Know The Signs

    The church as a whole should not be having the attention focus of an untrained dog. One moment attentively listening to its master, the next off chasing cats and squirrels. We need to pay attention to our Lord's words regarding being watchful for His return, so that we'll be able to know the signs. For to those who know, His return will not come as a great shock. 

    Now, remember, Jesus is speaking with His disciples, not the general public. (vs 3). For such queries were even being said in their day that caused them to seek His wisdom concerning these things. Three questions they put to Him. 

1. When will these things happen?

2. What will be the sign of Your coming?

3. What will be the sign of the end of the age?

    WHEN WILL THESE THINGS HAPPEN? 

Matthew 24:9-25 gives us more details. False Christs rise up to distract and try to detract from the gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ. Witnessing to All Nations wherein we will be afflicted (suffer for the sake of the cross) and killed (for His Name's sake). The Abomination of Desolation will call himself God and declare himself God over all other gods, regardless of religious affiliation.

THE SIGN OF HIS COMING

    That one's pretty simple. 

    Revelation 1:7

Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen. 

    1. HE COMES ON CLOUDS and 

    2. EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM

    3. ANGELS WILL TRUMPET HIS ARRIVAL (Matthew 24:31)

    So, if someone says, I am the Messiah you seek, but then he arrives not on clouds, nor is seen by every eye across the globe at the same time, then we know that the speaker is false and not to be trusted. 

THE SIGN OF THE END OF THE AGE

 Matthew 24:4-8 is brief in its description. 

4. And Jesus answered and said unto them, "Take heed that no man deceive you.

5. "For many will come in My Name, saying, ‘I am The Christ,’ and will deceive many.

6. "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7. "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

8. "All these are the beginning of sorrows." 

    These eight verses are not several signs, but one sign taking place in many events. The first two verses here warn against listening to lying spirits: false prophets and false teachings. Such will sound good to the itching ears which do not want to hear the Truth of God's Word, but will only bring about their downfall and their destruction. Too many people will choose not to believe God and His Word. As stated earlier in The Day of The Lord: The Warning to The Church study on this site. 

    Verse six tells of wars and rumors of wars. But the church, the born again, Spirit-filled believers, are not to worry or be anxious about such things. 

    And then, there's the rumors of wars. We hear those now, as our grandparents heard it then. Since early Bible times wars have been fought on every continent, with the victor deciding how the conquered nation should live, or whether that defeated nation should live at all. Though some countries have known relative peace and safety throughout time, many have not. 

    In the last days, during this time of falling away from The Truth of God's Word, when the church will be sifted like wheat, and judged for her philandering ways, the world will always be at war with the believer.  As it has been, so shall it be, until the church is taken up out of this world by her Groom and Friend of The Groom. 

    Verse seven breaks this down even further. Not only will there be the wars and rumors of wars, but nation will rise against nation. And kingdom against kingdom. Within any continent there are many nations. And even within these nations there are more than one kingdom in place. 

    While all of the upheaval is happening, so, too, at the same time do famines, disease, and earthquakes in diverse places. Not just randomly, but in God's timing and on God's chronological chart, will these events take place. But don't be anxious, Christian: do no allow the worry of the world to take root in your hearts and minds. Yes, be wary of what is being said. But also be joyful, for these are only the birthing pains of what is about to happen. 

    In verse eight Jesus informs His disciples, then and now, that these events are merely the beginning of sorrows. The beginning of sorrows usually means travailing (contractions), childbirth. Though the arrival of a child is joyful, the getting to the arrival of the child, is painful for many women to go through. 

    In order for the church to be birthed, her Savior had to go through a period of sorrow, hence one of His titles is Man of Sorrows [Isaiah 53]. And His time of affliction is well documented both prophetically in The Old Testament and prophecy fulfilled in The New Testament. There are over 400 prophecies made in The Old Testament regarding The Messiah. In the gospel books {Matthew, Mark, Luke and John} Jesus Christ fulfills around 300 of them. (reference given below). Not all of them have been fulfilled yet; some will be fulfilled near the end of all life. That time of fulfillment of prophecy is nearer than many think or believe. 

OUR MAIN OBJECTIVE AS CHRISTIANS - Preaching The Gospel

    The church's main objective is to tell people about Jesus Christ, it is to win souls for the kingdom of heaven at any cost (Proverbs 11:30; Mark 16:15; Jude 1:22, 23): 

That He is God's Only Begotten Son  (1 John 4:9)

That He suffered and died (nailed to a cross) for the whole world, but that each individual must make a decision whether or not to believe this Truth. (John 3:16-18; Mark 16:16)

That He had the sins of the whole world laid across His shoulders (taking the load of sin off of us) (Isaiah 53:6; 2 Corinthians 5:21) God attributed the sins of the world to His Son Jesus Christ and then attributed Christ's righteousness to us, the believers. 

That He was laid in a grave, wrapped in burial clothes (Luke 23:50-53)

That He went to hell and defeated it and death (Revelation 1:18)

and

That He conquered the grave when He rose from the dead and walked out of it in a new body, becoming the First of us to rise in newness of life (John 20; 1 Corinthians 15:20; Ephesians 1:18-20)

That people need to know they will die in their sins unless they repent and turn away from their sins, turning to God in the process, choosing to be obedient and faithful to and in His Word (Ezekiel 14:6,7; Acts 3:19; Matthew 4:17; Acts 17:30; Romans 3:23; Hebrews 4:1; Romans 3:9-20; Romans 10:9-13) 

That water baptism is a public confession of faith in Christ Jesus, a symbol of being buried with Him and rising with Him (1 Peter 3:21; Romans 6:3, 4)

That the believer must hold fast, cling tightly to, faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation, not adhering to any words but The WORD (Anchored in Hope: Hebrews 6:19; Be Steadfast and Immovable: 1 Corinthians 15:58)

    Then we know that the sign of the end of this age of political, ideological and spiritual unrest will be when the antiChrist stands in the holy place, when he seats himself in the temple and calls himself God. 2 Thessalonians 2:4 "Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 

    Our redemption is near. Luke 21:5-36. 

    

**Resource Used: Ray Konig, Author & Investigative Journalist 

GOD Is Father, Not Mother

 

GOD Is Father, not mother

Knowledge of The Father Comes Through The Father's Son

Matthew 11:27

"All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows The Son except The Father, and no one knows The Father except The Son and those to whom The Son chooses to reveal Him."

John 14:6

Jesus said unto him, "I Am The Way, The Truth, and The Life: no man comes to The Father, but by Me."

In The Garden (before His arrest)

Mark 14:36

And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”

Heirs With Christ

Romans 8:15

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received The Spirit of Adoption by Whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

We Are Sons and Heirs

Galatians 4:6

And because you are sons, God sent The Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

God is referenced as Father 245 times in The New Testament compared to 15 times in The Old Testament.

More of the nature of a heavenly Father is revealed to us, if we only look--seek--for Him.

The example of prayer given in Matthew 6:9, commonly referred to as The Lord's Prayer, indicates that a believers can call God their Father when they pray. He tells them in Matthew 6:1-4 that they have a heavenly Father who is watching them.

And in verse 6, Jesus tells His disciples to go into a secret room--a room set apart for communing with God--and pray to Him.

Matthew 6:9

"In this manner, therefore, pray:

'Our Father Who is in heaven, Hallowed be (Holy is) Your Name."

But then Jesus warns His disciples on forgiveness. If they who believe and follow Him forgive the people who do them wrong, then their heavenly Father will forgive them their sins. But if they do not forgive these persecutors, then their Father cannot forgive them of their sins. Forgiveness is empowering to the weary soul who belongs to our heavenly Father. (Matthew 6:14-15)

Don't make it obvious you are fasting, either (vs 16). Fast according to how God wants us to fast (vs 17) and He, our heavenly Father, will see our obedience and reward us properly.

Matthew 6:19-24 Neither a collector, nor a hoarder, be. Store treasures in heaven (Proverbs 11:30). Serve God and Him only. Chasing after the things which are not of God is a waste of time and effort. Be generous with what God, our heavenly Father, has given us. But if we withhold that which we have been given, how much greater is the loss for us!

Matthew 6:25-34 tells us that our Father is also our Provider. And that when we seek Him and His kingdom, He will provide everything we need.

Though I have known hunger, and had no $ to purchase food, my children and I formed a circle and prayed that God would provide for us. And He did. Minutes later there was a knocking on the door and a couple of friends had their arms filled with bags of groceries. That's my God, my heavenly Father, at work providing for His children.

The Great Commission

 

Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in The Name of The Father and of The Son and of The Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”

    We first make disciples of Christ when we tell somebody our testimony of saving faith in Christ. We tell them Who Jesus is, why Jesus came to us, and how much Jesus loves each and every one of us. 

    We teach these new disciples how to live a Christ-centered life, and Who The Holy Spirit is, for it is He Who trains us in holiness living.
    We baptize these new disciples, fully immerse them, in water, in public. Sometimes right out in the open, sometimes within a church's building.
    We who have made an independent, conscious choice to believe in The Name of Jesus Christ for our salvation also want to tell the world right away by being baptized in whatever water is available. It is this baptism that symbolizes we are dying to what we want and living for what God wants.
    We learn what God wants us to know when we attend Sunday School, not only as children, but attending adult Bible Classes. Some are able to have church services every night of the week, with different studies and prayer meetings for each night.
If we hunger and thirst for the things of God, we will always find God's people ready and eager to help satisfy us. I am thankful I had a couple of strong role models for Sunday School teachers when I was a youth and a teenager; one of whom was my Mom. 

    Leaving us with that last reminder, that God never leaves us to do this all on our own: He is always with us. His Light leads us and His mercy and goodness follow us. His Word is a fire burning within us and we must tell as many people as we can about God's great Love and Mercy and the grace that awaits them if only they, too, would believe. 

SO IN LOVE -Isla Vista Worship

It Is Written - Speak The Word

 

It Is Written

    Words that force The Word of God to remind the enemy of God that GOD IS and THERE IS NONE OTHER. That His Word is powerful. And strong enough to repel every attack which is come upon His people. 

It Is Written - House of Prayer

    Matthew 21:13 And said unto them, "It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves."

    A reminder to God's people that we are His houses of prayer.

~MESSIANIC PROPHECY~

It Is Written - Numbered With The Transgressors

    Luke 22:37 "For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, 'And He was reckoned among the transgressors': for the things concerning Me have an end."

    Many prophecies concerning the coming Messiah which had been written by the prophets were being fulfilled in Jesus' time because He Is The Messiah. Events which foreshadowed His life and His mission are written in The Old Testament. For example, when Adam and Eve sinned the first sin, blood had to cover their sin. So, the first physical death was an animal of God's choosing. I think it may have been a young lamb; simply because an unblemished, perfect lamb had to be sacrificed at the temple to cover the sins of the people every year. And we know that Jesus is God's perfect Lamb (John 1:29). 

~CHRIST'S TEMPTATION IN THE WILDERNESS~

It Is Written - Man Lives By Every Word of God

    Matthew 4:3. 4 The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are The Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

It Is Written - Do Not Tempt God

    Matthew 4:5-7 Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple. and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt The LORD your God.’ ”

It Is Written - Worship God 

    Matthew 4:8-10 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” “Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’ ”

    When Satan, the devil, tempts God's people, we can rebuke Him with The Word that is within us, for Christ Jesus lives in us by faith in His Name. We cannot let hunger of any kind, or hopelessness in any situation, or fame, greed get inside our hearts, for we would lose the righteousness of God. We must stand firm in our faith in The Word of God, filling our hearts and our minds with every Word of God which He speaks to us. 

~FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD~

It Is Written - God Frustrates The Intelligent

    1 Corinthians 1:19, 20 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

It Is Written - The Righteous Live By Faith

    Romans 1:17 For the gospel reveals The Righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

It Is Written - Christ Came to Be The Ultimate Sacrifice For Sin

    Hebrews 10:7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’ ”

It Is Written - All Will Be Taught By God

    John 6:46 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

    Luke 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.

    Proverbs 2:6 For The LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. 

    John 8:47a Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God. 

    Do you hear the words of God? 

    

Prayer Cards - Watch and Pray

 Matthew 26:41

“Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

PRAY IN THE SPIRIT

Ephesians 6:18

Pray in The Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.

GOD IS FAITHFUL

1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.

WALK IN THE SPIRIT

Romans 8:2-4

For in Christ Jesus the law of The Spirit of Life set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

    Sin is sneaky. It whispers. It tantalizes. It questions. It distracts. It is deceitful. It is cunning. It lies. It is everything The Word of God is not, so it tries to draw us away from the Truth of God's Word. 

    We have to be alert to sin's tactics, its delusions, its falsehoods. We need to know The Truth of The Word of God for ourselves that we may be able to judge right from wrong, fact from fiction, truth from lies.

    So we pray to the God of the Holy Bible, the Holy Scriptures: The Living God Who hears the prayers of the righteous and answers according to His Word and His perfect Will for His people. And when we pray for God's perfect will to be done, we are surrendering our will--what we want as the desired outcome--for what God wants as His desired outcome.

    We submit to God's Authority for He is our heavenly Father and wants only the best for His people, His children. So He gives us the Best when He gives us His Son Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit: Jesus for our Salvation & Deliverance and The Spirit for Empowerment to Witness and Transform our Souls.

    This is our PEACE in Christ.

Ephesians 2:8, 9

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Prayer Cards - Prayer Closet

 

Prayer is not a public spectacle. 

Nor do we need flowery phrases

 and loud speaking voices. 
God is not deaf: He can hear our hearts speaking

 even when our tongues cannot carry words. 

God knows what we are thinking, that's why our thoughts 

need to focus on Him and His ways. 

Psalm 94:11 "..The Lord knows the thoughts of man.."

Philippians 4:8 "...think on these things.."

Jeremiah 17:10 "I, The LORD, search the heart;

 I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, 

by what his deeds deserve."

Our hearts, our thoughts and our actions need to line up 

alongside God's Word, with God's Spirit

leading us and guiding our steps, 

whether in our minds (the unseen actions),

or in our hearts (the emotional actions),

or in our daily actions/activities (the seen actions). 

Luke 11:1-4 is an example of how to pray.

  First to acknowledge Him, that He is Holy; 

that His kingdom - His Way of Life and Living -

and His Will is more important than ours. 

We pray for daily bread. Not just that food 

would be on our tables and in our bellies, 

but that The Bread of Life would be ours daily.

Which means we need to be ready to receive

what God is going to give us in His Word. 

We pray for forgiveness of our sins,

and ask God to forgive the people who have sinned against us.

We pray for the power to overcome temptation, 

that we might be delivered from evil:

evil thoughts, evil actions. 

We need the power of God's Holy Spirit 

residing in us, transforming desires of the flesh

into desires of The Spirit. A hunger for holiness

should be rising up within us. A desire 

to live a righteous and holy life/lifestyle

in accordance with God's Holy Word. 

    Only then can we begin to pray in earnest, 

in our prayer closets, for the things which lay heaviest on our hearts:

 the salvation of those who still do not know Jesus Christ 

as their personal Lord and Savior. 
We pray for healing on those who suffer.

We pray for strength of mind, body and spirit 

for those who wander; who are distressed and discouraged;

for those who are mentally unsound or drained. 

We pray for workers to be added to God's Kingdom:

planters, waterers, and reapers

of God's Word. 

We pray for whatever The Holy Spirit has laid on our hearts to pray for. 

We pray for you who read this.

And we close out our prayers in The Name of Jesus, 

because The Word of God tells us:

John 14:13 

"And whatever you ask in My Name, 

that I will do, that The Father may be glorified in The Son."

AMEN 

Immanuel - God With Us

 

NAMES OF CHRIST 

IMMANUEL 

(pronounced Em-man-oo-ale')

GOD WITH US 

Matthew 1:23

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His Name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God With Us. 

This Name is given denoting the personal union (with us) between human nature and the divinity of Christ (God). 

John 1:1, 14

In The Beginning was THE WORD and THE WORD was with God, and THE WORD was God. 

And THE WORD became 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.

    Now, now that Jesus had arrived, those who looked to Him for their salvation, would never be alone again. Never would profound loss and sorrow prevail over God's people, for God is with Us now and forever. 

    Looking to The Lord in the Scriptures, we see that we are not alone in doing so:

• David wrote in 1 Chronicles 16:11 "Seek out The Lord and His Strength, seek His face always."
• Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 55:6 "Seek The Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near."
• Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek Me and find me, when you search for Me with your whole heart."
• Paul writes in Hebrews 11:6 " 
• And without faith it is impossible to please God. For anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

    God reminds us that He is always with us:

• Moses told Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:8 "
• And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”
• God speaks to Joshua personally in Joshua 1:9 "
• Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
• Isaiah 43:1-2 "
• But now, this is what the LORD says—He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine! / When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze."
• David, Psalm 23:4 "
• Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 

    Yet, these are but a sample of God being with us. Now is the time to draw near to God. Now is the day to look to Christ for our salvation. The days are short and getting shorter. Whereas for millennia the earth has rotated around the sun in a 24-hour span, now it is 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds. The days ahead will get even shorter for God has promised to do concerning His people. (Mark 13:20; Matthew 24:22). 

GOD WITH US - MercyMe

The Feet of Jesus

 

The feet of Jesus are beautiful. 

    Isaiah 52:7 

    How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” 

    Romans 10:14-15

    How then can they call on The One in Whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in The One of Whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? 

    And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” 

    The feet of Jesus walked everywhere.

    From the time His ministry began ( Matthew 4:18), Jesus walked everywhere He went. Cities, towns and coastlines in Galilee. Beth-bara (where He was baptized in the Jordan). Jerusalem. Everywhere He taught, preached, healed and did miracles Jesus walked to get there. All this walking did not help to keep His feet clean, so they needed washing:

The feet of Jesus are washed, kissed and anointed.

    Luke 7:37-38

   And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 

    John 12:2-3

    So they hosted a dinner for Jesus there. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. 

The feet of Jesus were pierced.

    Psalm 22:16

    For dogs surround Me; a band of evil men encircles Me; they have pierced My hands and feet.

    The feet of Jesus are embraced.

    Matthew 28:9 

    And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 

    The feet of Jesus are baptized.

    Matthew 3:18; Mark 1:9; Luke 1:21; John 1:29-33.

    The feet of Jesus are sat at.

    Luke 10:39

    And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 

    Matthew 5:1; Matthew 13:2; Mark 4:1; John 8:2 are references where crowds followed Jesus to hear Him, requiring Him to sit down and teach them. 

    The feet of Jesus shine brightly, like polished bronze (burnished/brilliant).

    Revelation 1:15

    His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters.

 

    

    

Seek First - Seek His Kingdom, His Righteousness

 

MATTHEW 6:33

But seek first the kingdom of God and His Righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.

What is the kingdom of God and how do we find it? 

Romans 4:17

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in The Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 4:20

For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. 

    To find the kingdom of God we must first seek out His Holy Spirit and be baptized by The Spirit, that we may receive every good and perfect gift which God has prepared for us. 

    When the disciples were baptized with The Holy Spirit, they received the power to preach the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ with boldness and fearlessness. Being eager to share immediately what they had received from Christ and The Spirit, they began to speak from the rooftop of the building where they had gathered in fellowship and prayer. 

    When Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he was temporarily blinded, until a saint prayed for him and he was filled with The Holy Spirit. From being a persecutor of Christians to being a most faithful minister of God's Word, Paul began to speak with power and wisdom and knowledge. For The Word which he knew became clearer to him; he could now share what he knew to be The Truth of the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. 

    What are we waiting for? Seek out God's Holy Spirit, if you do not know Him. God is Father. Jesus Christ is Son. The Holy Spirit is Breath. When God breathes on you, you will know it is God giving you His Spirit. When God first breathed on me, I could sing in The Spirit, which I still do. Then God breathed on me and I studied in ministry and became a preacher of The Word of God. 

    God will give you His Holy Spirit, if you are in the right place to receive Him. I saw The Holy Spirit at work in a little country church and knew that I needed that. But it took almost three years before I was ready and in the right place in my walk with Christ. 

    The Kingdom of God can only be found when we are seeking God in His Word and in prayer with Him. There's no other way. 

Paul's Prayer to the Church in Ephesus:

    Ephesians 3:16-19

I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 

    What is God's Righteousness?

James 4:8

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Isaiah 1:16, 17

Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil! / Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. “Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”

Micah 6:8

 He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does The LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

     To achieve the Righteousness of God we must believe in our hearts, and confess with out mouths, that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD. For Christ is our Righteousness. He is The Righteousness we "put on" when we come to faith in what He has done for us on the cross, in the grave and in the garden. He died for our sins, fought and overcame death, hell and the grave, and walked out in newness of life. He was completely changed, for no one recognized Him when first they met Him after He rose from the dead. Until He spoke their names.

    The Holy Spirit and the church call out now to all who will hear, all who will listen, all who desire a closer walk with Jesus Christ to come to the cross. See The Servant of God taking our punishment, for God had laid the sins of the whole world from all of time upon His shoulders. The weight alone must have been near unbearable. And then, God had to turn His face from His only begotten Son, for God is holy and sin cannot be in God's holy presence. 

    We need to repent of the wickedness in our hearts and lives. Turn our hearts to God and give Him control ( the right to rule with grace and love) of our lives. Daily we meet with our God to receive that which He wants to give us. Sometimes we fail in our walk; we stumble, we fall. But we get right back up and keep on walking. 

    We who believe have The Righteousness of God upon us and we are helping Him to build His kingdom one soul at a time. Are you that soul that is longing for a loving, merciful God? Come to Jesus. And walk with us. 

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

THERE'S A HOLY AND BEAUTIFUL CITY

JESUS MADE THE DIFFERENCE 

GIVE ME A HEART LIKE THINE