Great, Greater, Greatest

This month our Power of Twelve group is focused on the word "greater" out of the scripture verse in 1 John 4:4;

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

"He who is in you", let's think about those words for just a few minutes.  As Christians we believe that when we accept Jesus as our Lord that His Spirit comes and lives in our hearts, our minds, and our souls.  He lives in us and through us as we walk with Him and learn His ways of living life here on the globe.  Think about what a miracle that truly is.  God the Father, The Creator of the Universe and everything else that existed at any point in time, comes to live in our bodies, our minds, and our spirits by way of Jesus the Son and by the infilling of the Holy Spirit.  To me that is beyond my human comprehension and understanding but I know this is what true love is.  A Creator who loves His creation whom He calls His "Little Children".  I did not have a loving earthly father but I knew others who did.  Their father was their protector, their guide in leaning the lessons of life, the one who was there for the joys and the sorrows of growing up.  He was there for his child when his child needed anything.  Father God is where this example of a father comes from.  This is why he made man to rule over the earth.  He was made to be a husband to his wife and a father to his children.  He was made to be the leader of his family.  The head of the house.  Father God is our first father and an example of fatherhood in a family.  We are the family of God the Father.  And just as the genes of our earthly father are in us so are the spiritual genes of our Heavenly Father.  This is why He lives in us! He is a part of us just as our earthly father is even for those who do not believe.  Every single human being born had an earthly father.  No exceptions.  Jesus of Nazareth is the only human being who walked the earth that was born of woman and Spirit.  Joseph was Jesus' father image on earth but his true Father was God.  We are blessed with a Father who loves us and is a part of us!

As I was thinking and praying about this scripture and the word "greater" as the words great-greater-greatest came into my heart.  When something is great it is wonderful, awesome, super, special.  When something is greater it is more, more than just great.  Then the word goes to greatest which is even more than greater.  It is the greatest.  It is the most of all.

The verse in 1 John says that "He who is in you is greater" and greater than he who is in the world.  The one in the world of course is the evil one who wanders around the earth looking to kill, steal, and destroy the little children of God.  The evil one is looking to spiritually kill, steal and destroy what The Father has for His little children.  His everlasting love and life in a family of love.  The Father gives us strength for the day to defeat what the evil one tries to do in our lives to make us doubt, falter, and deny.  The evil one does not want you to know and understand that God is greater than he is but this is the truth.   Jesus beat the devil at the cross.  The price of all sin was paid for at the cross of Jesus.  Jesus was the ultimate price, the last sacrifice for sin.  It is over.  I guess the devil is not as smart as he thinks he is and did not get the message.  He has no authority over the little children of God.  Since the beginning in the Garden he has not quit trying to lead God's little children away from their Father in whatever way he can.  We always have to remember and know that not only is our God great but He is greater!  Greater than the one in the world.  It's that simple.  

The Greatest God is greater than whatever the evils in this world can dish at us.

For a visual imagery the Lord dropped this.  The Oregon Coast Range of mountains shows how great the Creator is.  If you stand up on one of the highest peaks of this range you can see thousand s of acres of forest and mountains from the valley to the ocean.  How great is our God!  But off in the distance is the Cascade Mountain Range with higher peaks!  Standing on those peaks a person can see even farther from the ocean to the eastern desert part of the state.  This range of mountains is greater than the other.  We can now move to thoughts of the Himalayan Mountains.  The highest mountains in the world are located there.  Imagine what can be seen from the tallest peak.  These represent the greatest.

We have a God who is great, greater and greatest.  He has proven it by being a Father to the fatherless and by coming to live with and in all who call out to Him and follow Him.  It's all about love.  True love.  God knows we have to live our lives here on earth with the evil one constantly trying to hinder us and lead us astray.  This verse reminds us we have a Father that is greater than the evil one and has taught us how to resist and trample into the dirt whatever the evil one tries.  

Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.  This is truth for all the little children of God.

Psalms 95:3 - the Lord is the great God, And the great King above all gods.

John 15:13 - Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

I Corinthians 13:13 - And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 

A Proverb and A Byword

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

In my bible study of King Solomon I ran across this scripture from II Chronicles 7:20 that stopped me to search the meaning and history. These same words are repeated three times in scripture in Deuteronomy 28:37, I Kings 9:6-7, and II Chronicles 7:20 by three different writers of the Books.  Moses was the author of Deuteronomy.  Jeremiah is believed to be the author of I Kings.  Ezra is believed to be the author of II Chronicles.  Both Jeremiah and Ezra wrote God's words to King Solomon during his reign of Israel.  The repetition of these words is what struck my spirit today.  He warns the Kings and Jewish nation that if they do not follow His statutes and commandments they will become a ridiculed people.  They will be laughed at, mocked, held in low esteem, an object of horror thrown out of their Promised Land by the very God who brought them to the land of milk and honey.  Stories of their fall from favor and great demise will be told throughout the world forever.  

II Chronicles 7:20

(NKJV) then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

(NIV) then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.

(NLT)  then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make it an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations.

In the context of this scripture God is speaking to King Solomon and warning him not to fall away from the statutes and commandments of God and to live a life according to the laws God gave to the Tribes of Israel through Moses.  This exact same warning had been spoken by Moses to the Israelite's almost five centuries earlier.

Deuteronomy 28:7

(NKJV) And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you. 

(NIV) You will become a thing of horror, a byword and an object of ridicule among all the peoples where the Lord will drive you.

(NLT) You will become an object of horror, ridicule, and mockery among all the nations to which the Lord sends you.

I Kings 9:7

(NKJV) then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

(NIV) then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.

(NLT) then I will uproot Israel from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations.

As I read and studied the words "proverb and byword" I began to understand why the Jewish people, the nation of Israel, the Tribes of Judah, the Hebrews, the Chosen People of God, are ridiculed and harassed today.  God warned them not to fall away from His statues and commandments. He had set them aside as a people of His very own.  He had called them out of slavery and bondage and shown them life with Him was miraculous and worthy.  He loved them dearly but they did not love Him in return.  They loved themselves more. They wandered off into the world and the evils of the world.  After all He had done to save them and care for them, they turned their backs on Him.  Then they crucified His son, the Messiah that God sent to save the Jews and Gentiles.  The Jews did not want a passive, peaceful Messiah.  They wanted someone to come in and kill their enemies.  They wanted a ruler who would bring peace to the land after he had killed their enemies.  But as it turned out they were the Messiah's enemies.  The religious snakes and vipers, the Pharisees and Sadducee's that lead the Jewish people were far from the statutes and commandments of the law of God. They made the common people hold to all the laws yet they did not.  Greed and power for these leaders were at the top of their own selfish purposes.  When they crucified Jesus, one of their own Jewish people, they become more of a "proverb and byword" to the world.  They sealed themselves into a lifetime of ridicule and mockery before the whole world.

Today the nation of Israel is strong and powerful even while living in a land constantly torn by war and killing.  What is left of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem has been taken over by Islam and serves as a worship center for their false religion.  They mock and ridicule the Jewish people right in front of all the world by being in control of what is left of this sacred Jewish temple.  All of their neighboring nations ridicule and hate them. They mock them and torment them just as the scriptures say would happen.  The Jewish people are still looking for a killing, fighting, warrior Messiah who will never come.  When they rejected Jesus as Messiah they rejected Father God.  They are still fighting against the Father who warned them to worship and serve only Him or suffer the consequences of their unbelief. 

From my studies of Revelation I believe that only during the Tribulation years will the spirits of the Jewish people finally wake up and see Jesus as Christ.  The truth will be revealed to the Israelite's when Jesus Messiah comes back for the final battle for the souls of mankind. They will kneel before Him as will all unbelievers of the world. The final Judgement will be upon them. 

Lord have mercy.

Hide and Seek

Thursday, January 13, 2022 6:55 PM

The January Power of Twelve word is seek.  The scripture reference is;

Matthew 7:7-8; 

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

In thinking about how we seek and find the Lord, I thought about the game we all played as children, Hide and Seek.  Do you remember the thrill of the game?  If you were not the person doing the counting and then the seeking, you were the one running to find the very best place to hide.  It was fun if you were the hider or the seeker.  Hiding required thinking and deciding the best place to hide that your seeker could not find you.  For me I remember trying to find a place where I could wrap up in a little ball, under something or heaven forbid, some place dark!  When the seeker would get close it was all I could do not to laugh, breathe hard or make any kind of noise.  Also remember, if the seeker could not find you then you are the winner!  Being the seeker was just as fun as being the hider.  You could hear the littlest ones breathing or giggling.  Or their feet were sticking out from under whatever they were hiding under.  What a fun childhood game.

In seeking the Lord there is no hiding going on.  I think that sometimes we think God is hiding from us but he is not.  Sometimes he is just quiet. But there are times we do try to hide from him.  We don't want to tell him what we are doing, why we are doing it, and just do not want to hear from him.  We are in hiding but he can still hear our every breathe and see our feet sticking out from under the table.  The sooner we learn not to hide from the Lord the better our relationship with him becomes.  The sooner we are honest about everything we are thinking and feeling the easier it is for him to come and help or just come and love on us.

This is what a father does.  Always loves no matter what kind of trouble his child may be in.  He never gives up on us therefore we never give up on him.

I have been seeking the Lord for over 4 decades now and feel that he and I are in a rock solid relationship. I cannot breathe without him. The childish games have been set aside and we walk together hand in hand.  My days of hiding are long gone.  He knows exactly who I am.  I on the other hand, still want to know him more deeply. I want to hear his still small voice speaking words of wisdom and encouragement to me.  I still want to see his miracles and feel the power of the Holy Spirit move in my life and in the lives of those I love.  I still seek more of him.

Each one of us who love the Lord will always hear his soft call and his voice saying,

"And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."

Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV)

Being Chosen

We are like old furniture that needs to be restored and made new again.

We are like the ore that contains gold.  It needs to be heated over and over again until the gold becomes pure.

Sometimes we forget how precious we are to God.  We are his chosen child.  Throughout the years there was something pulling at our hearts and our spirits.  It was the call of the Creator.  I AM! The God of the Universe.  Sometimes we find it hard to believe He would want someone as faulty and impure as us.  The devil is the one who puts the doubts in our minds and tells us we are not good enough for the love of God.  This is the biggest lie of all!

If we can ‘hear the call’ of God we can certainly believe and have faith that God chosen us because He loves us!  He is never wrong.

Matthew 11:15 (NKJV)- He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Matthew 13:9 (NKJV)- He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Mark 4:23 (NKJV)- If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Mark 7:16 (NKJV)- If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Mark 4:9 (NKJV)- And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Deuteronomy 29:4 (NKJV)- Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.

Matthew 13:43 (NKJV)- Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Psalms 10:17 (NKJV)- Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear,

Ezekiel 12:2 (NKJV)- “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house.

Luke 8:8 (NKJV)- But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Psalms 17:6 (NKJV) - I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.

Isaiah 55:3 (NKJV) - Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you— The sure mercies of David.

Chosen and Chaos

Throughout time man has been chosen by God to do specific tasks for Him.  After the man has accepted the Lord's hand on his life the mission begins.  Some of the missions have been huge and life changing.  Some of them are not so huge.  Some of them we know nothing of because they are small and only known by the few who have been involved or touched by the mission assigned to them. 

Here are examples of several of the chosen and their chaotic lives after that:

Abraham was chosen to have as "many descendants as there are stars in the heavens" and be the "father of many nations". Genesis Chapters 15-17 tells the story of God's covenant with Abraham.

Genesis  15: 5 (NKJV) - Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

Genesis 17:5 (NKJV) -No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.

The Chapters in Genesis reveal the chaos that ensued after the covenant was placed between God and Abraham.  Trouble with Sarah and then between Sarah and Hagar. Trouble between Issac and Ishmael.  Trouble with other family members.  Trouble with other nations and people.  Life became chaotic for Abraham but the Lord remained with him and lead him through all of the trials and hardships and of course now, thousands of years later, we see that God kept His promise (covenant) with Abraham. Life was very chaotic for a very long period of time after God chose Abram to become Abraham to lead the chosen people of the One True God.

Moses was chosen to get the "Chosen People" out of slavery in Egypt.  Once Moses accepted the mission chaos ensued and persisted for decades.  The Pharaoh and his army tried to kill them all.  Because of the rebellion and faithlessness of the people they all wandered in a barren desert for decades and were never allowed into the land promised to them by God. Moses died in the desert along with his brother and sister who were also chosen of God. Life was very chaotic for Moses and those who followed him after they were called out of bondage. 

Joshua was chosen to lead the people into the Promised Land and to conquer and destroy all the evil in the land.  He only did part of what was commanded and chaos ensued.  Many years passed and the Chosen People became infected by the evil that was allowed to continue in the lands. More chaotic times for the chosen people who would not follow the commandments given to them by God.

All of the Prophets were chosen and given the tasks to warn the people of what was to come if they did not return their hearts to God and worship only Him.  When Prophets such as Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah, spoke about the wrath of God that would come if they did not return their hearts to Father God and follow His commandments, chaos ensued and they were hated by the people. Because of the people's hard hearts they were scattered across the lands and again spent time in slavery to other nations for hundred of years.

In the chaos of the times the people cried out for a king to lead them.  God gave them King Saul who did not work out quite the way the people wanted.  They cried and begged for more.  King David was chosen by God. His life quiet as a shepherd in the field was gone. His life was filled with chaos after that.

In scripture everything goes quiet for several hundred years but history proves these years were filled with chaos.

When Jesus came to earth to offer the final sacrifice for mankind, He chose people to learn His ways, teach His ways and walk with Him.  For three years the Apostles lived with Him on a daily basis and for much of that time they still did not understand why He was here and exactly what He was doing or saying.  There was chaos while Jesus preached and taught the people. Then He was crucified.  The Apostles scattered and hid.  Though Jesus came back, spoke encouragement to them and lived with them for a short time He left once again. And though He sent the Holy Spirit to be with them  there was still chaos.  The Apostles and followers of "The Way" were persecuted, hunted, imprisoned, killed.  Even through all of the chaos, people still came to accept the promises of Jesus to forgive them and to save them from this chaotic world into a new world of love, peace, and beauty with no chaos when time on this earth was finished!

Chosen. Chaos. Chosen. Chaos. Chosen. Chaos.  It seems to be a pattern we can learn from.  For us to desire to be chosen by God to be His people, we have to be willing to admit and accept that more than likely chaos will ensue.  We are not going to be any different than any of the others who have been chosen.  Any person that comes to the Lord after heeding His call to accept salvation and walk with Him have to be willing to understand the walk is not an easy one from the human perspective.  The world belongs to the evil one and he roams looking to continue chaos wherever and whenever possible.  We who have been chosen and accept the tasks of the Lord, should all come to the understanding that this is a war, not just a fight, between good and evil.  It has been this way since the beginning when the original man was deceived by the evil one.  Chaos ensued when they were asked to leave the Garden because of their disobedience.

Being chosen by the Creator of the Universe is amazing.  Being chosen by the Creator of the Universe is messy.  He wants us to spread His message of love and forgiveness to others.  Many of them do not want to hear it and will persecute those who try.  But there will be those who hear and receive the message.  They will understand that they have been chosen to be a part of the kingdom of God.  Many will try and fail again and again and wonder why their lives still contain chaos.  Many will not be able to endure the chaos that comes with walking in the territory of Father, Son, and Spirit.  They will lose heart. 

But.....

When we go to scripture and read the full stories of the chosen we can see there were miracles.  There were healing's.  There were promises fulfilled.  There was honor bestowed.  There was love and mercy.  There was the Hand of God moving for and with His chosen people regardless of the faithlessness and rebellion.  The same is true today when we truly look and watch for God's hand moving.  There are still miracles today.  The world will not tell you about them but the people will rejoice when one of those miracles touches their lives and they will shout for joy from the rooftops!  They will not allow the world to silence them! There are those who have been held in the clutches of the devil for years and whose spirits are awakened by the Spirit of God and will sing praises for the rest of their lives to any who can hear and will listen!  

Since the very beginning when God breathed life into mankind all He wanted was a people to share life and relationship with.  All He wanted to do was love and adore.  But He did not want people to love Him because He said so.  He wanted people to want to love Him!  He was not going to force anyone to love Him.  I wonder if this freewill clause also holds a chaos clause.  If so, He is the one who sets all plans in place. therefore trust is the issue.  

Psalms 33:10 (NIV) - The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

Proverbs 16:9 (NIV) - In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

The chosen of God will have chaos in their lives.  It's part of the plan. The chosen of God rejoice even in the chaos.  That's the plan and it's been shown throughout time that the plan is a good one!  We praise God in the quiet, peaceful times and we praise God in the chaos.  

WORLD DOMINANCE

 December 31, 2021 – WORLD DOMINANCE

I have been reading and learning (from many different sources) about the World Economic Forum (WEF) and their Young Global Leader (YGL) program established in 1992 which has graduated many of the wealthiest people of the world from their program.  Since 1993 elite, rich, and potentially influential people who, at that time of application into the program are under the age of 38, are allowed into the program after being properly vetted.  Hundreds of these graduates are highly involved with the global reset being implemented in today's world.  They are in top positions of leadership and have all the money in the world at their disposal since hundreds of them are the wealthiest in the world. The WEF and the YGL are non-profit organizations with trillions of dollars invested by the richest people in the world for over 50 years now.

WEF was formed in 1971 by Klaus Schwab (of the Rockefeller family and money). In 1992 the WEF began an internal program called Global Leaders of Tomorrow which changed to the name Young Global Leaders (YGL) in 2004 when they revamped the program. According to economist Richard Werner (2003 graduate) the program was closed down and rebooted as a more controllable group because there started to be too many people asking difficult questions in the forum. (I would love to find some of those questions!)

The young leadership program suggests in its literature that “a globalized world is best managed by a self-selected coalition of multinational corporations, governments and civil society organizations which it expresses through initiatives like the "Great Reset and the "Global Redesign".”  

You will recognize some of this handful of elite names who graduated from this world leadership program in the past 30 years and are still active alumni.  There are over 1400 YGL graduates:

-Angela Merkel, Global Leaders for Tomorrow Class of 1992.

-Gavin Newsom, Young Global Leaders Class of 2005.

-Emmanuel Macron, Young Global Leaders Class of 2017.

-Peter Buttigieg, Young Global Leaders Class of 2019.

-Bill Gates, Global Leaders for Tomorrow Class of 1993. (#4 richest in the world).

-Jeff Bezos, Global Leaders for Tomorrow Class of 1998. (#2 richest in the world).

-Mark Zuckerberg, graduation year not listed but he is on the WEF/YGL website. (#7 richest in the world)

-Tony Blair, Global Leaders for Tomorrow Class of 1993 (prior UK Prime Minister)

-Bono (entertainer), Global Leaders for Tomorrow Class of 1993

-Vladimir Potanin (Not Putin) Global Leaders of Tomorrow Class of 1997 (10th richest in the world)

-Richard Branson, Global Leaders for Tomorrow Class of 1993

-Marcus Wallenberg, Global Leaders for Tomorrow Class of 1994

-Eric Schmidt (Alphabet/Google) Global Leaders of Tomorrow Class of 1997

-Larry Page (Alphabet/Google) Global Leaders of Tomorrow Class of 2002 (#8 richest in world)

On the WEF/YGL webpages they are fully open about what they plan to accomplish through a one world order, who will be in charge of the world, and why you and I do not qualify.  They do not seem to hide too much of their plan for global dominance.  Their annual reports explain much.

I used the WEF and YGL websites and many others (i.e. weforum.org, younggloballeaders.org, Wikipedia and Wikispooks) and the website below for info and many links. 

https://whiskeytangotexas.com/2021/11/14/klaus-schwabs-great-reset-school-for-dictators-exposed-videos/?fbclid=IwAR1JwsO4fodB_IYnvTOUxHL2LJIQhtfqZDKqfumrv1jqMiHcFh0-eWq2Ph0

A Peculiar People

~ A PECULIAR PEOPLE ~

Our ladies Power of Twelve group is focusing on the word "chosen" this month. I reminded them that when the Lord began the group in 2018 we were all "chosen" to be a part of this plan of the Lord as well as His kingdom! The scripture reference for the word is;

Matthew 22:14, "For many are called, but few are chosen."

Each month I search scripture for added verses with the word. This led me to another scripture with the word "chosen" in it,

I Peter 2:9, (KJV) "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people,".

But it was the word peculiar that stuck in my spirit. Why are we a peculiar people? Why does God choose peculiar people to be his own special, chosen possession? I dive off into Hebrew and Greek translations and definitions, searching scripture, and asking the Holy Spirit to help me understand why we are a peculiar people in His eyes.

The King James Version uses the word "peculiar" while some of the other versions use the words,

"special people",

"special possession",

"God's own people",

"God's instruments",

"God's special treasure".

(Sorry, this is where my English transformational grammar classes in school get the better of me! Verbs, adverbs, adjectives, nouns, pronouns, etc. Please bear with me. )

I am picky about the translation of certain words in the Bible and feel the need to dig into why God uses certain words in His inspired word to His people. I looked up the word in the Hebrew language which is what the Jewish people spoke and wrote in in the Old Testament. "Peculiar" in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament is the word "segullah" which means peculiar treasure, special, jewel, particular treasure.

Deuteronomy 26:18 uses the word peculiar. "and the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments".

The New Testament was originally written in Greek then translated into English. The word "peculiar" in 1 Peter 2:9 is the Greek word "peripoiesis" and I am not going to try to pronounce it. The definitions of Greek peripoiesis include, "acquisition, preservation, obtain, peculiar, purchased, possession, saving". But it is only the word "peculiar", used in the KJV, which has another tiny Greek word tied to it as a primary preposition (word before). In Greek it would have looked like this when translating "peculiar" in 1 Peter 2:9 - eis peripoiesis. (εἰς περιποίησις actual Greek language).

The Greek word is spelled "eis", pronounced "ice". The Strong's Concordance definition of "eis" is a little word packing a lot of definition. Among the Strong's definitions for this little primary preposition "eis" are these;

to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or purpose

result,

(abundant-)ly,

among,

before,

+ continual,

+ far more exceeding,

in (among, at, unto, -so much that, -to),

to the intent that,

+ of one mind,

(so) that,

therefore(-unto),

throughout,

til,

Until

with.

Greek: eis peripoiesis. εἰς περιποίησις

My English translations: Abundantly preserved. Continually treasured. Saved possession. Among the purchased. Therefore acquired. Obtained into His Royal Priesthood.

Oh, my I could go on with all of the different Holy Spirit translations!

We, who know the Lord God and follow His teachings, are a peculiar people. A special treasure. A chosen generation. Something different than what the world offers. We think differently. We speak differently. We believe differently and rightly so! We are not of this world once we choose to heed the call of the Creator. Once we feel in our spirit that we need what He has to offer. Once we decide to leave the world behind and follow His path. Once our heart and spirit becomes one with Him. Peculiar. Special. Treasure. Jewel. Preserved. Saved.

What a life change for any person who has been chosen to be one of God's peculiar people! Being chosen is one of our greatest gifts from a Father who loves and adores His peculiar people.

WONDERS

Where do I begin this section?  Where do I start with a discussion about the wonders of God?  

Today, the entire world population is living under a cloud of fear.  Fear of a virus that is out of control and the measurements taken against it in the past 18 months have proven ineffective.  A fear of total economic and financial collapse in the entire world as people are not allowed to work at their jobs for not getting an ineffective vaccine.  Fear of their neighbors and friends as the government officials implement total lockdowns of all freedoms due to a raging virus.  A fear over a country, Afghanistan, which has been taken by known, extreme terrorists after an unplanned, hasty US military exit  that has left thousand and thousands of Americans, allies, and Afghan people aligned with democracy, stranded and left to the terrorists regime.  These terrorists have been left with billions of dollars of military equipment to now use in their horrific acts against humanity. These are just the most difficult and huge fears of today.  This does not mention all of the personal fears of people across the globe, experiencing a multitude of different trials.

My Bible studies in the past couple of weeks have been on the Twelve Tribes of Israel as they departed Egypt and headed towards the Promised Land that they had begged God for.  As Moses dealt with the hard heart of Pharaoh, these same people watched and saw the wonders of God's power and might.  The Hebrews saw with their own eyes,  the plagues put upon the Egyptian people by their stubborn and blinded ruler. Over and over it went on until death changed Pharaoh and he told them to GO!  As the Israelite's ran for their lives toward freedom, with the wonders of God covering them, they groaned and moaned.  I'm too tired.  I want to rest and eat.  How much farther? Why are we going this way?  I know you can hearing the whining if you have ever had children.  

These people experienced wonders.  They experienced unexplained miracles. They were saved by the hand of God from 400 years of horrific slavery.  They questioned God.  They rebelled.  They worshiped other gods right before their Creator.  They pushed back and sinned, over and over and over and over.  Sometimes God was merciful, at the pleading of Moses. Sometimes He was not.  Many died in the desert as God made them walk the walk for over 40 years because of their selfish, rebellious ways.  Out of the millions that could have walked into the Promised Land, had they done as God commanded, only two were allowed to go in.  Joshua and Caleb made it in.  No one else was allowed to step foot in the land the Israelite's so wanted to experience and live in.  Those who lived in slavery in Egypt, did not experience freedom in the Promised Land.  They died and were buried in the desert.

God hears our cries for mercy and freedom today.  The cries for freedom are coming from all across the globe.  Will God hear our cry and come to our rescue?  Should He? Why should He?  We are still a sinful and rebellious people, even those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus.  We whine and moan about everything the least bit uncomfortable.  We wait for help but do nothing to help another.  We pout that God is not doing something miraculous.  We want those signs and wonders we read about in the Bible.  We want the Holy Spirit to breath new life into us and then we turn around and bellyache about all of our suffering.  We. We. We. Me. Me. Me.

In the thousand and thousands of years mankind has been walking this earth not much has changed.  Self righteousness is still filling the hearts of the people.  

The Great Creator, Father, "I AM" is and always will be on the throne.  I am still filled with sin, though I have been granted forgiveness by Jesus my Savior, I know I deserve to become dust in the wind but I continue to be selfish, opinionated, mean, nasty, unloving, unkind, and unworthy to receive or see any kind of wonder or miracle in my life.  For three years Jesus walked with the people.  He healed them and He touched them. He rose them from the dead.  He showed mercy, over and over.  They pushed for more, more, more, more.  We push for more, more, more, more.

Matthew 16:8 - 9 (NIV) Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?"

We ask for wonders and then we wonder when they will appear.  We ask for miracles and then miss the miracles of the day.  We ask for signs and the signs are all around us.  God is here with us.  I wonder if there is anyone on earth who still knows and believes this in their heart and soul, without question? It's a wonder that His mercies are still new every morning. 

Today I will fear only God and hope for His best decision in everything I cry out for.  Praise the Lord God for all things, both good and bad.  Both yes and no.  Praise God for today and I hope to praise God for tomorrow.  As in every day, He is the only Wonder I truly need.

Joshua 1:5 (NIV) No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV) The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)  Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

John 14:1 (NIV) “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me."

An Old Pray For An Old Child

Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray the Lord my soul to keep

If I should die before I wake

I pray the Lord my soul to take

I said this child’s pray each night

With mother close within my sight

Not knowing what the future brings

Her hope for me, under His wings

Many decades so soon passed

The voices of the distant past

I heard my own child calling out

Lord save my soul, would be the shout

We know not what the future brings

For to the Lord we only sing

Thank you Lord for each new day

Please light our lives in your sweet way

So now as years have passed me by

Each night upon my bed I lie

Asking Him for calm and peace

In a world that offers no release

Then I hear His soothing voice

Telling me I have a choice

To trust in Him and know my soul

Will be with Him forever more

by debrakay 8-22-2021

 

Discipleship

This morning the Lord has me thinking about discipleship.  

One of the ladies from the Power of Twelve group recently stood before her church congregation and shared her story of coming to the Lord and the discipleship group she is in, which helped her find the Lord.  Truly find Him! What an beautiful and humbling thought that our little group helped to disciple her into the kingdom of God.

Jesus once told the priest, Nicodemus, that a person needs to be born again to enter into the kingdom of God.  Nicodemus was unable to understand what Jesus was saying because his faith was only spoken words from the Torah and was not a personal, real, spiritual relationship and friendship with the Lord.

John 3:5-6 (NIV)

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit."

The Apostle Peter was out teaching the people;

1 Peter 1:23 (NIV)

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

The Apostle Paul teaches the people;

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

When we truly seek the Lord, we find Him, but in order to truly find Him we need to be taught how to find Him.  Rarely does someone just stumble upon that realization without learning why He came, what He does for us, and how we are after we find Him.  As in any solid relationship or friendship it takes time and effort.  Always!

Take a marriage for instance.  There is the initial meeting and courtship that takes place.  After a period of spending time together, the couple decides they want to be together for the rest of their lives.  They enter into a marriage contract.  Then begins the relationship where they each find out who the other person truly is in the good times and the bad times.  They each devote themselves to the other as they learn about each other.  Unless they are devoted to the relationship, to each other, it will hardly ever make it in this world.  

Finding Jesus is like this.  The parable about the seed and the sower is a wonderful example of each person's walk with the Lord.

Matthew 13:3-8 (NIV)

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Only the seed that falls on fertile ground will grow a crop!  This parable is about each of us.  The seed is the word of God and our relationship with God.  The young woman who gave her testimony was sharing her experience of how she found the Lord, how she has been born again, and her love for the Lord now that she knows and understands her relationship with Him.  She is now sharing her love for Jesus with others.  She was one of the disciples in our Power of Twelve group and now she is a teacher to others.

Seed has sprouted and grown and now the crop of the Power of Twelve group is producing! Praise the Lord!