#when did god create the world according to the bible

[servantofthefates]

I have a huge problem with the Law of Attraction.

I use the term Law of Attraction a lot, because it’s the easiest way for me to convey to English speakers what I’m talking about.

But the law of attraction I believe in is not the same as the oversimplified version that the Western world is obsessed with.

According to them, our emotions dictate what we create. Whether good or bad, whatever happens in our life is something our emotions consciously or unconsciously made.

What then of children who were molested? Did their emotions somehow make that tragedy possible? What of people who were brutally violated and killed? Were they secretly wishing for it?

Their version, tied to the New Thought movement, only works for privileged people. Those who cannot even afford three meals a day cannot simply believe in their dreams, for the skies to open up and shower them with a college education and a brand-new Tesla.

This movement’s Bible, The Secret, also demands that you feel and stay happy every second of every day, because the world needs your joy. So how about someone who just got run over by a bus? Or somebody who was just diagnosed with a terminal illness? Should they smile 24/7 too?

To convey the version of the Law of Attraction that I believe in, I must share another philosophy from another part of the world.

Chinese metaphysics says there are three kinds of luck: heaven luck, earth luck and human luck.

Heaven luck is your fate. Your destiny. What the gods have planned for you, or what your soul agreed to accomplish in this life. It cannot be changed… for the most part. Earth luck is your environment. Whether the place you’re in is conducive for who you want to be. Is your home a sanctuary or a battlefield? Are you in the right job or not? Do the people around you support or belittle you? Human luck is your actions. Your choices. This is where my law of attraction comes in. Do you speak kindly to yourself? Do you think as positively as you can? Do you believe with every fiber of your being that you can achieve your dreams?

Your human luck is in your hands. It is how you manifest. It is how you lead a life that makes your younger self proud and your older self grateful.

But when shit happens, you mustn’t blame yourself. If a malicious person harms you, or if tragedy strikes out of the blue... that’s not your fault.

You did not attract that. You did not make that happen. You did not create your own pain. That is a result of the other two kinds of luck just doing their thing. That's life. Even Mother Earth knows it can't be summer all year long.

However, when you actively and consistently try to strengthen your human luck, it can influence your heaven luck and earth luck too. They could bend to your will if you can convince them. That is the law of attraction I believe in and speak about.

It's a long journey for us to be able to make that happen. So if you cannot do it just yet… go easy on yourself.

Keep trying. You'll get there.

[shadysadie]

Hot take: the Wittebanes were not Puritans

So since Hollow Mind came out there have been a lot of jokes about how the Belos is a crusty old Puritan. And while he is certainly crusty and old, I don’t think he was a Puritan.

I understand why everyone jumps there, when we think of Witch Hunts in Colonial America the very first thing that comes to mind is the Salem Witchcraft Trials. However, the Salem Witchcraft Trials began in 1692, that is 80 years after Masha says the Wittebros showed up in Gravesfield, and 30 years after the events of Elsewhere and Elsewhen.

If Masha’s information is correct, (which it might not be but we’ll get to that) then Caleb and Philip arrived in Gravesfield in 1613, which is closer in time to the settlement of Jamestown (1607) than the Salem Witchcraft Trials. 

The Pilgrims didn’t even land at pride rock until 1620, seven years after the Wittebros arrived in Gravesfield. The Mayflower Pilgrims were really the group responsible for creating the idea of religious charters. They specifically wanted to leave England to create their own religious society. Many other groups followed, (notably the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which later became the home of the aforementioned Salem Witchcraft Trials) but the Mayflower Pilgrims were the first group of religious extremists who came to America looking for their Zion. 

Prior to that, the motivation to settle the “New World” was mainly financial. Ships were chartered through the Virginia Company. Which as we all remember from our favorite wildly inaccurate and problematic 90s Disney movie, the Virginia Company was in it for the money. The New World had resources and Britian wanted them, damnit, Glory, God, and Gold and the Virginia Company.

That meant, if Caleb and Philip really did arrive in Gravesfield in 1613, their family likely made the trip for financial gain, not religion. If that’s the case they were less likely a member of an obscure group of religious extremists, and more likely to be either Protestant like King James and Queen Elizabeth. (They could have also been Roman Catholic, evidence for that comes later).

“But”, you say, “weren’t Puritans the ones persecuting witches at the time?”

Yes and no. 

In the Americas, Witch Hunts will forever be linked to Puritans, but in Witch Hunting long outdates the Puritans. King James himself, was a witch hunting fanatic, he personally oversaw hundreds of witchtrials. He wrote books about finding witches, and it was specifically the King James endorse translation of the Bible that features the infamous “thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” (in many prior translations the word witch is something more along the line of “sinner” or “evil doer”). By many estimates, upwards of 1500 people were executed for witchcraft as a result of his reign. If we are going with Masha’s 1613 timeline, the brothers would have left England smack dab in the middle of his reign, right after the King James Bible was published.

(^this GIF has nothing to do with the Owl House, I just love sassy Gay King James in his bird mask, look at this cocky ass bastard, you know him and Belos would have been genocide buddies)

However, I can’t pretend to be focused on some semblance of historical accuracy and take Masha’s information at face value, even in the context of the show it wouldn’t add up because according to the sign we see in Yesterday’s Lie, Gravesfield was established in 1635. 

(Granted there is a difference between a settlement and a town, it is possible that 1635 was when Gravesfield was officially acknowledged as a town and the boys just lived there pre-establishment). 

However, in the name of historical accuracy, I have to assume Masha got the date wrong, because the English didn’t even settle in Conneticut until the 1630s. The Conneticut Witch Trials began in the 1640s. By this timeline and demographic, the likelihood of Caleb and Philip being Puritans goes up by a lot. 

However, if we look at Philip’s clothes an his goals, there are still signs that don’t point to Puritanism. First look at the clothes Caleb and Philip wear as children:

Philip’s pants are red and Calebs are green. While it is a myth that Puritans could only wear black, the colors that they were allowed to incorporate into their wardrobe were typically still neutrals (dark yellows and beiges). Green would be pushing it, and red would be unbelievably bold.

Additionally, the ruffles on Philip’s shirt in the journal and Jacob’s book, would have been seen as incredibly vain.

 The blue/black coat that Caleb wore in the puppet show, and Philip later wears in Elsewhere and Elsewhen and King’s Tide has gold buttons and gold embroidery. Gold and Silver accessories of any kind would have been considered incredibly sinful and conceited. 

Which would also make it really weird for a Puritan to choose gold to represent himself. Infact his whole emperor authentic is much more reminiscent of the Catholic Pope. His own role as the messenger of the Titan’s will is also very papal in nature.

Finally there is the term he uses, “Witch Hunter General” is an illusion to “Witch Finder General” which was a rank made up and used by Protestant Matthew Hopkins and not really used by any Puritans. Such a title would also probably have seemed pretty vain.

Now you might say, “It’s a fictional story, why does any of this matter?”

The answer is: It does not, but I am high and have ADHD and this was the rabbit hole I fell down.

[artist-issues]

I have loved reading your posts on various fiction from Christian perspective. I am wondering your opinion on when fantasy/"magic" fiction becomes too much? I used to encounter a lot of people talking about how basically -anything- fantasy was evil. I have struggled with scrupulosity OCD for many years now so I tend to think things towards a legalistic lens. I'd like to be able to enjoy fantasy again, while carefully discerning, so I'd love to hear what you think are the merits/limits of fantasy

Hi! First off, Jesus said: "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." When you're wrestling with scrupulousity, sometimes it helps to see or hear out loud the reminder that life in Christ is one that's supposed to give you peace, not constant worry about doing everything right--even if you've heard that before and you already know it, sometimes it can help to hear it over again from outside your own head. So there it is! 🤝

Next: thank you for asking me! I'm no professional. But someone did ask me this question once before. I am having a hard time finding it on my blog right now, otherwise I'd link to it, but I'll try to summarize at the end of this post!

EDIT: You asked me to talk about the merits and limits of fantasy and I got carried away explaining why fantasy fiction is not outright evil according to the Bible. I moved that to the end of the post 😅 here's what I think the merits are:

All of Reality, our world, our timeline, was invented by God. That makes Him the storyteller, us His characters, and reality His narrative. Just like any storyteller, He made up a system of rules for His world: rules like, "humans sink in water," and "humans can't be cured of sickness by touching other humans," and "the weather doesn't change just because humans tell it to." Then God, the storyteller, broke His own world-building rules. On purpose. He wrote Himself (Jesus) into the story as a human who COULD walk on water and COULD heal other humans with a touch and COULD tell the weather what to do, and it obeyed.

In fantasy stories, when a character can break the established rules of the created world, we call that "magic." We call it "magic" when the storyteller brings in a supernatural element to show that this character is special, powerful, capable, set apart from all the others.

So that's what I think the merits are. Fantasy stories have a special kind of closeness to The Storyteller Who Invented Stories, because of that very element of "make the rules then bring in rule-breaking specialness" that He uses.

That's where you get Gandalf, or even the Fairy Godmother, or of course Aslan and the Deep Magic.

The limitations to the genre, I would say, is that fantasy stories are very tempting for storytellers' egos. Because of Tolkien, there's this generation of storytellers who think that inventing a fantasy world with rules and races and magical systems and cultures and, to sum it all up, a whole universe of their own design, is the POINT.

They think the themes and the message of their story comes second to how thorough and clever they can be with their made-up magical systems, or fantasy-race-relations, or made-up languages.

Basically, in no other genre have I observed storytellers getting so excited to play god-of-their-own-clever-world than in fantasy. Then they forget that the important part of a story is the message, not the brain that's capable of inventing worlds and languages and cool-sounding names and ancestries. What they have to say basically gets lost in how flashy and cool they can be while saying it.

But that's another soap box for another time. Those are basically the merits and limitations, I think, broad-strokes.

On to the Biblical worldview for magic in stories below!

"Magic" is mentioned in the Bible. It's sorcery. Specifically, the Bible is telling Christians to stay away from "real" magic...which is basically just "trying to connect with spiritual forces to accomplish anything supernatural." We were created to have relationship with one Spirit: God. Anything outside of that is like a fish trying to breathe oxygen: it hurts us. So the Bible says, "no real magic."

But.

"Fantasy fiction magic" is not "a real live human trying to connect with real demonic forces and accomplish something supernatural." Instead, "fantasy fiction magic" is just "a real live human making up a story. Playing pretend."

The Bible has no commands, no rules, against that. Jesus told stories. His servants tell stories. We're made to tell stories.

And the Bible has no commands against telling a story that includes magic in it.

Think of it this way: God said "do not murder" right? But then in Matthew 18 Jesus tells a parable where one man tries to choke another man. There's attempted murder in the story Jesus is telling: but just because God disapproves of the act of murder, does not mean He disapproves of telling a story that features murder.

Sin being in a story isn't a bad thing. It's realistic, because sin exists. What really matters is whether or not the story treats the sin like sin, and not like an admirable thing. Because the point of all stories is to tell the truth in a compelling way. If the story treats something sinful like it's not sinful, that wouldn't be truthful. But if the story treats sin like it's definitely bad, then it's doing what God invented stories to do: tell the truth.

Now here's where you might say, "yeah, but most fantasy stories treat magic like it's a good thing."

Right. But remember: most fantasy stories don't have what the Bible calls "magic" in them at all.

When the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella says "bibbidi bobbidi boo," she's not calling upon demons to give her supernatural power (which is what the Bible is talking about when it condemns magic.) She's using a pretend superpower that the storyteller made up, on the spot, for the story. Her "magic" is not what the Bible calls "magic," so it doesn't even matter if it's portrayed as "good" or "bad" morally.

Fantasy fiction is fine. There is no reason, Biblically, for Christians not to read fantasy fiction if their only reason for it is "well there's magic in it."

There's nothing wrong with telling a story that has a supernatural element in it. It's only a story. As long as it's not real humans doing creation-worshipping or demon-contacting practices, in real life it's okay to write and it's okay to read.

Let me know if that makes sense!

[mintaikk]

Analyzing the Circus & Biblical Elements in Hellaverse: Lucifer Morningstar

The Devil Daddy himself! The King of Hell! The original sin! And somehow, the silliest character in the show, Lucifer Morningstar!

Look, he's a ringleader. I've said it, the show says it, Vivziepop said it, his design shoves it in your face- HE IS A RINGLEADER. But leaving it at that is boring, despite how obvious it is, so I'm going to talk about the aspects of him being a ringleader and why he's a ringleader!

Why he's a Ringleader

The first and obvious reason is that Vivzie wanted him to be.

The in lore and symbolic reasons is because of the way Heaven saw him. In Overture, Charlie states, "He was a dreamer, with fantastical ideas for all of creation. But, he was seen as a troublemaker by the elders of Heaven."

In a lot of stories, circuses symbolize risk, excitement, and freedom. It can also be a call for adventure, which fits Lucifer so well. He was so excited to create the world and give humans free will, which was seen as something risky and dangerous by Heaven. But, by giving Eve the apple, he was able to give the rest of humanity wonder and excitement, and most importantly, free will. While he does regret it, since he only sees the worst of the free will he has given, that doesn't stop the fact that he still made humans have their own identity away from Heaven, and isn't that the point of circuses? To provide freedom and an identity away from the norm?

Lucifer's Design

Like I said before, we already know he's a ringmaster, with the suit and tophat and all that. BUT there's also other elements to his design I find very interesting.

For one, the tophat has both a crown, and apple, and a snake on it. I didn't even notice there was a crown on him until the wiki pointed it out. The snake is pretty obvious, since the snake is the one that gave Eve the apple. (Also, did you know that the bible never really said that the serpent was the devil? It mightve been a subject of the Devil, but it was never stated to be the devil. That doesnt mean we cant theorize it was tho. I absolutely love analyzing Abrahamic Religions.) There are actually so many apple references to his design.

He has a somewhat hourglass figure with 2 dots on the back of his suit, which makes his body look like an applecore. His color scheme is also primarily red, white, and yellow, which is the colors that most apples have.

Vivziepop said that Lucifer and Charlie were loosely based on Porcelain Dolls, and whole that's cute, idk what that would have to do with it relating to lore. Not everything has to be lore related you know!

But Imma theorize anyways.

Perhaps it's like a puppet breaking off a string. When he was in Heaven, he was a puppet on a string, but now that he's away from Heaven, he's like a doll trying to find his purpose. It's a stretch, but still.

Or perhaps it's a reference to both hid and Charlie's child-like wonder, since dolls are mostly used by children who have big imaginations, like they do.

Demon Elements & References

In mythology, Lucifer was said to be the most beautiful angel and the most beautiful demon, so many artists took this as him being human, which is why he's the most humanoid sin. A lot of people complained that he was a twink in this show, but honestly, he was always a twink.

All of this further proves my theory that the ideal man is a feminine man.

His last name, Morningstar, is a reference to the fact that the Morningstar was said to be Lucifer. In mythology, the morningstar (aka, Venus) was said to be Lucifer trying to steal the light of God, which is why it was a bright star that could be seen in the morning. Him having brighter colors could also be a reference to his association with dawn since it brings the sun and light.

While the name Lucifer has been used by humans for centuries, the name means light bringer, and I like the believe that in the show, it's because he brought the "light" to humanity, aka, free will.

Fun fact: According to Wikipedia, early versions of Lucifer in Greco-Roman myths said that he was the son of Aurora, the Goddess of the dawn.

I heard this on a Ted Ed, but I forgot the video. But it mentions that someone had to steal the golden hair from a devil in one story, so I think that's why Lucifer is blonde. Plus, it just fits with the apple theme, I guess.

[hiswordsarekisses]

If they did know they were deceived, they would not be deceived. No one chooses to be deceived. It starts with a lack of love for the truth, according to 2 Thessalonians chapter two.

To love the truth is to want to know the truth regardless of what it is - even if it means we are wrong. But honestly, my question is - why wouid we want to believe a lie??? What good would it do? I want the truth - and nothing but the truth - because it's the truth that sets us free.

I know one well known reporter who lost her job at a well known news channel because she refused to back down from the truth.

She was so committed to the truth that she had reported what she believed to be the truth about the candidate she wanted to win the presidency - even though this information cast him in a bad light - and could possibly affect whether or not he would be elected.

THEN...

when she found out that the actual truth was actually that this particular candidate was innocent, she recanted

- and she was fired.

She loved the truth more than she loved her job... That takes genuine integrity.

It is very hard to come by the truth these days - you really have to dig for it on both sides of any given report.

And that's really easy to do if you truly want the truth.

People have lost their consciences these days, just as the Bible foretold.

There is no dishonorable length that is too far to go for many who find popularity and acceptance by the crowd to be the most important thing.

Some will even create an exaggerated extremely dramatic scene to convince others of their (UN)righteous indignation.

(I recently witnessed this the one time I happened to flip past the channel where the "The View" was airing, and it was one of the most disturbing thing I have ever witnessed.)

Staying consistently in the Word and prayer is the only way to have the discernment necessary for the type of gaslighting that is now being perpetuated on the world by those with an unholy and willful agenda. . .I would say "evil" agenda but I honestly believe they do not know they have been deceived. . .

As scripture states:

"they have been taken captive by the enemy to do his will." (2-Timothy-2:26)

The deception is becoming so severe, the Bible says, that - if it were possible - even the very chosen of God would be deceived as well.

But if you are looking to Him, and trusting Him - to keep you in truth - and also daily in prayer and in the word - and praying to love the truth - God will never never NEVER let you down.

Even if you get off track, He will bring us right back. He remembers that we are only humans, made of dust - He comes RUNNING with compassion to rescue us from our deception - because He loves us - but also because He knows that we are trusting Him!!!

Jesus used an earthly father as an example when saying; "would a father not give his son bread when he asked for it, and not a stone instead?" He was reassuring us that we can trust Him even more than an earthly father to answer our prayers and needs.

God says those without wisdom and discernment - have only to ask for it and He will give it to us. But we cannot ask - and not be following. We cannot ask and not be living for the Lord.

Scripture clearly instructs us that "to be readers of the Word and not doers of it, we deceive ourselves!!" (James 1:22)

Reading the book of first John is a good way to test ourselves. God loves us too much to be some kind of sugar daddy or spoiling grandparent - just giving us whatever we ask for as we live our lives for ourselves - contrary to the Word of God.

Do you see the process progress in your life? Or are you the same way you were when you got saved?

Are you convicted by your sin, or is sin just as normal as ever, and you don't think twice about it? Where it’s habitual?

Do you love the brethren?

Are you growing in the fruits of the spirit?

It does take a tree a long time to begin to produce fruit, but you know deep inside your knower whether you feel the energizing and conviction of the Holy Spirit within you - transforming you from the inside out, getting ready to bud. Reading the Word prayerfully helps us to examine these things.

We absolutely will not know the truth if we are not going after it for ourselves and we are listening to everyone else too much. Preachers, teachers, and prophets have their place - but they should never replace our own searching and learning of truth in God's Word.

As soon as we begin to rely on other voices, another persons research, other books, etc., we open the door to possibly be fed lies and deception.

Right now is more critical a time than ever to be playing around like that. It's not worth it. Those other voices are not who will be standing before God for you, YOU will stand there alone - face to face with Love Himself, but also face to face with truth.

Jesus said “I Am The Truth, z the Way, and The Life.” (John 14:6)

There are so many warnings throughout scripture that explain what kind of things open the door of our mind, heart and life to deception.

These are scriptures that literally say "we deceive ourselves."

I typed the following into google:

"scripture deceiving ourselves"

And it came back with the very top search result link saying:

“53 verses on deceiving ourselves."

The very best thing we can do is to get alone with God and ask for understanding, insight, discernment, revelation knowledge and wisdom. God surely does answer this prayer in bucket loads.

I learned to ask this by experience, and by experience I learned that God loves to answer! It's incredible.

I wonder how much deeper our understanding and wisdom would be if we fasted from other voices and books, etc...

Just alone with God and His Word for days - weeks - months maybe. It will literally transform our lives in ways we never dreamed.

God wants to speak to YOU.

Maybe it's time to get all the other voices and stuff out of the way for a while.

Pray to be able to drop all preconceived thoughts and teachings of men, and be taught by the Holy Spirit.

To forget everything we have been {taught to see} as we read scripture, and to be able to see what has been blocked by deception

- things that we never even knew was there.

I have been there.. a lot!

I am not dumb enough to ever assume I have it all figured out, so l regularly continue to study in this way, because I was so amazed and shocked by what I learned that I can never go back to the way I used to be fed.

Once Jesus Himself feeds you the WHOLE meal - meat, milk, and even desert

- nothing else will ever satisfy again.

He gets deep inside of us and we are left too ruined and spoiled to ever settle for secondhand news from those other voices ever again!

•*•*•

"O Lord, if I be deceived - in ANY way - please un-deceive me!" - C. H. Spurgeon

•*•*•

(His Words Are Kisses - Dana Jean Klibert)

[mariacallous]

In our Christmas imagery, ancient symbols such as fir trees, mistletoe, holly and ivy sit alongside the baby Jesus, Virgin Mary, angels and shepherds. This mixture of pagan and Christian traditions reminds us that Christmas was superimposed on to much older midwinter festivities. Yet had it not been for a devastating pandemic that swept through the Roman empire in the third century AD, the birth of Jesus would probably not feature at all in our winter solstice celebrations.

If the New Testament is to be believed, Jesus managed to fit a great deal into his short life. But despite all his wise words, good deeds and miracles – not to mention the promise of everlasting life – Christ was nothing more than the leader of an obscure sect of Judaism when the Romans crucified him in AD33.

The Bible informs us that Jesus had 120 followers on the morning of his ascension to heaven. Peter’s preaching swelled the number to 3,000 by the end of the day – but this exponential growth did not continue.

After the Jews in Palestine failed to convert en masse, Jesus’s followers turned their attention to Gentiles. They made some headway, but the vast majority of people across the empire continued praying to the Roman gods.

There were about 150,000 Christians scattered across the empire in AD200, according to Bart D Ehrman, author of The Triumph of Christianity. This works out to 0.25% of the population – similar to the proportion of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the UK today.

Then, towards the end of the third century, something remarkable happened. The number of Christian burials in Rome’s catacombs increased rapidly. So did the frequency of Christian first names in papyrus documents preserved by arid desert conditions in Egypt. Christianity was becoming a mass phenomenon. By AD300 there were approximately 3 million Christians in the Roman empire.

In 312, Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. Sunday became the day of rest. Public money was used to build churches, including the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem and the Old St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Then, in 380, Christianity became the empire’s official faith.

At the same time, paganism suffered what Edward Gibbon called a “total extirpation”. It was as if the old gods, who had dominated Greco-Roman religious life since at least the time of Homer, simply packed up and left.

If the Romans had not embraced Jesus so enthusiastically in the third and fourth centuries, it is hard to envisage an alternative route by which Christianity would have metamorphosed into a world religion. To understand what caused this momentous change, we must consider why Roman society was so receptive to casting off its old belief system and adopting a new religion at that time.

At its peak, the Roman empire reached from Hadrian’s Wall to the Red Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea. The imperial capital had about 1 million inhabitants. Alexandria’s population was around half that, and Antioch and Carthage’s were just over 100,000.

Goods and people moved back and forth across the Mediterranean, although merchants ventured much farther afield. Size, connectedness and urbanisation made the Roman world remarkable; but it also created the perfect conditions for devastating pandemics to spread.

The Plague of Cyprian was first reported in Egypt in 249. The pandemic hit Rome in 251 and lasted for at least the next two decades. Some historians argue that it caused the period of political instability and economic disruption known as the Crisis of the Third Century, which nearly caused the empire to collapse. For other historians, the Cyprian plague was just one aspect of this ancient polycrisis.

We cannot be sure about the pathogen’s identity. Bishop Cyprian of Carthage, who gave his name to the pandemic, described symptoms including high fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and bleeding from the ears, eyes, nose and mouth. Based on this account, a viral haemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola is the most likely candidate. According to one chronicle, at its height the pandemic killed 5,000 people a day in the capital. Alexandria’s population is estimated to have dropped from about 500,000 to 190,000. Even accounting for exaggeration, it was clearly a terrifying pandemic.

When your friends, family and neighbours are dying, and there is a very real prospect that you will die soon too, it is only natural to wonder why this is happening and what awaits you in the next life. The historian Kyle Harper and sociologist Rodney Stark argue that Christianity boomed in popularity during the Plague of Cyprian because it provided a more reassuring guide to life at this unsettling time.

Greco-Roman deities were capricious and indifferent to suffering. When Apollo was angry, he would stride down Mount Olympus firing arrows of plague indiscriminately at the mortals below. Pagans made sacrifices to appease him. Those who could, fled.

Paganism offered little comfort to those struck down by disease. The old gods did not reward good deeds, so many pagans abandoned the sick “half dead into the road”, according to Bishop Dionysius, the Patriarch of Alexandria. Death was an unappealing prospect, as it meant an uncertain existence in the underworld.

In contrast, Jesus’s message offered meaning and hope. Suffering on Earth was a test that helped believers enter heaven after death. Everlasting life in paradise is quite the prize, but Christianity provided another more tangible benefit, too.

Christians were expected to show their love for God through acts of kindness to the sick and needy. Or as Jesus put it: whatever you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, you do for me.

Emboldened by the promise of life after death, Christians stuck around and got stuck in. Dionysius describes how, “heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need”. Early Christians would have saved many of the sick by giving them water, food and shelter. Even today, hydration and nutrition are important elements of the World Health Organization’s Ebola treatment guidelines.

As Stark and Harper point out, the fact that so many Christians survived, and that Christians managed to save pagans abandoned by their families, provided the best recruitment material any religion could wish for: “miracles”.

Without these miracles, Romans would not have adopted Jesus’s message so enthusiastically, and Christianity would probably have remained an obscure sect. In this alternative reality, it’s likely we would still decorate our homes with evergreen plants to symbolise nature’s resilience and vitality at midwinter. The nativity story, however, would be lost in the dustbin of history.

[solidrockistand]

Praise of God's Law pt 10

73. Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me discernment that I may learn your commands (So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; Male and female he created them. Genesis1:27 NLT)

(Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be purer than his maker? Job 4:17 NIV)

("Indeed, I know that this is true, how can a mortal be righteous before God? Job9:2 NIV)

(For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20 ESV)

74. Those who fear you shall see me and be glad, because I hope in your word. (My soul makes it's boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Psalms 34:2 ESV)

(Let them boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who is just and righteous, who's love is unfailing and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord have spoken! Jeremiah 9:24 NLT)

(Therefor as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." 1st Corinthians 1:31 NIV)

(But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Galatians 6:14 ESV)

75. I know, O Lord your ordinances are just, and, in your faithfulness, you have afflicted me. (The statutes you have laid down are righteous; they are fully trustworthy. Psalms 119:138 NIV)

(The law of the Lord is perfect, REVIVING THE SOUL; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Psalms 19:7 ESV)

76. May your unfailing love be my comfort according to your promise to your servant. (Turn, O Lord and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. Psalms 6:4 NIV)

(Turn to me and be gracious to me for I am lonely and afflicted. Psalms 25:16 NIV)

(Answer me, O Lord for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me. Psalms 69:16 ESV)

(Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you, Psalms 63:3 ESV)

77. Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight. (So, teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O Lord! How long? have pity on your servants! Psalms 90:12-13 ESV)

(We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. Proverbs 16:9 NLT)

(Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. Psalms 139:16 ESV)

78. Let the proud be put to shame for oppressing me unjustly; I will meditate on your precepts. (Make me understand the way of your precepts and I will meditate on your wonderous works. Psalms 119:27 ESV)

(Sing to him sing praise to him tell of all his wonderful acts. Psalms 105:2 NIV)

79. Let those turn to me who fear you and acknowledge your decrees. (I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes. Psalms 119:125 NIV)

(O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. you have loosed my bonds. Psalms 116:16 ESV)

(Look down and have mercy on me. Give me strength to your servant; yes, save me for I am your servant. Psalms 86:16 NLT)

80. Let my heart be perfect in your statutes, that I be not put to shame. (Let your heart therefor be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments as at this day. 1st Kings 8:61 ESV)

(Now, O Lord please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart and have done what is good in your sight." and Hezekiah wept bitterly. 2nd Kings 20:3 ESV)

(Please remember what you told your servant Moses: If you sin, I will scatter you among the nations. Nehemiah 1:8 NLT)

(Thus, Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. 2nd Chronicles 31:20 ESV)

Psalms 119:73-80: The New American Bible

[scribeforchrist-blog]

Promoting a Closeness with Him

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK

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+ 1 Corinthians 13:3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing

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VERSE OF THE DAY

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+ Galatians 1:10  Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

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SUBJECT: Promoting a Closeness with Him

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** SAY THIS BEFORE YOU READ; HERE’S SOME CHRISTIAN TRUTHS **

I AM LOOKING FOR HIM

I AM SATISFIED WITH MY LIFE

I AM NOT PLEASING PEOPLE

I AM PLEASING GOD

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READ TIME: 7 Minutes & 29 Seconds

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THOUGHTS:

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 When I was younger, I tended to try to please the people around me. It could be my parents, my sister, or my boss. It didn't matter; I wanted people to be happy with me and what I did, and a lot of times, I didn’t see it as people-pleasing; I just saw it as doing something to keep the ones around me happy.

   I worked at this job once, and no matter what the boss wanted me to do, I did; I stayed over, cleaned the parking lot, cleaned the restrooms, vacuumed whatever he needed. I did it because I thought this would make him happy, but I noticed I was tired and I wasn’t happy, and I knew it was a job promotion coming up , and I thought he’d pick me for it, well it was time for him to announce the new supervisor and he didn’t call my name.

     I was so defeated and caught off guard that I didn’t know what to do with my emotions, so I buried them, tried less, and gave less of myself because I knew that it would hurt less if I gave less, which I learned as I gotten older that was the wrong way to handle my emotions .

  Psalm 107:9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

     When we people please, we are giving all ourselves to people. Often, people aren’t going to show us the appreciation we need or deserve, but that’s why we must spend our days and lives pleasing God because God sees us. He wants to make us better every day, and each day, we learn that he is what we need, he is what helps us grow, and as we give ourselves to him, we change into better people because we are willing to let go of our bad habits and to have power in him.

   That’s what we gain when we follow God. That’s one of the few things we gain: great love and salvation, and we gain power from on high, but we shouldn’t just be trying to please God to get things or money, like with my boss; that what I was doing, I was trying to obtain a promotion but he saw right through it maybe he didn’t but I realize that in this that we can't do anything to gain SOMETHING because at the end it’s pointless but God wants us to follow him because we love him, do you love him for who he is? Or do you love him for what he can do for you??

  Matthew 16:26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

    We won't gain anything just following him because God sees right through us. He sees us for who we are and for what we do; the verse tells us we forfeit our souls when we gain the world, but the Bible also tells us God wants us to be content at the end of the day with everything we want and desire God will give us according to his will, not ours, he will give to us to make sure we aren’t in need, but for us to create a bond with God just to get material things is wrong.

  Psalm 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.

    Again, some of us think if I can’t get it through God, I can get it through working all the time or through people! When we trust in humans, we will never win their approval. It will always be this endless thing to satisfy a desire that won't be satisfied. But the thing is about humans: they are never content. We always must have something to get and buy, or once we have something, we always want something else. Being content is hard when we are never satisfied and seek to please others or our selves.

   Ecclesiastes 5:10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

 

1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain,

   One thing is for sure: we can always satisfy God with our life when we are walking in his will, we can always satisfy God with our praise, and we can never please man no matter what we do; sometimes we think pleasing people will get us ahead, but will be serving God with all our heart and all our soul when we do this ??

No, God is waiting for us to accept the plans he has for us! The Bible says being godly and being content is great gain because, in this, we see that things are meaningless and see that what God wants for us is way greater than riches

  *** Today, we learned that doing things to please people and doing things for the wrong reason never gets us anywhere, but whatever it is, when we seek the plans of God, we will achieve his will. Our desires start to become his desires; if I had sought God for what I wanted, I would never have been crushed about the promotions; sometimes we must ask God is this what you want and give me a discernment spirit to see what is happening, we choose to close our eyes to things because we desire them so badly. Still, God wants us to desire him; God wants us to desire him not for things but for relations.

  It’s easy to have our wants and desires and become complacent because we all want more, but God wants us to have more of him, more of his will, not our own. We can accomplish so much in our lives, and we can see the world, but if we don’t have a relationship with God, it all means nothing; having that promotion was all I wanted, but if I didn’t have a true relationship with God, I just would’ve had a job and promotion and nothing else because having things and money isn’t worth losing a relationship with God. ©Seer~ Prophetess Lee

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PRAYER

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Heavenly Father, thank you for helping us see the truth without any distractions. Help us seek you daily through our heartaches, ups, and downs. Lord, help us to love you not for what you can give us but for what you can be to us; Lord, help this devotion to be a light to our feet and our path with you. Lord, we thank you so much for everything; we ask you to forgive us of the sins we did and be with us this day in Jesus' Name, Amen

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REFERENCES

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+Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

 

+ Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

 

Psalm 22:26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever!

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FURTHER READINGS

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Proverbs 5

Leviticus 5

Matthew 22

Acts 13

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[tamamita]

I know of an American Christian (since that's it's own thing) who says the world was created 6,000 years ago, but God did everything up to make it look like the world was actually 14.5 billion years old, so fossils, fossil fuels, everything can still exist, and the everyone in the Bible up until the Tower of Bable spoke Jacobean English before God changed all the languages. Why the latter? Because he believes the King James 1611 Bible is THE definitive Bible.

Just to give an example of how even more messed up Christianity can be when left to its own devices.

The Creation Myth isn't something uncommon in conversative churches, in fact, it's one of the most frequently discussed topics in US politics. Conservatives have a traditionalist interpretation of the Bible, which is why they brazenly embrace the creation myth, while condemning any science-based studies. According to Gallup, about 4/10 of USAmericans believe in the Creationist myth. It says a lot about how religion is incorporated in the every day life of an ordinary citizen, whether they be irreligious or religious, and how christofacism becomes more popular.

[madamlaydebug]

The father of all monotheistic religions. The biblical story of Moses is nothing but the pladgerization of the life of a Pharaoh known as Ahkenaten! Ahkenaten was bribed by the Kemetic God Set, to start a rebellion in Kemet so that Set would be worshipped as a supreme deity over his brother Ausar. All monotheism is the result of Ahkenaten's rebellion against our ancestors knowledge of multiple Gods. Our ancestors paid homage to multiple Gods dating back to Atlantis & Lemuria, so the whole notion of monotheism is "Johny come lately" according to documented history. Ahkenatens rebellion was a failure but he did succeed in creating his own cult that worshipped Set.Now remember, Set didnt want any other God to be worshipped but him, & Set is the real "Satan" figure, & he IS the God over your Hebrew Torah & Christian Bible. Hes the "Jealous God" that doesn't want any other God being worshipped besides him, but he then says envy is a sin.Hes the God that says wrath is a sin, but destroyed all the worlds civilizations with the flood. Hes the God that says the Israelites are his children, but he doesnt want them to become Gods like him.Hes the God that destroyed "The Tower Of Babel" when "his children" tried to reach him. Set is the deity that feeds on the flesh of children.THAT'S WHY IT SAYS HE SACRIFICED HIS OWN SON, & THEY WANT YOU TO EAT THE FLESH & DRINK THE BLOOD OF JESUS DURING COMMUNION! Bible & Torah-toaters you're worshipping the parasitic king of the Archons that wants your soul trapped on this Earth, which is the real hell. And as you can see, Hebrew writing is not too far off from egyptian hieroglyphics, & all Hebrews are nothing more than rebel Egyptians who worship Set AKA Father Time, Cronus, Saturn, Satan, & his son Jesus, AKA Jupiter, Zeus, Serapis.

[walkswithmyfather]

Revelation 10:1-3. “I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; and he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices.”

“The Mission and Ministry of Angels” By In Touch Ministries:

“Why did God create these heavenly beings?”

“We see images of angels all around us at Christmastime. In some of these, angels are portrayed as slim Victorian beauties with flowing hair, giant feathered wings, and elegant gowns. Others look like adorable babies carrying tiny harps. But these representations have very little in common with the terrifying angelic messengers found in today’s passage and throughout Scripture. In fact, their first words to the humans they encounter are usually “Do not be afraid.”

In the final book of the New Testament, these heavenly emissaries play a significant role. For one thing, in the first two verses of chapter 1, an angel gives John the revelation from which the book gets its title. Later, angels worship God: “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.’” (Revelation 5:11-12) and provide help and care to His people: “And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.’” (Revelation 7:2-3).

Then they loudly proclaim the good news of Jesus: “And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, ‘Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.’” (Revelation 14:6-7). And they also serve God by heralding His perfect justice to the world (Revelation 14:8; Revelation 14:17-19).Notice the action-oriented mission and ministry of angels throughout Revelation, and recognize the contrast with the sweet, passive images we usually see. Angels were created by God to glorify Him. And though we are “for a little while lower than angels” (Hebrews 2:7), the same is true of us as well: “Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5-6).

[All Bible verses in the NASB1995 translation. Photo by Luke Stackpoole at Unsplash]

#revelation 10:1-3#revelation 5:11-12#revelation 7:2-3#revelation 14:6-7#christmas#birth of jesus#epiphany#angels#god loves you#bible verses#bible truths#bible scriptures#bible quotes#bible study#studying the bible#the word of god#christian devotionals#daily devotions#bible#christian blog#god#belief in god#faith in god#jesus#belief in jesus#faith in jesus#christian prayer #christian life#christian living#christian faith#christian inspiration#christian encouragement#christian motivation#christianity#christian quotes#in touch ministries#keep the faith#make him known

[theabdlstruggle]

Angels and Demons

Ever wonder if Angels and demons actually exist? Do they wear white robes with a halo on top? Are they tiny little red creatures that sit on your shoulder whispering suggestions in our ears? Did they predate the earths existence? How did satan become the devil and why is he so mad and mischievous? Does Cupid even really count in the ABDL community?? Ok, low blow I know, but hey, at least there is ONE angle that wears diapers! 🤣🤣

No, angels and demons are real and, according to the Bible, they come from the same place. I wanted to talk about this because I see such evil and hatred in the world right now and I want you to know what the Bible says about each of these. Just a heads up, this might be a long one. But maybe it’s the perfect timing with Valentine’s Day coming up! Demons: I want to start with some basic observations on demons. Demons are fallen angels who rebelled against God in Heaven. The book of Revelation (Rev. 12:4) records that a great battle took place where 1/3 of the angels rebelled against God and tried to take the throne. God won the battle and as a result “banished” these angels to the deep (a place made specifically for them). Demons never seem to be presented as “good” , “un-wicked”, or even “neutral” for that matter. No, demons are always presented in a negative manner. Demons are NOT human. They are always spoken of in a spiritual sense with the ability to possess humans, but are never spoken of as HUMANS THEMSELVES. They are, however, attributed to beings that deceive, lie, manipulate, preform trickery, and the alike. They also seem to NOT want to go to the great abyss they have been assigned/banished to. In the Bible, the book of Mark (Mk. 5: 1-20) records Jesus’s encounter of a man possessed with MANY demons. When confronted, the demon calls himself “Legon”. The demons states, “My name is Legion, for we are many” and begs Jesus not to send them to the Abyss, but rather into a herd of pigs near by. So we see that not even the demons themselves want to go to Hell before their appointed time. That brings us to Satan. Who is he and why does he seem to lead the group of fallen angels found in the book of Revelation? Satan (“accuser”) once was named Lucifer (“son of the morning”) He was the most beautiful and bright of all the Angles (Ezekiel 28:12-17) The Bible does not seem to give extraordinary detail as to what started the rebellion other than he was not satisfied with worshiping God, and instead, wanted to be worshipped himself. At this, Lucifer became known as Satan. After the battle, some demons were sent to be bound until the end times and some allowed to roam the earth, torment, deceive, and misguide humanity (allowed to continue their evil ways through their own free will).

Angels, on the other hand, are NOT fallen. They seem to be presented in light, goodness, bearers of good news and warnings. They seem to be loyal to the one who created them (God), committed and devoted servants, warriors (both for God AND humanity), and they seem to be able to take human form from time to time (as recorded through out the Bible), in order to protect, serve, and even fight for those who trust in/ have a genuine relationship with God almighty.

At the end of it all, it is clear, that there is a DEFINITE DISTINCTION between good and evil found in the Bible. There is NO neutral ground (ie: those who observe and don’t take a side). There is either one side or the other. And the same is true of us as humans. We are either for God or against Him. There is no other way to slice it. You can disagree and oppose all you want, but the simple fact is that ONLY Heaven and Hell are spoken of in the Bible. There is no “great and glorious place” reserved for those who don’t “get in the fight” or don’t “pick a side” there is NO destination for those who “remain neutral”. No, there is only Hevan or Hell and YOU (and I) MUST decide here and now (in this life) as to which one we will choose. Whose side will you be on? Will you be for good or for evil? I hope you choose good over evil, it is one of, if not the biggest reason, I choose to write on this platform and in this space.

I long for this community to know the truth. I long for this community to find relationship with Jesus Christ Himself. I long for this community to experience the safety, security and peace that only comes with and through a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ! I don’t “preach at” or “to” this community because I see myself as “better” or “above” it… NO! I struggle with some of the EXACT SAME issues, fallacies, and tendencies I have read about throughout this community. I am not perfect nor will I ever be; but I have found the one true and genuine relationship worth holding onto for the rest of my life. He (Jesus Christ) has proven Himself over and over again throughout my life; ever since I accepted Him as a child. So, today, won’t you sit down and talk with the one who created life itself and begin a true and genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s as easy as, “Jesus, I don’t know if you are real or not, but show me the truth, reveal yourself to me, and teach me your ways as I seek to follow you.”

Now, to the Lord God eternal, to the Lord God invisible; please grant your presence and wisdom upon all who read this and please draw them into your perfect and ever loving relationship, Amen.

[childofchrist1983]

The first thing Andrew did after meeting Jesus Christ was to tell his brother Simon Peter the good news. Were you as excited as Andrew to tell others when you first came to know Jesus? How about now? Sometimes, we lose that excitement over time. But with every answered prayer, every new beginning, God gives us an opportunity to reclaim - and proclaim - our excitement all over again. It is a joy to know Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ. When we look back on our first meeting, we remember how we were so amazed and overwhelmed with joy by Him. Thank Him for continuing to show up in our hearts and our lives. May He use these moments to give us fresh eyes and a restored spirit, so that we may continue to be amazed by Him and His Holy Word and Spirit, and continue to share His Gospel Truth with others without hesitation.

May He empower us by His Holy Word and Spirit to live in the light of His Truth, love grace. May our healing and transformation glorify His name and Kingdom of Heaven and reveal who He truly is to others. May He help us to keep close to Him, so that we may endure until He fully sets us free and brings us to our true home in His Kingdom of Heaven. Thank Him for His Holy Word and Spirit. Thank Him for revealing the Truth of Him and His holiness. May He help us to hold close to Him just as He holds close to us, so that we may live in humble and faithful obedience. If we stray from Him and His path, may He use His Holy Word and Spirit to bring us close to Him once again. May He help us daily to trust fully in Him and His love, provision and care. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for making us anew! May He complete His renewing work in us, ridding us of the sinful words, thoughts and actions that aren’t from Him, so that we may reflect only His love and light and presence in us to this dark and fallen world and the lost souls within it.

God is our Heavenly Father, our Creator and our guide. And Jesus Christ is our LORD and Savior and King. As Christians, we trust Him wholeheartedly and we submit our heart and our lives into His skilled hands. May He shape us according to His design and plan for us, so that we may stand strong in the firing furnace and emerge revealing His craftsmanship as He prepares us serve Him on Earth and in His Kingdom of Heaven according to His Holy Word and will. May He give us the peace and endurance we need each day, and may He use this time to help us grow in His wisdom and strength and to grow in our walk and relationship with Him. May He make us more into the person that He not only created us to us to be, but called us to be from the very beginning.

Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for securing a place for all true Christian believers as followers of Christ and spiritually reborn children of God in His eternal Kingdom. Each day, the sun rises and its light and warmth, and the Holy Bible gives us a glimpse of the promised eternity to come. May we continue to walk in the love and light of Christ with our heads held high and our eyes on the finish line. May we lead others to His Gospel Truth and to His light as well throughout this journey with Him. Let us all humble ourselves before God daily, asking Him to forgive us and to strength and teach us to view life through the lens of God and His promises. May He guard our hearts against Satan and the temptations of this world and our flesh. May He give us the peace to find full satisfaction in God and His peace and promises, so that we may live our lives daily in ways that honor and pleases Him. As we seek Him daily, may He reveal Himself to us through the words He has provided and use it to conform the desires of our heart to Him and His love and compassion and grace.

As true and spiritually reborn Christians, we love, trust and believe in Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ. We choose to keep Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ first in our hearts and lives and all other worldly desires behind us. He extends salvation to everyone, and we want to show the world the freedom, hope and peace they can have in accepting and following Him. We must ask Him to help us grow spiritually in our relationship with Him and strengthen us and the bonds of love that He has given us, so that our unity may glorify and testify to His power and goodness. Thank Him for calling us to faith and imparting us with salvation and righteousness. May He empower us to live in His will and righteousness, so that we may testify to His soul-saving power as our faith carries us past all doubt, fear, and failure. May He grant us the grace to forgive others who have wronged us, and the humility to seek forgiveness where we have caused strife. May we follow and serve God daily with love, trust, awe and wonder. May Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ strengthen our faith, lift our spirits, protect our hearts, and show us opportunities to help bring others to Him and His Gospel Truth daily. May we do this duty boldly, humbly and faithfully. Seek, follow and trust in the LORD God Almighty always! To God be all the honor and praise and glory!

We must come to Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ with sincere hearts to ask forgiveness and follow Him and His Holy Word and Spirit always. We praise Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for the mercy He bestows upon us and we are grateful for His grace and mercy and infinite blessings. By surrendering our hearts and our lives to His will, we see all the blessings He has bestowed upon us. God our refuge and our salvation and our constant provider. We lift our voices to Him in praise for His steadfast love, mercy and understanding. May Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ open our minds and hearts more and more to perceive and embrace Him and His truths. May He help us to find time to pray and read and study the Holy Bible daily and to find power in prayer, praying according to His Holy Word and will. May He help us to come to Him in true repentance and with faith in Him and His grace and merciful nature. May He give us the grace, courage and strength we need to walk with Him and do His will daily. May He teach us to watch our words when we pray to Him and to speak reverently and rightly. May we continually ask God to transform our hearts and make us faithful and humble as we walk with Him daily. We must come to Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ with honest, humble and repentant hearts. We must seek Him and His will and choose to follow Him all the days of our lives. May He help transform our hearts, help us to seek and live for Him above all else and to grow spiritually and build our faith and relationship with Him with each passing day. May He forgive our sinful nature and help us always make Him and our relationship with Him top priority.

As true and born-again Christians, we choose to walk in His righteous path and lead a life that is pleasing to Him. We desire Him and His will above anything else. We desire to walk in accordance with the love and light He has shown to us through His Holy Word and Spirit. We long for a deeper relationship with Him and a deeper fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ as well. When we fall into temptation and sin, we must turn to Him for forgiveness, strength and guidance. When believers learn to walk in accordance with God's Holy Word and Spirit, they have deeper fellowship with both God and one another. And the sin that could threaten to destroy that fellowship, if confessed (1 John 1:9), is covered in the blood of Jesus Christ and no longer a barrier between us and God. May we ask Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ to forgive us for any sins we have sinned this day or in days past. May we be faithful to Him and His Holy Word always. May He help us to walk more consistently in the light and to not neglect long to confess and forsake any sins that hinder our walk with Him. May He lead us in the direction He wants us to go so that we may seek and serve Him faithfully. God is holy and almighty and deserving of all praise honor and glory. We rejoice in Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ, knowing He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He is the Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 1:8). May our hearts always be filled with thanksgiving and rejoicing. May He help us to praise Him freely and honestly like all believers who came before us. May we live a life that showcases our love and trust in Him and His Holy Word and Spirit as He uses us draw others to Him and His soul-saving Gospel Truth daily. May He continue guide, correct and protect us, so that we continue to grow in Him and not weaken and stray. May we all remain faithful to Him and to this duty and purpose He has called us to. Seek and put your faith and trust in Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ and let Him do the rest. May He humble our hearts and help us focus on following and serving Him daily and helping others with joy and happiness. We lift our voices in praise to Him for His love, mercy, peace, faithfulness and grace - For EVERYTHING!

It is vital that we remain rooted in Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ through prayer and His Holy Word and Spirit and that we live and walk as a beacon of His light and love and share and spread the Gospel Truth daily, so that the lost souls in this world can come to know Him and be saved. The more we focus on Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ, growing spiritually by building our relationship with Him, leaning on Him and His Holy Word and Spirit, the better off we will be. Thanks to this and our faith in Him, we know that everything will be alright. And we will forever be grateful to Him. As true and born-again Christians, we believe in Him and His Holy Word and we strive daily to walk in His Holy Spirit. We know though our mortal bodies should die, He will raise us up and into new and glorious bodies (The Rapture). We who are truly His and alive at His second coming will never die, and our bodies will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and so shall we ever be with Him in His Kingdom of Heaven forevermore (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). This is one of many promises given to us by God Himself. Thank God for His strength and guidance when we are faced with sin and temptation. Thank Him for His mercy and grace. Through Bible study and prayer, God reveals His wisdom and guides us to see opportunities to grow closer to Him and grow spiritually. He gives us direction to live our lives daily according to His will.

Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to Heaven (John 3:5, 14:6), the ONLY way to salvation (Acts 4:12, Ephesians 2:8-9) and He is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25-26). Jesus Christ the LORD of lords, the KING of kings, the GOD of gods (Deuteronomy 10:17, 1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14, Revelation 19:16) - He is the Living, Almighty and Everlasting God (Isaiah 9:6, Revelation 1:8, John 3:16, John 3:36, Jeremiah 10:10). There is no other God besides Him (Isaiah 45:5). We MUST humble ourselves before Him, turning our backs on false teachers, false gods and idols and our sinful ways. We MUST repent and turn back to God and recognize who He is and love Him in return for His great love for us. We MUST make God top priority everyday! May we be motivated to spread God's Holy Word and Gospel Truth to all the Earth, knowing that it is the only hope of all those lost in their sins. Let us not hold out a false hope for men to be saved without the Gospel, but instead, strive to do our part to get the Gospel out to a lost and dying world.

Leaning on Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ through prayer and His Holy Word and Spirit strengthens us and our knowledge and wisdom about God and His Gospel Truth, exposing these imposters. May God help us to seek and lean on Him daily to gain the strength, wisdom and spiritual discernment needed to expose Satan and his imposters who seek to destroy us and God's ultimate Truth. Everyday, we must remember to share Jesus Christ's Gospel Truth with the world and to thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for the grace that He poured out for us on the cross at Calvary. He has freed us from the burdens of sin and from the eternal damnation of Hell. In all we say and do, may all praise, honor and glory always be given to Him and His Kingdom of Heaven.

With renewed minds, hearts and wills, let us serve Him humbly and faithfully out of pure love and grateful rejoicing. May He remind us of His presence and to remain at peace, fully knowing that all will be well because He is always with us. Let us seek Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ today and everyday with all our heart and being, looking for His love, light and will for our lives with each step we take. Let us seek to please Him with our thoughts, words, and deeds and seek to advance His Kingdom of Heaven and His glory with our lives. Let us seek Him from a pure and humble heart, and when we so seek, we believe Him and His promise that we will find. May He help us all to be more sensitive to the teaching ministry of His Holy Word and Spirit, relying on Him and allowing Him to speak to us and guide us every step of our Christian journey.

God gave us the Holy Bible - His living and Holy Word - to let us know of Him and His abiding love and care as well as guide and prepare us for all our lives. May He help us encourage one another as we continue our walk with Him and our duty to Him daily. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for being present for all our new beginnings and all our lives. May He redirect any anxiety we feel as He provides countless opportunities for growth and change. May we humble ourselves before God always, asking Him to forgive our sins and make our hearts and lives anew through His Holy Word and Spirit. May He help us make Him and His Holy Word top priority, so we can grow spiritually and grow in our relationship with Him as we apply it to our daily lives. Thank God that we can focus on Him and everything about Him, for that is what keeps us sane and at peace. May our words and actions always be a reflection of Him and His Holy Word and Spirit and will.

May He help us to always walk in His grace and Holy Spirit, not by our own measure. May He give us the humble humility to know that our freedom and eternal salvation is found only in Him, so that His grace may sustain us, and we may never lose sight of His love and light and mercy. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for calling us to Him and to serve Him. May He equip us to do all that He has called us to do so that as He works through us, He may use us to produce fruit, to reach others, and to encourage all brothers and sisters in Christ. May He work all of these things in us and through us for His Kingdom and His glory. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for all His creation, for His miraculous ways and for everything He does and has done for us! Keep the faith and keep moving forward in your walk with Jesus! He loves us and He knows what is best for us. Seek, follow and trust in Him - Always!

Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His Holy Word and for sending His Holy Spirit so that we might have His grace, not only to awaken us and transform our hearts in our spiritual rebirth and guarantee our eternity with Him, but to also call upon Him whenever we are in need. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for all the reminders of His love and mercy and faithfulness within His Holy Word. He is bigger than any challenge or circumstance in our lives. Knowing this within our minds and our hearts, nothing can deter our faith in Him and His Truth. May we all accept Him and His eternal gift of salvation and ask that He would transform our hearts and lives according to His will and ways. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His Holy Spirit who saves, seals and leads us. May we always thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His almighty power and saving grace. For He is our strength, and He alone is able to save us, forgive our sins and gift us eternal salvation and entry into His Kingdom of Heaven.

May we make sure that we give our hearts and lives to God and take time to seek and praise Him and share His Truth with the world daily. May the LORD our God and Father in Heaven help us to stay diligent and obedient and help us to guard our hearts in Him and His Holy Word daily. May He help us to remain faithful and full of excitement to do our duty to Him and for His glorious return and our reunion in Heaven as well as all that awaits us there. May we never forget to thank the LORD our God and our Creator and Father in Heaven for all this and everything He does and has done for us! May we never forget who He is, nor forget who we are in Christ and that God is always with us! What a mighty God we serve! What a Savior this is! What a wonderful LORD, God, Savior and King we have in Jesus Christ! What a loving Father we have found in Almighty God! What a wonderful God we serve! His will be done!

Thanks and glory be to God! Blessed be the name of the LORD! Hallelujah and Amen!

[steveezekiel]

THE REIGN OF DEATH

12 THEREFORE, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, AND THUS DEATH SPREAD TO ALL MEN, because all sinned. 14 NEVERTHELESS DEATH REIGNED FROM ADAM TO MOSES, EVEN OVER THOSE WHO HAD NOT SINNED ACCORDING TO THE LIKENESS OF THE TRANSGRESSION OF ADAM, who is a type of Him who was to come.

17 FOR IF BY THE ONE MAN'S OFFENSE DEATH REIGNED THROUGH THE ONE, MUCH MORE THOSE WHO RECEIVE ABUNDANCE OF GRACE AND OF THE GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL REIGN IN LIFE THROUGH THE ONE, JESUS CHRIST.

18 THEREFORE, AS THROUGH ONE man’s OFFENSE JUDGMENT CAME TO ALL MEN, RESULTING IN CONDEMNATION, EVEN SO THROUGH ONE Man’s RIGHTEOUS ACT THE FREE GIFT CAME TO ALL MEN, RESULTING IN JUSTIFICATION OF LIFE.

19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous."

Romans 5:12,14,17–19 (NKJV)

• The aims of this teaching:

a. To dispel the veil which the enemy, the devil, had used to blind people's mind (2 Corinthians 4:4).

b. To enlighten your mind, cause your understanding to be opened; that you might know you have an inheritance in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:17-19).

c. To know that death, sicknesses, poverty, oppressions, failure and the like, are not God's offer for you.

d. To confidently speak against the devil and his cohorts, with the authority given to you in Christ Jesus, that are the roots of the problems and predicaments you may be having (Luke 10:19).

f. To curse the problems to wither away, as Jesus Christ did curse the fruitless fig tree that withered away (Mark 11:21).

• Death came through Sin. In God's initial and original plan, Man, human, was created to live as immortal being.

- Adam disobeyed God, he committed Sin, and that leads to death. The death was a spiritual death, a separation from God, which eventually affected the physical body; and he, Adam died at 930 years (Genesis 5:5).

- When Sin came, Man, human, became a dead soul (Genesis 2:15-17). Sin brought death: "FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD" (Romans 6:23 NKJV).

- Through Adam, Sin came to all mankind, the whole human race, and we became the subject of the devil; death, sicknesses, and all manner of demonic afflictions (Romans 5:12,17-19).

- The devil became the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). And he began to rule and afflict the mankind (Romans 5:12).

- When the devil took the reins of the world; the place of leadership or command, or the controlling or guiding power of the world, he started giving or spreading afflictions—sicknesses, poverty, failures, oppressions, death, and all the evils in the world today.

- This is the reason why the Saviour is needed. Jesus came to give life, Zoe, in the place of death that the devil brought to Man, humans (John 10:10,28; Romans 5:21; 6:23).

• God did not plan It that way, in fact, It was not so in the beginning.

- God made all things good and perfect. The Bible says: "THEN GOD SAW EVERYTHING THAT HE HAD MADE, AND INDEED IT WAS VERY GOOD. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day" (Genesis 1:31 NKJV).

- If sicknesses, poverty, oppressions, and all the evil in world today were made by God, the Bible would not say everything that God had made was very good (Genesis 1:21).

- God's attributes are: He beautifies, increases, enlarges, glorifies, and enthrones, there is no any evil in Him at all.

• Jesus' mission—Why did He come?

- Jesus Christ came to reconcile us, the whole mankind, to God (2 Corinthians 5:18,19). The place that was lost in God by mankind, He came to give back to us.

- Salvation or being reconciled back to God includes: freedom from oppressions of the devil, sound health, fruitfulness, prosperity, and whatever.

- The kind of mind that was in Adam, that made him name all the animals created by God (Genesis 2:19); the mind that made Adam to see things as God sees them, has Christ Jesus brought to us: "FOR “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” BUT WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST" (1 Corinthians 2:16 NKJV).

a. Jesus came to give us life in the place of death (John 10:10,28).

b. Joy in the place of sadness or mourning (Isaiah 61:3).

c. Blessing in the place of lack (Luke 4:18; Romans 9:23).

d. Prosperity in the place of poverty (2 Corinthians 8:9).

e. Success in the place of failure (Joshua 1:8).

f. Deliverance or liberty in the place of oppression and fear of death (Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:18,19).

• Whatever does not give glory to God in your life is not part of your inheritance in Christ Jesus. The devil put such a thing there to mess up your faith or trust in God.

- You do not have to be subjected to self-pity; struggling with sicknesses and diseases. They are not for you, they are not part of the redemption package.

- Being childless should not be your portion, fruitfulness is the plan and will of God for you. Your lot is fruitfulness; both the physical and spiritual fruitfulness.

- Whatever the problem or affliction, It is not yours. Until you react against whatever the enemy, the devil, put in your life, by dealing with the source, the power or demon(s) that might be behind it; the problems or afflictions would remain.

- Thus, speak against whatever Affliction or ailment that is working against your wellness, and be made free in Jesus' precious name.

• You will not fail in Jesus' name.

- Whatever the Affliction in your life, as you read this piece; such is cursed and completely uprooted in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

- The demons that may be behind the afflictions are bound and rendered inoperative as from now onwards in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

- All the problems you are battling with, as you read this piece, are declared a thing of the past in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

- They will never rise again and you will never see them again in Jesus' mighty name.

Peace.

STEPS TO SALVATION

• Take notice of this:

IF you are yet to take the step of salvation, that is, yet to be born-again, do it now, tomorrow might be too late (2 Corinthians 6:1,2; Hebrews 3:7,8,15).

a. Acknowledge that you are a sinner and confess your Sins (1 John 1:9); And ask Jesus Christ to come into your life (Revelation 3:20).

b. Confess that you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that you confess it with your mouth, Thus, you accept Him As your Lord and Saviour (Romans 10:9,10).

c. Ask that He will write your name in the Book of Life (Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:8).

- If you took the steps As highlighted above, It means you are saved—born-again. Join a Word based church in your area and Town or city, and be part of whatever they are doing there. Peace!

[gatekeeper-watchman]

Daily Devotionals for November 14, 2024

Proverbs: God's Wisdom for Daily Living

Devotional Scripture:

Proverbs 28:4-5 (KJV): 4 They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them. 5 Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things. Proverbs 28:4-5 (AMP): 4 Those who forsake the law (of God and man) praise the wicked, but those who keep the law (of God and man) contend with them. 5 Evil men do not understand justice, but they who crave and seek the Lord understand it fully.

Thought for the Day

Those who are rebellious will applaud the wicked, but law-abiding citizens will contend with them. Evil men cannot understand justice, but whoever seeks the Lord has good understanding. We saw in Day 315 that God's judgment is directly connected to the principle of sowing and reaping and comes upon the wicked because of sin. The Bible reveals that all the troubles in the world are due to either my own sin or someone else's. "...For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "For the wages of sin is death..." (Romans 5:23). What exactly is sin? It is a heart condition, stemming from pride. Pride is referred to as "original sin." The Hebrew and Greek words for sin both convey the meaning "to miss the mark." God created us to be like Him, but our pride and rebellion make us fall far short of that glorious purpose.

We cannot deal with our sin by "cleaning ourselves up" on the outside, when our problem is a heart condition. We need to be cleansed from sin; freed from its penalty, which is death; and restored to fellowship with God. We need a new heart and nature. This is what Jesus Christ meant when He said that we "must be born again" (John 3:7), and that "...except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). When we were physically born the first time, we were made a partaker of the nature of natural man. When we are born again spiritually, we become a partaker of the divine nature according to 2 Peter 1:4 which says, "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." God becomes our spiritual Father. Without the experience of the new birth, we have no hope of enjoying the glories of heaven or escaping the terrors of hell.

Have you been born again? The "new birth" is not a religion, a creed, a set of rituals, or joining a church. It is a transformation, the receiving of a new nature. Old things pass away and all things become new in Christ. "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Whoever receives and obeys Jesus will understand God's judgments. They will understand that all He allows (even punishment for sin) is meant for good. Those who rebelliously reject Christ will not understand. They will praise wicked men for their deeds and resist the righteous.

Prayer Devotional for the Day

Dear heavenly Father, thank you for saving me from my sin. I am grateful for what You did on the cross when You took the penalty for my sin. Lord, I pray for the lost who do not understand what You did for them. Lord, draw them by Your love and use me and your other children to witness to those who do not know You. Reveal Your love for them, so that they understand they do not have to go to hell, but can receive Your life and enjoy a future in heaven with You. Give us understanding of Your ways and grace to live a holy life. I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

[turmie]

I'm gonna try to explain this as best as I can.

I made this comic as a way to create visualization for how it felt when I finally returned to God after so many years of being away from him. According to my mother, I had originally given my life to Christ at nine years old. I’m paraphrasing here but I basically went up to my mother at nine years old and said, “Mommy, I wanna give my life to Jesus.” 

I rededicated myself to him during my senior year of high school. When I did, it was a very emotional moment for me. There was just this large sense of warmth and love that was deeper than anything I’d ever felt in my life. Even remembering sometimes is enough to have me crying again. 

I think one of the reasons why it was so emotional for me was because for about nine years, I thought that God wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. I thought I was nothing but a disgusting thing that he didn’t like. I know that sounds harsh, but that’s legitimately what I thought at the time (all of which were complete lies from the enemy). I thought I was the scum of the Earth. 

I had drifted away from him and began to indulge in the stuff the world had to offer as distractions. It was never in a sense where I thought God wasn’t real, I always knew he was. But it was more so because I thought I wasn’t worthy enough to even talk to God, much less be loved by him. Because as far as I knew, I was nothing but a liar who was a horrible person. That’s what I thought I was.

I thought that because of all the stuff I did and was doing, it meant other people could be loved by him and not me. I understand how faulty of a mindset that was, but that’s what I believed at the time. I thought I was a mistake and that I was just taking up space. Overtime I got out of the more intense side of things, but I still struggled with similar stuff (even today) when it came to having thoughts like that. 

What got me into taking God so seriously in the first place was during my senior year of high school. My family was playing worship music on the TV. I was listening to the music with everyone and out of nowhere as I’m doing so, this huge wave of emotion hit me. The best way I could put it was God was straight up telling me that he loved me. I was bawling, I couldn’t focus on much other than this overwhelming feeling of affection and warmth. It was a type of love that had my eyes cosplaying as waterfalls, I just couldn’t stop crying.

I don’t know how long it was after that, but I do remember that shortly after that happened, I decided I was going to be serious about my relationship with God (because I was extremely lukewarm, I would call myself a Christian but wouldn’t even pick up a bible). So, I had to do the basics of reforming my relationship with him: Which was to repent.

When I repented and was asking God for forgiveness for every sin I had done, that familiar wave of love overcame me and I was crying once again. I remember asking God questions along these lines:

“Have I ever done anything for you to hate me?”

“Are you mad at me?”

“Could I ever do anything for you to be upset with me?”

And to each question he just answered, “No.” He didn’t physically say it, but God has this amazing way of (for a lack of a better word) telepathically communicating in the moment he is with you. You don’t even need to necessarily hear him, you just feel it and you feel it intensely. 

I also remember asking him why he wasn’t upset despite all the stuff I had done in my past. And he said something along the lines of: “I don’t care about that. I’m just glad that you’re here.” To say that my eyes were raining would be an understatement, I was crying so much. It will forever amaze me that this all powerful omnipotent being cares about me so much in a way I can’t even fathom as I’m writing this out. 

To anyone out there struggling with similar issues or thoughts, please understand that God is so loving, so tender, and so kind beyond anything you could ever hope to comprehend. Even the words I have expressed here on this page are not enough to fully explain the love and emotion I felt when God was speaking to me in this way. There’s a reason why we call him Father God. Because we are his children. God misses his children and wants them all to return home. In the bible, John 3:16, it says, "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.” 

He wants YOU. 

Please do not feel ashamed to speak to him because he is constantly waiting to speak to you with open arms. I wish I had known or understood this sooner, because it took so long for me to do so. Granted, I am now only 18 years old, but every moment you do not have God is a moment of agony. That’s what I was going through for the past nine years without him. 

It is never too late to repent and give your life to Christ. Do it while you still can. His love is far more precious than anything you could ever want on this planet. 

Love you and God bless you all.