Born Again

Adam and Eve were created in three parts. Body (flesh), Soul (emotions, thoughts), and a Spirit (like the wind, unseen but you can feel it).
When they sinned or rejected God in the Garden of Eden, their spirit died leaving them with just a body and soul.
We are all born spiritually dead because of Adams blood line being the human race.
When Jesus died on the cross, He said "it is finished or paid in full" His blood was shed to pardon us. All we have to do to receive His pardon is believe we are spiritually dead in sin and accept His gift of grace.
At that very moment we become baptised in the Spirit, spiritually born again or born from above. We are filled with the Holy Spirit that brings a new birth, comfort, guidance and understanding. We now have three parts again, body, soul and spirit.

Here is what Scripture says about this.John 3:1-2 (AMP)

1 NOW THERE was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (a leader, an authority) among the Jews,
2 Who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know and are certain that You have come from God [as] a Teacher; for no one can do these signs (these wonderworks, these miracles—and produce the proofs) that You do unless God is with him.

One of the Pharisees came to see Jesus privately by night, maybe so he would not be exposed to the other religious leaders. He started complementing Jesus for the miracles He was performing saying you must be from God. Jesus pulled the rug from under his feet shocking this man with the following.

John 3:3 (AMP)
3 Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God.

Note that water referenced in verse 5 represents the Spirit, it is not literal. You do not have to be baptised in water to be saved or be born again. It is merely an outward testimony of your faith in Christ Jesus.

John 3:5-6 (AMP)
5 Jesus answered, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and [even] the Spirit, he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God.
6 What is born of [from] the flesh is flesh [of the physical is physical]; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

If you are not born again, from above, the Spirit will not be in you and you will not be able to understand the things of God nor enter into His Kingdom.

When I accepted His pardon at a very young age, for a week it felt like I was walking on air. Not everyone feels like I did, Muslims have said that when they are born of the Spirit, they note the colors of nature. The green grass and leaves and the blue sky. Some feel peace, a sense of belonging. Scripture likens the Holy Spirit like the wind. You can't see Him and but can feel Him and see His results. As you grow in the Spirit, you can even hear His gentle voice.

John 3:8 (AMP)
8 The wind blows (breathes) where it wills; and though you hear its sound, yet you neither know where it comes from nor where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

How I fell in Love With God

After struggling in life to being an acceptable person, an acceptable Christian, mostly through my teenage years, I got angry at the church and my family judging me. I got tired of hearing every Sunday that I was a sinner and needed to change not only my ways but my very thinking.

I recited the sinners prayer every Sunday in church because the pulpit told me I was unacceptable to God and headed for hell. My dad made me feel guilty about even breathing air, not because of what he said, but because of his silence. He never knew he was my hero and when he would ignore me when I spoke, I interpreted it as guilt. My Dad was my model citizen, he could do no wrong. I used to listen to his every word when he told stories to others. I tried so hard to be perfect like he was.

When I got my first job, I moved to another county and abandoned the guilt trip church brought me and when I would visit my family, I tried my best to ignore the guilt trip till I could leave town and return to my guilt free life.

I refused to accept religion telling me over and over I was a worthless sinner. There had to be a better way.
Salvation must be simple, living in Christ Jesus must be simple enough a weak minded emotional wreck could be saved and enjoy peace with God.

Then one day God opened up my heart, my eyes to the gospel of grace, right there in the New Testament, the new covenant with man. Love the Lord your God and others.

Following this post are the details Joel Rosenburg was teaching, but this is exactly how it worked for me.

First I believed that salvation was incredibly simple and an undeserved gift we do not earn. Just accept the gift of salvation through the work of the cross, believe.

After you accept the gift, pray God give you another gift. Desire and He will!
The desire brought me hunger and thirst for His word and truth.
The hunger and thirst made me meditate on God's love
By meditating on Him I got to know Him better.
The more I got to know Him, my Heavenly Father, my Lord and Savior Jesus, The Holy Spirit,
the more I fell in love with Him.
The more I love Him, the more I obey Him.
The more I obey Him the more I abide in Him.
The more I abide in Him, the more good fruit I bear.
The more fruit I bear the more I glorify Him.
The secret of life is to glorify God.

All I had to do was believe that He would answer my prayer of desire and accept His free gift of salvation.

I had to break, before God could shape and mold me.
My dad had nothing to do with it, I have a new hero that does not make me feel guilty and fills my heart with love for my dad. After all, he is my dad and I love him so.

Ten Secrets To A Victorious Life

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Ten secrets to a victorious life
by Joel Rosenberg Sunday, November 16th, 2008

Notes taken from Joel's sermon in Jerusalem click here

1) The Secret of Life is to Glorify God

1 Corinthians 10 (Amplified Bible)
31 So then, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you may do, do all for the honor and glory of God.

1 Corinthians 6
20 You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.

Matthew 5
16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.

John 17
4 I have glorified You down here on the earth by completing the work that You gave Me to do.

Glorify=Pleasing

2 Corinthians 5
9 Therefore, whether we are at home [on earth away from Him] or away from home [and with Him], we are constantly ambitious and strive earnestly to be pleasing to Him.
10 For we must all appear and be revealed as we are before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive [his pay] according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil [considering what his purpose and motive have been, and what he has achieved, been busy with, and given himself and his attention to accomplishing].

1 Thessalonians 4
1 FURTHERMORE, BRETHREN, we beg and admonish you in [virtue of our union with] the Lord Jesus, that [you follow the instructions which] you learned from us about how you ought to walk so as to please and gratify God, as indeed you are doing, [and] that you do so even more and more abundantly [attaining yet greater perfection in living this life].

Hebrews 11
6 But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].

Hebrews 13
20 Now may the God of peace [Who is the Author and the Giver of peace], Who brought again from among the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood [that sealed, ratified] the everlasting agreement (covenant, testament),
21 Strengthen (complete, perfect) and make you what you ought to be and equip you with everything good that you may carry out His will; [while He Himself] works in you and accomplishes that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ (the Messiah); to Whom be the glory forever and ever (to the ages of the ages). Amen (so be it).

Ephesians 5
8 For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light [lead the lives of those native-born to the Light].
9 For the fruit (the effect, the product) of the Light or the Spirit [consists] in every form of kindly goodness, uprightness of heart, and trueness of life.

Romans 12
1 I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.

2) The Secret of Glorifying God is Bearing Much Fruit

John 15
8 When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine.

John 15
16 You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], He may give it to you.

Galatians 5
22 But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness,
23 Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law that can bring a charge].
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires.
25 If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]

Colossians 1
5 Because of the hope [of experiencing what is] laid up (reserved and waiting) for you in heaven. Of this [hope] you heard in the past in the message of the truth of the Gospel,
6 Which has come to you. Indeed, in the whole world [that Gospel] is bearing fruit and still is growing [by its own inherent power], even as it has done among yourselves ever since the day you first heard and came to know and understand the grace of God in truth. [You came to know the grace or undeserved favor of God in reality, deeply and clearly and thoroughly, becoming accurately and intimately acquainted with it.]

Romans 1
13 I want you to know, brethren, that many times I have planned and intended to come to you, though thus far I have been hindered and prevented, in order that I might have some fruit (some result of my labors) among you, as I have among the rest of the Gentiles.

Colossians 1
10 That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition].

3) The Secret of Bearing Much Fruit is Abiding In Me

John 15
2 Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.
3 You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you].
4 Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.
5 I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

Slow our eyes down and walk with the Father.

4) The Secret of Abiding In Me is Obeying

John 14
22 Judas, not Iscariot, asked Him, Lord, how is it that You will reveal Yourself [make Yourself real] to us and not to the world?
23 Jesus answered, If a person [really] loves Me, he will keep My word [obey My teaching]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him.

5) The Secret of Obeying is Loving God

John 14
21 The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.]

Want to know the Father intimately, love Him.

John 14
15 If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.

Matthew 22
37 And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect).
38 This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment.
39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.
40 These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets.

6) The Secret of Loving God is Knowing Him

John 17
3 And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent.
7 Now [at last] they know and understand that all You have given Me belongs to You [is really and truly Yours].

If you know Him, how can you not love Him.

John 17
25 O just and righteous Father, although the world has not known You and has failed to recognize You and has never acknowledged You, I have known You [continually]; and these men understand and know that You have sent Me.
26 I have made Your Name known to them and revealed Your character and Your very Self, and I will continue to make [You] known, that the love which You have bestowed upon Me may be in them [felt in their hearts] and that I [Myself] may be in them.

Heart and soul knowledge

John 14
7 If you had known Me [had learned to recognize Me], you would also have known My Father. From now on, you know Him and have seen Him.

If you know Me, you will know Him

Philippians 3
8 Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One),
9 And that I may [actually] be found and known as in Him, not having any [self-achieved] righteousness that can be called my own, based on my obedience to the Law's demands (ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus acquired), but possessing that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ (the Anointed One), the [truly] right standing with God, which comes from God by [saving] faith.
10 [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]
11 That if possible I may attain to the [spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].

Jeremiah 9
23 Thus says the Lord: Let not the wise and skillful person glory and boast in his wisdom and skill; let not the mighty and powerful person glory and boast in his strength and power; let not the person who is rich [in physical gratification and earthly wealth] glory and boast in his [temporal satisfactions and earthly] riches;
24 But let him who glories glory in this: that he understands and knows Me [personally and practically, directly discerning and recognizing My character], that I am the Lord, Who practices loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord.

7) The Secret of Knowing Him is Meditating

Psalm 77
11 I will [earnestly] recall the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will [earnestly] remember the wonders [You performed for our fathers] of old.
12 I will meditate also upon all Your works and consider all Your [mighty] deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary [in holiness, away from sin and guilt]. Who is a great God like our God?
14 You are the God Who does wonders; You have demonstrated Your power among the peoples.
15 You have with Your [mighty] arm redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

Psalm 63
6 When I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches.
7 For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice.
8 My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me.

Slow down and meditate on God's word

Psalm 104
34 May my meditation be sweet to Him; as for me, I will rejoice in the Lord.

This is how we get to know Him better.

8) The Secret of Meditating is Hungering and Thirsting On God

Psalm 63
1 O GOD, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self thirsts for You, my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry and weary land where no water is.
2 So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary to see Your power and Your glory.
3 Because Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.
4 So will I bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.

Psalm 42
1 AS THE hart pants and longs for the water brooks, so I pant and long for You, O God.
2 My inner self thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?
Matthew 5
6 Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied!

Craving God, God will meet this need

9) The Secret of Hungering is Desire

Psalm 37
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.

2 Timothy 3
12 Indeed all who delight in piety and are determined to live a devoted and godly life in Christ Jesus will meet with persecution [will be made to suffer because of their religious stand].

Mark 8
34 And Jesus called [to Him] the throng with His disciples and said to them, If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny himself [forget, ignore, disown, and lose sight of himself and his own interests] and take up his cross, and [joining Me as a disciple and siding with My party] follow with Me [continually, cleaving steadfastly to Me].
35 For whoever wants to save his [higher, spiritual, eternal] life, will lose it [the lower, natural, temporal life which is lived only on earth]; and whoever gives up his life [which is lived only on earth] for My sake and the Gospel's will save it [his higher, spiritual life in the eternal kingdom of God].
36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life [in the eternal kingdom of God]?

Psalm 51
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted and return to You.

Mark 9
17 And one of the throng replied to Him, Teacher, I brought my son to You, for he has a dumb spirit.
18 And wherever it lays hold of him [so as to make him its own], it dashes him down and convulses him, and he foams [at the mouth] and grinds his teeth, and he [[i]falls into a motionless stupor and] is wasting away. And I asked Your disciples to drive it out, and they were not able [to do it].
19 And He answered them, O unbelieving generation [without any faith]! How long [j]shall I [have to do] with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to Me.
20 So they brought [the boy] to Him, and when the spirit saw Him, at once it completely convulsed the boy, and he fell to the ground and kept rolling about, foaming [at the mouth].
21 And [Jesus] asked his father, How long has he had this? And he answered, From the time he was a little boy.
22 And it has often thrown him both into fire and into water, intending to kill him. But if You can do anything, do have pity on us and help us.
23 And Jesus said, [You say to Me], If You can do anything? [Why,] all things can be (are possible) to him who believes!
24 At once the father of the boy gave [an eager, piercing, inarticulate] cry with tears, and he said, Lord, I believe! [Constantly] help my weakness of faith!
25 But when Jesus noticed that a crowd [of people] came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, You dumb and deaf spirit, I charge you to come out of him and never go into him again.
26 And after giving a [hoarse, clamoring, fear-stricken] shriek of anguish and convulsing him terribly, it came out; and the boy lay [pale and motionless] like a corpse, so that many of them said, He is dead.
27 But Jesus took [a strong grip of] his hand and began lifting him up, and he stood.

Desire is a descision of the will, wanting to...

10) The Secret of Desire is Prayer

Matthew 7
7 Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, if his son asks him for a loaf of bread, will hand him a stone?
10 Or if he asks for a fish, will hand him a serpent?
11 If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give good and advantageous things to those who keep on asking Him!

1 Thessalonians 5
17 Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly];

Philippians 4
6 Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.
7 And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Luke 11
1 THEN HE was praying in a certain place; and when He stopped, one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, [just] as John taught his disciples.

May the Lord draw you to Him.

Conviction vs Preference

All beliefs in America fall under one of two category's, Conviction or preference.

Only convictions are protected under the Constitution, not preference. Convictions strengthen under pressure, convictions are non negotiable. If you are willing to give something up under pressure, it is a preference.

Wisconsin v. Yoder Supreme Court Case 1972
A Landmark First Amendment Case on Free Practice of Religion
Nov 6, 2009 Thomas Wyatt

Wisconsin v. Yoder Upheld Free Practice - Supreme Court US The First Amendment of the United States allows citizens to employ free practice of religion, which is not to be interfered with by government. This case upheld that.

One of the fundamental provisions of the United States Constitution throughout the nation's history has been its support for basic freedoms and liberties. Free practice of religion is specifically extended to citizens in the Constitution's First Amendment, and when a particular mandate contradicted the religious traditions of the Amish, free practice prevailed in the Wisconsin v. Yoder Supreme Court case in 1972. This was one of the landmark Supreme Court cases in American history.

Background of Landmark Supreme Court Case Wisconsin v. Yoder, 1972

Three students who had attended school until the end of eighth grade in New Glarus, Wisconsin were removed from school before ninth grade by their parents, because, according the Amish traditions of the students' families, schooling was no longer necessary after junior high school, and children were to learn traditional Amish ways at home.

However, there was a Wisconsin law in place at the time that required children to remain in school until at least age 16. Keeping their children in school contradicted the religious practice and cultural traditions of the three's parents, so a situation where religion and state law were combating one another was formed.

Wisconsin v. Yoder Supreme Court Case Proceedings and Ruling in 1972
One of the fathers (Jonas Yoder) of one of the students who stopped attending school before age 16 represented the Amish community and its traditions in the court case which ensued. The Supreme Court, which determines cases based on constitutionality, ruled in a unanimous decision that Wisconsin's compulsory education law was overruled by the free exercise of religion clause in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which states that federal and state mandates cannot get in the way of any citizen's free practice of religion.

Significance of Wisconsin v. Yoder

The ruling in this case upheld the free practice of religion clause in the First Amendment. Up until that point, some had been unfairly compelled to break religious practice and tradition for state and federal purposes, and this case clearly stated the sovereignty of free practice over that of federal and state mandates. This case is a landmark First Amendment case that upheld free practice of religion.

This was one of the landmark Supreme Court cases in the history of the United States, which emphasized the importance of a constitutional liberty that had been previously undermined and overlooked. Other important cases on the same subject of free exercise are Sherbert v. Verner (1963), and Employment Division v. Smith (1990), which both established the bounds of the freedom of religious practice, and also the limits of the government's intervention in religious affairs.

Read more at Suite101: Wisconsin v. Yoder Supreme Court Case 1972: A Landmark First Amendment Case on Free Practice of Religion http://www.suite101.com/content/wisconsin-v-yoder-supreme-court-case-1972-a166611#ixzz17MGIdaaF

To Tell The Truth

How do you know what is truth and what is a lie?

Through Paul's first letter chapter two, to the Christians in Corinth, Paul teaches us not to put our faith in human wisdom or philosophy, but in the power of God. He wrires that no one discerns the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Since the Holy Spirit knows the secret counsel of God, it is a vital necessity for us to know how to hear what He wants to say to us. The Holy Spirit helps us realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts of divine favor and blessing that God bestows on us. Human wisdom does not teach us this truth; it comes from the Holy Spirit, Who gives us the mind of Christ.

Corinth, a wealthy city on the Mediterranean Sea, where people from various cultures and religions often converged. Their diverse backgrounds and religious experiences often caused problems in the church and created a need for Paul to write this letter.

1 Corinthians 2:1-16 (AMP)
AS FOR myself, brethren, when I came to you, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony and evidence or mystery and secret of God [concerning what He has done through Christ for the salvation of men] in lofty words of eloquence or human philosophy and wisdom; for I resolved to know nothing (to be acquainted with nothing, to make a display of the knowledge of nothing, and to be conscious of nothing) among you except Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and Him crucified.

And I was in (passed into a state of) weakness and fear (dread) and great trembling [after I had come] among you.
And my language and my message were not set forth in persuasive (enticing and plausible) words of wisdom, but they were in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit and power [a proof by the Spirit and power of God, operating on me and stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions and thus persuading them], so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy), but in the power of God.

Yet when we are among the full-grown (spiritually mature Christians who are ripe in understanding), we do impart a [higher] wisdom (the knowledge of the divine plan previously hidden); but it is indeed not a wisdom of this present age or of this world nor of the leaders and rulers of this age, who are being brought to nothing and are doomed to pass away.
But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by God—[that wisdom] which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification [to lift us into the glory of His presence].

None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.
But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed].

Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny].
For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man’s thoughts except the man’s own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Now we have not received the spirit [that belongs to] the world, but the [Holy] Spirit Who is from God, [given to us] that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts [of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly] bestowed on us by God. And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the [Holy] Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language [to those who possess the Holy Spirit].

But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.

But the spiritual man tries all things [he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things], yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one [he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get an insight into him].

For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.

Open Society as I see it (draft)

Open Society, New World Order, World Governance and many other labels all originate from the same mindset.
Change, something new, something different because what we have is not working.
The generation gap is were change originates.
Our parents or government or society, what has been and is in place expects youth to conform or just get in the program.

What program, the current one that makes the rich richer and poor poor'er.
The program were older generations have left the world trashed, diseased, at war with each other, corrupt, immoral, were your not making it if you don't have a good job, a credit card, house, nice car or two, and status?
Where most people that actually have a job have to work a minimum wage or near it or have to work two jobs or have a two income household, that society, that program?
The one where everyone is two paychecks away from bankruptcy yet they see management and politicians raking in the dough off the backs of the impoverished people, their labor and their taxes?

Look at Europe, they are trying to change to a single economic system, one united europe like uniting our state government and its all falling down on the people. Leave the states alone for one thing, stop trying to control them as a one government system.

Yes, there must be change but at what cost. Let the current system collapse and start over with another crappy idea of society? Were does it end, what can be done to make life livable. Not just the few well off but the rest of society.

Open Society on a round about way is how the world of Star Trek lives.
No money needed, no internal struggles or wars, everyone fed and encouraged to learn new things, everything free were everyone in society strives to help each other and be educated to contributing to the whole. No God, all government.
This is fiction, Science fiction, not plausible in this world full of selfish corrupt hearts.

I can see the next generation changing the world, if there is one left for them to change. Will it be called revolution or evolution?
Look at history, change seems to work as an idea but never sticks because of corruption and power.
I believe our forefathers had the best idea, God first, then we the people.
The Israelites walked the desert for forty years looking for a new society away from slavery, did it work? No, why? They wanted a human king to follow, not their God in heaven; after all He did for them.

Every time we turn away from the creator, God and His direction, we fail.
I truly believe that is the answer that will never come to this corrupt world, that being a return to God's direction, making Him our king. Loving God, loving each other before anything else, most important behavior and heart.

Government is not the answer, it is the problem. We do not need to become Wiccans or "Mother Earth" Gaia worshipers or anything else, just tear down this tower of Babel we are building and return to our living God, The Creator and Savior and Comforter. Nothing else will work, but try if you must.



Turn your eyes uppom Jesus, put all of your troubles and worries in Him, and the things of this world will become strangely dim, irrelevant, in the Light of His glory and Grace.

Sophia n Mom

I Am NOT Obligated

I (Philip) am not obligated to obey God or act right because I am a Christian. I reject legalism and hate what it does to those who just want to be loved and appreciated.

It tears my heart up to see and hear the anger that is stirred up by legalism. Many people push their religion on their children or relatives, those closest to the heart. They come down from their righteousness and judge and condemn the very ones they love, then wonder why. Why do our loved ones reject God saying He does not exist or if they end up in Hell for the way they live so be it. Their heart becomes hard to were it takes a miracle to reach them.

Listen, no one likes living that way, living under guilt or persecution. No, not even from the ones they need the most, it pushes them away.
Stop pushing your righteous crap on me, I am an adult now and can live how I want to.
Sound familiar? I have seen this everywhere my entire life for I also was a victim. It pushed me away from God for many years.

Hey you, up there in that pulpit, stop preaching the bad news and start sharing the good news of grace, please, I plead with you. Time is running out.

Can you see the tears in my eyes, can you feel my heavy heart or shallow breathing.

May I quote someone special...

In Galatians, Paul addresses and emphasizes a subject that is very important to me and should be to all believers: the grace of God.

Many people tend to approach God through the Law, which simply means doing what is right and obeying the "rules" of Christianity. This is called "legalism."

Galatians teaches us that we approach God through grace—which is simply God's power at work in us, causing us to want to obey Him and enabling us to do so.

Legalism teaches that we obey God out of obligation; grace teaches that we obey out of love. Legalism urges us to "act right" through works of the flesh, while grace enables us to "be right" by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Everyday Life Bible.

Stop trying to change the world through your efforts, you are useless to God that way, counterproductive. Allow His Spirit in you to guide your heart to reach out to those we love. Not in your way but Jesus loving way.

Are you reading your bible? You say yes, well maybe your not listening to your inner voice. Your too proud or set in your religious ways to hear.

Tell them they are not obligated to do anything, including love you, if they choose not to.

Put your heart in your Heavenly Fathers hands and leave the consequence up to Him, for the love of God and your children.

Damascus, Heap of Ruins

Isaiah 17:1-2 (AMP)
1 THE MOURNFUL, inspired prediction (a burden to be lifted up) concerning Damascus [capital of Syria, and Israel’s bulwark against Assyria]. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.
2 The cities of Aroer [east of the Jordan] are forsaken; they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

If Hezbollah takes over Lebanon and or if Hezbollah launches it's new missile stockpile towards Israel cities, Damascus will become a heap of ruins.

Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak decided to release the minutes of the deliberations on an air blitz against Damascus - held in Jerusalem before and during the Yom Kippur War 37 years ago - as a strong warning to Syrian President Bashar Assad, debkafile's military and intelligence sources reveal. Then, a decision to take out Damascus to halt the Syrian offensive was overruled. This time could be different: Bashar Assad regime's own centers of power could be at risk if Syria and Hizballah go through with their plan to overpower Beirut and topple Saad Hariri's sovereign government.

Full story, click here

Added note: 'My Enemy's Enemy Is My Friend'

In one of the largest arms deals ever, the Obama administration is authorizing the sale of more than $60 billion in fighter jets, attack helicopters and other weaponry and support materials to Saudi Arabia.

A new report in a French newspaper indicates that the Iran-backed Shia Muslim terrorist group Hezbollah now has some 40,000 rockets and missiles in southern Lebanon aimed at Israel in preparation for an apocalpytic war involving the Twelfth Imam.

Soros exposed

Examining Black Loyalty to Democrats

2 Corinthians 13:5 (AMP)
5 Examine and test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it. Test and prove yourselves [not Christ]. Do you not yourselves realize and know [thoroughly by an ever-increasing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you are [counterfeits] disapproved on trial and rejected?