#bible verse

[seraphim-eternal]

I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed.

2 Timothy 1:12

[christiansinternational]

[godgivesthegrowth]

All those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.🕊

~Luke 14:11

[tears-that-heal]

Amen 💖

[thewordfortheday]

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing."John 15:5

Just like a branch broken off a tree or a vine quickly dries up, so will we if we do not stay attached to the True Vine- Jesus Christ. We get our life, sustenance, nourishment and strength from Him.  Without Him we are as good as dead. We can do NOTHING! But with Him we can do all things, bearing fruit in every good work.

Lord Jesus, teach me to abide in You always. Amen

[heartsings77]

[blessedbeyondallbelief]

[holygirlforjesus]

God has already prepared the way. He's just preparing you.

[godisgreat555]

Prayer For Today ✝️

Heavenly Father, On this 23rd day, I pause to acknowledge the power of Your perfect timing.

Lord, I recognize that the number 23 symbolizes divine provision and direction in the valley.

As Psalm 23 declares, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want,” I call upon You to shepherd me today.

Lord, if there are areas in my life that need to be pruned, I invite You to do so, even if it is uncomfortable...

👉 Learn More

[andallshallbewell]

[twiggy-in-pink]

[christiansinternational]

[godgivesthegrowth]

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice! 💗✝️🕊✨️

~ Philippians 4:4

[idylls-of-the-divine-romance]

how do you hold them both? all powerful and all loving? i grew up in the church but have never truly found faith. i want it desperately but it feels wrong to pretend.

Hey, beloved. I wish I knew the answer to how God could be all powerful and all loving, that I could give you the secret to holding them both. But the truth is I myself don’t hold them both. At least, not firmly. 

And, Anonie, that’s okay. There are some who will say that if we don’t all believe the exact same things about who the Beautiful Mind is then we worship different gods. But that’s not true. I believe that religious Jews, Muslims, and Christians all worship the same deity but simply have different conceptions of who and what that deity is. And that is fine. That doesn’t mean everyone is right, but it’s possible to have different conceptions of the same person and still be talking about the same person. The point is: I do not think rejecting the omnipotence of God makes you a heretic (not that God would love you any less). I mean first of all, what omnipotence even means is up for debate! 

Here’s the rundown of my thoughts on omnipotence. 

Number 1. God willingly limits himself. For God to enter into relationship with human beings and rule the world thru them (that’s part of what image of God means) than he has to willingly put limits on himself in order to respect the dignity of the well meaning but foolish dirt creatures he created. This is a view held by both Conservative and Reform Jews and also by open theist Protestant Christians. This is a position known as open theism (which started as a movement dedicated to the rejection of Greek philosophical influence on Christianity, which as a goal I can get behind). 

A metaphor my favorite bible scholar uses is that of a ship: human history is a ship headed from one port (good creation) to another port (the full union of heaven and earth). That WILL happen. The boat will not sink or get lost or etc. the boat will get from port A to port B. But, what happens on the boat (and who’s still alive vs who dies) before we get there… that’s up for grabs. I refer to this as “ordained” vs “unordained” futures. The Incarnation of the Wisdom/Word? Ordained. The Transgression of Adam and Eve? Not ordained. 

Number 2. I had to just be honest with myself and with God about my reaction. I had to sit down down and seriously think about it: what would I prefer? A god who is all powerful, or a god who is all loving? When I look at the person of Jesus of Nazareth, what do I see more? For me the answer is obvious. “God is Love.” Not all loving; God is an eternal community of other-centered, life-giving, intimate love. That is what it means to believe in the Holy Trinity. And honestly I’m not torn up about it. I still believe that God is “Beyond Being” and “The Ground for whom there is no ground.” I still believe that God is THE MOST powerful. But if it comes between all powerful and all loving; Jesus taught me to define power AS love. “Power” to the Christian properly cognizant of the totality of scripture is “to empty one’s self in the name of Love and to choose Life and Forgiveness over Death.” 

This is not an orthodox Christian answer, but we can’t expect to have everything figure out. At least, not this side of the resurrection. Unlike the medieval scholastics, I can handle some mystery in my life. I think this would do you well.

Also one last thing: God doesn’t want your pretense or pretending. God wants your rawness. Read Job; there is nothing soft about it and he does not bother with pretending. He named it how he sees it (that God Almighty is a moral monster who fucks with the lives of humans when he isn’t just ignoring them entirely). And God (after telling him to chill out because. Presumptuous much), says that Job has right relationships with him.

May the God of loyal love, Mother of the exiles and Restorer of the refugees, look upon you with favor and give you wholeness. Amen. 

[thewordfortheday]

At some time in life all of us feel the loneliness of sorrow. Mary and Martha were saddened by the death of their brother, Lazarus, and Martha said to Jesus, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” They were sorrowful because of a loss. Jesus wept with them. Jesus is with us in our sorrows. When we come to Jesus Christ, He does not promise to exempt us from trouble or sorrow. Tears will come, but we have a hope that our sorrows will turn into joy.  In the midst of trials and agony and tears which come to us all, we do not grieve as one who is hopeless. Jesus turns our ash heaps into beauty, our mourning into dancing,  and clothes us with garments of praise!  Oh the joy we can experience by the power of the Holy Spirit!