in spirit, very loudly, in tongues. I don't know how else to describe it except it was loud; I could hear that it was loud. I suppose it could be called "fervent," or with intensity in spirit. It was a surreal experience, and when I was finished praying, it was like it never happened in my mind; like I had done nothing wrong; like no one heard me because no one was there. I stood up, and the prayer leader was smiling at me, and I smiled back at her. The person who was being healed was crying, and later, she hugged and thanked me. Praise God. It was not until literally three days later when I snapped out of the surreal feeling about the experience, and Holy Spirit told me that I was there that day, at that tent meeting, to heal that person, at that moment, in that very manner! Hallelujah! Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. All glory to God, the Father, all glory and honor and praise and thanksgiving. In Jesus' Mighty Name. Amen. "RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION" AUDIO BLOG Heavenly Father, Father of Lights, thank you for Your Word, and Your words through me. Let Your words and Your Will always be mine, and let Your children hear. In Jesus' Name. Amen. Why do some people hear from God and many others do not. I mean, it cannot be solely because some people read chapters of His Word everyday. Many people do that, and pray, and perform deeds, far greater than that. Well, everyone hears from Him if they read His Word and pray. Everyone hears from Him; not everyone listens to or obeys Him. Around the end of August, Prophet Julie Green said that she started hearing God when she got mad at all of the corruption and injustice happening, or something like that. The morning of September 1, 2022, God gave me two words: Righteous Indignation. God is having righteous indignation right now, and His Spirit is being poured out into His children, His warriors, His soldiers. What is righteous indignation? I really just love saying the words, righteous indignation. They have such a powerful ring to them, don't they? But what does it mean? It means righteous, or godly, anger at injustice. Christians are so afraid of being angry, or showing anger, because there is scripture that clearly says do not be angry, and do not even associate with angry people, but did you know Jesus said: Be angry but sin not!? Ephesians 4:26 "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:" So, get angry at injustice; turn over the tables of the money changers in the temples. Be ye angry at the injustice against God's children, and by God's children. Stand up and speak out, but find peace in Jesus Christ, repent and pray for fogiveness, before you go to sleep. God does not tell us things to intimidate or scare His children; they are said for our benefit, so we know what is coming, and can prepare ourselves. God is our Savior, and no one but He can save us. Get into His Word, and know Him, hear Him, listen to Him, obey Him! He will tell us what to do; what He tells one may differ from what He tells another; He knows what we need. Listen to Him. Everything we need to know is in God's Word; read His Word. Jesus said at Matthew 10:27, "What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops." Amen. What is Jesus telling you in the darkness? What are you hearing in the ear? In Ephesians 5:11, Apostle Paul tells us, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” "Reprove" from dictionary.com means to criticize or correct, especially gently, and/or to disapprove of strongly. Righteous indignation. Before continuing, I want to point out that merriam-webster.com used to be my go-to dictionary until merriam-webster made an ill-fated decision to start changing definitions to suit demonic abominations, such as abortion. This year, I commented on a rumble.com video about Roe v. Wade, and then got into a chat with someone about abortion, the Constitution, and God. You can read that blog titled, "Delight God Today," by clicking here. So, in this chat, the other person wrote that basically morals are a matter of perspective. And, they had quoted the definition for a "parasite," implying that an embryo and/or fetus were parasites, which is many pro-choicers' preferred go-to when discussing abortion. Of course, until now, their claim did not hold water, because Science proved long ago that a parasite feeds off of, and potentially harms, its host "of a different species," which clearly does not refer to an embryo or a fetus, which are of the same species as their host: human. Sometime in the last year, however, merriam-webster has apparently decided that it knows more than Science, and has changed the definition of "parasite"; it no longer includes the words, "of a different species." Now! pro-abortionists have something to back up their claims! Now, they can label an embryo and/or fetus as a parasite, and show the merriam-webster.com definition to back it up. It is passed time for Christians, or anyone with an ounce of morals, to have some Righteous Indignation. Jesus said, "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." Revelation 3:16 So, it is time for Christians to get hot for Jesus, to hear God, listen to Him, and obey Him. He is calling His warriors to stand up and speak out with God's Righteous Indignation. In Jesus' Mighty Name. Apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:2, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine." We already know what reprove means. Let's look at "rebuke." Again, from dictionary.com: to express sharp, stern disapproval of; reprove; reprimand. So, reprove and rebuke mean basically the same thing, except rebuke is solely on the stern side. Since we have looked at those two, let's finish it up and see what "exhort" means as well: From dictionary.com: Exhort: to urge, advise, or caution earnestly; admonish urgently. This means that Christians should be criticizing, correcting gently, if appropriate and received, but if not, disapproving strongly, sharply and sternly, urging, advising, and/or cautioning earnestly, and admonishing urgently, all unfruitful works of darkness. This is a difficult word to write, but something God has been piecing together for me since the beginning of 2021, with my first blog on the subject in March 2021, titled "Algorithm is Not Man's Rhythm," Click here for Part 1 on this word, and here for Part 2. If the following information presented is true, then truly only God can save the world. Amen. The first two items below, Elon Musk, and mRNA covid vaccines from the CDC website, have been around for awhile. I first saw them about a year ago. Following is a video of Elon Musk saying you can turn someone into a butterfly with mRNA: When I mentioned this to a family member, who is a Christian, their reply was, I wouldn't mind being a butterfly, or something to that effect. My reply back was something like, Why? God created you perfect the way you are! Of course, they immediately replied with, "joking," or some such thing.
Our words are alive, and God is listening! Jesus said, "By your words you shall be justified; and by your words you shall be condemned." Matthew 12:37 Click here for a link to the CDC.gov page that shows that mRNA is in covid vaccines. Just recently, this week, I stumbled upon the video below from rumble.com about the 144,000 in Revelation 7, and the number of the beast, and the number of a man, in Revelation 13:18. Everything is in plain sight. "They" don't even try to hide their abominations. Before you watch the short videos below, know that God has said through His prophets that nothing they have planned will go as "they" have planned; it is not yet their time. He has also said that we will see undeniable miracles, miraculous healings and births, signs and wonders from Jesus Christ. Amen. Click here to watch the short video from rumble.com about the mRNA covid vaccines, and God's 144,000 in Rev. 7, and the number of the beast in Rev. 13:18: To recap the video: The human genome is 144,000 genes, 72,000 each from mother and father. mRNA in the covid vaccines changes, or can change - I'm no expert, but none of it can be good - It changes the human genome to 216,000 genes, instead of our God-given 144,000 genes; it literally turns the double-helix strand of the human genome into a triple-helix strand. As told in Revelation 13:18, “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” Count the number . . . Six hundred threescore and six; or, 600 times 60 times 6; or, 6 6 6, "the number of the beast," "the number of a man"; or, 600x60x6 equals 216,000 genes. No longer human; now called "transhuman." No longer God's creation. Click here to watch a short video from rumble.com of yuval harari, false prophet to globalist elite klaus schwab, saying the new, changed genome is the way of the future: "humans are now hackable" mRNA is in the covid vaccines; Elon Musk says you can turn someone into a butterfly with mRNA; false prophet yuval harari says, "humans are now hackable." People will be lining up for it! It is Biblical! Prophets have said, and Holy Spirit has shown me, that we are in a time of refreshing now: Acts 3:19 "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord." The presence of the Lord is here now; times of refreshing are here now. Every day. We must repent to God, tell Him we turn away from the sin in our lives, even if we do not know or think that we have sinned, and that we turn to Him, in full surrender and obedience to His Will. And, pray for forgiveness of our sins. Every day. Click here to see my blog titled, "Overcomers," about repentance and forgiveness. God will not overlook sin. But God . . . But God gives us a way out. Reach out and grab it before it is too late. That way is His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, the way, the truth and the life. The time is at hand for . . . God's Righteous Indignation. Stand up and speak out. Hallelujah! Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. "OVERCOMERS" AUDIO BLOG Heavenly Father, thank you for our many blessings. Thank you for Your Word, and Your words through me. Let Your words always be mine, and let Your children hear them. In Jesus' Mighty Name. Amen.
Before I get into the subject of today's word, I wanted to talk about God's Prophet Isaiah. For me, Isaiah's prophetic words in the Book of Isaiah became all the more profound and meaningful when I learned that Isaiah came into his calling as a prophet when he prophesied the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, some 700 years before Christ's birth! Simply amazing. In Isaiah 50:4 above, we learn that the words we speak about God to the unbelievers, the downtrodden, the oppressed, the poor in the spirit, the "weary," come from God, and that He speaks to us in the morning, and wakens our ears to hear Him, like one being taught, the "learned." Hallelujah! Praise God. Isaiah Chapter 50, the entire chapter, is about the LORD providing "comfort to desponding saints and terror to presuming sinners" (from biblestudytools.com, Matthew Henry commentary). What does that mean: comfort to desponding saints and terror to presuming sinners? Well, "desponding" means losing hope, so "desponding saints" are believers, us, who are losing hope, as many are today. And, "presuming sinners," like the Pharisees whom Jesus admonished in Matthew 23:28 "Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity." And, why did the Pharisees appear outwardly righteous? Because Jesus said, "This people draws nigh unto me with their mouth, and honours me with their lips; but their heart is far from me." Matthew 15:8 In other words, the Pharisees were like Cain, who thought he could climb into heaven some other way than through the door. Jesus said in John 10:1 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." See my blog titled, Cain and Abel by clicking here. We should walk the walk, not just talk the talk. We should be like Jesus, and walk the walk like Jesus, if we want to be "overcomers," like Jesus. As often happens, I did not know how this was going to tie into the word I am writing about from Holy Spirit today until I typed the previous paragraph. One of the main ways we become overcomers like Jesus is by listening to God. Amen. On September 21, 2022, around 3 to 5 am, still asleep, Holy Spirit showed me why He tries to speak to us in the early morning, the wee hours, in our sleep if He has to, because that is when we are the most sinless, guiltless, righteous. How many of us, in our sleep, make grand plans of things we want to do around the house? Or, in life? Or, maybe even how we want to serve God? a ministry we want to start? And, then, we wake up, and the reality of who we are sets in, who we have become in this life. Fear sets in. Satan sets in. And, then, we start talking ourselves out of it. We hear Satan there in the background, whispering in our ear, You can’t do that; you don’t even know where to start with something like that; no one will help you; it’s a lot of work; that’s not who you are; you have too many responsibilities already; you can just serve God another way. Man has a sinful nature, courtesy of Adam, Eve and the serpent in the garden of Eden. We must combat this sinful nature every day; we must resist Satan every day and he will flee from us. James 4:7 Amen. God forgives us for the sins for which we ask Him to forgive us. If, then, we have a sinful nature, it stands to reason we must repent to God, turn away from sin, and pray for forgiveness, every day. This is why it is important to have God’s Word stored in our hearts. The more God’s Word is stored in our hearts, the more second-nature it becomes to us, and the less the devil will be successful in tempting us every day, so the less he will come around, and the less he will steal our blessings through our disobedience to God. Amen. In 1 Corinthians 15, Apostle Paul wrote that he dies every day. How could he die every day? Because we have a sinful nature. Yes, we have God’s Spirit, God’s Word, and the blood of Jesus Christ, by which we strive to become more like Jesus on a daily basis, to overcome this sinful flesh and sinful, evil world, as Jesus overcame, but we are still human, and we still have a sinful, human nature; God’s forgiveness does not remove our sinful, human nature. 1 Corinthians 15:31 from the Amplified Bible “I assure you, believers, by the pride which I have in you in [your union with] Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily [I face death and die to self]. “ There are many ways we can sin against God written about in His Word. Our lukewarm-to-cold society and churches have caused people to sin by teaching that because we believe in the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we can do whatever we please and are forgiven. No. This is a fallacy, an untruth, an outright lie, not supported by God’s Word. To the contrary though, it is not that now we can do whatever we please, but because we have the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, now we no longer desire to do those sinful things we used to do. Amen. One of the greatest sins exhibited in God's Word is pride in oneself, to which Apostle Paul is referring in 1 Corinthians 15:31: Because he had pride in [himself] for bringing these unbelievers in Corinth to Christ, and he is saying he sins every day and dies because of that pride. Of course, Christ is the only one who can save us. Not Apostle Paul, right? We also see the sin of pride at work in the book of Esther, where Haman’s self-pride got him executed on the gallows that he had built specifically for Mordecai the Jew to die on, because Mordecai would not bow down to him as commanded by the king. Because of Haman's pride in himself, and being unable to let Mordecai's perceived slight against him go unanswered, Haman was instead hung on the gallows, and Mordecai, a humble servant to God, took his place, and became king Ahasuerus’ second in command. So, there are many ways a man can sin against God every day, and we can only combat those sins with His Word and prayer. Amen. In Job 33, Elihu, the only friend of the four who spoke to Job, who was not rebuked by God, is basically telling Job to stop complaining against God; that God speaks but no one listens. Job 33 from the Amplified Bible, starting at verse 13, Elihu says to Job: 13 “Why do you complain against Him? That He does not answer [you with] all His doings. 14 For God speaks once, And even twice, yet no one notices it [including you, Job]. 15 In a dream, a vision of the night [one may hear God’s voice], When deep sleep falls on men While slumbering upon the bed, 16 Then He opens the ears of men And seals their instruction, 17 That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep him from pride;” God speaks once, even twice, and no one listens. It doesn’t say, Maybe He speaks. It says, He speaks. He opens our ears and seals our instruction, so He can turn us aside from our conduct: our thoughts, words and actions, and keep us from self-pride, or thinking we are better than our neighbor. God seals our instruction in the wee hours of sleep, and then we wake up, and Satan’s lifetime of training kicks in: sickness, fear, doubt, unbelief. How many of us feel persecuted sometimes? Maybe even on a daily basis. Oppressed, beaten down, sad - persecuted, as if we are guilty of something, of which we have no earthly clue? If we ever do feel that way, we should immediately go into prayer with God: repent of our sins, cry out to Him, tell Him that we turn away from our sins, and that we surrender in full obedience to Him. Pray for forgiveness. Ask for His Will to be done in our lives. And watch the oppression and/or sadness leave us. Amen. Something the Holy Spirit wants us all to think about is, Have we sinned today? If your answer was "no," that you have not sinned today, then we should refer to scripture: “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.” Romans 3:10. And, 1 John 1:10 “ If we say that we have not sinned, we make [God] a liar, and his word is not in us.” If we do not know that we are sinners, then God's word is not in us, because we have not read it. Amen. So, we are all sinners; there is none righteous! Now, ask yourself, have you repented to God of your sins and prayed for forgiveness today? Holy Spirit showed me that this is where we, believers, are falling short. The Holy Spirit cannot come into an unclean vessel. Amen. THIS is why He speaks to us in the wee hours of the morning, when we are most righteous, or free of sin and guilt, before our mind wakes up and starts having sinful, human thoughts. 1 Peter 2:5 “You [believers], [you believers, that’s us, everyone who believes in the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ]- you believers, like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house for a holy and dedicated priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ. To offer spiritual sacrifices means to offer ourselves to God through our prayers, fervently, without ceasing, to sacrifice ourselves, surrender our will to God's Will, in full obedience, by offering our sacrifice of praise to God continually. Hebrews 13 15 "By him [Jesus Christ] therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. 16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." Excerpt from biblehub.com, Ellicott's Commentary on 1 Peter 2:5: Quote: "Whereas, before, only Aaron’s sons were recognised as mediators and intercessors, now all Israel, all the spiritual Israel, all men everywhere are called to be mediators and intercessors between each other and God." End quote. We, believers, are now the mediators and intercessors between each other and God. Amen. 1 Peter 2:6 “For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a chosen stone, a precious (honored) Cornerstone, And he who believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will never be disappointed [in his expectations]. 7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe [in Him as God’s only Son—the Source of salvation]; but for those who disbelieve, “The [very] stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief Cornerstone,” 8 and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” In other words, the unbelievers reject Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone, and He is the only one that can save them. Sadly, the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, so to the unbelievers, He is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, a stumbling block. Their path to heaven is crooked, not straight. Every day when we wake up, the effects that our past sins have caused in our lives, Satan has caused in our lives, sickness, fear, doubt, unbelief, are there waiting for us, waiting for us to think about over and over again, or maybe even to repeat again and again. That is our sinful, human nature. Now, again, if we have asked Him, God has already forgiven us of those past sins, and once God has forgiven a sin, it is forgotten to Him. Satan, however, LOVES to dwell in the past, right? If Satan can keep us in our past, keep us thinking about our past sins, then we cannot bring into captivity every thought to obedience of Christ, and we cannot move forward in our Victory in Christ Jesus, and Satan knows that better than anyone. We combat the power of our sinful nature, and Satan’s influence in our daily lives, with God’s Power, His Word, which tells us, among many other things, to pray fervently, without ceasing. And, more importantly, because our sinful nature is ever present, to turn to God in repentance and pray for forgiveness every day, for the sins we commit every day, mostly unknowingly and/or unwittingly, or involuntarily, in our thoughts. In Genesis 3, we see how Satan operates: Genesis 3:1 “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.” The serpent was more subtil than any beast. Let’s see what “subtle” means, from Dictionary.com: “subtil” (subtle): cunning, wily, crafty And, the definition of “cunning”: skill employed in a shrewd or sly manner, as in deceiving. And, the definition of “wily” (wiles): a trick, artifice, or stratagem meant to fool, trap, or entice. Yikes. And, the definition of “crafty”: skillful in underhand or evil schemes; cunning; deceitful; sly. THAT is Satan! Subtle, cunning, wily and underhanded. So, “. . . the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan. . . “ uses trickery to ensnare or deceive us, all the while evading our grasp or pursuit, and, to top it off, he is really good at it. Satan’s sole desire is to drive a wedge between God and His Chosen, and he will take a man’s lifetime to do it if he must. At Genesis 3:15, we see that Satan is not able to kill us: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” So, we can bruise Satan’s head, but he can only bruise our heel. Satan is under our feet, to be stepped on, trampled on. We should stomp on Satan every day, with prayer and God's Word. Amen. Some translations have it as “crush Satan’s head.” Personally, I prefer that translation: We can kill Satan in our lives; remember, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Satan cannot kill us; he can only tempt us, with worldly, material things, and evil, fleshly vices, such as sexual immorality, or fornication. Satan can bruise our heel, and keep us from walking for, or serving, God. Amen. 1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Amen and amen. Satan is only able to tempt us with these worldly things, and he is able to tempt us only so much, because God will not allow us to be tempted more than we can withstand: Our God is amazing and good - all the time. Amen. So, God is moulding us, and we need to let the pieces that Satan has defined as us fall off. Literally, we need to tell Satan to, Get behind us, or better yet, get under our feet, so we can bruise or crush his head. Satan is down at our feet, under our feet; and, we are up in the clouds with Jesus Christ. Amen. We only have two choices of whom to follow in this short life; if we do not choose God, then we are following Satan. There is no gray area. Make no mistake, Satan is trying to groom each and every one of us, and our children as well. If we are not protected by God’s Word, and prayer, then we will not know sin when Satan puts it in front of us. We need to make our first response to Satan's temptation, Godly. Amen. So, my hope and prayer is that we all begin to listen to God’s Word, and pray fervently without ceasing. Repent, surrender to God, and pray every day for forgiveness of our sinful human nature. Start talking to God. I personally pray any time throughout the day, out loud, just walking around the house, or working in the yard. If I’m working on something, I’ll just say, Lord, protect my tomatoes, or we really could use some rain today, Lord, please, if it is Your Will, not my own, in Jesus’ name. Amen. Or, if it gets really windy outside, do as Jesus did, and say, Calm, peace be to you wind, in Jesus’ Name, and watch what happens. Something else along those lines happened to us this summer: We had removed some vines that were growing up the fence in our front yard. Apparently, we unknowingly destroyed a Robin’s nest. Poor thing; she put one of her eggs in a flower pot I had sitting in the driveway, pretty little blue eggs, and the other not far away. We felt so bad. The next day, I was sitting at the computer and I heard this loud racket like something was attacking the house, first at one corner and then the other, and I just knew it was the Robin. I didn’t see her, but I knew it was her. She was angry because we destroyed her home, so she wanted to destroy ours, I guess. I don’t think she could have done much damage to the eaves, but the noise it was making was loud and frightening and intimidating. The first thing that came to my mind was Jesus - thank you, Jesus - so I threw my hands up in the air, and cried out loudly, We didn’t do it on purpose: Peace be to you, robin, calm! In Jesus’ Name. Amen. And, the noise stopped. You can’t make this stuff up. I heard one tiny noise like far away after that, but it stopped, just like that. Hallelujah! Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. We just noticed the other day that she built a nest on top of the garage door opener. Poor thing was so confused. So, God’s Word is alive, and written for us. There is power in prayer. There is power in God’s Word. These powers are for us. Jesus said we will do even greater things than He did. If we have faith. If we believe in Him. Amen. Our prayers do not have to be specific or elaborate. God is not judging us on our grammar. Meditation on His Word, prayer and worship can, and should, be done all day long, every day. When asked by His apostles how to pray, Jesus replied, pray in this manner: Matthew 6:9, the Lord’s Prayer. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Memorize the Lord’s Prayer; pray it often throughout the day; and eventually you will move into a closer relationship with God, and the words will come more easily. If we prayed just this prayer every day, as instructed by jesus, we would be repenting and asking for forgiveness each time. Amen. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: THAT is surrendering to God, repenting, which means to turn away from [sin], and turn to God. Amen. When I first started praying a few years ago, I prayed the Lord's Prayer every day, many times per day, in my head usually, not necessarily out loud, but standing in the kitchen, driving, watching TV, lying in bed, whatever I was doing. When I first started praying it, I could not complete the prayer without worldly thoughts creeping into my head while I was praying, and I would start over from the beginning repeatedly so that I could complete it without interruption. Eventually, I could finish it all at once without other thoughts interrupting. This is called meditation. Repeating something over and over to yourself, until those worldly thoughts no longer creep in, until you can repeat the whole prayer in your head without interruption. This is bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ: when you can think about His Word above all other thoughts. It is possible. Bring Him into your life, into your thoughts, into your jobs, your cars, everywhere, through specific petition and urgent supplication, which simply means specific and urgent prayer, fervently and without ceasing. “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 We need to begin to resist the devil and he will flee from us. We resist him by meditating on God’s Word, repenting, and praying for forgiveness. We become "overcomers" when the Holy Spirit has a clean vessel in which to enter. "God speaks once, twice, and no one listens." Be an overcomer today. Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. "GIVE" AUDIO BLOG  Yesterday, Labor Day, I was looking at rumble.com, and I noticed that my "rumbles," which are the same as "likes" and "dislikes" on other social media platforms, my "rumbles" were exactly 2,222. I thought it was interesting, and showed my husband, and thought no more of it. Then, we went out to eat, and to Wal-Mart. Our grocery bill was exactly 222 and change. Now . . . it is starting to get my attention. When we got in the car, I told my husband, half jokingly, that we should play the lottery with 222 and 2222. Yes, I am not perfect, and my mind and thoughts still jump to worldly things. Forgive me, Lord. This is why it so important to have God's Word hidden in your heart, so you do not sin against Him. Psalm 119:11 Later, after we got home, I was checking my email, and there was an email from a prophet that I haven't seen in quite some time. So, I read the email, and God told him to help people move to a new level in their lives in God by sowing seeds into the prophet's training center. By now, you can probably guess how much of a donation he was asking for. Drum roll please . . . $222. You cannot make this stuff up! Now, just a week or two before, God had told me to donate $100, and I was still trying to accomplish that. I had tried at a couple of sites that oddly would not go through, and then this happened with 222. So, let's all strive to be like Jesus: Love your neighbor as yourself, as Jesus loved, with unselfish concern. Do unto others as you would have done to you. And, most importantly, give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over . . . Luke 6:30 As I was finishing this blog up, and looking for an image to put at the top, I wondered what, if any, significance there was to the numbers 2222 and/or 222. Following is an excerpt from biblestudy.org. This website says, among other things, that "The overall meaning of multiple number twos (e.g. 222, 2222, 2:22, and so on) is somewhat unclear in Scripture. They are related, however, to not only the creation of Eve and the first marriage but also to Jesus' return to earth! They additionally reveal how rewards will be distributed upon entering the kingdom of heaven and how we must deal with temptation." The website goes on to say further: Quote: Multiple number twos: "One of Jesus' greatest, yet often misunderstood, use of symbolism is found in Matthew 18. He warns, in verses 8 and 9 of the chapter, that it is better to lose a hand, foot or eye than to have two hands, two feet or two eyes (222) condemn us. Since sin is generated out of thoughts and choices (Matthew 15:18-19), the Lord is not condoning self-mutilation as a way of dealing with sin but rather admonishing us to decisively deal with the temptations that lead to it. Jesus, in Matthew 25's parable of the talents, uses 222 in verse 22 to teach an important lesson about those who enter God's kingdom. And the one who had received two talents also came to him and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; see, I have gained two other talents besides them' (Matthew 25:22). The man who received two talents doubled his master's money just like the person who got five talents (Matthew 25:16). The Lord rewarded both men equally, showing that he judges and rewards fairly based on what a person does with what he is given (verses 21, 23). Lastly, Jesus uses the example of two men in bed, two women grinding, and two men in a field (222) to warn that many people will be arrested and killed prior to his return to earth (Luke 17:34-36, see also verse 37)." End quote. I have a feeling that this word from God is not yet finished, but I was so excited about how He works in our lives, I could not wait to share it! This is in line with God's words to me: The Millennial Reign, Seventy Years, and others. God truly works in mysterious ways. How does He work in your life? Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. Amen  I did not think to screenshot the "rumbles" on my account until September 8, and by now, the rumbles are up from 2,222 to 2,269, but I wanted to post this screenshot anyway. See next image below from our bank account that shows we spent $222.43 at Wal-Mart on September 6.  And, finally, a screenshot of the email I received the same day, asking for a $222 donation.  "THE VEIL" AUDIO BLOG Heavenly Father, thank you for our many blessings. All glory and honor and praise and thanksgiving to God, Most High. Bless those reading this. Amen.
God’s plan is that we remember who we are, what our purpose is here, and that we return to Him, in Jesus Christ. Who knows that we all have a purpose? It is the very reason for our existence on earth: “In Him also we have received an inheritance [a destiny—we were claimed by God as His own], having been predestined (chosen, appointed beforehand) according to the purpose of Him who works everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His will,” Ephesians 1:11 According to the purpose of Him, with the counsel and design of His Will! Not our own will. THE VEIL “And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 What is the ‘veil’ about which Apostle Paul writes above when he says, ‘with unveiled face’? Plainly speaking, it is a veil over us that keeps us in darkness, and in the dark about who we really are: Light and love, from God, the creator. In Biblical times, the Israelites, who lived under the Mosaic Law, Moses’ Law (the Law), had a veil of blindness and ignorance upon their hearts. The Law was oppressive and difficult to follow, as Jesus tells us in the New Testament. Hebrews 7:18-19 tells us that the law was weak and useless, and never made anything perfect. “For, on the one hand, a former commandment is cancelled because of its weakness and uselessness [because of its inability to justify the sinner before God] (for the Law never made anything perfect). . .” Hebrews 7:18-19 Those seem like harsh words. I no longer see them as ‘harsh,’ however, but more frank. The Law condemned people to sin and death. In Matthew 23:23-24 below, Jesus is being frank with the Pharisees and scribes, when He says, woe to them, for not fulfilling the primary spirit of the Law, which is ‘justice and mercy and faithfulness.’ He is telling them, I want you to be saved, but how can you escape judgment? By your actions, you will be condemned. Matthew 23:23-24 “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you give a tenth (tithe) of your mint and dill and cumin [focusing on minor matters], and have neglected the weightier [more important moral and spiritual] provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the [primary] things you ought to have done without neglecting the others. You [spiritually] blind guides, who strain out a gnat [consuming yourselves with miniscule matters] and swallow a camel [ignoring and violating God’s precepts]!” Jesus is judging righteous judgment John 7:24, and not judging by their fancy clothes and kept appearances. He is exposing their unfruitful works of darkness Ephesians 5:11, and warning others to beware of their actions and deeds. Why would God, the creator, allow Mosaic Law into His creation, when it was clearly imperfect? Well, Adam and Eve had a choice, and they chose to disobey God and introduce sin and death into the world. By the Law, we learned what sin is, so that we could learn not to sin through and in Jesus Christ, and once again, be made perfect, like God, light and love, from glory to more glory. “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, if it had not been for the Law, I would not have recognized sin. For I would not have known [for example] about coveting [what belongs to another, and would have had no sense of guilt] if the Law had not [repeatedly] said, 'You shall not covet.'” Romans 7:7 So, the veil of blindness that comes from the Law is taken away through repentance in Christ. 2 Corinthians 3 14 “But [in fact] their minds were hardened [for they had lost the ability to understand]; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed [only] in Christ. 15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil [of blindness] lies over their heart; 16 but whenever a person turns [in repentance and faith] to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom].” “ . . . while on the other hand a better hope is introduced [Jesus Christ] through which we now continually draw near to God. Hebrews 7:19 From one degree of glory to even more glory … Believers who study the Gospel are happy, for their hearts are free in Christ to follow the way of God’s Commandments. Believers have love and light, and with open face, as if looking in a mirror (reflection), they behold the glory of the Lord. “So then, in everything treat others the same way you want them to treat you, for this is [the essence of] the Law and the [writings of the] Prophets.” Matthew 7:12 ‘The essence of the law and the writings of the Prophets.’ So, essentially, everything we know about anything, according to God’s Word. These are not JUST words. God’s Word is alive, and is meant to push us from glory to glory, towards Him. Apostle Luke goes into further detail about how to reflect God’s glory, love and light, by treating others the way you want to be treated: Luke 6 27 “But I say to you who hear [Me and pay attention to My words]: Love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, [make it a practice to] do good to those who hate you, 28 bless and show kindness to those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 Whoever strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other one also [simply ignore insignificant insults or losses and do not bother to retaliate—maintain your dignity]. Whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. Whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 If you [only] love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend [money] to those from whom you expect to receive [it back], what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to receive back the same amount. 35 But love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; for your reward will be great (rich, abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High; because He Himself is kind and gracious and good to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful (responsive, compassionate, tender) just as your [heavenly] Father is merciful.” God’s Words are alive and literal, and truly every action we commit against another individual, we are committing against ourselves, which prohibits us from reaching our God-Willed potential. By loving and treating everyone as if they were us, then we have fulfilled the letter and the intent of the Law, and the prophets, written about (for our sole benefit), to push us to awaken to our true destiny, from one glory to more glory, and return to God, the source of all things. All of this proves that our God is a just, forgiving and merciful God, who does not want any to perish, but all to return to Him, in and through Jesus Christ. He is a God that takes what men meant for evil and turns it to good. Genesis 50:20. Praise God! Amen. The end of one covenant, the Law, and the beginning of a New Covenant, the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ for all men. JESUS’ CRUCIFIXION Luke 23 44 “It was now about the sixth hour (noon), and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.), 45 because the sun was obscured; and the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two [from top to bottom]. 46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!” Having said this, He breathed His last.” Just like that, in the blink of an eye, the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two [from top to bottom], and the Law became fulfilled in two simple commands: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:36-40 So, God, the creator, the source of all things 1 Corinthians 8:6, created us perfect, like Him, in light and love. Through sin and death, we were torn and wounded; and, healed by the grace [favor] of God, the Father. Created Perfect Torn and Wounded Healed, Bandaged, Revived and Raised Up Hosea 6 1 “Come and let us return [in repentance] to the Lord, For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. 2 After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up That we may live before Him.” We were saved by the Grace of God, and we will be raised up through the Word made flesh, the resurrection, which is Jesus Christ. Let’s pray for all of God’s children to remember who they really are, a part of God, the creator, in and through Jesus Christ. Amen. See also my blog titled, 'The Veil,' to read about My Testimony to God's Power. "WHERE IS GOD?" AUDIO BLOGI heard evangelist, Mario Murillo, say recently, |
Melanie GarciaFaithful and humble servant to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Archives
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