A beast rises up out of the sea

A beast rises up out of the sea
Notes; Seven Heads ( 4 upto the Time of Christ , 3 after) Thay are after Rome the 4th, Englean The Lion the 5th., Rusia the Bear the 6th, and the 7th as will as the 8th Persia the Leopard. we will call the Beast. For out of the beast is Islam.
That Dragon is China.
The mother of Harlots is the Cathilc Chruch.
Re 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Re 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Re 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Re 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Re 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
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Re 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Re 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Re 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Re 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Re 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Re 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Re 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Re 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Re 13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
Re 13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
Re 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Re 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Re 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Re 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Re 13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Re 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Re 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Re 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.
Re 16:1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
Re 16:2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
Re 16:3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man; and every living soul died in the sea.
Re 16:4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
Re 16:5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
Re 16:6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
Re 16:7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
Re 16:8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
Re 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Re 16:10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Re 16:11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Re 16:12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
Re 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Re 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Re 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Re 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Re 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Re 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Re 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Re 16:20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Re 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
Re 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Re 17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Re 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Re 17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Re 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Re 17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Re 17:7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
Re 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Re 17:9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
Re 17:10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
Re 17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Re 17:12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
Re 17:13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
Re 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Re 17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Re 17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Re 17:17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Re 17:18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
Re 18:1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Re 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Re 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Re 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Re 18:5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Re 18:6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Re 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Re 18:8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
Re 18:9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
Re 18:10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
Re 18:11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
Re 18:12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
Re 18:13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
Re 18:14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
Re 18:15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
Re 18:16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
Re 18:17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
Re 18:18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
Re 18:19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
Re 18:20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
Re 18:21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
Re 18:22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
Re 18:23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
Re 18:24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
Re 19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
Re 19:2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
Re 19:3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
Re 19:4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
Re 19:5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
Re 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Re 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Re 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Re 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Re 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Re 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Re 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Re 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Re 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Re 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Re 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Re 19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
Re 19:18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
Re 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Re 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Re 19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

USAF ADMITS-NUCLEAR STRIKES ON USA COMING!

I have repeatedly put out warning email reports to my readers, that USAF insider sources admitted frankly that BECAUSE OF OUR POLICIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST, they are preparing for a PROLONGED NUCLEAR EXCHANGE...meaning NUCLEAR STRIKES ON AMERICA SOIL!

They are now stockpiling as much as TEN YEARS WORTH OF EMERGENCY FOOD SUPPLIES IN THE DEEP UNDERGROUND BASES OF AMERICA IN ANTICIPATION OF A PROLONGED NUCLEAR EXCHANGE.

Private construction builders in more remote regions have informed me that people are buying up REMOTE TRACKS OF LAND FAR FROM CITIES, having huge homes with UNDERGROUND NUCLEAR FALLOUT SHELTERS built on them. They are moving OUT OF THE CITIES AND SUBURBIA and moving to more remote and sparsely populated regions/states.

Frankly, as terrible as all this is, WHAT ELSE CAN YOU EXPECT to result from our aggressive policies IN THE MIDDLE EAST???

I was informed that the mass media will NOT tell the general public of the threat of NUCLEAR STRIKES ON AMERICAN SOIL due to fear of MASS PANIC and DISRUPTION OF THE ECONOMY...an economy that brings SO MUCH PROFIT INTO THE POCKETS OF THE RULING ELITE who profit off of other people's/nations' sufferings, and who FUND the wars for their own financial benefit...AND who have in mind a WORLD POPULATION REDUCTION agenda as well!!!

And along with NUCLEAR STRIKES...HERE COMES MARTIAL LAW! Should any of us be surprised therefore... ???

-Cathy Smith
Source:
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Eternity Daily Bible Study No. 243

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Living In Christ – 4
GIFTS FROM ABOVE
Ephesians 4:11-12 (MKJV)
(11) And truly He gave some to be apostles, and some to be prophets, and some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
(12) for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-12 (GNB)
(11) It was he who "gave gifts to people"; he appointed some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors and teachers.
(12) He did this to prepare all God's people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ.
God’s best gifts are people who help us to become like Jesus.
This life is about becoming saved, then becoming holy and being made into the image of Jesus Christ. All our experiences are for our perfection in grace. Therefore the greatest gift we can be given is someone who helps us to become the person that God designed us to be.
The primary function of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers and pastors is to assist us in our journey towards Jesus.
Paul continues:Ephesians 4:13-15
(13) And so we shall all come together to that oneness in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God; we shall become mature people, reaching to the very height of Christ's full stature.
(14) Then we shall no longer be children, carried by the waves and blown about by every shifting wind of the teaching of deceitful people, who lead others into error by the tricks they invent.
(15) Instead, by speaking the truth in a spirit of love, we must grow up in every way to Christ, who is the head.
Thus our spiritual gifts do not determine our place in a spiritual hierarchy or organization, rather they determine how we can best help others become like Jesus.
Those who claim ministry gifts should do so not to domineer others, or to attain status, but rather they should speak the truth in love so that believers become saints.
Spiritual gifts must be exercised with great respect for God’s design and destiny for individual people. The teacher or prophet or pastor should minister in ways that help each person to fully be the person God has called them to be in Christ.
What Paul meant by these five roles is not at all clear. Little is known about what is meant by "evangelist" or "pastor" in the New Testament. Ephesians 4:11 is the only reference to the word "pastor" and it is not explained or defined, just mentioned. Evangelist is only mentioned three times (Acts 21:8, Ephesians 4:11, 2Timothy 4:5) and may just be a term for a catechist. By contrast "apostle" is mentioned 80 times in the NT, prophet 157 and teacher 42.
If the New Testament is any guide the best defined and most mentioned and expected ministry roles are apostle, prophet and teacher. These seem to move around a network of house churches in a given city, which in turn are led by a team of elders and deacons.
In fact there is almost no justification at all for the current practice of a having a "pastor" as a church officer. There are clear NT criteria for elders and deacons as church officers but none for "pastors" and outside this verse "pastors" are never mentioned again, nor is there any sign of them being appointed to church leadership. Timothy, who is frequently called a pastor in sermons – is in fact only described as an "evangelist".
Do we need to return to the NT pattern or is the current system "just fine"? I think we are moving towards the NT pattern without knowing it! Cell groups, home groups and house churches are springing up everywhere, itinerant ministries and the Internet are networking people together, people like Ed Silvoso are popularizing "the church in the city" and helping to organize city-wide meetings of Christian leaders, and there is also a slow recognition of the apostolic and prophetic. We are "getting there" and it may be wise to move cautiously because quite a few of those claiming to be apostles and prophets need further evaluation.
We are also slowly but surely moving towards "every-member-ministry" and Christian leaders seeing their job as equipping the saints rather than doing everything for them. I think the trends are in the right direction. With loving debate and wise discernment we may soon rearrange the old less functional ministry patterns and reproduce some of the dynamism of the NT with its networked, plural leadership of equipped saints who do the work of the ministry.
Well then, what about the apostles and prophets? That is a tough question. I believe in Spirit-led, apostolic and prophetic leadership helping a network of churches to remain true to the gospel and extending the geographical boundaries of the Kingdom. However I have many reservations about some of those who loudly claim to be apostles and prophets. I think we need to accept the existence of these functions and to do our homework and come up with biblical criteria and ways of acting with discernment regarding apostles and prophets.
For more on apostles go to: http://www.aibi.ph/aibi/apostle.htm
For more on prophets go to: http://www.aibi.ph/aibi/prophecy.htm
And for my ebook called Beyond Denominations: The Networked Church go to: http://www.aibi.ph/bd/index.htm
Finally, let me repeat that gifts are not about position in a hierarchy but service to the saints. Ministry gifts are to help people grow up in all aspects into Christ and apostles are "set forth as last of all". ( 1 Corinthians 4:9-13)
Blessings,
John Edmiston johned@aibi.ph
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Ask Your Father in Heaven

December 31, 2006
By John Piper

Matthew 7:7-12

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and
it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the
one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a
stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If
you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to
those who ask him! 12 So whatever you wish that others would do to
you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

When you pause to consider that God is infinitely strong and can do
all that he pleases, and that he is infinitely righteous so that he
only does what is right, and that he is infinitely good so that
everything he does is perfectly good, and that he is infinitely wise
so that he always knows perfectly what is right and good, and that he
is infinitely loving so that in all his strength and righteousness
and goodness and wisdom he raises the eternal joy of his loved ones
as high as it can be raisedâ€"when you pause to consider this, then
the lavish invitations of this God to ask him for good things, with
the promise that he will give them, is unimaginably wonderful.

The Tragedy of Prayerlessness
Which means that one of the great short-term tragedies in the church
is how little inclination we have to pray. The greatest invitation in
the world is extended to us, and incomprehensibly we regularly turn
away to other things. It’s as though God sent us an invitation to
the greatest banquet that ever was and we sent word back, “I have
bought a field, and I must go out and see it,” or, “I have bought
five yoke of oxen, and I must go to examine them,” or, “I have
married a wife, and therefore I cannot come” (Luke 14:18-20).

A New Inclination to Pray
Well, that was then. But my prayer is that God would use this message
and this word from Jesus in Matthew 7, and other influences in your
life, to awaken a new compelling inclination to pray in 2007. I hope
you will ask God to do that as we look at this text.

We will do it in two steps. First, we will look at eight
encouragements to pray in Matthew 7:7-11. Second, we will try to
answer the question of how we are to understand the promises that we
will receive when we ask, and find when we seek, and have the door
opened when we knock.

Eight Encouragements from Jesus to Pray
Six of these encouragements are explicit in this text and two are
implicit. It seems clear to me that Jesus’ main purpose in these
verses is to encourage us and motivate us to pray. He wants us to
pray. How does he encourage us?

1. He Invites Us to Pray
Three times he invites us to prayâ€"or, you could say, if you will
hear it lovingly, three times he commands us to prayâ€"to ask him for
what we need. It’s the number of times that he invites us that gets
our attention. Verses 7-8: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek,
and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone
who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who
knocks it will be opened.” The repetition is meant to say, “I
mean this.” I want you to do this. Ask your Father for what you
need. Seek your Father for the help you need. Knock on the door of
your Father’s house so he will open and give you what you need.
Ask, seek, knock. I invite you three times because I really want you
to enjoy your Father’s help.

2. He Makes Promises to Us if We Pray
Even better and more amazing than the three invitations are the seven
promises.
Verses 7-8: “Ask, and [#1] it will be given to you; seek, and [#2]
you will find; knock, and [#3] it will be opened to you. For everyone
who asks [#4] receives, and the one who seeks [#5] finds, and to the
one who knocks [#6] it will be opened.” Then at the end of verse
11b (#7): “How much more will your Father who is in heaven give
good things to those who ask him!”

Seven promises. It will be given you. You will find. It will be
opened to you. The asker receives. The seeker finds. The knocker gets
an open door. Your Father will give you good things. Surely the point
of this lavish array of promises is to say to us: Be encouraged to
come. Pray to him. It is not in vain that you pray. God is not toying
with you. He answers. He gives good things when you pray. Be
encouraged. Pray often, pray regularly, pray confidently in 2007.

3. God Makes Himself Available at Different Levels
Jesus encourages us not only by the number of invitations and
promises, but by the threefold variety of invitations. In other
words, God stands ready to respond positively when you find him at
different levels of accessibility.

Ask. Seek. Knock. If a child’s father is present, he asks him for
what he needs. If a child’s father is somewhere in the house but
not seen, he seeks his father for what he needs. If the child seeks
and finds the father behind the closed door of his study, he knocks
to get what he needs. The point seems to be that it doesn’t matter
whether you find God immediately close at hand, almost touchable with
his nearness, or hard to see and even with barriers between, he will
hear, and he will give good things to you because you looked to him
and not another.

4. Everyone Who Asks Receives
Jesus encourages us to pray by making it explicit that everyone who
asks receives, not just some. Verse 8: “For everyone who asks
receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it
will be opened.” When he adds the word everyone in verse 8, he
wants to overcome our timidity and hesitancy that somehow it will
work for others but not for us. Of course, he is talking about the
children of God here, not all human beings. If we will not have Jesus
as our Savior and God as our Father, then these promises don’t
apply to us.

John 1:12 says, “To all who did receive him [Jesus], who believed
in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” To
become the child of God, we must receive the Son of God, Jesus
Christ, who gives us the authority of adoption. That is who these
promises are for.

For those who receive Jesus, everyone of them who asks receives good
things from his Father. The point is that none of his children is
excluded. All are welcome and urged to come. Martin Luther saw the
way Jesus is motivating here:

He knows that we are timid and shy, that we feel unworthy and unfit
to present our needs to God. . . . We think that God is so great and
we are so tiny that we do not dare to pray. . . . That is why Christ
wants to lure us away from such timid thoughts, to remove our doubts,
and to have us go ahead confidently and boldly.” (The Sermon on the
Mount, translated by Jaroslav Pelikan, Vol. 21 of Luther’s Works,
[Concordia, 1956], p.234.)

5. We Are Coming to Our Father.
We have implied it, now let’s say it explicitly with its own force:
When we come to God through Jesus, we are coming to our Father. Verse
11: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good
things to those who ask him!” Father was not a throw away label for
Jesus. It is one of the greatest of all truths. God is our Father.
The implications is that he will never, never give us what is bad for
us. Never. He is our Father.

6. Our Heavenly Father Is Better than Our Earthly Father
Then the Jesus encourages us to pray by showing us that our heavenly
Father is better than our earthly father and will far more certainly
give good things to us than they did. There is no evil in our
heavenly Father like there is in our earthly father.

Verse 11 again: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in
heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

I am aware, and Jesus was even more aware, that our earthly fathers
are sinful. This is why the Bible repeatedly draws attention not only
to the similarity between earthly fathers and the heavenly Father,
but also to the differences (e.g. Hebrews 12:9-11; Matthew 5:48).

So Jesus goes beyond the encouragement of merely saying that God is
your Father, and says that God is always better than your earthly
father, because all earthly fathers are evil and God is not. Jesus is
very blunt and unflattering here. This is a clear instance of
Jesus’ belief in the universal sinfulness of human beings. He
assumes that his disciples are all evilâ€"he doesn’t choose a
softer word (like sinful, or weak). He simply says that his disciples
are evil (ponēroi.).

Don’t ever limit your understanding of the Fatherhood of God to
your experience of your own father. Rather, take heart that God has
none of the sins or limitations or weaknesses or hang-ups of your
father.

And the point Jesus makes is: Even fallen, sinful fathers usually
have enough common grace to give good things to their children. There
are terribly abusive fathers. But in most places in the world,
fathers are jealous for the good of their children, even when they
are unclear about what is good for them. But God is always better. In
him there is no evil. Therefore, the argument is strong: If your
earthly father gave you good things (or even if he didn’t!), how
much more will your heavenly Father give good thingsâ€"always good
things to those who ask.

And there is something implicit here that underlines encouragement #4
aboveâ€"the word everyoneâ€"“Everyone who asks receives.” If
Jesus says to his disciples, “You are evil,” then the only people
that can come to God in prayer are evil children of God. You are
children of God. And you are evil. In other words, even after you are
adopted by God into his family, sin remains in you. But Jesus says,
everyone will receiveâ€"everyone of God’s evil children! We will
see why in a moment.

7. We Can Trust God’s Goodness Because He Has Already Made Us His
Children
Here is another implicit encouragement to pray: God will give us good
things as his children because he has already given us the gift to
become his children.

This insight came from St. Augustine: “For what would he not now
give to sons when they ask, when he has already granted this very
thing, namely, that they might be sons?” We have already seen that
being a son of God is a gift we receive when we come to Jesus (John
1:12). Jesus said to the Pharisees in John 8:42, “If God were your
Father, you would love me.” But God is not their Father. They
reject Jesus. So, not all are the sons of God. But if God has freely
made us sons, how much more will he give us what we need?

8. The Cross Is the Foundation of Prayer
Finally, implicit in these words is the cross of Christ as the
foundation for all the answers to our prayer. The reason I say this
is because he calls us evil and yet he says we are children of God.
How can it be that evil people are adopted by an all holy God? How
can we presume to be children, let alone ask and expect to receive,
and seek and expect to find, and knock and expect to have the door
opened?

Jesus gave the answer several times. In Matthew 20:28, he said,
“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his
life as a ransom for many.” He gave his life to ransom us from the
wrath of God and put us in the position of children who only receive
good things. And in Matthew 26:28, he said at the Last Supper,
“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for
the forgiveness of sins.” Because of Christ’s blood, our sins are
forgiven when we trust in him. This is why even though Jesus calls us
evil, we can be the children of God and count on him to give us good
things when we ask him.

The death of Jesus is the foundation for all the promises of God and
all the answers to prayer that we ever get. This is why we say “in
Jesus’ name” at the end of our prayers. Everything depends on him.

The summary so far is that Jesus really means to encourage us to
pray. Why else talk like this about prayer if his goal for us in 2007
is not that we pray. So he gives us encouragement upon encouragement,
at least eight of them.

One Final Question
One final question: How shall we understand these six promises in
verses 7 and 8: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you
will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks
receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it
will be opened”?

Does this mean that everything a child of God asks for he gets?

I think the context here is sufficient to answer this question. No,
we do not get everything we ask for and we should not and we would
not want to. The reason I say we should not is because we would in
effect become God if God did everything we asked him to do. We should
not be God. God should be God. And the reason I say that we would not
want to get everything we asked is because we would then have to bear
the burden of infinite wisdom which we do not have. We simply don’t
know enough to infallibly decide how every decision will turn out and
what the next events in our lives, let alone in history, should be.

But the reason I say that we do not get all we ask is because the
text implies this. Jesus says in verses 9-10 that a good father will
not give his child a stone if he asks for bread, and will not give
him a serpent if he asks for a fish. This illustration prompts us to
ask, “What if the child asks for a serpent?” Does the text answer
whether the Father in heaven will give it? Yes, it does. In verse 11,
Jesus draws out this truth from the illustrations: Therefore, how
much more will your Father give good things to those who ask him.

He Gives Only Good Things
He gives good things. Only good things. He does not give serpents to
children. Therefore, the text itself points away from the conclusion
that Ask and you will receive means Ask and you will receive the very
thing you ask for when you ask for it in the way you ask for it. It
doesn’t say that. And it doesn’t mean that.

If we take the passage as a whole, it says that when we ask and seek
and knockâ€"when we pray as needy children looking away from our own
resources to our trustworthy heavenly Fatherâ€"he will hear and he
will give us good things. Sometimes just what we asked. Sometimes
just when we ask it. Sometimes just the way we desire. And other
times he gives us something better, or at a time he knows is better,
or in a way he knows is better.

And of course, this tests our faith. Because if we thought that
something different were better, we would have asked for it in the
first place. But we are not God. We are not infinitely strong, or
infinitely righteous, or infinitely good, or infinitely wise, or
infinitely loving. And therefore, it is a great mercy to us and to
the world that we do not get all we ask.

Take Jesus at His Word
But if we take Jesus at his word, O how much blessing we forfeit
because we do not ask and seek and knockâ€"blessings for ourselves,
our families, our church, our nation, our world.

So would you join me in a fresh new commitment to set aside time for
prayer alone and in families and in groups in 2007. All the rest of
this Prayer Week, with its special booklet prepared for you, is meant
as extended application of this sermon.

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
----------

Good Morning to Everyone, It's such a Beauitful Morning !

Good day to you. I hope that your day is going well and that your
weekend was a good one. Even if it was full of snow and ice. If one gets
though it, it is truly a blessed day. It is -13 degrees here this morning living in the state of Missouri this morning and not
supposed to warm up much. BRRRRRRRRRR. Right now looking out our window the snow is falling here and it's uppose to stop later in the morning. With additional tempatures will be falling into the teens around here ... and with northwest winds increasing to 15 to 20 mph... which then makes it feel like zero degrees here.The lows around 2 degrees, bittterly cold and our wind chills will be reading any where from 8 below to 2 above zero. But praise the Lord for heat!!!!!! Isn't wonderful to know that No mater what's going on in the outside weather that all of the warmth we have is heat yes, but the chaging of ones outlook is to find those promises of God in our daily lives even during cold stromy days where we just can't get out to enjoy life. Here is a few Promises that we can attain in us during those times.


In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.Proverbs 14:26
The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
Proverbs 14:27
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.Isaiah 55:8
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.Isaiah 55:9
For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.Psalm 84:11



Changing Your Outlook: Opportunities come in all shapes and sizes. What if all of those things you see now is an obstacle could be seen instead of Gold bricks. Brickes can be used in building walls or paving stones for your orad to success. You can follow the yellow brick road to where you want to be in life, or you can remain stymied by the big wall that seals off any progress you want to make. It all depends on how you look at the obstacles. The point is that perpective is all about how we choose to see things. Because we look as much with our mind as with our eyes, we tend to" see " what we expect to see or want to see. Chnging our perpective calls for willingness to see things differently. That's the key to developing a postive attitude regardless of what happens to us even on stormy day's winter days where we can't get out to enjoy all things that we normally do in our everyday life. Instead we can enjoy our families and having time with them, Having study time, prayer with one another in the Lord in worship with one another and to count our blessing in being thankful unto the Lord in times such as these . In our very busy world today make those promises come true in God and watch him work deeply in ones own life and our families grow in Jesus Christ in staying close unto Him.


catcmo2006 Thank You for stopping in this site it's about Jesus Christ first and prayers, intecessory prayer's and at other times about this vast world we live in today which this old world as we all know it is slowly departing to be reaching our home in glory.

God will hold us all accountable for our sins (Eze.18:30); We should hold each other accountable (Luke.17:3,4);We are Accoutable in what we believe(John.3:17,18,19),God will examine our actions (2Cor.5:10);Armor for physical battles (1Sam. 17:38); Weapons cannot stop God's power ( Eze. 38:4); Spiritual armor prepares us for life (Ro.13:12);Righteousness is a spiritual weapon (2Cor.6:7);God's weapons conquerors Satan's strongholds (2Cor.10:4);Put on the Armor (Eph.6:11-18)Jesus Is the Highest Authority (Matt.28:18);Choose a postive attitude (Hab.3:17-19)Bad attitudes hurts our relationship with God (Gen.4:6,7);Bad attitudes leads to poor decisions (Num.14:1-4);God gives christian a new attitude (Hab.3:17-19) More Than Conquerors (Ro.8:37)Christians should always rejoice (Phil.4:4)

The Trouble Pile

"Where do you go today, old man,
With that great load there, on your back?"
The old man just grumbled as he hobbled a long
Holding Tight to the bulging sack.

"I say, old man" cried the boy again
"Do you carry a sack of gold?"
"Nay, lad" the old man whispered,
"Tis just troubles -- that's all I hold."

"This sack I've carried, all my life
Each trouble I've had is here.
They've grown till now, my back grows bent
With every passing year.

There's grief and pain, there's hurt and woe,
There are trials and sins galore
But I'm going now to the trouble pile
and I won't pack these no more."

The boy looked up with a troubled glance.
"Tell me, what's the trouble pile?
I'd like to know, and while we talk
You can sit and rest a while."

"I lack the time" the old man said,
I've got to rush along.
I want to get to the trouble pile
'Fore the little troubles are gone.

"You see, it's a place where all can go
To trade troubles great and small
You can leave yours there and pick new ones up.
Why, I'll trade 'till I've none at all."

The boy glanced down at his twisted leg,
And he blinked to hold back a tear.
"Could I trade this leg for a good one" he asked,
"If the trouble pile was here?"

"Of course, you could" the old man was gruff.
"But there's still a long way to go.
I've got to hurry or I'll be late,
And crippled you'd be too slow."

So the boy sat down and watched the man,
Disappear in the morning light,
The hours wore on and still he watched
As the day moved on to night.

At last, there in the distance,
The old man walked tall and strong,
A bulging sack still on his back,
But on his lips, a song.

"I see you trader, mister,
You lost your heavy load"
His little voice grew wistful
As he looked back down the road.

The old man grinned and tossed his bag
With a thud, in the dusty track.
And he smiled a smile at the little boy
As he sat and leaned lazily back.

"Now, I'll tell you, lad, though you'll not believe --
But that sack is the same as I had.
When I saw the troubles of other folks,
I found mine not half so bad.

Sure, I've hardly got a trouble now,
And I'll tell you something too --
If you could see that trouble pile,
You'd keep that bad leg too.

Cause I've done a bit of thinking
As I walked along the way.
And if we worked hard on that leg of yours
It would grow straight and strong to stay,

"Now I've really nothing much to do
And a crutch I could make for a start."
Then he hugged the boy to hide a tear,
And the joy in an old man's heart.

So the boy and the man worked together,
From morning to the last light of day,
And the twisted leg finally was straightened,
And the boy could soon run and play.

It was then the old man knew he must leave,
And again he shouldered his sack,
But no longer did it bulge with his troubles --
It just hung there loose on his back!

For while he was helping another.
His own troubles faded away,
He had truly found the trouble pile,
It's there if you look for the way.


~ Unknown ~

The fig tree

Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in Ordinary Life
Issue #1825 Figs

The fig tree appears throughout Scripture. The words fig, figs and fig tree appear no less than 71 times in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. The first mention is in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve clothe themselves with fig leaves (see Genesis 3:7). The last mention is as a metaphor where the stars fall out of the heavens like figs from a tree (see Revelation 6:13).

It is not surprising that the fig plays such a large role in Scripture. It is a common tree throughout the Middle East (and beyond). Its two crops of fruit each year provide a stable food source.

There is an account recorded in Matthew about Jesus and a fig tree that often leaves people wondering.

Matthew 21:18-19 NIV
Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered.

People wonder why this story is included in the Scriptures. To me, it is a wonderful declaration of Jesus being both fully human and fully divine.

As a hungry man, Jesus walked up to a fig tree looking for something to eat. Had Jesus not been fully man He would not been hungry. If He were not fully man, He would have known that the tree bore no fruit.

Yet we see the fully divine side of Jesus in the withering of the tree. He had the power to destroy the fruitless tree in a moment. That is something that no mere man could have done.

As believers we can rejoice in Jesus' nature. Having been fully human He experienced everything that we can experience. He can relate fully to our needs, our struggles and our triumphs. He has "been there and done that".

As fully God we can trust in Him to be merciful, just and faithful. He is a rock upon whom we can face all of this life and beyond and never have to worry about Him letting us down.

As fully man, He could pay the price on the cross for our sins. His shed blood was an acceptable covering for our failings.

As fully God He intercedes with father on our behalf. There is no failing when He comes to our aid.

Until next time, rejoice in Jesus. He has it covered for us.

Hallelu Yah (Praise God)

Be blessed

Kevin

Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. You have value in the eyes of God so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that heaven will not be complete without you.

Help for the Hurting

As a human, Jesus understands all the things you struggle with and can empathize. As a holy God He cannot tolerate sin. As loving God HE came and died to free you from your sin, if you will open your heart to Him. Do so and be free today.

If you want to know how to do that simply email us and we will send you some Bible verses that will explain it to you.

Need Prayer? Have questions?

Simply drop us an email at prayer@gleaningsfro mtheword. com

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Christian drifters

Some Christian leaders hold more indulgent views. In "Enlightened Sexuality," a book of essays about body-positive spirituality, two Catholic priests with doctorates in psychology report this change in morals is not all about instant gratification. The Revs. Peter Campbell and Edwin McMahon say during their ministry they have seen responsible, mature adults drift away from institutional churches and their mores.


"They are by no means self-indulgent individuals looking for an excuse to live a licentious life," they wrote. Rather, these people have been undernourished by their church and seek support for growth in other ways.


Rita in Oxford would place herself in that camp. She says her main reason for living with boyfriend Justin is the law of chastity before marriage isn't as important to her as other, more internal principles.


"I've never been one bound up by ritual," she said about marriage. "I think it's more important to be genuine and not judge when you don't know everyone's personal story."


Justin states a similar idea about their living arrangement.


"Those who preach against it are often doing worse things," he said. "We are loving, consenting adults. We contribute to our society. I think God understands our hearts."


The Barna Group's Kinnaman says churches need to do a better job of understanding the hearts of the buster generation and of teaching a biblical perspective of sexuality.


"It is important for churches to understand the natural skepticism of busters as well as their desire for spiritual and conversational depth," he said. "Young adults do not want to hear on-the-stage monologues about moral regulations. To earn access to their hearts and minds, you have to understand each person's unique background, identity and doubts, and must tangibly model a biblical lifestyle for them beyond the walls of the church."



Appeared originally in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 1/6/2007 6:00:00 AM, section C , page 1

16 LAWS OF GODLY RELATIONSHIPS

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. An he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross....We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. (Col 1:15-20,28).Life is all about our relationships; first of all with God, and then with each other and everyone else we meet. We must know the basis for our relationships in order to understand how we should relate to God and to each other. The first few chapters of Rick Warren's book "The Purpose Driven Life" provide a good summary; here are the main points:It all starts with God - "Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him." (Col 1:16) Without God, life makes no sense.You are not an accident - "I am your creator, you were in my care even before you were born." (Is 44:2) God never does anything accidentally, and he never makes mistakes.What drives your life? - Guilt? Resentment? Anger? Fear? Materialism? Need for approval? "You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you." (Is 26:3)We are made to last forever - "This world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever. (I John 2:17)Seeing life from God's view - "What is your life?" (James 4:14) A circus? A minefield? A roller coaster? A puzzle? A symphony? A journey? A dance? A carousel? A party? A race? A marathon? A battle? A game? Life is a test, a trust and a temporary assignment. "Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won't be faithful in large ones." (Luke 16:10)So if our life on earth is only temporary and is a preparation for eternity - and scripture calls it a test - How is our life to be graded?Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent (John 17:3).God is love (1 John 4:16).‘Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind', and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself' (Luke 10:27).Who is my neighbor? (Luke 10:29).And now I will show you the most excellent way (1 Cor. 12:31).Life is all about knowing God, experiencing his love through our relationships with others. We can't experience God's love without knowing God. We can't know God without sharing his love to everyone around us (everyone we meet is a neighbor). God knew we are incapable of experiencing and sharing his love without help, so he came in the body of Jesus to show us how to experience and share his love - and to have eternal life.1 Cor 13 is an excellent description of what God's love is. Love must have an object to be expressed. God demonstrated his love for us by coming in the body of Jesus and sacrificing his life on the cross. Jesus' life was a demonstration of God's love, and we can see every attribute of love described in 1 Cor 13 manifested in the life of Christ. Love is not an abstract concept, it is the nature of God himself. We should model our relationships with others on how Jesus demonstrated throughout his life. 1 Cor 13 describes the nature of Godly relationships:Love is:1. Patient - keeping a good disposition even when others are demanding and we have other things to do.2. Kind - Affectionate, gentle, considerate - helping when you don't need to, when the other person cannot return the favor.3. Does not envy - We can rejoice when someone else is blessed without feeling like we deserved it more than they.4. Does not boast - When we call attention to ourselves, we are claiming credit for what we should acknowledge as God's grace and mercy.5. Not proud - Pride is self-righteousness - pride is setting ourselves above others.6. Not rude - When we are condescending, offensive or discourteous, we are saying "I don't need to talk with you - you aren't worthy of my attention!"7. Not self-seeking - When our motive is "what's in it for me?" we are placing the other's welfare second to our own wants.8. Not easily angered - It is possible to be angry and manifest God's love (Jesus & the moneychangers) but if we are easily angered, we are selfishly wanting everything our own way and reacting badly when we don't get what we want.Love:9. Keeps no record of wrongs - God has forgiven us of every sin we've confessed to him - how can we not forgive others?10. Does not delight in evil - People will often cause harm to others to accomplish some goal ("corporate ladder"), and in the process deceive others to hide their actions. Love has no part in this.11. Rejoices with the truth - When we have nothing to hide, we can be totally open with others - it is then we can rejoice with the truth.12. Always protects - Love quenches the darts of the enemy. When we hear of accusations against a brother or sister, our response should be to protect, i.e. "I don't think we have all the information to judge this situation."13. Always trusts - Love isn't suspicious, love has faith in others, even when they've let us down before. Jesus said to forgive "seventy times seven" times.14. Always hopes - Love always believes for the best, even when we've not experienced the "best" many times before.15. Always perseveres - Love withstands adversity. Love doesn't give up - ever.16. Never fails - We aren't guaranteed happy endings. John the Baptist was beheaded, Jesus was crucified, most of the apostles were martyred. But, God is eternal, God is love, so there is no end to God's love. God's love will carry us through any situation, even when we don't like the outcome.God came to us in the body of Jesus to show us how to experience and manifest his love and have a relationship with himself. We can't do it without God. But with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can learn to experience and manifest God's love just like Jesus did.Love is the core of having Godly relationships, both with our heavenly Father and with everyone we meet (our neighbors).Prayer:Lord Jesus, help me to follow your example and share God's love with each person I meet today. Help me to love you with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind and all my strength-and help me to show your love to each person I contact today.Amen. catcmo2006

Living In The End Times

STUDY NO: 1
TOPIC: Signs of The End
BIBLE PASSAGE: Matthew 24:1-51

HOW TO STUDY THIS LESSON:
Open in prayer asking God for truth and wisdom from His Word.
Read the Bible passage
Answer the questions, writing the answers in the space provided.
Take about 3-5 minutes per question.
Fill in the “Personal Application” section
If you have time write down prayer points for members of the group.
Close in prayer.

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. What question did the disciples ask Jesus? (v. 1-3)




2. What warning did Jesus give them? (v. 4-6, 23-26)




3. What did Jesus say about natural disasters? (v. 7,8)




4. What will happen to Christians and the Church? (v. 9-13)




5. What will happen just before the end times? (v. 14)




6. How close are we to the gospel being proclaimed to all ethnic groups?



7. Will the end times be easy or difficult? What should we expect? (v. 15-26)



8. What will the coming of the Son of Man be like (v. 27-31)




9. What will happen to Israel (the fig-tree) at this time? (V. 32-34)




10. What did Jesus tell us about trying to set dates for the end-time? (v. 25,26)




11. What biblical disaster will be the pattern for the Lord’s return? (V. 37-44)




12. What attitudes should Christians have as we approach the end times? (V. 42-51)




PERSONAL APPLICATION – a command to obey, a warning to heed, a promise to claim, a deed to do, an attitude to change….





PRAYER POINTS

A CHRISTmas Dream

A CHRISTmas Dream
I dreamed that I was presentOn that first Christmas EveWhen Heaven touched the earthTo change all hearts that dared believe.I watched in awe-struck wonderAs Bible events took place....The crowded Inn, the raptured lookEtched on the Virgin's face.
A hush fell on the stableOn this holy, holy night.Through the cracked roof streamed a haloOf a soft, cascading light.In the air rose a crescendoOf angelic voices sweetTo celebrate the momentWhen Mercy and Grace would meet.
Anticipation mounted as theHour of midnight passed.I wondered what the time wasAs expectancy amassed."The moment of Redemption, "Came the answer loud and clear."Lift up your heart to thank Him,For the Purchaser is here."
I trembled as the child came forth...As the King of Kings was born.As love reached out to touch my soulOn that first Christmas morn.In joyfulness and reverenceI bowed down...but still don't knowWas it a dream...or have I beenTo a Christmas long ago?
© 1996 Doris Jacobs Covington

Forgiveness Prayers

Forgiveness Prayers:"Dear Lord, we desire to be fully given to You. Forgive us for offering costless sacrifices and borrowed gifts. Jesus, we want to pay the full price. We know the issue is not what I can do for You but rather what You can make of me. We surrender all to You our Lord and King. May the quality of our life be suitable for You house. Grant us a heart of faith and worship to bring my Isaac to the altar. In Jesus name, Amen.""Dear Jesus, forgive us/me for thinking we/I can fake our/my walk with You and that You would bless and protect our/my falsehood. Lord Jesus we/I want to be real! We/I want our/my relationship with You Lord Jesus to be substantial, to totally consume us with Your purifying fire until all the world sees is You Lord. We pray for the Baptism of fire to burn away the scaffolding of empty religious rituals, activities, and impurities. Let Your power and love be the credibility of our lives, home, and churches. In Jesus Name, Amen.""Lord, forgive us for our lack of prayer and the weakness of our love for You. Jesus, Lord, we want to be like You, that when we see need, instead of criticizing it, we lay down our lives for it. In Jesus Name, Amen""Lord Jesus, You deserve our hearts. Forgive us for allowing ourselves to be distracted by the world and our ambitions and opinions. Lord, by Your grace we commit ourselves to Your purposes, that our lives will be qualitatively capable of You house, and our words will be Your words, which are worthy of endorsement of Your power. In Jesus Name, Amen"

Revelations 1

8I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
9I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
11Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
12And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
13And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
14His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
16And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
17And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
18I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
19Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
20The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

The Vision:There can be no true peace, where there is not true grace; and where grace goeth before, peace will follow. This blessing is in the name of God, of the Holy Trinity, it is an act of adoration. The Father is first named; he is described as the Jehovah who is, and who was, and who is to come, eternal, unchangeable. The Holy Spirit is called the seven spirits, the perfect Spirit of God, in whom there is a diversity of gifts and operations. The Lord Jesus Christ was from eternity, a Witness to all the counsels of God. He is the First-born from the dead, who will by his own power raise up his people. He is the Prince of the kings of the earth; by him their counsels are overruled, and to him they are accountable. Sin leaves a stain of guilt and pollution upon the soul. Nothing can fetch out this stain but the blood of Christ; and Christ shed his own blood to satisfy Divine justice, and purchase pardon and purity for his people. Christ has made believers kings and priests to God and his Father. As such they overcome the world, mortify sin, govern their own spirits, resist Satan, prevail with God in prayer, and shall judge the world. He has made them priests, given them access to God, enabled them to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices, and for these favours they are bound to ascribe to him dominion and glory for ever. He will judge the world. Attention is called to that great day when all will see the wisdom and happiness of the friends of Christ, and the madness and misery of his enemies. Let us think frequently upon the second coming of Christ. He shall come, to the terror of those who wound and crucify him by apostacy: he shall come, to the astonishment of the whole world of the ungodly. He is the Beginning and the End; all things are from him and for him; he is the Almighty; the same eternal and unchanged One. And if we would be numbered with his saints in glory everlasting, we must now willing submit to him receive him, and honour him as a saviour, who we believe will come to be our Judge. Alas, that there should be many, who would wish never to die, and that there should not be a day of judgment! (Rev 1:9-11)

I Am A Livng Stone : Dear Precious Heavenly Father, You are the Alpha & Omega to those of us whom know you by your Holy Ghost Spirit that shines down inside of us as we believe in You For Your Word is of You . Father, We have come before You to share some things to You that's inside of our hearts as we bow before you precious Lord Jesus Christ this day in bowing before you with our hearts opened wide to come deepy of which is truths as You already know them today. We have put away all malice, and guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and slanders, as a newborn baby, We desire to grow more into maturity because of wanting more of You for we surely have tasted and know just how good you are in our lives. We are coming to you whom is our living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and so very precious. We also am a living stone, that's being built into a spiritual house, a holy preiesthood, to offer up our own spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to You God, through Your son Jesus Christ. As it states in our Holy Scriptures,
" Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believes on Him shall not be confounded" Unto you therefore which believe [he is] precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, [even to them] which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.( 1 Peter 2:6,7,8) But we belong to a very chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, one of God's own people; that we should proclaim the praises of Him whom has called me out of darkness into His marvelous light. In past times I was not a "people". In past times I had not obtained mercy bit now I obtained mercy. I am but a stranger and pilgrim in this world, therefore I abstain from all fleshly lust, which wars against my own soul. I live like a re-semblance of Jesus Christ in my own life, in living life totally around those whom don't truly believe in You Father God, Your only Son Jesus Christ as many people do whom are your remnants watching and waiting to come in which is truly in your own time . So those whom truly speak against us as evil doers, they see our good works and we will glorify our God daily as we wait for your return. We submit our self unto you and every human authority for our Lord's sake: whether it be the king supreme, or to governors, for they are sent by You God for the punishment of all evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well before you. For so it is God's will, that by doing right I may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. We live as a free person but I do not use my own liberty for a cloak of evil, but as a servant of God. I honor all men, I love the fellowship of our brothers and sister. I fear God. I honor goverment leaders. I am subject to my employers with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also the over-bearing. For what glory is it, if, when I am punished for my faults, I take it patiently? If I do what is right, and suffer for it and take it patiently; this is acceptable unto our God. For this I was called, because Jesus Christ suffered for me. He left me an example, that I should follow His steps. He did No sin, neither No guile found in His mouth. Yet, when He suffered, He did Not threatened, but committed Himself to the Father who judges righteously. Who in His own self bore my sins in His own body on the tree, that I being dead to sins, should live a righteous life. By His stripes I am healed ( Isa. 53:5). For I was like a sheep that had gone astray; but now I have returned to the Shepard and Overseer of my soul. For only Jesus Christ Now we have hope for our present and our future. Love one another from our hearts fevently: having been born again, not with a corruptible seed but of being born again, not of incorruptible seed, theough the Word of God, which lives and always remains forever ( 1 Peter1:22,23) . Amen.

Thank You for stopping in this site,group Sites, web sites and other prayer sites as well in holding one another up for prayer's being totally united in everyone around this world, it's about Jesus Christ first and prayers,intecessory prayer's and at other times about this vast world we live in today which this old world as we all know it is slowly departing to be reaching our home in glory.
God will hold us all accountable for our sins (Eze.18:30); We should hold each other accountable (Ro.17:3);God will examine our actions (2Cor.5:10); Armor for physical battles (1Sam. 17:38); Weapons cannot stop God's power ( Eze. 38:4); Spiritual armor prepares us for life (Ro.13:12);Righteou sness is a spiritual weapon (2Cor.6:7);God' s weapons conquerors Satan's strongholds (2Cor.10:4); Put on the Armor (Eph.6:11-18) Jesus Is the Highest Authority (Matt.28:18) ;Choose a postive attitude (Hab.3:17-19) Bad attitudes hurts our relationship with God (Gen.4:6,7); Bad attitudes leads to poor decisions (Num.14:1-4) ;God gives christian a new attitude (Hab.3:17-19) More Than Conquerors (Ro.8:37)Christians should always rejoice (Phil.4:4)__._,_.___

A Truckers Story

If this doesn't light your fire..your wood is wet! I try not to be biased, but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie His placement counselor assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy. But I had never had a mentally handicapped employee and wasn't sure I wanted one. I wasn't sure how my customers would react to Stevie. He was short, a little dumpy with the smooth facial features and thick-tongued speech of Downs Syndrome. I wasn't worried about most of my trucker customers because truckers don't generally care who buses tables as long as the meatloaf platter is good and the pies are homemade. The four-wheeler drivers were the ones who concerned me; the mouthy college kids traveling to school; the yuppie snobs who secretly polish their silverware with their napkins for fear of catching some dreaded "truck stop germ" the pairs of white-shirted business men on expense accounts who think every truck stop waitress wants to be flirted with. I knew those people would be uncomfortable around Stevie so I closely watched him for the first few weeks. I shouldn't have worried. After the first week, Stevie had my staff wrapped around his stubby little finger, and within a month my truck regulars had adopted him as their official truck stop mascot. After that, I really didn't ca! Re what the rest of the customers thought of him. He was like a 21-year-old ! In blue jeans and Nikes, eager to laugh! and eag er to please, but fierc e in his attention to his duties. Every salt and pepper shaker was exactly in its place, not a bread crumb or coffee spill was visible when Stevie got done with the table. Our only problem was persuading him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished. He would hover in the background, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, scanning the dining room until a table was empty. Then he would scurry to the empty table and carefully bus dishes and glasses onto his cart and meticulously wipe the table up with a practiced flourish of his rag. If he thought a customer was watching, his brow would pucker with added concentration. He took pride in doing his job exactly right, and you had to love how hard he tried to please each and every person he met. Over time, we learned that he lived with his mother, a widow who was disabled after repeated surgeries for cancer. They lived on their Social Security benefits in public housing two miles from the truck stop. Their social worker, who stopped to check on him every so often, admitted they had fallen between the cracks. Money was tight, and what I paid him was probably the difference between them being able to live together and Stevie being sent to a group home. That's why the restaurant was a gloomy place that morning last August, the first morning in three years that Stevie missed work. He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a new valve or something put in his heart. His social worker said that people with Downs Syndrome often have heart problems at an early age ! So this wasn't unexpected, and there was a good chance he would come through the! Surgery in g! ood shap e and be back at work in a few months. A ripple of excitement ran through the staff later that morning when word came that he was out of surgery, in recovery, and doing fine. Frannie, the head waitress, let out a war hoop and did a little dance in the aisle when she heard the good news Belle Ringer, one of our regular trucker customers, stared at the sight of this 50-year-old grandmother of four doing a victory shimmy beside his table. Frannie blushed, smoothed her apron and shot Belle Ringer a withering look. He grinned. "OK, Frannie, what was that all about?" he asked./! I> "We just got word that Stevie is out of surgery and going to be okay." "I was wondering where he was. I had a new joke to tell him. What was the surgery about?" Frannie quickly told Belle Ringer and the other two drivers sitting at his booth about Stevie's surgery, then sighed: "Yeah, I'm glad he is going to be OK," she said. "But I don't know how he and his Mom are going to handle all the bills. From what I hear, they're barely getting by as it is." Belle Ringer nodded thoughtfully, and Frannie hurried off to wait on the rest of her tables. Since I hadn't had time to round up a bu! Sboy to replace Stevie and really didn't want to replace h! im, the girls were b! Using their own tables that day until we decided what to do. After the morning rush, Frannie walked into my office. She had a couple of paper napkins in her hand and a funny look on her face. "What's up?" I asked. "I didn't get that table where Belle Ringer and his friends were sitting cleared off after they left, and Pony Pete and Tony Tipper were sitting there when I got back to clean it off," she said "This was folded and tucked under a coffee cup." She handed the napkin to me, and three $20 bills fell onto my desk when I opened it. On the outside, in big, bold letters, was printed "Something For Stevie". "Pony Pete asked me what that was all about," she said, "so I told him about Stevie and his Mom and everything, and Pete looked at Tony and Tony looked at Pete, and they ended up giving me this." She handed me another paper napkin that had "Something For Stevie" scrawled on its outside. Two $50 bills were tucked within its folds. Frannie looked at me with wet, shiny eyes, shook her head and said simply: "truckers." That was three months ago. Today is Thanksgiving, the first day Stevie is supposed to be back to work. His placement worker said he's been counting the days until the doctor said he could work, and it didn't matter at all that it was a holiday He called 10 times in the pas! t week, making! sure we knew he was coming, fearful that we had forgotten him! or that his job was in jeopardy. I arranged to have his mother bring him to work. I then met them in the parking lot and invited them both to celebrate his day back. Stevie was thinner and paler, but couldn't stop grinning as he pushed through the doors and headed for the back room where his apron and busing cart were waiting. "Hold up there, Stevie, not so fast," I said. I took him and his mother by their arms. "Work can wait for a minute. To celebrate you coming back, breakfast for you and your mother is on me!" I led them toward a large corner booth at the rear of the room. I could feel and hear the rest of the staff following behind as we marched through the dining room. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw booth after booth of grinning truckers e! mpty and join the procession. We stopped in front of the big table. Its surface was covered with coffee cups, saucers and dinner plates, all sitting slightly crooked on dozens of folded paper napkins. "First thing you have to do, Stevie, is clean up this mess," I said. I tried to sound stern. Stevie looked at me, and then at his mother, then pulled out one of the napkins. It had "Something for Stevie" printed on the outside. As he picked it up, two $10 bills fell onto the table. Stevie stared at the money, then at all the napkins peeking from beneath the tableware, each with his name printed or scrawled on it. I turned to his mother. "There's more than $10,000 in cas! h and ch e! cks on t hat table, all from truckers and trucking companies that heard ab! out your problems. "Happy Thanksgiving, ". Well, it got real noisy about that time, with everybody hollering and shouting, and there were a few tears, as well. But you know what's funny? While everybody else was busy shaking hands and hugging each other, Stevie, with a big, big smile on his face, was busy clearing all the cups and dishes from the table. Best worker I ever hired. Plant a seed and watch it grow. At this point, you can bury this inspirational message or forward it fulfilling the need! If you shed a tear, hug yourself, because you are a compassionate person. Well.. Don't just sit there! Send this story on! Keep it going, this is a good one!

Draw Near to the God Who Understands

"For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:15-16There is great significance to the fact that Christ was born in the likeness of man and lived through adulthood on this earth. That Jesus experienced life from the cradle to the cross has great relevance to how we live our lives as Christians. Sometimes we might think that God being God cannot possibly relate or understand our incessant needs and weaknesses. We might be prone to think that we have sinned so much that we can no longer be forgiven. We might be tempted to think that God has given up on us. Perhaps we have concluded that God doesn't care to hear our prayer, and if we do pray, we do it with a serious lack of belief, confidence, and hope. Yet the message from Scripture is that Jesus understands and even sympathizes. There is no need to be embarrassed or confounded by our neediness and weakness. Christ wants to show Himself to be strong in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10), and He promises to meet our needs according to His good and perfect will (Philippians 4:19). His throne is a place of mercy and grace. He knows that we need help, and He wants us to come and ask Him for it. He understands pain, for He was beaten and bruised for our transgressions. He understands rejection, for many professing followers abandoned Him. He knows what it is to be fatigued as He spent many long nights in prayer. He knows the frustration of laboring for the Lord when even His own disciples seemed to not understand. He can relate to family life, to the work place, to the meeting place for worship, and to the everyday issues of life. He hungered and He thirsted. Our God understands, for He has been there.


Yet, despite all that He experienced and endured, He did not sin. This has made it possible for us to be saved and to have the ability in Christ to draw near to God in prayer. We have the awesome privilege of approaching the God of the universe in prayer in the name of Christ. It is not our goodness that makes this possible but His. And given all that He endured for this to be made possible, how awful it must be to Him when we don't take advantage of this privilege of prayer. We get to approach the very throne of God in prayer which is a place of supreme authority and power. This is where things can get done, where sin can be forgiven, where requests can be answered, and where hopes can be renewed. And because of Christ, this throne is not a place of the pouring out of God's wrath but a place of grace and mercy.There is no reason for God's people to not offer their requests and petitions to God. There is no reason to think that God won't hear our prayers or that He wouldn't desire fellowship with us. He sent His own Son so that this could happen. We need to take advantage of this privilege and enjoy intimate communion with our Lord in prayer. If we have unconfessed sin, God wants to hear that before anything else. He is ready to forgive and not condemn. If we have needs, He wants to be asked to meet them. If we have weaknesses, He wants to provide the strength. When we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (James 4:8). Jesus had weaknesses, though He was without sin. We have weaknesses and sin. Yet our hope is that we can go and be forgiven this day and receive help and strength to carry on not from a God Who doesn't care or can't relate but from a God Who anticipates our needs and sympathizes with our struggles. When we come to understand the mercy, grace, and sympathy of our Lord, we will readily entreat Him for wisdom, provision, and deliverance from sin. We will eagerly rush to His presence to be cleansed from any unconfessed sin. We won't shrink away in fear, but we will run to His open and eager embrace. We have a God Who sympathizes and understands. Let us thank God for the work of Christ, and let us draw near to our gracious Father this day.Brenton M. Barnett is the founder of the free Bible teaching ministry, Relevant Bible Teaching, found on the web at http://sdm3.rm04.net/ctt?kn=3&m=694079&r=NTMyNzMzMDgxMAS2&b=0&j=MjM2ODMyNDIS1&mt=1. He is also the author of Catch Fire: A Call to Spiritual Awakening. Brent's greatest joys in life are his wife, Sarah, and daughter, Anneke

Jesus the First Born Son of God

Let us go to John 1 and see what is written about the Son Of God. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God.This shows us Jesus’ distinct and infinite personality. He was there with God from the very beginning. It shows His relationship with God. Jesus has a very intimate relationship with God His Father.John 1: 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.This verse shows us the deity of Jesus. Also it tells us that Jesus has the power to create. John 1:14 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.This tells us that Jesus became flesh. Jesus did this because God told Him to. It says "was made flesh". God made Him flesh just like He made you and I flesh. His nature was totally human, and his glory "as of the only begotten of the Father." This shows you the relationship He had with God the Father. He was "full of grace and truth."John 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.This verse consummates Jesus’ identification: "The only begotten son, who is in the bosom of the Father." He hath declared Him. "This is fulfilling the significance of the title "LOGOS." the WORD." The words "the only begotten which is in the bosom of the Father," expresses both Jesus’ eternal union with God the Father in the Godhead and the intimacy and love between them. Jesus sharing all of His Fathers counsels and enjoying all His love. In John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God tells us just how much He loves each of us in John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. This must not be taken to mean that Jesus became the only begotten Son by this birth for He was His son from the beginning. John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh. The love and greatness of gods’ gift is in the sonship of Jesus who God gave. Jesus’ Sonship was not the effect of His being given. In John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This tells us the full revelation of Gods character and will. It also tells us of His love and grace as shown in the name of Jesus, who has unique relationship with God His Father. God sent His only begotten Son as an act of faith. In 1 John 4:9 it says, "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him." This does not mean that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem that He then became His son. God sent His only begotten son "into the world". It means that He was already His son from the beginning. Jesus already was. He did not just become Gods only begotten son.In Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. This tells us that Jesus was Mary’s firstborn son. Colossians1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. This shows Jesus the son’s eternal relationship with God His Father. And it means Jesus was the "firstborn" before all creation. Other title of Jesus Christ as the "Son of God" are: 1. His son: 1 Thessalonians 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. 2. "His own Son" Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 3. "His only begotten Son" John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 4. "The Son of His love", Colossians 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. The Son, Jesus, is the eternal object of Father Gods love. John 17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. Jesus is the sole Revealer of Father God’s character. John 1:14 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. Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.John 1 tells us that God the Father and Jesus His Son existed before He came to earth as a man. It says that the "WORD" existed in the beginning and that the "WORD" is the Son who became flesh and dwelt among us. When God said "Psalms 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. And quoted in Acts 13:33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. Hebrews 1:5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? Hebrews 5:5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. All this refers to the birth of Jesus Christ. God knew what was in store for His son Jesus before He ever sent Him here. Jesus knew what was in store for Him before he came to do all that He did for you and I. So as you celebrate His birthday, which was not December the 25, remember what all of this was for. It was not for the gifts that you could receive for you have received the most wonderful gift of all and that was Jesus Christ! It is not about the lights you put up and go to look at for Jesus is the light of the world and you need no other lights. It is not about all the food you can eat because you are feed daily all the food you need by the WORD. God has given each of us the best gift that we could ever have and that is life forever and always with Jesus. I pray as you go about this season of joy and love that you never leave Jesus Christ out of your Christmas. For with out Jesus Christ you would never have a Christmas.
May God bless and keep you always in His loving arms. And may you always walk with Jesus as you walk your path each new day. Yours in Christ

Christ visited By the Three Wise men

Matt.2:1-4 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.___________________________________________ Luke 2:12,15-20And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen [it], they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard [it] wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered [them] in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.The Wise men were very wise to not fall into King Herods trap by his charm and manipluations to only achieve his tyrant views and his hidden agends only to get inforation and whereabouts of the Christ child whom is our Messiah in our lives. When Herod was only lying about his true feelings for what he was about to do to baby Jesus the only thing that he had been up to was to be abusive in his own personality to bring his domination that is only in himself. But those wise men was very careful and advoided him entirely and took another route instead.Oh, how those encounters may have been with those wisemen and the shepards in seeing Him in that wonderful birthplace when really wasn't the ideal place that we see on our christmas cards that passed around to every one whom read them this time of year.It was probably cold, damp, and a very dirty cave with a hollowed- out feeding trough or his manger that our baby Jesus had laid in . But stil yet...It was fit for a King! As our very Royal Prince and Presence .And for us as the whole people whom felt that way at first whom come in and say unto us I'm to dirty, or unfit to be a person in whom Jesus Christ wants of Me...... He wouldn't accept someone like me like I'am today. Isn't a blessing that He does No matter what self may think or say at that time. Thankfully and rejoicfully he does and always will come unto us when we ask him.. he right there! He accepts us right on that spot where we are at in that moment in time No matter what we think. He ready and He is waiting for us at any time and any where all we have to do is ask him to come into our lives. Hallelujah!!!! Thank You Jesus ! And I say to Jesus .... Happy Birthday to You Messiah ! This is Your day and we wrap our loving arms around You and we love to love upon You in our own hearts and in keeping it opened unto You in Listening to what You share with us on Your blessed birthday. And for the most part each and everyday until You come for Your church is everso waiting for You to come. We are devoted ourselves only unto You each and every day and going about the business of what You have shared with us in Your precous Words so You won't be dissappointed when You crack open those skys and finally take us home in being at that beauitful banquet table which has been preparded for us all - Your church. Thank You Jesus for all that You are and willever wil be on this earth and in the heavens. catcmo2006

The Concentration Of Spiritual Energy

Sunday, November 26, 2006

The Concentration Of Spiritual Energy

"… save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." Galatians 6:14

If you want to know the energy of God (i.e., the resurrection life of Jesus) in your mortal flesh, you must brood on the tragedy of God. Cut yourself off from prying personal interest in your own spiritual symptoms and consider bare-spirited the tragedy of God, and instantly the energy of God will be in you. "Look unto Me," pay attention to the objective Source and the subjective energy will be there. We lose power if we do not concentrate on the right thing. The effect of the Cross is salvation, sanctification, healing, etc., but we are not to preach any of these, we are to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The proclaiming of Jesus will do its own work. Concentrate on God's centre in your preaching, and though your crowd may apparently pay no attention, they can never be the same again. If I talk my own talk, it is of no more importance to you than your talk is to me; but if I talk the truth of God, you will meet it again and so will I. We have to concentrate on the great point of spiritual energy - the Cross, to keep in contact with that centre where all the power lies, and the energy will be let loose. In holiness movements and spiritual experience meetings the concentration is apt to be put not on the Cross of Christ, but on the effects of the Cross.

The feebleness of the churches is being criticized to-day, and the criticism is justified. One reason for the feebleness is that there has not been this concentration of spiritual energy; we have not brooded enough on the tragedy of Calvary or on the meaning of Redemption.

Prayer for Salvation

"Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen."