These last few weeks have been amazing, and not to be believed. My family has totally been transformed. Mom walked to the car the other day, and she was walking fast, with her head up, and with a beautiful smile on her face. She hasn't walked that way in years.

Another miracle, instead of flipping out, she just pulled over, and let the car pass instead of calling him names. I was so proud of her.

Carl did the dishes today. An amazing thing considering he's only done it 3 times in 11 years. Also, had HUGE DRAMA, which only lasted a few hours. Usually the drama would drag on for months, literally. Soooo soooo soooo many more miracles have happened, but these are some of the best ones, and they happened by applying the Bible to my life, and taking the advice of friends and not just pretending to, but instead putting it into actions. Feel free to post your favorite Bible verses as well! :)

9-22-11

Proverbs 16:31

"Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life."

Moses

9-22-11

Romans 5:26-4

"And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

Job

9-24-11

II Timothy 3:1-5,7

"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

9-29-11

St. Matthew 10-22

"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." - Jesus Christ

10-1-11

St. Matthew 5:44

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; -Jesus Christ

10-2-11

St. Matthew 12:36

"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak." - Jesus Christ

10-1-11

St. Matthew 5:44

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"- Jesus Christ

10-4-11

St. Mark 12:41-44

The temple was big and beautiful. Many people came there to worship God. Inside the temple were some big money boxes. People put money in them. The money was for the temple and all that was used in worship to God.

One day Jesus sat across from the money boxes. He saw many rich people put in lots of money. Then one poor woman, a widow, walked up to the boxes. She put in two small copper coins wor...th less than a penny.

Jesus looked at his friends. "This poor woman put in more than the rich people did," he said. "Here's why: the rich people still have much money left. But this woman only had two coins. She did not have any more money. The rich people only gave part of what they had. She gave all of what she had." - Jesus Christ

This is one of my favorites.


Proverbs 29:18

King James Version




Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

This is one of my favorites.


Proverbs 29:18

King James Version




Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Thanks for sharing ponytail! :)

10-9-11

Matthew 5: 40,41,42,

40: And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

41: And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. (Two)

42: Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

10-11-11

Matthew - 13:11-16

“The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Those who have will be given more, and they will have an abundance. As for those who do not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.” - Jesus Christ

My Favorate Bible Verse:

THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD, AND THE FIRMAMENT SHEWETH HIS HANDIWORK. Psalm 19:1 KJV

my favorite is john 3:16 i froget ilike were god say you can do all thing is inmpossblie thur jesus. ilike you are the way turth and the light you may not pass heaven unles you know jesus christ. my brother got didiglt tbibile you have this pen then you can pick which bibile vrsers its a study the bible or listen to music it realy cool i might ge t me one it reads the bible out to you . itsreally cool looking. if your loking for somegood book i reocmmd any boook by greige laurie i been reading bookcalled heavn is real i reomcmed 23 mintue in hell adn 90 minute iin heaven. my brother got book called eares hell. it about why god sends people to hell and how you can prevent peopleand your self from going to hell.

This isn't a Bible verse, but it's something iv'e wanted to share for awhile now, more importantely i believe it is something that God has wanted me to share for awhile now, just never fully had it in me to share it too much until now.

A few years ago I probably would have posted this in a new thread. I'm not going to lie, in those times, i'd have done it to stick it to the atheists and agnostics. At this point in my life, i have zero desire to do that. i find it very interesting how many atheists and so called Christians alike preach tolerance, while in truth, being some of the most intollerant people on earth. I was one myself, no doubt. i knew my hypocritical views were garbage, but that didn't stop the garbage and hate from spewing out of my mouth on a daily basis.

i'm at a no compromise stage in my life now. Enough with the childish hypocrasy of days of old. We preach tolerance, than seconds later, we mock those with different beliefs. we make fools of ourselves, and usually don't even realize it, or ignore it. The hypocrasy is off the charts, and like many, i'm done with it.

When a non-believer mocks Christianity, honestly, it barely bothers me anymore. i realize that i was once no different myself, and i know that just like that, i can fall back to my old nature. It is God, and God alone who is responsible for any positive change in me. Has very little to do with me.

This isn't a Bible verse, but instead is a person's thoughts on the apostle Paul, formerly Saul, who was a short, feeble, no frills, stubborn old man, who is probably the second most important figure in the New Testement next to Jesus Christ, writing most of the non gospels in the New Testament. What i love so much about this, is how Paul went from the worst of the worst, to one of the most beloved people in the entire Bible.

He was a murderer, having stoned many Christians to death, and persecuted many as well. Literally the worst of the worst, the one with no chance, no hope, the one we hope burns in hell. But Jesus has a different view of these people, and many of the greatest and most faithful figures throughout the Bible are just as bad, if not worse than Paul.

i myself was given up on by most, aside from God almighty, and my mom, who never gave up on me. It's amazing how things often happen. i had no chance by the worlds standards, a lost cause. Put him in an orphanage they said, you don't deserve to have a devil child like this they said. i gave up on myself, but God never did, and neither did my mom.

What's amazing now is how things work out in the end, and how ironic it all is. my mom is now in a situation where many have given up on her, while i am now in a position of the greatest happiness in my life, despite material things falling apart all around me on almost an hourly basis. my mom is me, and i am her, and now she needs me the way i needed her, and like her, i will never give up on her no matter what!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i love you mom, and thank you so much. You are going to be okay.

i hope some of you can get something good out of this. May God TRULY Bless You ALL!!!

Saul Paul: Murderer to martyr (read Acts 7:54-60 and 1 Corinthians 13: 1-8a)

The earliest Christians suffered great adversity as they tried to proclaim Jesus as Lord and Messiah. Much of the established Jewish tradition rejected such outlandish claims that Jesus had died and been raised by God from the dead. They not only rejected such claims, they vehemently abhorred them. It was nonsense, blasphemy even. For some of the Jewish leaders, I’m sure their violent objections to Jesus as Christ were the result of a creeping suspicion and vulnerable fear that the message of the disciples might actually be the truth.

Stephen was one such disciple who was determined to proclaim the Gospel message, even to the Jewish authorities who were outraged by such proclamations. Stephen was both a powerful preacher and the one who administered the “food-pantry” for the church in Jerusalem.

One day not long after the resurrection, Stephen went before the Sanhedrin, or the Jewish Council consisting of 23 high priests, and explained to them the history of Israel and how Jesus was the continuation and fulfillment of the prophecy. Just like they had rejected this claim before, they rejected it on that day. Stephen grew angry, insistent. He called the high priests “stiff-necked people,” or bull-headed. He told them they were “uncircumcised in heart and ear,” which is to say their hearts were hardened and their ears were deaf to God’s ongoing revelation. Stephen also said, “You are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do” (Acts 7: 51). Such accusations were a piercing criticism, and they infuriated the members of the Council.

Stephen made a great argument for Jesus as the continuation of God’s promise to Israel, but the Sanhedrin refused to hear it, and the insults that Stephen threw out just enraged them further. They grit their teeth and covered their ears, and then they formed a mob and physically attacked Stephen. They took him out into the streets and kicked him and beat him and threw insults back at him. And besides throwing insults, they also threw stones. In fact, they threw rock after rock at him until he was dead.

But before Stephen died, he uttered words reminiscent of Jesus’ last words from the cross. “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7: 59-60).

Stephen is regarded as the first Christian martyr, the first person whose life was taken in violence because of his faith in Jesus Christ. Ironically, Saul, the very person who approved of the Sanhedrin killing Stephen for his faith in Jesus, a man who participated in the whole event, would also later become a martyr for his faith in Jesus.

How is it that Saul, better known to us as Paul (his Christian name), goes from being a murderer of a Christian to a martyr in Christianity?

For those of you who are unfamiliar: Saul was a Pharisee, a 4.0 Jew and follower of the law. He was enraged by the claims of the disciples (of Jesus) and persecuted the early Church. But a series of events happened to Saul, which forever transformed his life. Saul became a Christian, a follower of the Way, and was renamed Paul. The same Saul who cheered at the death of Stephen becomes Paul, the author of Corinthians 13, who writes, “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Cor. 13: 1). What a great difference that is! In addition to Corinthians, Paul also wrote Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians Colossians, Thessalonians, some of the greatest treatises found in the Bible. He traveled all over Asian Minor and founded many churches. His responsibility was to convert gentiles to Christians. And it is thought that after doing all this amazing work for God, Paul also became a martyr, killed by the Romans because of his Christian beliefs around 60 C.E.

How did he go from a murderer to a martyr? It must have been nothing less than the power of God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of the world. I would like to suggest a Trinitarian explanation for Saul/Paul’s transformation: First, Saul received forgiveness of sins from God the Father/Creator. Second, Saul had a life-transforming vision of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, a vision that made him able to see the truth of God. And third, Paul was empowered by the Holy Spirit to live his life according to the Way and to help others along the Way.

It should be glaringly obvious why Saul was in need of forgiveness after hearing this morning’s text. He was a persecutor of the early church and participated in the murder of Stephen. Yet, God must have forgiven Saul. This is not written in the Scriptures directly, but is inherent based on the fact that God called Saul to be one of the apostles and gave his life a renewed purpose in the world. Without forgiveness, Saul was irredeemable. He was a sinner; one who had broken God’s commandments. He certainly had no place in the Christian Church or as a saint, and yet pages of our Bibles are filled with his spiritual theology and poetic letters.

How did Saul go from being a murderer to a martyr? God forgave him. With forgiveness comes another chance, new opportunities, new life. Can you imagine if we had to work off our debt everyday before we were able to move forward in life? We would all be in such deep pits we would not even have a dream of rising out. But God’s forgiveness makes our transformation possible.

It is important to note however that human beings need to receive God’s forgiveness if we are truly going to gain the fruits of this gift. To live forgiven and not know it is still to be in a pit. But, Paul knew that God had forgiven him and that is why he is able to live a new life, a life guided by love instead of judgment. That is why he is able to write, “Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends” (1 Cor. 13: 5-8). God’s love never ends, and Paul knew that because he was a recipient of such everlasting, steadfast love.

The Gospel message is that we are all forgiven. Saul is forgiven, and so are you. We are all redeemable. God is able to take the mess that is our lives and the brokenness that is our selves and love us until our chaos turns to order and our brokenness to healing. There is not anything that you cannot come back from. Or to put it in a positive statement, you can come back from anything, any sin, any failure, any weakness, through the One who created you. Over and over and over again we are forgiven, loved no matter our failings because God sees us as we really are: perfect in God’s sight, beautiful, wise, loving and strong. As we embrace God’s forgiveness, we become the people God intends us to be.

The second explanation for how Saul went from murderer to martyr is because Jesus Christ revealed himself to him. Paul had a Revelation (capital R). He saw Jesus Christ and that forever changed him.

When Saul was charging along breathing threats against the Church, he was confused and his perspective was distorted. He was not seeing clearly, but Jesus came to help him see clearly, to help him see as God sees.

The Revelation happened like this: Acts 9 says, “Suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ Saul asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting’” (Acts 9: 3-5).

There is no denying the power of this experience. Saul went blind from it. Jesus can do that to us. He can come to us with his truth and make us go blind, but when he does that, he always gives our sight back to us. Except when he gives it back, we are no longer confused and operating from a distorted perspective. Now, we see how he wants us to see: clearly, and through the lens of wisdom and love.

I believe that Jesus has revealed himself to every single person in this room. He has revealed himself more fully to some of us, while others of us have only had glimpses. But oh, how grand even a glimpse of God’s eternal Word is! It’s all most of us can take at any one time. And Jesus will continue to reveal himself to us as long as we are seekers on the Way.

Just as we benefit and grow more when we acknowledge and receive forgiveness, so to do we see more clearly when we acknowledge and receive Jesus in whatever form he presents himself to us. Do not limit the way Jesus might teach you. Visions, miracles, Scripture, worship, prayer, a sunset, a child, a headache, a divorce, cancer. He can be in any of it. He is in all of it. While we cannot make Revelation happen, we can be ready when it does.

The third way Paul went from being a murderer to a martyr was by the empowering power of the Holy Spirit.

After Saul saw Jesus on the road to Damascus, he went blind and was taken into the village to get rest. Jesus then spoke to Ananias and told him to go to Saul and explain to him what was happening. Ananias said, “’Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored” (Acts 9: 17-18).

When Jesus removed the scales from his eyes and the Holy Spirit filled him, that is the moment that Saul became a new man, that is the moment Saul became Paul. From then on, it was game on. It was the Spirit who empowered Paul to travel, teach, preach, establish, convert, baptize, write 1 Corinthians and so on.

The roles of the Holy Spirit are numerous. The Holy Spirit comforts, guides, gives discernment, etc, but today, I want to focus on the empowering aspect of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit is in us, we are more than ourselves. We can do things that we normally are not brave enough, smart enough or strong enough to accomplish. The Spirit is like wind in a sail, it powers the boat onward.

That does not mean you will not have to try. That does not mean you will not have to work hard. That does not mean you will not be fearful at times. What it means is that you can do it because God is in you helping you to do it.

How did Saul become Paul? How did he go from being a murderer to a martyr? By the forgiving, revealing, empowering love of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Creator forgave him. The Savior made sure he had another chance and opened his eyes to the Way, and the Spirit empowered him to do whatever it is they all asked as One God now and forever.

I just described how the Triune God transformed the life of a sinner who became a saint. What about you? How has God saved your life? What has Jesus revealed to you? And what is the Spirit offering to you, as a gift, so that you may live the eternal life for which you are destined?

To be able to articulate what God is doing in your life is what being a disciple is all about. To be able to follow through with what God is doing in your life, that is the crucial next step.

10-16-11

Hebrews 12:6

"For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth (chastises), and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth."

Amazing Bible verse. Pretty much puts to bed the age old question of why do bad thing's happen to good people? The ones who go through the most, are often the ones who He loves the most.

10-22-11

Proverbs 12:25

"Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad."

10-27-11

Romans 12:21

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good."

11-3-11

St. Matthew 18:21-35

21: Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

22: Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

23: Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.

24: And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.

25: But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

26: The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

27: Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

28: But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.

29: And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

30: And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

31: So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

32: Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:

33: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?

34: And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

35: So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

11-6-11

Galations 3:28

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."