heavensmysteries

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Jesus calms the storm!

Remember every pain and trial that you go through is only momentary. JESUS is right there in the midst of it all!

Life's problems can make you become disappointed and feel distant from God. However, if you cling to the promises of His Word, He will bring you to an expected end.

Storms may come, life may not always go your way, but with Jesus in our boat, we can overcome any storm.

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Habbakuk 2:4

The righteous shall live by faith 🙏🏾🙏🏽

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Warfare

SONG OF SONGS 3:7-8

King James Version

7 Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.

8 They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.

The bride and husband rest in the bed together. There is a union of love and peace. The bed is for rest, yet 60 men surround it, dressed in armour and prepared for battle. Jesus tells us that though we may have trouble in this world, we should take heart because we have already overcome it. We should not be ignorant of the spiritual warfare that surrounds us and so fall into a slumber. We can rest, just do not grow weary and tired, and thus let the devil have a foothold in your life.

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GALATIANS 1

In Paul's time there were now as many non-Jews as there were Gentiles. This sparked a huge debate (please read Acts 15).

Acts 15: 1 ''Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers, "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved."

Historically, God's covenant people were of one ethnic group-the Jews. Jewish people were set apart by the practices commanded in the Torah. An example would be, by observing the Sabbath. When the Gentiles became saved, many Messianic Jews were meeting in churches in Galatia and commanding the Gentiles to obey the Torah. They argued that in order for the Gentiles to be accepted into God's family, they needed to be circumcised.

Paul was deeply saddened upon hearing this. He wrote that the Gospel could not be altered and those who were infiltrating the Gospel, would be under God's curse. Paul spoke of how the Gospel that the Jews received had not been perverted!

Do you remember the story of Acts 16? Paul and Silas were in prison praying and singing hymns; suddenly, there was a great earthquake and all the prisoner's chains became loose. What astonished me about this chapter is that the jailer wanted to commit suicide. He knew that he would eventually be killed if there were no prisoners inside the jail cells! It would have been extremely hard to prove to the Council and the Chief Magistrates that the gates of the prison cell flew open because of a 'violent earthquake'. What also astonishes me is that after Paul shouted in v.28 "Don't harm yourself, we are all here!" the jailer knew that a Miraculous Power had done this. He fell trembling at their feet and said "What must i do to be saved?"

Acts 16:31

They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved- you and all your household."

This is the same Gospel that was preached to the Gentiles, firstly to the Jews. Therefore gospels of Inclusion, Prosperity, Works and other beliefs that do not align with the above, are sent from Satan.

Feel free to ask questions!

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Revelation 20:11-15 ESV Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

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LUKE 6:49

“But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

What came to my mind just now is the reality of heaven and hell. One is paradise and one is torment. One, you reign with Christ for eternity. One you perish for all of eternity. Have you ever stopped and thought about what it must be like being in those two places? I cannot begin to fathom what heaven will be like because we  live in a world filled with death, hurt, pain, destruction and sadness. I cannot begin to fathom what hell is like because the ‘gnashing of teeth’, sounds excruciating. Imagine burning forever? Both locations exist outside of time. Both locations are real. It only takes the Word, dreams and people’s experiences on youtube to send a chilling tickle down your spine.

Many Christians have adopted the belief that you can do whatever you want in this life because God loves you and God loves everyone. When it comes to controversial topics such as LGBT, Feminism, Civil Rights, Abortion and other movements, modern day Christians have just agreed with everything because only God can judge, right? 

Yes, indeed that is true, but God’s judgment is righteous. He does not judge in accordance with what the world thinks is right or wrong. He has a different moral standard and we can see that from the Bible. Jesus lifted man’s ethics to the highest degree. The Law taught that you have to love everyone as you love yourself. Jesus came and said, “...what credit is that to you. Even sinners love those who love them...Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.” (Luke 6:32, 35). Go over and beyond for everyone. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn your other cheek for them to slap. In order words, do not retaliate. Repay people back with kindness, even if they do evil to you. Even when they do evil to you. 

Some would say we should live life like it’s our last. However, I believe we should start preparing for eternity since it is forever. God likens someone who knows about the Word of God but does not put it into practice to a house which eventually gets destroyed because it has no foundation. The person lived a life of pleasure, they were wealthy because they could afford to build the house in the first place, yet it did not last. It was always going to fall! We need to be people that believe in Jesus and ask Him on a daily purpose to reveal His Word to us. Don’t rip out pages in the pages in the Bible or skip over a chapter because it doesn’t align with your current views. Start asking God to open your eyes, so you can see things the way He sees things!

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The Kingdom of God is a place where God dwells with man. The entire narrative of the Bible is God with us. The tent, the temple is God with us. Tabernacle means to dwell. Because of the fall of man (sin) , we were separated from God. That is why Jesus came. God wants to dwell with us, not just around us but inside of us .

What does it mean to dwell where God is? We have a joy that can never been stolen. The kingdom is where we have authority. In God's goodness, He calls us to rule alongside Him. "Go and make disciples of all nations". We are called to bring light to dark places.

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The book of Esther has no mention of God in it at all, yet He was always working behind the scenes. God delivered the Jews out of the hands of the Egyptians who had tried to annihilate them.

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Today I had a serious attack. I've had chronic migraines for over a decade now but yesterday's one was another level of painful. Sometimes when these migraines get so bad, I imagine myself taking my brain out of my head and rubbing it. Other times, I just want to die. Yesterday/this morning I just wanted to die. I hate migraines. (Yes, I know that 'hate' is a strong word). Sometimes I even think that people in hell experience them everyday. The saddest thing is that the medicine that I was given to help me prevent it does not actually do the job.

Yet, in my excruciating pain and suffering, I still managed to call out to the Lord. I even watched a prayer meeting by Sam Oye. Now I've woken up, I'm basically back to normal. These migraines can last up to 3 days once it really kicks in, but it's gone. I know who helped me! 🕊

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“A lack of self-control will cause us to neglect necessary disciplines like prayer, Bible study, contemplation, evangelism, and more. It will cause us to indulge even godly desires in inappropriate ways. A lack of discipline distorts work, sexuality, entertainment, nutrition, and stewardship of time and money. If our lives were compared to an ancient city, self-indulgence would be the weakness in our walls. Erosion will eventually cause our protection to collapse and allow our enemies to raid.”

— Chris Tiegreen

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1 Timothy

1 Timothy 1:9

We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for the lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious. For those who kill their father or mothers, for murders v.10 for the sexually immoral, for those practising homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers- and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine v.11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which He entrusted to me.

  If we look at the above verses, every single human being falls into a category that the law was made for. Have you every lied before? Well, that comes under ‘liars’? Have you ever lusted after your crush? That falls under immorality too! By coming to Jesus, we receive His Grace and strength to overcome the desires of the flesh. Though we still sin, when we trust in God and believe in Him, we are seen as righteous. The law makes us religious and not true worshippers of God. When we begin to accept that there is nothing we can do of ourselves to become holy or perfect, then we are heading in the right direction. See Ephesians 2:8-9.

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What God cannot do does not exist!

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Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and rose again on the third day so that we will not perish but have eternal life. That is the Good News message and what we should believe in. Jesus came and lifted mans ethics to the highest degree. For example, the Old Law stated that the punishment for adultery was the death penalty (Lev 20:10). Jesus came and said that even if you look at another woman lustfully you have committed adultery. In Romans 8, it says that the Law of the Spirit of life (Jesus) has set us free from the Law of sin and death (the old law). The old testament laws were given in the first place so that trespass might increase. One day the Israelites followed God, the next day they erected altars to deities. God gave Moses the Law knowing that the Israelites would not be able to keep it. He wanted them to realise that they needed a Saviour. Look at the Book of Jeremiah, it talks about God's judgment on His people and wrath of God coming to them. However, God still loved them unconditionally and wanted His 'faithless people' to return- Jeremiah 3:14. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. We follow Jesus, that's how we will be set free, not through trying to keep the commandments and being "good" people

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How does knowing the prophecies from the Old Testament strengthen one's faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah?

Hey that’s a really good question. For some reason, a lot of Christians today argue that we only need to look at the New Testament because the Old Testament is outdated or invalid, which is clearly untrue. The Old Testament is like a picture book. Every single book and story in the Old Testament typifies Christ. 

   A great example would be the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis. In Genesis 37:28 it says, “So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Him to Egypt. Joseph was sold into slavery by those of his own family. In the same way, the same people that praised and received Jesus for all the miraculous signs and wonders He performed, were the same people that wanted Him to die, the same Jews that killed Jesus. Jesus was sold out by Judas for 30 pieces of silver and Joseph for 20 pieces of silver. Silver spiritually signifies atonement and redemption. In Exodus 30:15 it says “The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls. Shekels were made up of silver ingots. So stories like this in the Bible, strengthen our faith because we know that God always had a plan to rescue people. Just like Joseph rescued the people of Egypt from famine, Jesus came into the world to save us from perishing, so that if we believeth into Him, we shall have eternal life. 

 Isaiah 53 was taken out of the Haftarah readings in synagogues because it caused alot of arguments amongst Jewish people. I have inserted the passage below because it undeniably is about Jesus Christ. I believe that when I first read this chapter I nearly cried (or did, i’m not too sure) because it revealed to me everything that Jesus went through. 

ISAIAH 53

Who has believed our message    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,    and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain    and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God,    stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,    he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him,    and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,    each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him    the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,    yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,    so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression[a] and judgment he was taken away.    Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living;    for the transgression of my people he was punished.[b] 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,    and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence,    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,    and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days,    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered,    he will see the light of life[d] and be satisfied[e]; by his knowledge[f] my righteous servant will justify many,    and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[g]    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,[h] because he poured out his life unto death,    and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many,    and made intercession for the transgressors.

The Book of Isaiah speaks so much about the coming Messiah, so when we see Jesus appear in the New Testament, healing people, saving people, we know that God fulfilled this prophecy. Even the high profile members of society, the Pharisees, the rulers, saw God’s power, but denied it. In Acts 4:16, "What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. v.17.  But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this Name."  It was the Name of Jesus that was casting out demons, it was the Name of Jesus that was healing the lame, the outcasts, the handicapped. V.18. “ Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.”

God bless.