#⟨ VERSE 01 × do unto others as you would have them do unto yourself. ⟩ | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

wutbju · 6 years ago

Video

youtube

On September 4, 2018, Bob Jones University separated the men and the women students for the “Chapel Hour.” This was a Chapel service. This was not a class preparing students for job interviews. This was Chapel.

This is Bob Jones University’s current explanation and justification for their dress code from a Board Member of Bob Jones University Education Group.

Listen to it. Is this what you want your young adult daughter to learn? Is this how you want her to be connected to her neighbors? By sneering at others’ shoes? By poor-shaming because another person -- a friend, a colleague, a church member, you -- wears something a BJU student judges as not demonstrating “sharpness”? By “taking it up a notch” in her own clothing, not just to land a job, but in some weird, self-righteous contortion that God requires your/her/our stylish representation?

This is not the Gospel. This is not education. This is not professionalism. This is nothing more than Pharisaical judgment. But it’s all Bob Jones University.

Steve Pettit:

This morning we are honored to have speaking in our Chapel Hour, Mrs. Vicki Peek. When we made a dress code change this year where we moved our dress to Business Casual, I wanted to set aside a chapel time to actually bring someone in that I felt like would be the absolute best person to come and speak and really just kind of give a big picture of what we're trying to accomplish here in the matter of our dress code. Obviously dress is important, and we want to do it in a way that we honor the Lord. But at the same time prepare people for the future to do what is appropriate and what is professional.

And so this morning we have Mrs. Vicki Peek. Vicki is the Executive Vice President of Find Great People. Her leadership has been a catalyst in the organization’s sustained growth of over 2500% and in receiving several awards from an Inc 500 Company to a Best Place to Work in South Carolina company. She has led Find Great People to become a nationally recognized, Top 50 Search Firm. She is a certified leadership coach with the Registered Corporate Coach designation.

She is a graduate of Bob Jones University with a degree in Business Education and a Master's degree in Human Resources Development from Clemson University. She was a professor here in the School of Business at BJU before she went to work with Find Great People. She is a pastor's wife. Her husband Stacy is the pastor of Grace Baptist Fellowship. My mind went blank on that one. Sorry. And they serve the Lord together here in town. She is the mother of two children. Both her children graduated from Bob Jones, her daughter Lauren and her son William. And most importantly, she is a brand new grandmother.

And so we are very happy to have Vicki here. She'll come and speak, and I'll finish out our time. Let's give her a warm welcome to Bob Jones.

Vicki Peek:

Thank you, I'm glad we got to the important [Grandchild's Name] introduction. She is five months old.

It's a privilege to be with you today, and I'm glad we get to talk about a topic that is near and dear to my heart. [3:00] Something that for years I've been trained to think about. And now I help others as they go into the business world or any career really or even into the community fully prepared.

As women, we can probably relate to at least one of these scenarios. Shopping weeks and weeks and buying five different outfits to bring home to decide which perfect outfit do we want for that party or that event that we are going to. Packing for a trip and bringing several suitcases with us for a two-day trip because we like options, right? We get that call for an important internship or interview, and we panic because we start looking through our closet and thinking what in the world are we going to wear?

Having one of those mornings where it takes about seven different outfits to finally hit that one thing that works? And by the way, it's a Monday. And then we're walking out of our room or we come down the steps at home, I can't remember, and our roommate says, "You're wearing THAT?" And then the day just gets worse from there.

And then finally seeing someone out and about with something on and you look and you think, "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

So being prepared is very, very important. That is my unique background as Dr. Pettit mentioned: I am a wife; I am a mom of a 23 and 24 year old. So we have many of these conversations as they have gone through college years and are preparing into the work force today. He mentioned I'm Nana to [Grandchild's Name], our granddaughter, and I'm a pastor's wife, so interacting not only with our church family but community. Among several non-profits to work with community.

And then I taught here for 17 years in the School of Business. And one little detail: I started here actually in K5. So I went all the way through BJ. And it's just . . . I'm so privileged to continue to be connected to the University. And I appreciate so much the education that I received. That prepared me for who I am today.

And then finally, you know I'm a leader at Find Great People. I've been there 26 years and counting. So that has been a journey that I've grown through the years. And our focus really is on the whole career path whether it be entry level people starting out or executives looking for another job.

So teaching for years, how I did. First of all, but I love your season of life. As college students, you have so much potential. It's great. It's a great time for God to really use this to mold and shape you as your prepare for life. You challenge me, and you're a lot of fun to be around. So it's exciting to see what God is going to do in years to come. [6:16]

And then working in the recruiting industry, every day I find people whether it's the candidates looking to change positions or they are interviewing for that special job. And talking about not only their background and experience but how they present themselves from an appearance perspective.

And then guiding companies of all sizes and industries on making that right choice on the candidate that is that best fit. And then I get a lot of just phone calls from friends or my kids' friends and colleagues to ask advice.

And so this seems to be a daily focus for me, and I do think that it's really important.

So I'm going to share my thoughts. I'm going to share some principles. [7:00] But I really today want to communicate some guiding things. But I trust most of all that you would hear my heart that it would really be a time of expressing what I see but also this is an encouragement for you.

Today I do want you to encourage to think about ... how you would communicate through how you look, your appearance, your dress.

I want to inspire to think bigger than where you are right now. So some of you are Freshmen and you are just starting out, and this journey seems like an eternity. And some of you are months away, you're seniors, and you're either a semester or two away from graduation. And it's definitely on your mind. Just what is that step?

And whether it's going into a career or just into the community and have a huge impact. . . your life. Maybe it's being in a home or a neighborhood -- it's all important. And then finally, I want to provide some guidance, some basic practical tips that you have probably heard before, but I want to emphasize them as you reflect on just what you choose to wear each day.

Feel free to jot down some notes. I'm going to talk about some Scripture verses and also just some tips throughout. [8:19]

So to begin there's an overall focus that I want to consider, and this is really kind of that overarching theme that everything I say needs to come up under this: and that is that we represent, you represent Someone greater than yourself when we make choices especially about our appearance. 8:41

If you are a follower of Jesus, you are not your own. You have been bought with a price. I Corinthians 6.

We have to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ. Philippians 1.

We are to adorn, to beautify ourselves with modest apparel. That which is proper, discrete, respectful. I Timothy 2. [9:03]

Present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. And then be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed. Romans 12.

And then to bring glory to God in all that we do. Whatever we do, whether we eat, whether we drink, whatever we do, do all to the glory of God. I Corinthians 10.

So no matter what the standard is, because there are going to be lots of different standards as you go through life, our main focus really should be on representing God, bringing glory to Him, and presenting ourselves in a way that truly does glorify and honor Him.

I also want to mention that dressing takes intentionality. So as we wake up and we all have choices each day, I would encourage you to be intentional. The way that we dress communicates something.

It's interesting. We make an impression I've seen everything from nanosecond to under ten seconds. But the point is really quickly we make an impression. And probably about 55% or maybe even higher of that impression is non-verbal. I had the opportunity to walk through our lobby a lot. We have a lot of different people sitting in our office waiting to interview with a recruiter. And I don't even engage in any type of hello, I just pass through, and I make a quick impression. Whether we like or not, we create perception about ourselves.

So we always have to be mindful that everything we put on from within is an expression outside. And people gather ... they gain that perspective just by looking at us before we even said hello.

Plan ahead. [11:01]

So think about what you're going to wear. Now I realize that you are in school, classes. The last thing some mornings that you want to do is think about what you're going to wear and dress up. But I do want you to think of some days to at least try this, but you all look great. But this is a training ground for the future. And so whether it be throughout each day but even beyond that, how you think about what we're going to wear, we need to plan ahead and take time to prepare.

Appropriateness is a real thing. So we've come further with appropriate. We roll our eyes maybe and walk away and say, "oh everybody says 'Is that appropriate?'" But it really is a real thing. Each environment has a standard or a guideline. And as you think about events, social gatherings, client meetings, if you're interacting with different customers, all have an appropriate dress standard. We dress up for certain things. We dress down for certain things. We suit up, we become very casual. And that depends on the event and the activity that we are going to engage in. We need to think, "Is this appropriate for where I'm going?"

One rule of thumb that I often encourage is that if the standard is here, go here. You don't want to go here so that you become a little bit of an oddity in that "Wow we're WAY overdressed?" But if the standard is here, go here. We kind of tend as humans to go to the lowest common denominator or just the bottom of what's thought of or appropriate or the guidelines that are required. But I would encourage you to step it up a notch even from what the standard is as you think about what you're going to wear.

Choose appropriate shaped clothing and fit. Follow your intuition. So as you put on clothes, if you don't feel comfortable in them or even that minute of "I'm not so sure about this." There's a reason that you have that prompting. And I would encourage you to follow your intuition.

And then ask others for guidance. Ask them for their opinion. There are many times I know I'm out and about shopping and I try something on and I really, really like it. And I get home and I try it back on, and I'm thinking, "I don't recall that it fit like that when I tried it on in the store. It's a little bit tighter than what I thought." And so if I were to just pause and often ask others. You know, "Is this too tight? Is this too low? Is this appropriate to our work?"

Look sharp. I'll let you define what sharp is. But we all know. When we see people out and about, where is the sharpness of college, whatever word you want to put into that phrase. But just that sharpness? That added attention to detail that really, really makes a difference? And creates an impression that it's not that this is bad and this is, you know, the ONE, but it's sometimes good, better, and best? So take it to that next level and have a sharpness about you. I've seen people in a casual outfits, and they have that sharp look that it really adds to what they've chosen to wear and really provides just a great perception.

Iron your clothes. I know. That is a tough one. I don't love to iron. My husband usually will say as I'm walking out the door, "Don't you need to iron that?" And then I know it's really wrinkled. But definitely iron your clothes. I've had, I've had tons of interviews with people ... and they come in. The shirt was MORE than wrinkled. It was one of those where, you know, the laundry isn't folded at all, and it's still in the basket, wadded up. But it's all about our presentation and how we choose to present ourselves. [15:32]

And then don't let anything be a distraction. Hair. Makeup. The entire look. It's an ensemble. And so think about, when I put on clothes, my outfit, it should never be a distraction. I would say, when I walk out of an interview, if I'm talking about what they chose to wear? That's not a good thing. But if I'm talking about what they are going to, their experience, their potential? That's what you want to convey. For us, even if we're not in a job interview, if people leave us, and they are talking about the joy that we bring, the happiness that we demonstrate, they are not talking about what we choose to wear, I think that's a positive.

Strike a balance. We can become prideful on both sides. We can become prideful saying, "Oh I don't put time and attention into that." On the flip side, we can be prideful saying, "that's all I think about." So I would encourage you to be very balanced in our focus, in your focus, in our perspective.

I want to shift gears for just a quick minute t[o]o and I want to give you some practical guidelines as you think about dress. Again this is nothing earth-shattering, but these are common principles that I think are a value. And I've done a lot of just years of experience but also research. And you start seeing common themes, and then you know, "Okay. I'm on to something." This is definitely concerned by what I see out there.

The University has changed to Business Casual. I think it's fantastic. How does this relate to you? As you go into the work force or, like I said, the community whether it be in the summers or now as you are in the Greenville community or you start to prepare for your career, I would say that the majority of the cultures are Business Casual. So we've gone from everything from professional to business casual to casual. But the majority, I would say, even the accounting firms, the law firms, the banks some of them are still on the professional side. But a lot of them have shifted to Business Casual which is an interesting shift.

So a lot of this is based on industry. A lot of this is based on size. You've got a lot of these start-up companies and they're kinda jeans. That's their culture. You're going to have a lot of different cultures out there that you'll encounter. But I would say that the majority of them are going to be Business Casual.

Most organizations -- 99.9999% -- will have a dress code. So I'm mentioning that because sometimes we become very much in the thinking of "oh this is just the school's rules" or "this is a guideline, and when I get out I don't have to deal with any guidelines." We as an organization are paid by clients all over the United States to actually write guidelines and policies around dress. And so every organization just about is going to have some time of a dress code or dress guidelines. So this is a great time for you all, it's a training ground really to see what is current, what you should wear, within the guidelines which you have here .... But there are times that you can transfer as you get out into the work force.

A lot of places might call it Smart Casual. It's interesting Business Casual. So we go straight to the word "Casual" with the word "Business" in front of it. So it's that combination of that smart professional look with a casual flair as you look at clothing in the determination of that.

So the first thing is: be current. Look at trends. Trends are not bad? Being trendy you can still be modest. You can still be appropriate. But be within the current guidelines of what is out there in the workforce as far as option and be current.

I'm going to talk about the power of shoes. So I know that's not the first thing you'd think that I'd start with. But shoes. A lot of times I'll see a great outfit, and I'll get to the shoes. And it's like "ew." Think about shoes. Now here you're walking all over campus so you don't need to wear heels everywhere. But that's some type of heel if you really want to dress something up. Even if you're dressing very casually, a wedge heel? Some type of small heel. It doesn't need to be really high heel. But you'd be surprised how some small heel will give you confidence as you walk? And it just takes your outfit up a notch. So the power of shoes. I want you to think about that. Don't everybody go buy twelve pairs of shoes....

Invest in quality basics. So I like to stick with neutrals. Blacks. Greys, Navy. Pants or skirts. And/Or skirts. Both are acceptable. Again look at what is current. I recommend looking at places like Banana Republic, Ann Taylor Loft, T. J. Maxx, Old Navy, Marshalls. A lot of them run sales, so if you wait long enough, you'll find some good sales. But also I think those are great resources to see what's current out there. And just buy one or two or three basics. And then add to that a pop color as far as a blouse or a sweater or a jacket and then, of course, jewelry.

Keep hemlines around the knee. And I find there are multiple candidates [?] where I went to in the past where we got to decline not because of their background because of what they chose to wear. Too low in an outfit or too high of a skirt or are really not put together....

When I'm interviewing, I actually like to have people come back two or three times. Anybody can buy that first interview outfit, and it looks amazing. But I love to see what you choose to wear second and third visit because it tells me a lot about you. It also gives me that guidance and that picture of how polished you are. And so, remember that. When you have two or three outfits to wear, you're ready to present yourself in a way. So getting back to representing Christ. [22:50]

Make sure everything is clean and pressed. That it's ironed, as I mentioned. Stick to the essential neutral colors, I mentioned that. And then accent.

Wear makeup, but not too much. So getting back to balance. Definitely makeup. But you don't want so much makeup to where we talk about your makeup. So get that good balance as we look at options out there.

I want to encourage you as you buy clothes to really recognize the importance of how you present yourself. So take time to recognize this is so much bigger than ourselves. This is about God, and this is about representing Him.

Consider this time in college as an amazing time of preparation. Prepare for the workplace. Preparing for the community. Preparing to make a difference. And so really look at this time as an awesome opportunity as you go for four years or one year remaining that you are intentional about that.

And then I want you to think about identifying a role model or a mentor. And I would even encourage you a step further. Find someone in your field that you're going into. And . . . or look at where you worked in the past, is there a boss that you really respected for their appearance? how they represented themselves? And so identify them. I have several girls who I meet with monthly or every two months. And just to talk about life? But also dress? And appearance? And sometimes we want to grow and develop, but we need that encouragement that it's more than just our skills. Sometimes it's how we care about ourselves.

And yes, that's an incredible offer to lead. I love the mission to learn, to love, and to lead. And here at BJ you have that added benefit of examples all around you. Of faculty and staff that pour their lives into you. And they can be incredible mentors for you as well. But I really challenge you to think of opportunities. Think of this as an opportunity to evaluate where you are today. This does not have to mean I have to have a lot of money to do this. You can go to consignment shops. You can do this very economically. But we put a lot of time and money into other things? And they aren't really as important as sometimes what we do to represent ourselves for Christ. So I would encourage you to evaluate. Ask friends, you know, "What is one thing that you think that I should adjust?" and get that guidance. But most of all represent Christ well.

Thank you.

Steve Pettit:

As we close, I want to say just a couple of key thoughts and actually some things I'm very thankful for. First of all, I'm very thankful for the positive response that we had to the dress code change, and actually your positive example in the fact that you have looked sharp, and I appreciate that. I was actually yesterday, this sounds weird, but I was actually counting how many girls were wearing skirts and pants yesterday. In my walk. That's odd, but you know, I think, I think, two out of three girls were in skirts. I thought, "Well, that'll be interesting what it's going to be like in January. It probably will be a little different.

But I'm going to thank you personally for your positive response, for respecting your appearance, and for the way that you have, if I could say it this way, you made it easy for someone like me to make this kind of change? And you actually go great! This is awesome ... change. It will give you options. And obviously we want to honor the Lord.

So two things as I finish: one is I would encourage you to take some time to look up the Bible verses that actually speak about these matters. So things like I Timothy 2 or I Peter chapter 3 or Proverbs chapter 31. Just take time to think through the things Vicki has stated and also what is the biblical standards for the way that I should be living.

And then finally, if I could summarize my thinking toward the dress code. It is actually simply this: it is learning to live as a Christian within the confines of your own culture. I said this last week that this is the South. And this is not like, this is not like Wyoming or Arizona. So the culture is definitely different, and we get that. But it's learning to live as a Christian reflecting Christ within the framework of your culture and where you live. And it's really that simple. And if we get that and understand that, then I believe we would reflect Christ at least in our appearances and the way we live wherever we go.

So thank you very much. Let's pray and you'll be dismissed.

#Bob Jones University #BJUChapel #Dress Code #Business Casual #Student Life #BJUEG #Vicki Hall Peek #Stacey Peek #Grace Baptist Fellowship #Shoes #Find Great People

2 notes · View notes

johnchiarello · 5 years ago

Text

Acts 16

ACTS 16 Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. https://youtu.be/I791QOdizbc Acts 16 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/6-29-17-acts-16.zip https://ccoutreach87.com/6-29-17-acts-16/ ON VIDEO- .Python spirit and ventriloquist .Sorcery forbidden for Christians .Timothy’s circumcision .Paul obeys a vision .Lydia’s conversion .Oracle of Delphi .Paul and Silas arrested .Jail break .Don’t kill yourself man! .Paul rebukes authorities .Jailer and family believe

PAST POSTS- [Past teaching I did that relates to today’s post- ACTS 16] ACTS- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/23/acts-5/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/31/acts-6/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/06/acts-7/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/14/acts-8/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/18/acts-9/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/07/acts-10/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/16/acts-11/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/22/acts-12/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/01/acts-13/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/14/acts-14/ I quoted from these bible books on today’s video- below are my studies on them- http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/james-2015-video-links-included-james-1.html http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/john-complete-links-added.html

(739)ACTS 16- Paul and Silas hit the road. They are being led by the Spirit and are evangelizing large regions without a lot of money, organization or ‘corporate help’. Now, these things are permitted, but we need to make sure we are seeing this story right! Jesus imbedded a mindset into the Apostles, he told them ‘don’t think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment! No special appeals for funds [ouch!], keep it simple’ [Message bible- Jesus instructions when he sent them out by two’s]. So here we actually see the Apostles living the vision. Paul by the way has a vision! He sees a vision of a man in Macedonia saying ‘come and help us’. Luke writes ‘we took this as a sure sign of God sending us’. Wow, what childlike simplicity. The great theologian Paul, the man who could argue orthodoxy all day [and win]. He has a vision and says ‘we took it as Gods will’. Don’t develop doctrines that cut you off from God’s supernatural guidance. Sure, people have gotten into trouble with visions. Cults have ‘prophets and apostles’. But the church also had these things and it helped on the journey. Now at Philippi they convert a woman down by the river. They cast out a demon from a fortune teller. The ‘masters’ see they lost their ‘money maker’ and stir up trouble in the city. Paul and Silas get thrown in jail. They praise God and sing, an earthquake happens. The doors swing open. The jailer thinks they all escaped and is going to kill himself. Paul and Silas preach the gospel and he asks ‘what must I do to be saved’ they say ‘believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, your family too!’ The whole house gets baptized and the city leaders send word ‘tell them to leave’. Now, Paul is a lot like me. He doesn’t let stuff slide. He says ‘they beat us unlawfully, we are Roman citizens! Now they want us to leave secretly. Let them come and tell us publicly’ the leaders hear they are Romans and are worried. Paul made them squirm! Let’s do a little overview. We are halfway thru the book of Acts and we see the ‘churches’ as these free flowing believers carrying out the gospel. Baptisms and healings and visions. We also see doctrinal growth. We challenge the mindset of many evangelicals, baptismal regeneration is not taught [at least I don’t see it] but baptism in water is the immediate outward identification of the believer. In essence it was the New Testament ‘altar call’. Our Catholic friends will eventually develop an idea of baptism as washing away original sin. But sometimes we miss the other idea of putting off adult baptism because of fear of future sins. Saint Augustine, the emperor Constantine and others delayed their baptism thinking they would use it to ‘clean them up’ after any future faults. The doctrine of baptism in Acts is seen as an immediate rite that does affect the believer [as do all outward acts of obedience! Even the Lords Supper strengthens the faith of the believer]. But justification and believing are prior to baptism. But not two weeks or two years prior! But a few minutes. I also forgot to mention that Paul has Timothy circumcised in this chapter. The great Apostle Paul, who will eventually pen the words ‘circumcision means nothing, but a circumcised heart is what matters’ here he gave in. Paul and Silas are fresh off the recent Jerusalem council. They have been accused of teaching Jews ‘abandon the law and circumcision’. The decree from Jerusalem said the gentiles don’t need to worry about these things. But they were still teaching Jewish converts to maintain Jewish law and custom. Timothy was not circumcised, and everyone knew it! His mother was Jewish but his father was Greek. So Paul realized that the judiazers would eventually say ‘see, Paul is even teaching Jews to break Moses law’ so Paul gives in and compromises here. Do the restrictions at the Jerusalem council still hold sway over Jewish believers today? No. Paul will eventually abandon all Jewish law and custom from his doctrine of justification by faith. But at this stage they are still learning and growing. The mindset of ‘God’ in this book is one of ‘less restrictions’ and more acceptance as time rolls on. We see enough stuff on baptism to not call the churches who emphasize baptism ‘Cambellites/heretics’ [the term Cambellite comes from the founder of the Church of Christ/ Disciples of Christ groups. Their founder was Alexander Campbell. He falls into the restorationist camp. He saw the emphasis on adult baptism in scripture and many of his followers see the act of water baptism as the moment of conversion]. But we also see the basic ‘ingredient’ for acceptance as faith. So God is not excluding those who focus on baptism [Peters initial converts] but showing us greater acceptance among ‘those who believe’ [Acts 10]. This is what I tried to say in our introduction to this study. As we read we shouldn’t be looking for formulas or hard and fast verses to simply justify our churches beliefs against the church down the block. But we need to see the heart and mind of God. We also shouldn’t trace our peculiar belief to this historic church and say ‘see, our group is the most accurate one’. Why? Don’t I believe my idea of simple church is closer to the historic church? Yes. But the ‘church’ will develop in good and bad ways as the centuries roll on. The fact that many Catholics and Orthodox and future Protestants will grow and fight and reform, means the church herself has within her the inherent ability to ‘get back to the Cross’ or the reality of all of these groups believing in Jesus causes there to be a fundamental unity that exists because we all possess Christ’s Spirit. So even though I personally see the organic church in Acts, this doesn’t mean that I see the other expressions of church as totally illegitimate or lost! So let’s end this chapter rejoicing with the jailer who heard the gospel and ‘believed with all his house’.

VERSES- [below are the verses I taught- or quoted on today’s post- Acts 16] John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Acts 16:1 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: Acts 16:2 Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Acts 16:3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek. Acts 16:4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. Acts 16:5 And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily. Acts 16:6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, Acts 16:7 After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. Acts 16:8 And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. Acts 16:9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. Acts 16:10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. Acts 16:11 Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis; Acts 16:12 And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days. Acts 16:13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. Acts 16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. Acts 16:15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. Acts 16:16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: Acts 16:17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. Acts 16:18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. Acts 16:19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, Acts 16:20 And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, Acts 16:21 And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. Acts 16:22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. Acts 16:23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Acts 16:24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. Acts 16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. Acts 16:26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. Acts 16:27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. Acts 16:28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Acts 16:29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, Acts 16:30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. Acts 16:32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. Acts 16:33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. Acts 16:34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. Acts 16:35 And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go. Acts 16:36 And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace. Acts 16:37 But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. Acts 16:38 And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. Acts 16:39 And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. Acts 16:40 And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.

Bible verses about sorcery- magic- Leviticus 19:31 ESV / 320 helpful votes “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God. Exodus 22:18 ESV / 274 helpful votes “You shall not permit a sorceress to live. Deuteronomy 18:9-12 ESV / 230 helpful votes “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. Leviticus 20:27 ESV / 211 helpful votes “A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.” Leviticus 20:6 ESV / 154 helpful votes “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. Galatians 5:19-21 ESV / 145 helpful votes Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Revelation 21:8 ESV / 127 helpful votes But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Deuteronomy 18:10 ESV / 124 helpful votes There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer Isaiah 8:19 ESV / 122 helpful votes And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? Galatians 5:20-21 ESV / 105 helpful votes Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 2 Chronicles 33:6 ESV / 89 helpful votes And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 1 Samuel 15:23 ESV / 87 helpful votes For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.” Isaiah 47:8-14 ESV / 82 helpful votes Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children”: These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children and widowhood shall come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments. You felt secure in your wickedness, you said, “No one sees me”; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you, for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing. Stand fast in your enchantments and your many sorceries, with which you have labored from your youth; perhaps you may be able to succeed; perhaps you may inspire terror. … Acts 19:19 ESV / 79 helpful votes And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 ESV / 79 helpful votes So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse. Revelation 22:15 ESV / 78 helpful votes Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 2 Kings 21:6 ESV / 76 helpful votes And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. Isaiah 19:3 ESV / 62 helpful votes And the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound their counsel; and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the necromancers; Galatians 5:20 ESV / 56 helpful votes Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, Acts 8:9 ESV / 51 helpful votes But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. 2 Kings 23:24 ESV / 50 helpful votes Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. Micah 5:12 ESV / 49 helpful votes And I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes; Ezekiel 13:20 ESV / 47 helpful votes “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against your magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds. 2 Corinthians 11:14 ESV / 46 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. More verses I talked about on the video- circumcision of the heart Deuteronomy 30:6 Verse聽Concepts “Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. Deuteronomy 10:14-16 “Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. “Yet on your fathers did the LORD set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. “So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer. Jeremiah 4:4 Verse聽Concepts “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD And remove the foreskins of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire And burn with none to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds.” Romans 2:28-29 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. Romans 2:25-27 For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law? 1 Corinthians 7:19 Verse聽Concepts Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God. Galatians 5:6 Verse聽Concepts For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. Romans 3:30 Verse聽Concepts since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. Galatians 3:6 Verse聽Concepts Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Genesis 15:6 Verse聽Concepts Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. Romans 4:9-12 Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, read more. Romans 3:1-2 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. Acts 15:1-19 Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue. Therefore, being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all the brethren. read more.

http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg

Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Thanks- John.#

Advertisements

Occasionally, some of your visitors may see an advertisement here, as well as a Privacy & Cookies banner at the bottom of the page. You can hide ads completely by upgrading to one of our paid plans.

UPGRADE NOW DISMISS MESSAGE

Share this:

Press This

Twitter

Pinterest1

Tumblr

Facebook

Acts 15 [Text]

Acts 14 [Text]

Acts 13 [Text]

#god #Jesus #Bible #ccoutreach87 #Religion

0 notes

vanhinkoch · 6 years ago

Text

Week 8: The Best Two Months

Hello Family and Friends!

It's unreal. The time has come where each passing day is the last of its kind here in the United States for the next couple years of my life. I was always really good at taking long breaks from America, I've flown over the Atlantic more times than I can remember (thanks dad!). But this time it's for the most special purpose. I've found it to be the greatest privilege to represent Jesus Christ and His restored gospel here in these latter-days. How easy it is to gloss over all that has been given. Being here at the MTC has been a truly humbling experience. I've come to the realization that some opportunities are only as great as I allow them to be. It can be really easy to go through the motions, be content with not understanding, and let the time slip like grains of sand in between my fingers. I'd like to share how glorious of a week it has been for me, and perhaps you too will come to see the patterns that enabled it to be.

It began with the Sabbath day. It dawned on me that this next week would be my last, that this exposition to my missionary story would be coming to a close. In this moment, I decided that I needed to rely completely on the Lord if I was to be sufficiently prepared to enter Finland. I dedicated this Sunday to praying and directing my thoughts towards Christ and His love and atonement for me. I refrained from studying flashcards, and instead spent every spare moment praying and pondering. It was difficult, to be honest. Sometimes it feels like anything other than studying or practicing Finnish is an inefficient use of time, but I tried extra hard today to keep the Sabbath day centered on Holy things. I asked for the God to show his hand in my life, on the basis that I would exercise faith and trust in Him. The following 4 days proved to be wonderful.

I'll use some quotes to give the in-the-moment perspective.

July 30th, Monday night at 22:00 I wrote:

"Wonderful Monday today!! Felt the blessings of the gift of tongues for sure...I am so excited to be fluent!! The joy of missionary work will be fully realized when I can confidently speak. Time to study!"

July 31st, Tuesday night at 22:15 I wrote:

"Wonderful day today, can really feel the blessings in my life since I prayed for this week last Sunday. Language study went very well, class, lessons; everything went well. The devotional was really inspiring today, particularly because of choir. We sang "Hurrah for Israel", and the conductor, Brother Eggett, gave some very inspiring and amazing lessons about the value of the message of this restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and the value of missionary work".

August 1st, Wednesday night at 22:00 I wrote:

"Happy August! Today was definitely a bipolar day. Started off really exciting because we got to host new missionaries!..But first class was a bit rough for me because I embarrassed myself during our lesson, but I was able to recover well later that day. The old Finnish Mission President, President Watson, talked to us, and it was so cool! Really enjoyed hearing all about Finland. Second class went very well, funny how the days always end well :)"

August 2nd, Thursday at 14:08 my thoughts and feelings are as follows:

Having been closed all of July, today was the first time in a month the Provo Temple has been open, and what a gift it was to be able to attend the temple one last time before leaving for the field. I felt a special peace today. I pondered questions and gave sincere and personal prayer to my Heavenly Father and felt the love and care of my God encircle me like a ring of fire. I was able to receive a special witness through the power of the Holy Ghost that my Father in Heaven knows me, knows what I've been through and what I need to do to be the best person he needs me to be. It seems so clear and simple to me, I can truly testify from my own personal experience that God answers the prayers of the meek and sincere. It is for this reason that I am filled with gratitude towards my opportunity to give up Stephen for but a little while, to fortify and strengthen my testimony through Vanhin Koch by the bearing of it to others, hoping to gather them into the fold of Christ, that they too may know that these things are true. Why can't everyone feel the same way I do? What holds people back from softening their hearts to come feel of God's love? Surely, there is nothing in the world that offers the same joy, comfort, and peace, that comes from submitting to the love of our Savior. What a privilege and honor it is to share these glad tidings with those who are both willing, and not willing to receive them.

Overall, I am doing very well. I am so beyond excited to go to Finland, I love it so much already and I'm not even there!! Haha, my MTC experience has been incredible. There is an analogy in preach my gospel that likens the glory of the restoration of the gospel from the period of unbelief beforehand known as the apostasy to a diamond on black velvet. I think this same analogy can be likened into my life, the glory I feel being here on my mission is comparable to the diamond, and the 9 arduous months prior to my arrival is as the black velvet. It goes to show how trials can be a great blessing in our lives, because sorrow is what enables the savor of joy. All of 2 Nephi explains this concept very well, but I will share verses 14 and 15:

14 And now, my sons, I speak unto you these things for your profit and learning; for there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon

15 And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter.

What a gift it is to struggle, to feel sorrow, that we may learn and grow as Heavenly Father's plan for us desires us to do so.

I also want to share a video entitled "The Music of the Gospel" that is truly inspiring and heart-warming. It explains how we must "hear the music of the gospel if we are to feel the joy of dancing".

> https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2017-01-005-the-music-of-the-gospel?cid=HP_FR-27-7-2018_dPTH_fMLIB_xLIDyL1-A_&lang=eng

I made this email a bit longer and more spiritually focused because this is my last opportunity to send an email of this magnitude, because my allotted time to email will be much shorter when I arrive in the field this Tuesday. I hope that perhaps one of you will find inspiration in my testimony, and that this person will desire to act on any inspiration he or she received by giving sincere prayer to God our Eternal Father.

I would like to bear my testimony on the joy of missions, and of missionary work. I am not yet even in my mission field yet, however I already know for myself that missions are the greatest opportunity to grow closer to the God. The experiences I've had here within these first 8 weeks alone have already developed me better than anything else ever could have. I am eager to take on the challenges that lie ahead in the field, and excited to write all about them to share with all of you!! Now I may seem a bit overwhelmingly positive, and this isn't to say that disappointments and discouragements never come. The reason that I am so positive is because it is through the disappointment and discouragements that I have been built up. The beautiful thing about missions too, is that God has a special watch over all of us. Even through all of my struggles, embarrassments, and doubts, I am always saved in the Spirit prior to retiring to bed; as if it is reminding me that today was a good day, and that thine trials will be but for a season. I have learned that there are no coincidences, but God's merciful hand.

I bear my testimony to all of you that God is real, and he desires to have a personal relationship with all of us so that He may pour out blessing more abundantly into our lives. I know that a relationship with God is founded upon a sincere desire to seek out His truth. Testimonies are not given to us, unlike a vast majority of our blessings.Testimonies require a conscious effort to seek after spiritual experiences. Sincere prayer, exercising faith, following commandments, reading scriptures, and deciding for yourself what is true; for truth is not confirmed merely on the basis of the words of others, but in experiencing for yourself what truth is. I have been taught Joseph Smith was a prophet since I was a child, however it wasn't until recently when I began to study scriptures and find that the desire Joseph Smith had to know of God was the same as mine is now. There is great joy in having a perfect brightness of hope in the gospel and in the prophets. What joy comes from doubting? What joy comes from pride? Is there satisfaction in doubt? I think not. I believe, and have felt and experiences, that true happiness comes through successfully seeking out spiritual experiences with God. What a difficult thing this is to do in the modern world of requiring a constant demand to be entertained, distracted, or busy. Oh how great it is then, to be serving a mission during these times where I would likely be idle in the comfort of my previous mind/spiritual-numbing lifestyle.

Family and friends, there is great joy in the service of the Lord. I was fearful previous to my arrival here that these two years would drag on, that it would be a grind until I could get onto college and other things that I desired after; however this mission has proved to be no chore. Having completed my preparatory phase of my mission, I will soon be embarking in the true service to the people of Finland, and I cannot express how grateful and excited I am for this opportunity. What a personal blessing it is that I was called to Finland.

This is a portion of my testimony I leave with you all in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

- Vanhin Koch

0 notes

athena29stone · 7 years ago

Text

A Secret of Finding Joy In Life: What You Count — Counts

Day 7 of 80 Days of Excellence

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Kip is an engineer. One cardinal rule of engineering is that if you want to improve something, track it. This relates to whether we focus on the positive things of life or negative. I believe that as we focus on excellence for these eighty days, that learning to focus on certain things can make us not only more positive but also spur us on to greater excellence as we shed the frustration and load of focusing on so many problems.

This post is day seven of 80 days of excellence. I’ve created an email list below for those of you want to be emailed the full posts written as part of this series.

One Big problem: No heat!

So, last Thursday night on one of the coldest nights of the year (so far), our heater went out. So, when I got up Friday morning, I was tempted to number all of the things that were upsetting me.

But I stopped.

I thought to myself,

“I REFUSE to count my curses. I will not do it.”

Why on earth would I count how many things are wrong with my life?

Would it make me feel better to go to school and be able to say ?

“I have ten big problems right now. Poor me.”

What good would that do?

Decide to count the good things each day

So, each morning as I journal, I ask myself a few questions. As we pursue 80 days of excellence, I will share all of those questions at some point. But I have 3 questions each inspired by my verse for this year,

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.”

I have a journal for dreams, one for prayers, one for things I’m thankful for, and one where I just write thoughts. You don’t have to go to this extreme, but using paper to think can improve your life. I love journals

So, after asking two questions related to the first two thoughts in that verse, I go back and count “what things are added unto me.”

In other words, what blessings am I thankful for this moment?

I even thought about counting all my blessings and charting them every day. When I did that, I realized that the blessings I have would number the hundreds if not the thousands! Really, I have so many blessings!

Do I have things wrong? Oh yes. Big things. Things I don’t talk about publicly but are deep dark moments of life – some of the deepest I’ve ever experienced.

Do I have to deal with them? Yes.

But do I count how many of those dark problems I’m dealing with right now? No.

What color do you see?

I teach this concept to my students this way. I ask them to notice how much red there is in the room and around them. I ask them to start naming things that are red. Suddenly red is EVERYWHERE. It is everywhere!

Who knew there was so much red in the world?

Well, the person who notices lots of red is the one who looks for it.

I notice the color blue. I love blue and so I’m always noticing blue things and lovely blue colors I’ve never seen before. That is because blue is my favorite and I look for it.

What is your favorite: problems or blessings?

So, what is your favorite side of life? Do you like problems? Like Eeyore, the stuffed donkey on Winnie the Pooh who is always losing his tail, are you perpetually gloomy?

Or do you like good things?

Whichever you like best you should look for every day.

John Wooden’s Seven Point Creed includes encouragement to count your blessings. It works! 1. Be true to yourself. 2. Make each day your masterpiece. 3. Help others. 4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible. 5. Make friendship a fine art. 6. Build a shelter for a rainy day. 7. Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

I once read that when a person is struggling with depression that often psychologists will ask that person to do two things: exercise and list five things I each morning that are blessings. Now, of course, many people need medication in addition to these.

As a person who has been in the seemingly dark hole of depression myself, I would never minimize just how hard and dark those times can be. But in my own journey back to the light several years ago, I started listing blessings each morning.

One thing: I counted the good things. I measured them.

Today’s Challenge: Sit Down and Count the Good Things In Your Life

So, as we pursue excellence during these eighty days, today’s challenge is to sit down and list all of the great things in your life. Don’t sit down and list the bad things! The good things. The blessings. If you want a challenge list 20 or even list 100.

Sometimes Gratitude Comes From Problems

And sure, when you struggle, sometimes you can list blessings you’ve never thought of before.

For example, I saw a new blessing on Friday morning after waking up in my house which was 54 degrees farenheit.

On Friday morning I walked to my classroom and thought,

“Wow, I’m so glad to be at school because I’m finally warm.”

And then I realized what I’ve heard said before at many conferences,

“Understand that some kids want to be at school where they are warm, fed, and in a safe place.”

First, I am thankful that I can understand that feeling. It cost me one night in cold and a little fear (wondering if it could be fixed.) But what a blessing to be able to understand that very hard feeling. Someday there will be a child or adult who I can better relate to because of that.

Second, every single day before that Thursday where I’d slept in a warm house suddenly became a blessing to me.

I have thousands of days of heat that I’m now epically thankful to receive.

Sometimes we have to NOT have something before we appreciate having it. But it shouldn’t be so.

Just ask those who have had cancer and lived through to the other end. Every day is sweeter for many of them.

We all have blessings. We all have problems.

What you count — counts!

You’re programming yourself to notice whatever you count!

So, count the right things.

Count friends, not enemies.

Count blessings, not curses.

Count excitement, not boredom.

Count each day of life you and your loved ones live as a blessing not how many days you’ve been without them or how short life is.

Counting the right things, my friend is a secret of excellence that counts.

The post A Secret of Finding Joy In Life: What You Count — Counts appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog http://www.coolcatteacher.com/secret-finding-joy-life-count-counts/

0 notes

ralph31ortiz · 7 years ago

Text

A Secret of Finding Joy In Life: What You Count — Counts

Day 7 of 80 Days of Excellence

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

This post is day seven of 80 days of excellence. I’ve created an email list below for those of you want to be emailed the full posts written as part of this series.

One Big problem: No heat!

So, last Thursday night on one of the coldest nights of the year (so far), our heater went out. So, when I got up Friday morning, I was tempted to number all of the things that were upsetting me.

But I stopped.

I thought to myself,

“I REFUSE to count my curses. I will not do it.”

Why on earth would I count how many things are wrong with my life?

Would it make me feel better to go to school and be able to say ?

“I have ten big problems right now. Poor me.”

What good would that do?

Decide to count the good things each day

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.”

So, after asking two questions related to the first two thoughts in that verse, I go back and count “what things are added unto me.”

In other words, what blessings am I thankful for this moment?

Do I have things wrong? Oh yes. Big things. Things I don’t talk about publicly but are deep dark moments of life – some of the deepest I’ve ever experienced.

Do I have to deal with them? Yes.

But do I count how many of those dark problems I’m dealing with right now? No.

What color do you see?

Who knew there was so much red in the world?

Well, the person who notices lots of red is the one who looks for it.

I notice the color blue. I love blue and so I’m always noticing blue things and lovely blue colors I’ve never seen before. That is because blue is my favorite and I look for it.

What is your favorite: problems or blessings?

So, what is your favorite side of life? Do you like problems? Like Eeyore, the stuffed donkey on Winnie the Pooh who is always losing his tail, are you perpetually gloomy?

Or do you like good things?

Whichever you like best you should look for every day.

One thing: I counted the good things. I measured them.

Today’s Challenge: Sit Down and Count the Good Things In Your Life

Sometimes Gratitude Comes From Problems

And sure, when you struggle, sometimes you can list blessings you’ve never thought of before.

For example, I saw a new blessing on Friday morning after waking up in my house which was 54 degrees farenheit.

On Friday morning I walked to my classroom and thought,

“Wow, I’m so glad to be at school because I’m finally warm.”

And then I realized what I’ve heard said before at many conferences,

“Understand that some kids want to be at school where they are warm, fed, and in a safe place.”

Second, every single day before that Thursday where I’d slept in a warm house suddenly became a blessing to me.

I have thousands of days of heat that I’m now epically thankful to receive.

Sometimes we have to NOT have something before we appreciate having it. But it shouldn’t be so.

Just ask those who have had cancer and lived through to the other end. Every day is sweeter for many of them.

We all have blessings. We all have problems.

What you count — counts!

You’re programming yourself to notice whatever you count!

So, count the right things.

Count friends, not enemies.

Count blessings, not curses.

Count excitement, not boredom.

Count each day of life you and your loved ones live as a blessing not how many days you’ve been without them or how short life is.

Counting the right things, my friend is a secret of excellence that counts.

The post A Secret of Finding Joy In Life: What You Count — Counts appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog http://www.coolcatteacher.com/secret-finding-joy-life-count-counts/

0 notes

horrorfilming · 5 years ago

Text

@horrorhavened: carne!! ∕ 🦷

“Carne! Car~rrrrne-- oop, that has quite a ring to it, doesn’t it!!?” He has one of the man’s hands pressed up against his face, holding it there. There’s no... real reason-- he just likes it. “I heard word of your stand!! Are we finally going to get to see it? Huh!? Are we??”

#horrorhavened #⟨ IC × i'm terribly sorry that the boss had us meet under such awful circumstances! ⟩#⟨ VERSE 01 × do unto others as you would have them do unto yourself. ⟩#tumblr wont let me tag u this is BLATANT CIOCCOLATA CENSORSHIP #but also?#best fwiends.#(:

1 note · View note

horrorfilming · 5 years ago

Text

@bloodydevoir: pesci!!

Hands steepled their selves, connecting seamlessly at the tips of his fingers as he’s completely enthralled in his recent endeavor. It’s nothing particularly special... but it’s still entertaining enough. After all, Cioccolata could find amusement in the simplest of things (he’s done it before, and he’ll do it again!), and certainly someone like Pesci would yield, at least, some results.

“...”

But he doesn’t quite make his appearance well-known. He’s sure that Pesci’s aware of him being here, but there seemed to be a bit of a... miscommunication. Cioccolata’s been staring at him for quite a while, now, and he just has to wonder (it’s hard for him not to, to be honest... pesci’s a fascinating sort, if you remove all types of context from this situation.) if the other man even knew he was here in the first place.

There’s a bit of certainty that leads Cioccolata to believing that, yes, Pesci was fully aware. He was definitely lucid and, maybe, didn’t want to say anything out of want of the doctor’s own feelings. But that’s all so... so... so silly!

How could you hurt someone’s feelings when they knew there was nothing to hurt?

So, he decided to bite the bullet (chomp down on it, as it were. chew on it a little bit, and swallow it in one, big gulp like a good boy eating his vegetables.) and simply initiate. Pesci would thank him later, no doubt.

“Pesci.”

#bloodydevoir #⟨ IC × i'm terribly sorry that the boss had us meet under such awful circumstances! ⟩#⟨ VERSE 01 × do unto others as you would have them do unto yourself. ⟩#hi pesci :)#enjoying your.... milk? :)

1 note · View note

horrorfilming · 5 years ago

Text

@godchilder ∕ 💉: gods in heat.

“I let you be here-- I can make you be better!”

#godchilder #⟨ IC × i'm terribly sorry that the boss had us meet under such awful circumstances! ⟩#⟨ VERSE 01 × do unto others as you would have them do unto yourself. ⟩#first things first: hi. i love ur oc.#second of all: i hope this is good to start with!! i wanted to use a lyric from this song so bad for s/t omg u_u

6 notes · View notes

horrorfilming · 5 years ago

Text

@starburdened: carne ∕ 💉: why don’t you cry.

“So-- why don’t you cry?”

#starburdened #⟨ IC × i'm terribly sorry that the boss had us meet under such awful circumstances! ⟩#⟨ VERSE 01 × do unto others as you would have them do unto yourself. ⟩#u asked for carne and i will GIVE to u carne and cioccolata content

4 notes · View notes

horrorfilming · 5 years ago

Text

@dollburdened: squalo ∕ 💉: girls.

“--Couple minutes that it took... just to get her.”

#dollburdened #⟨ IC × i'm terribly sorry that the boss had us meet under such awful circumstances! ⟩#⟨ VERSE 01 × do unto others as you would have them do unto yourself. ⟩#me staring at ur muse list: so many choices omg u__u #me going with squalo just so he and tiziano can bond about cioccolata being weird to them later: hehe cupid

2 notes · View notes

horrorfilming · 5 years ago

Text

@ofromulus ∕ 💉: shangri-la.

“... I think they call it Shangri-La!”

#ofromulus #⟨ IC × i'm terribly sorry that the boss had us meet under such awful circumstances! ⟩#⟨ VERSE 01 × do unto others as you would have them do unto yourself. ⟩#humor cioccolata's attempts at conversation? :) friend? friendS?

1 note · View note

horrorfilming · 5 years ago

Text

tag drop!! (3/3)

#⟨ VERSE 01 × do unto others as you would have them do unto yourself. ⟩#⟨ VERSE 02 × this will seem like a memory of heaven! (like a memory of heaven!) ⟩

0 notes

johnchiarello · 6 years ago

Text

Kings 14

KINGS 14

Isaiah 42:19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Kings 14- https://youtu.be/Vd56L16USJA

https://ccoutreach87.com/11-3-17-kings-14/ https://ccoutreach87.com/11-3-17-kings-14-2/

ON VIDEO- [Filmed by the Oso bay] .The bible page I saw on the ground [yes- they use them for rolling papers] .Homeless stuff .The Hermit documentary- Canada- he jumped off the train and lived his whole life by Gully lake .Jeroboam tells his wife to put on a disguise and go talk to the prophet .The prophet does indeed have a message for her .But it’s not ‘good’ .The blind prophet- he ‘sees’ pretty well .The comment on my Youtube video- was he a cop? .How did I respond? .God uses King David as the standard .Rehoboam’s legacy was bad too .Practical application for leadership in the church .Ministry gifts [5-fold] .Be honest- but at times we forget it .2 stories from days gone by- Kleberg county jail bible study and my days as a youth pastor for a fundamental baptist church .I had a new kid in my class- he had a Pentecostal back ground .He asked me ‘John- I don’t feel the same way when I was first baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues’ .How did I answer him?

NEW- I’ll add my past teaching below on this chapter- Just a few notes- This chapter covers the end of the reigns of king Jeroboam and Rehoboam-

Both of them did wrong- and both of their legacies are indeed tainted. Jeroboam reigned 22 years over the northern tribes- Rehoboam reigned 17 years over the southern [Judah]

In the beginning of the video you see a card I found on the ground- it speaks of new beginnings, I hung it on a tree right before I started making the video.

Here’s a verse that would fit with the card-

Ezekiel 43:27 Verse聽Concepts ‘When they have completed the days, it shall be that on the eighth day and onward, the priests shall offer your burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

I guess it fits in some way with the message- The history of these kings was God removing them- and giving the kingdom to new men- Yet many of these new men ruined their chances to lead the people in right paths.

Then they too die- and their sons take over the helm. This is the story of the kings in the Old Testament- Lots of their kids did bad things too- but down the road we we also see a few shining lights.

People who rose to power- and realized they had a great responsibility under God- and took their roles seriously. These future kings marked new beginnings for the people under them.

The ultimate fulfillment of a righteous future king will come to pass thru the reign of Jesus Christ- the King of kings and Lord of Lords. He puts and end to all the things of the past- and he institutes a new beginning- for everyone who will submit to his reign.

We see this in the promises of old things passing away- and new things coming to pass- A motif we find all thru out scripture- 18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. Is. 43

Thank God for new beginnings.

PAST POSTS- Past teaching I did that would relate to this post-

https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/ https://ccoutreach87.com/588-2/ [I added this because it deals with the example of being honest about teaching the bible- I used an example like this on the video. This teaching about the 2nd coming and the rapture seemed to be pretty plain to me- that the bible speaks of them as the same event- yet over the years I saw how some might simply teach a view that seems popular at the time. So this is just one example of being true to what the bible actually says- even when it is not popular]

KINGS- https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-kings/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/29/kings-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/12/kings-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/27/kings-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/04/kings-5/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/25/kings-6/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/17/kings-7/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/05/kings-8/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/18/kings-9/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/01/kings-10/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/22/kings-11/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/09/15/kings-12-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/19/kings-13-2/

(1064) 1st KINGS 14- Jeroboam’s son gets sick, he tells his wife ‘disguise yourself and go to the prophet Ahijah, he will tell you what will happen to the boy’. She goes and the Lord reveals the identity of the wife to Ahijah, he is old and blind. As soon as she gets to the house he gives her a strong rebuke, tells her the child will die and that her husband was wicked. Sure enough she takes the message back to Jeroboam and these things come to pass. Why did Jeroboam disguise his wife? Ahijah was the original prophet who told Jeroboam that he would be king, Jeroboam knew that he was doing wrong by instituting idolatrous practices into the nation; so why did he do it? Basically he trusted in the arm of the flesh to maintain what God gave him. He did it so he wouldn’t lose the kingdom. He obviously avoided the prophet for as long as he could, he thought he would send his wife incognito and who would know? The Lord knew. God has ways of getting information to you [and me!] whether we want to hear it or not. Also Ahijah was a prophet, another name for prophet is ‘Seer’ [some feel seers are totally different gifts/offices, for the sake of this basic teaching they are closely related] but yet he couldn’t ‘see’ for himself. I find it interesting that many of Gods greatest gifted people can’t seem to find help for themselves. There is a prophecy about Jesus that says ‘physician, heal thyself’, Paul had a thorn in the flesh that wouldn’t go away! Many people that are used by God to pray for healing and get results, they themselves struggle with sickness. Ahijah had a word; not only about Jeroboams son [a localized situation] but also a national word ‘Israel will be shaken like a reed in the water’ the Lord used the local situation to speak to the broader community. The people would ‘be shaken’ because they permitted idolatry into their lives. Understand, we see the idolatry of Israel as blatant [actual idols and stuff] but they really thought that the forms of idolatry that they were practicing were pleasing to God! I often find that well intentioned believers have a difficult time ‘seeing’ idolatry [covetousness, greed]. The American church has incorporated ‘success/abundance’ so deeply into the minds of the saints that we view our worship of God thru this skewed lens. ‘If God wants me to have an abundant life, then what’s wrong with me centering my church life around being successful, confessing and thinking about abundance/money all day long’? Well, what’s wrong with it is Jesus told the church that he didn’t want us ‘thinking’ about these things all the time, he said the ‘gentiles [unbelievers] are always thinking about the stuff, it shall not be so with you’. So it takes time for Christians to see these things, Jeroboam instituted a form of idolatry into Gods nation, the people sincerely went along for the ride. God said they were going to be shaken ‘like a reed in the water’.

VERSES- [These are the verses I either quoted or taught on today’s post- KINGS 14] 1Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 1Corinthians 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 1Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 1Corinthians 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. Ps. 24 Isaiah 50:7 For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

3The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah. 4I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn: 5Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck. 6For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. 7But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. Ps. 75:6 1Kings 14:1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. 1Kings 14:2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people. 1Kings 14:3 And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child. 1Kings 14:4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age. 1Kings 14:5 And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman. 1Kings 14:6 And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. 1Kings 14:7 Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, 1Kings 14:8 And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes; 1Kings 14:9 But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: 1Kings 14:10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone. 1Kings 14:11 Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it. 1Kings 14:12 Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. 1Kings 14:13 And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. 1Kings 14:14 Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now. 1Kings 14:15 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. 1Kings 14:16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin. 1Kings 14:17 And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died; 1Kings 14:18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet. 1Kings 14:19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 1Kings 14:20 And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead. 1Kings 14:21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess. 1Kings 14:22 And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. 1Kings 14:23 For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. 1Kings 14:24 And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. 1Kings 14:25 And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: 1Kings 14:26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. 1Kings 14:27 And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king’s house. 1Kings 14:28 And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber. 1Kings 14:29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 1Kings 14:30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 1Kings 14:31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.

MY SITES http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg

https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts https://vimeo.com/user37400385 john chiarelloFollow On https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach87 https://ccoutreach.yolasite.com/ https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ https://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/jchiarello

Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Copy text- download video links [Wordpress- Vimeo] make complete copies of my books/studies and posts- everything is copyrighted by me- I give permission for all to copy and share as much as you like- I just ask that nothing be sold. We live in an online world- yet- there is only one internet- meaning if it ever goes down- the only access to the teachings are what others have copied or downloaded- so feel free to copy and download as much as you want- it’s all free- Thanks- John.

Advertisements

Occasionally, some of your visitors may see an advertisement here, as well as a Privacy & Cookies banner at the bottom of the page. You can hide ads completely by upgrading to one of our paid plans.

UPGRADE NOW DISMISS MESSAGE

Share this:

Press This

Twitter

Pinterest1

Tumblr

Facebook1

Google

Kings 11

Kings 13

Kings 5

0 notes

johnchiarello · 6 years ago

Text

Acts 26

ACTS 26 [Plus JFK and Descartes] Acts 26:22 Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:Acts 26:23 That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles. JFK and Descartes- https://youtu.be/AqxR7aeaPUI https://ccoutreach87.com/10-28-17-jfk-and-descartes/

Acts 26- https://youtu.be/NCx9Cij7Tp4

https://ccoutreach87.com/10-24-17-acts-26/ https://ccoutreach87.com/10-24-17-acts-26-2/

ON VIDEOS- [Past teaching- verses below] JFK and Descartes- .The paragraph from the new document release said he was shot- from the front .A brief review of Descartes .The Jesuits .Protestant Reformation .Edgar Hoover said ‘ ít’s important that the public believes there was only one shooter’- huh? .Epistemology .Dewboy Lister update https://ccoutreach87.com/overview-of-philosophy/ https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/

Acts 26- .Paul makes his case- again . ‘’I was just like them’’ .Then came the Damascus road .He became a witness of the resurrection .He was being persecuted- for the same hope they were all waiting for! .They just didn’t see it yet .Justified by faith .Alice recall [local stuff]

NEW- I figured I would talk some on the recent release of the long awaited JFK files. It actually serves as a good example of media narrative- and how things are framed. I’ll copy the most important section below- some of the things that actually went along with the claims of the ‘conspiracy theorists ‘as the media have marked them.

In short- the documents show a man speaking about the surgeon generals report [autopsy] and it clearly states that the president was indeed shot from the front- as well as the back [This was disclosed by POTITO- and was in the government documents] I have seen various documentaries over the years- some that claimed to have real photos of the president- and these photos showed Kennedy with the back of his head ‘blown off’ then later they showed photos where they might have doctored the image. I never knew if these photos were real-

One of the so called conspiracies were witnesses who said there was more than one shooter. Others who have said Oswald could not have carried it out alone. And the autopsy [according to the document]- at the start- said the same thing.

I also was not aware [like others who have researched this for years] that congress did another investigation later on- when new evidence of a police officers recording of that day came to light- the cop had his mic keyed- and unknowingly recorded the sounds of gun shots on the day Kennedy was killed.

Congress actually said at that time- there probably was more than one shooter. That was their official conclusion- just from the audio.

Later they tried to debunk the audio. To me- the most explosive evidence was the fact that the document said Mr. Kennedy was shot from the front- and a bullet entered from the front- which is proof of more than one shooter.

You would think this would have been what the media focused on- but they did not. Ok- I also did a brief review of Rene Descartes- hopefully will teach him on the next philosophy post- I always intended to finish that study- but never had the chance. I added the text of the paragraph below- as well as the links [at the end of this post]

I realize that it’s possible that the man who said this- could of course be wrong- but when added together with the other questions- it is somewhat of a ‘smoking gun’- The main point I tried to make on the video- was how the media can shape narrative- if they want. If you simply say ‘nothing here’- even if the documents show something- most people will never read them all-

And they are left with the narrative ‘nothing here’ even if there is ‘something there’- That’s my main point.

PAST POSTS- [Past teaching I did that relates to this post- ACTS 26] https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/ ACTS- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/23/acts-5/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/31/acts-6/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/06/acts-7/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/14/acts-8/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/18/acts-9/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/07/acts-10/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/16/acts-11/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/22/acts-12/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/01/acts-13/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/14/acts-14/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/03/acts-15/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/07/acts-16/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/27/acts-17/ http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2017/08/acts-18-acts-1828-for-he-mightily.html https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/09/acts-19/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/20/acts-20/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/09/04/acts-21/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/09/20/acts-22-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/04/redo-acts-23-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/08/acts-24-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/14/acts-25-2/ (766)ACTS 26- Paul makes his case before Agrippa. Paul says that he is being accused of the hope that all the Jews are waiting for and serving God day and night to receive! It’s funny how all the religious requirements of the law and temple, the whole culture of Judaism. All the symbols that made up their heritage. All the times they would quote Moses or Abraham ‘we have Abraham as our father’ ‘we know God spoke to Moses’ all of these things were for THE SOLE PURPOSE of coming to a point in Jewish history where the Jews would receive their Messiah. Paul states ‘this actual hope and reason for our existence as a Jewish nation is the cause of contention that the Jewish leaders have against me’. What an amazing thing! Now once again Paul will state the basic Christian doctrine of Jesus and his resurrection ‘king Agrippa, why would it be so hard to believe that God can raise the dead’? Did you ever ponder this question? A few years ago you didn’t exist [30-50-70?] since you were born you have been taught that you exist because of certain natural means. You learned the process of birth, and some of you have actually had kids yourselves. During you life you have heard and learned about the universe, planets, the history of man. We have lived thru an industrial and technological revolution. We put men on the moon, we splice genes, we take men’s hearts out of their bodies and put pumps in there place! Plus all these things came from a point in time where there was no thing! Hebrews says God made every thing from nothing! Science actually does agree with this [read my section on Evolution] and after all this experience and knowledge you have attained in your very short life, yet if God were to say ‘I will raise the dead’ people say ‘now, how can you expect me to believe that?’ We do have pea brains at times! Paul also retells his conversion and says how Jesus told him he would be a witness of the historical events of Christ and his resurrection, but Jesus also said ‘and you will testify of the things I will reveal to you in the future’. Now we have to do some stuff. What were the things that Jesus was going to reveal to Paul in the future? We read these things in Paul’s letters. Basically the great reality of our sharing in the divine nature [actually this is Peter] our sonship. The great mystery of God making one new man out of Jew and Gentile. Truths concerning the ascension and the heavenly realities of redemption [Hebrews]. The point is the ‘future revelation’ of Jesus to Paul was not some knowledge outside of the boundaries already laid down in the gospels. The doctrine of the Apostles was already being taught thru out the book of Acts. God simply gave Paul greater insight and revelation into the truths that already existed. The Gnostics [early second century cult of Christianity- the word comes from the Greek term ‘Gnosis’- knowledge]. They taught a type of special knowledge that said the basic Christian who only has the historical truths of Jesus are at a lower level. Once you become a Gnostic, you then have special revelation that can’t be learned thru normal means. A popular Christian teaching comes close to this ‘revelation knowledge’. Many years ago I was a student of E.W. Kenyon and the word of faith movement. Brother Kenyon taught a type of mystical teaching that said God can reveal things to people outside of the 5 senses, and this is ‘revelation knowledge’. Can God do this? To a degree, yes. We actually read how Agabus gave Paul a prophecy about being bound at Jerusalem. Or Paul dreaming about a man in Macedonia asking for help. I see the reality of God being able to reveal things to us supernaturally as a gift of the prophetic. We are born of Gods Spirit and we do receive understanding from God as his Spiritual children. But yet Paul will write ‘study to show yourself approved’. So Jesus told Paul he was going to show him stuff in the future. Paul based his apostolic authority on this fact [Galatians 1-2]. He would say ‘the gospel I preach was not given to me by men, but God revealed it to me’ what gospel is Paul talking about? The gospel [good news] of the grace of God. Jesus revealed the more important stuff to Paul as time went on, Paul was seeing more and more grace!

VERSES- Acts 26:1 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself: Acts 26:2 I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews: Acts 26:3 Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently. Acts 26:4 My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; Acts 26:5 Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. Acts 26:6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God, unto our fathers: Acts 26:7 Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Acts 26:8 Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead? Acts 26:9 I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Acts 26:10 Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. Acts 26:11 And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. Acts 26:12 Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, Acts 26:13 At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. Acts 26:14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. Acts 26:15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. Acts 26:16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Acts 26:17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Acts 26:19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: Acts 26:20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. Acts 26:21 For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me. Acts 26:22 Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: Acts 26:23 That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles. Acts 26:24 And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. Acts 26:25 But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. Acts 26:26 For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner. Acts 26:27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Acts 26:28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Acts 26:29 And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds. Acts 26:30 And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them: Acts 26:31 And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds. Acts 26:32 Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.

JFK FILES- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-10-27/one-paragraph-you-need-read-jfk-assassination-files-may-change-everything https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/655631/jfk-files-released-assassination-second-shooter-lee-harvey-oswald-john-f-kennedy https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/docid-32144493.pdf MY SITES http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg

Advertisements

Occasionally, some of your visitors may see an advertisement here, as well as a Privacy & Cookies banner at the bottom of the page. You can hide ads completely by upgrading to one of our paid plans.

UPGRADE NOW DISMISS MESSAGE

Share this:

Press This

Twitter

Pinterest1

Tumblr

Facebook1

Google

Acts 23

Acts 11

Acts 21

#God #Bible #Jesus #Christianity #Religion

0 notes

johnchiarello · 6 years ago

Text

Acts 16

James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Thanks- John.#

Advertisements

Occasionally, some of your visitors may see an advertisement here, as well as a Privacy & Cookies banner at the bottom of the page. You can hide ads completely by upgrading to one of our paid plans.

UPGRADE NOW DISMISS MESSAGE

Share this:

Press This

Twitter

Pinterest1

Tumblr

Facebook1

Google

Acts 15

Acts 13

Acts 11

0 notes