WORD OF WISDOM

FAITH ~ Faith is the result of teaching (Romans 10:14-17). Knowledge is an essential element in all faith, and is sometimes spoken of as an equivalent to faith (John 10:38; 1 John 2:3). Yet the two are distinguished in this respect, that faith includes in it assent, which is an act of the will in addition to the act of the understanding. Assent to the truth is of the essence of faith, and the ultimate ground on which our assent to any revealed truth rests is the veracity of God.

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

FAITH IS NOT REQUIRED

Did I get your attention? Good read on!

Faith isn’t required as long as you set your goals only as high as the most intelligent, most informed, and most expert human efforts you can reach. You don’t exercise faith until you have committed more than it’s possible to give.

FAITH, mighty faith, the promise sees,
And looks to God alone;
Laughs at impossibilities,
And cries it shall be done.

Faith is the power that God gives to us to break out of our human limitations and become the people He created us to be. Use this power to slay the enemies of faith and experience the joy of living in sync with Him.

Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

Luke 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Luke 17:5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

God Bless,
rECj/LJG

WORD OF WISDOM

STEADFASTNESS ~ Firm and persistent in ones endeavors

SOURCE: King James Bible

THE BOOKS OF LOVE: I, II, III JOHN

{Tidbit: the word love is used 38 times in the 3 books of John.}

The Ist book of John speaks on not loving the world, let us love one another, God is Love. In II we are told this is love, and in III your love for the church. Yes the books of John are as Spurgeon said perfumed with love.

Then we get to Chapter 5 verse 4 “ For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith.” The word overcome in the Greek comes from the word conquest, the means of success-victory; to conquer, overcome, prevail, and get the victory. Let’s go a little deeper and see what Webster’s has to say: to defeat in competition or conflict; to prevail over by mental or moral effort; to overpower, as with emotion; to surmount opposition. And here it is right in the middle of all this love.

Whatever is born of God might overcome the world, someday will overcome the world, might just loose the battle altogether. No that is not what it says. It very plainly says, “What is born of God overcomes the world.” Then it goes on to say “And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith.” Our faith is what brings us to a place of overcoming the world.

That is good, but overcoming is not handed to us on a silver platter either. It is a battle. We have to strengthen ourselves in the word of God. We have to pray and fast. We have to stand strong in spite of all that comes against us.

Spurgeon searches out not only the love of the Books of John, but also the sword and warfare. He speaks of “war to the knife”; “fighting with a certainty of victory”. There is a power in this world that is antagonistic to love. There are powers that cannot bear the light, therefore before there can be light there will be darkness. In his own words: “So also, before any great or good thing can have the mastery of this world, it must do battle for it. Satan has seated him self on his blood-stained throne, and who shall get him down, except by main force, and fight and war?”

There will always be a struggle until the day the Lord returns. On that day will be the biggest battle of all. The earth is the battlefield and strength of the Lord is ours. For truth and righteousness to reign there will always be a struggle. The Captain is the Lord of Salvation and the troops are the soldiers of the cross, “and that slender band must fight alone, and yet shall triumph gloriously. Enough shall they be for conquest, and the motto of their standard is ENOUGH.” Enough by the arm of the helping Trinity.

The love is what gives us the strength to stand in faith for the battles that we have to face.

God be with you,
rECj/LJG

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
1Corinthians 16:13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit (free) you like men, be strong.

WORD OF WISDOM

EARTH ~1.) In the sense of soil or ground, the translation of the word adamah'. In Genesis 9:20
"husbandman" is literally "man of the ground or earth." Altars were to be built of earth (Exodus 20:24). Naaman asked for two mules' burden of earth (2 Kings 5:17), under the superstitious notion that Jehovah, like the gods of the heathen, could be acceptably worshipped only on his own soil.

(2). As the rendering of 'erets, it means the whole world (Genesis 1:2); the land as opposed to the sea (1:10). Erets also denotes a country (21:32); a plot of ground (23:15); the ground on which a man stands (33:3); the inhabitants of the earth (6:1; 11:1); all the world except Israel (2 Chronicles 13:9). In the New Testament "the earth" denotes the land of Judea (Matthew 23:35); also things carnal in contrast with things heavenly (John 3:31; Colossians 3:1, 2).

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

THE BIBLE GOES GREEN

The Bible goes green
The following is a article by Jonathon Morgan
Oct 10th 2007 @ 4:03PM

"For many, flipping through a copy of the Bible is food for the soul. Now, thanks to the efforts of one eco-conscious publisher, you can feel even better during your religious readings, comforted by the fact you're spiritual satisfaction isn't coming at the expense of Mother Nature. Introducing the green Bible!"

You'd think producing more environmentally-friendly Bibles would be a no brainier -- especially seeing as many church leaders have been speaking out on global warming in recent months -- but it's no easy task. Thomas Nelson Inc., the publisher behind the project, had to basically invent a new kind of paper that was both made from recycled material and lightweight enough for the kind of paper traditionally used in Bibles. In the end their hard work paid off, and yesterday they released the first Bible printed on Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper. Hopefully it won't be long before the new green Bible shows up at a church near you!”

Now that you have read that, what is your first thought. I have to admit I think it is about time we become more concerned about this earth we live in, but. Oh yes we have to have a but. My first thought is most of the environmentalists I have heard of, are more into mother earth then anything else. My first thought, but then I really don’t know that for a fact. Just wanted to get your attention. I am glad that our pastors have taken up the subject of global warming; they should have taken up the issue of treating this earth like a gift from God a long time ago.

Every Christian knows that God created this earth, and all that is in it. Yet we as Christians will throw a piece of paper out the window as fast as any one else. We should know better. How many of us have walked by a piece of paper or can on the ground and kept walking? Myself included.

A few weeks ago I was sitting outside on my break and the wind blew my candy paper across the lot, did I run after it? Of course not, it was too much trouble, and the wind was blowing to fast. It was after all one piece of paper. Well, I will tell you also that God reminded me of that paper a long time after my break was over. Now when I go outside I take a bag and tuck it under my leg with my trash inside. Sometime God tells you things that you just know to do, without going BUT. It kind of made me think of my Dad, it was better to just go with the flow then try to explain the bother of doing what they said to do. After all they both were right, in the end.

Yes, God cares about a piece of paper. He created this earth to be a paradise for all living creatures. Not a dumping ground for toxic waste, or my candy bar wrapper. We can each do our part. At my apartment complex whoever’s trash can is left out is going to find trash in it. The other day it was mine. I had left for work and the trash man had not passed. I don’t know who, but there was a good bit of trash in that can when I got home. Good better my trash can then the ground.

Genesis 1: 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended His work, which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which he had done.

We have misused the good earth and all that is in it, and still we do not stop. Yes, what God created was good, and man throughout history has continued to tear down and not replace. One person can make a difference and it can and should start with you.

God Bless,
rECj/LJG

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

WORD OF WISDOM

BIRTH ~ As soon as a child was born it was washed, and rubbed with salt (Ezek. 16:4), and then swathed with bandages (Job 38:9; Luke 2:7, 12). A Hebrew mother remained forty days in seclusion after the birth of a son, and after the birth of a daughter double that number of days. At the close of that period she entered into the tabernacle or temple and offered up a sacrifice of purification (Leviticus 12:1-8; Luke 2:22). A son was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth, being thereby consecrated to God (Genesis 17:10-12; Comp. Romans 4:11). Seasons of misfortune are likened to the pains of a woman in travail, and seasons of prosperity to the joy that succeeds child-birth (Isaiah 13:8; Jeremiah 4:31; John 16:21, 22). The natural birth is referred to as the emblem of the new birth (John 3:3-8; Galatians 6:15; Titus 3:5, etc.).

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

I DO BELIEVE WITHOUT SEEING

1 Peter 1:8 “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”

I want to share something with you today. It was a gift that in years has never been matched, and never saw again. One day in praying and seeking the Lord I asked to see Him. He appeared as in a cloud, with the long white robe, and the brightness that shone forth from Him was blinding. I cannot say He looked like this or looked like that. What I can say is it was Him, and I could see the features of eyes, nose and mouth.

I say never been matched because there is nothing to compare it with. I also had an experience one time that brought me to another level with the Lord that also has gone unmatched. At the time I was holding my grandson and was praising the Lord when I felt myself going away toward the brightest light I have ever saw. My daughter hearing my cries of wonder came and took my grandson from my arms. To say I melted into the light is the only way I can describe it, we became one. The present of the Lord was so full I can easily understand why Moses’ hair turned white.

Who am I, nobody special, not to this world anyway. I am not a preacher, nor do I travel the world to reach lost souls. I have a normal job, and normal children. I make mistakes. I am still learning and growing. And I believe and have always believed that Jesus is the Son of God, the only way to heaven. I believe that Jesus was God in the flesh come to earth to do what no prophet could do, reach His people with salvation. I believe that there is no one else I have to confess to but Him. There is no one else that can hear and answer my prayers, but Jesus.

That is the only reason I know of that God blessed me with such wonderful gifts. I believe in my heart that He can and will do for others what He has done for me. Not because I am someone great, but because of the sincerity of my heart in reaching out to Him.

The most important thing though is that I believe without seeing. I believed before and still believe. If we can believe that Christ saved us, why then can we not believe He will provide for us, heal us, give us wisdom and understanding concerning His Word. The greatest gift He gave us was our freedom from death, our salvation. Why can we not believe He would take care of us, after that?

I believe without seeing. Those are mighty words in the mouth of a believer. They are powerful, and speaking the Word of God they are truth. I believe without seeing.

What do you believe Him for today?

God Bless,
rECj/LJG

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

WORD OF WISDOM

HISS ~ To express contempt (Job 27:23). The destruction of the temple is thus spoken of (1 Kings 9:8). Zechariah (10:8) speaks of the Lord gathering the house of Judah as it were with a hiss: "I will hiss for them." This expression may be "derived from the noise made to attract bees in hiving, or from the sound naturally made to attract a person's attention."

HALLOWEEN/PLAYING WITH THE DEAD

It is that time of year again, and what do we do? We want our children to fit in and enjoy things with other children, but not at the expense of celebrating in a tradition that goes back many years, and is rooted in pagan customs. If you do not decide to read all of this, at least go to the bottom of the page and read the last few lines.

Throughout the past centuries pagan and “Christian” beliefs have been intertwined in celebrations. The quote marks are there for a reason. Just because someone calls themselves or their religion “Christian” does not Christian make. I say this because some “Christians” see no negative significance in Halloween [or other holidays] treating it as merely a purely secular holiday.

The holiday of Halloween can be traced back to the Celtic’s and the festival of Samhain, a time of celebration when the lines between the living and the dead became blurred. Twice a year burial mounds were opened up [marking the beginning and end of summer] the spirit world, the residences of Sidhe, as well as the dead were then accessible. The Ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops.
The Celtics depended on the prophecies of their priests and priestesses, and believed that the spirits would aid them in their predictions of the coming seasons. As the Romans occupied the Celtic territory some of their traditions were also brought into the festivals. Feralia, a day celebrated by the Romans for the passing of the dead, and a festival for Pomona a Roman goddess.

Many European cultural traditions, in particular Celtic cultures, hold that Halloween is one of the liminal times of the year when spirits can make contact with the physical world, and when magic is most potent.

Because Christianity embraced the Celtic notions of family, community, the bond between all people, and respect for the dead, those traditions were integrated into “Christian” beliefs.
How did this come about? Because of people being guided blindly by others. “Father Gabriele Amorth, a Vatican-appointed exorcist in Rome, has said, "[I] English and American children like to dress up as witches and devils on one night of the year that is not a problem. If it is just a game, there is no harm in that."

But how did it become connected with any church to begin with? Pope Gregory IV standardized the date of All Saints' Day, or All Hallows' Day, on November 1 in the name of the entire Western Church in 835. As it now began at sunset, the holiday coincided exactly with Samhain. Although there is no official documentation that Gregory considered Samhain when selecting this date, it seems consistent with the common practice of leaving pagan festivals and buildings intact, while overlaying a Christian meaning. While the Celts might have been content to move All Saints' Day from their own previous date of April 20, the rest of the world celebrating it on May 13, it is speculated without evidence that they were unwilling to give up their pre-existing autumn festival of the dead and continued to celebrate Samhain.This Vigil was suppressed in 1955, but later restored in the post-Vatican calendar.

Halloween did not become a holiday in the United States until the 19th century, where lingering Puritan tradition restricted even the observance of Christmas prior to the 1800's. American almanacs of the late 18th and early 19th centuries do not include Halloween in their lists of holidays. The migration to the United States of nearly two million Irish following the Potato Famine [1845-1849] brought with it the holiday. Scottish emigration to Canada and the Untied States brought the Scottish version with it.

Outside the Catholic church most “Christians” hold the view that the tradition is far from being "satanic" in origin or practice and that it holds no threat to the spiritual lives of children: being taught about death and mortality, and the ways of the Celtic ancestors actually being a valuable life lesson and a part of many of their parishioners' heritage.

People of diverse religions (or no religion at all) may naturally be concerned about the vandalism that can occur on the holiday. Some Wiccans feel that the tradition is offensive to "real witches" for promoting stereotypical caricatures of "wicked witches". However, other Neo pagans, perhaps most of them, see it as a harmless holiday in which some of the old traditions are celebrated by the mainstream culture, albeit in a different manner.

Some of these many traditions which can all be traced back to pagan religions are listed below.
Pomona the goddess of fruit is the origin of bobbing for apples.

The jack-o-lantern can be traced back to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a greedy, gambling, hard drinking old farmer who tricked the devil into climbing a tree, and trapped him by carving a cross into the trunk of the tree. In revenge, the devil placed a curse on Jack which dooms him to forever wander the earth at night.

Some games traditionally played at Halloween are forms of divination. In Puicíní (pronounced "poocheeny"), a game played in Ireland, a blindfolded person is seated in front of a table on which several saucers are placed. The saucers are shuffled and the seated person then chooses one by touch. The contents of the saucer determine the person's life during the following year. A saucer containing earth means someone known to the player will die during the next year, a saucer containing water foretells emigration, a ring foretells marriage, a set of Rosary beads indicates that the person will take Holy Orders (becoming a nun or a priest). A coin means new wealth, a bean means poverty, and so on.

In 19th-century Ireland, young women placed slugs in saucers sprinkled with flour. The wriggling of the slugs and the patterns subsequently left behind on the saucers were believed to portray the faces of the women's future spouses.

A traditional Irish and Scottish form of divining one's future spouse is to carve an apple in one long strip, then toss the peel over one's shoulder. The peel is believed to land in the shape of the first letter of the future spouse's name. This custom has survived among Irish and Scottish immigrants in the rural United States.

In North America, unmarried women were frequently told that if they sat in a darkened room and gazed into a mirror on Halloween night, the face of their future husband would appear in the mirror. However, if they were destined to die before marriage, a skull would appear.

And then we have the color associations
Black-death, night, witches, black cats, bats, vampires
Orange-pumpkins, jack o lanterns, fire
Purple-night, the supernatural, mysticism
Green-goblins, monsters, zombies, aliens

Are you still with me? The final decision is up to you. Do you really want your children playing with fire? That is what you are doing when you let them take part in Halloween. You do not play with demons or in their world and not get burnt. Their world is not a playground that you want your precious gifts from God in.

True Christian churches are rising to the occasion and having events at area churches to keep our children in a safe, protected environment. Our children can have fun, play games, and come away with prizes and candy, without taking a part in Halloween.

The Bible clearly says that we are not to take part in pagan religions, nor in their traditions.

2 Kings 23:5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.

Micah 6:16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.

Zephaniah 1:4 I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims/idolatrous with the priests;

God Bless,
rECj/LJG

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean/forbidden thing; and I will receive you.

WORD OF WISDOM

WINDS ~ Blowing from the four quarters of heaven (Jeremiah 49:36; Ezek. 37:9; Dan. 8:8; Zechariah 2:6). The east wind was parching (Ezek. 17:10; 19:12), and is sometimes mentioned as simply denoting a strong wind (Job 27:21; Isaiah 27:8). This wind prevails in Palestine from February to June, as the west wind (Luke 12:54) does from November to February. The south was a hot wind (Job 37:17; Luke 12:55). It swept over the Arabian peninsula. The rush of invaders is figuratively spoken of as a whirlwind (Isaiah 21:1); a commotion among the nations of the world as a striving of the four winds (Dan. 7:2). The winds are subject to the divine power (Psalm 18:10; 135:7).

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

CAN A TREE BE DOUBLE MINDED

I know we have published articles on TREES before, however, since God has laid this on my heart we are doing an article for you to think on.

What are the two main purposes of a tree? I asked my rECj that question and here are her answers: to provide shade and fruit; a tree provides shelter and can be used to build shelter, it reproduces, has to continue to grow or it will die; if you don't have strong roots you will not produce good fruit, or the fruit you produce will be weak or sour; my first thoughts was roots deeply planted so it can grow.

She is right. Abraham, when the messengers of God came to him before they destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, asked them to come and sit under a tree, Gen 18:4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:. In Psalms 121:5 we find David saying, The LORD [is] thy keeper: the LORD [is] thy shade upon thy right hand. Yes, we can, have and do build with them. As we all know, those of us anyway that have natural born trees in our yards, the deep roots of the trees will reproduce baby trees. All these thoughts are right.

Now let us look at these verses: Psalms 1:2-3 But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

As you can see we are told to "meditate day and night." So many people read the Bible as if it were a chore, not an enjoyment. Then they put down the Bible never to think on it again during the "day and night." If, by some chance during the reading or shortly thereafter, they do think on the scripture they are so busy applying it to Sally, Joe and Moe that they simply forget or just plain don't want to apply it to themselves. Sorry to say, you can't get it for Sally, Joe and Moe, they have to do for themselves. We have to apply the scriptures to us and our living way. It should be the light unto our feet, mind and soul.

Take a minute of your valuable time and picture in your mind the roots of a tree deciding for itself that the roots are going to separate and some will take deep roots others don't. What will happen? That tree is going to fail and be cut down at the roots. It ain't no good for anything. A stable tree stands tall and firm. The limbs and leafs sway in the breeze but the roots and trunk of the tree stand fast.

Can a tree be double minded? If you said yes, we would ask that you send your reasons to us, but we have learned over the past several years, that you don't have time to share your thoughts with us. We are told in James 1:8 A double minded man [is] unstable in all his ways. A mind that has single and prevailing regard to its spiritual and eternal interest, and that keeps steady in its purposes for God, will grow wise, will continue fervent in devotion, and will rise. When our faith and spirits rise and fall with second causes, there will be unsteadiness in our words and actions. This may not always expose men to contempt in the world, but such ways cannot please God.

Double-minded—literally means, "double-souled," the one soul directed towards God, the other to something else. It is not a hypocrite that is meant, but a fickle, "wavering" man, as the scripture shows us. Or a person whose heart is not simply given up to God. A double minded man is without fixed, decided purpose. Is unstable - Being without the true wisdom; perpetually disagrees both with himself and others, James 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

We often wonder why our tree, which is us, isn't prospering. Well, if you don't let your roots grow deep where you will be able to stand on what proceeds out of your mouths then you are and will always be a double-minded, unstable person. We can't be stable and stand firm if we sway with every breeze that our thoughts bring to us. There is no way for us to prosper when we are a double-soul person. God isn't going to let us prosper cause we aren't totally committed to standing firm.

How deep are your roots? Are you bearing fruit? No fruit will be bearing on your tree if you aren't willing to totally committed to the Lord. Are you prospering?

If you have any doubts, don't know or answered no, then you better get in the Bible and let God show you how to become a stable, deep-rooted, prospering, fruit bearing tree. The choice is yours

God's Blessings to each of you,
LJG/rECj

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
Jam 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded.

WORD OF WISDOM

WORKS ~ Works are "good" only when, (1) they spring from the principle of love to God. The moral character of an act is determined by the moral principle that prompts it. Faith and love in the heart are the essential elements of all true obedience. Hence good works only spring from a believing heart, can only be wrought by one reconciled to God (Ephesians 2:10; James 2:18,22).

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

THE WOMAN

WHO TOUCHED ME

Luke 8:45, 47 “Who touched me?“ Jesus asked, Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling at His feet.” Today we are going to look at this scripture in an entirely different light.

The Bible doesn't say whether this "woman" was a Jew or Gentile. That is telling us that the nationally of this "woman" isn't important. It says that when she heard of Jesus she threw herself into the crowd pressing toward Him. She knew in her heart that if she could just touch His garment, Mark 5:27, 28 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. That is exactly what she did.

Where is a hem? At the bottom right? Well, then my dear friends, think on this. It was His outer garment that she touched. So in this light we must remember that a shawl or outer garment would naturally be hemmed on all four sides. No, dears, it doesn't matter which side she touched, it matters that she believed in her heart that she would be healed.

Bet you have never thought of this scripture we previously mentioned (Luke 8:45, 47 “Who touched me?“ Jesus asked, Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling at His feet.”) in the following way. In order to understand, we must go back to LAW found in Lev 15:19 And if a woman have an issue, [and] her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. The key word is APART, which means separate, isolated. The LAW states they had to be outside the gates. Now back to our woman, she had an issue of blood for 12 years, which according to the LAW she wasn't even supposed to be among the throng pressing toward Jesus. She was in disobience to the LAW but it didn't seem to bother her did it? She knew what she had to do and she did it. She didn't worry about touching Him because she knew she was unclean but the touching the hem was her faith in action. It worked. She was healed immediately.

Again, no where can I find where she was in a kneeling position when she touched His garment, clothes, hem, Matthew 9:20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind [him], and touched the hem of his garment:. Only after He felt the virtue leave Him did she fall to her face trembling before Him. Ahha, here we also see why she was trembling. She thought she was going to be in trouble with Him. Instead, because He looked at her thru His CLEAN eyes, He told her, And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace., Luk 8:48. We have to remember that He told Peter that nothing that He created was unclean. Acts 10:15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

From all this we can see that 1) our nationally doesn't matter to God...2) we have to believe...3) we can't hide from from God...4) we all must fall on our faces before God at times...5) We will be healed...6) action to our faith.

Does your faith have any action?

God's Blessings to each of you,
LJG/rECj

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works/action, is dead, being alone/by itself.

WORD OF WISDOM

MINISTER ~ Greek diaconos, usually a subordinate officer or assistant employed in relation to the ministry of the gospel, as to Paul and Apollos (1 Corinthians 3:5), Tychicus (Ephesians 6:21), Epaphras (Colossians 1:7), Timothy (1 Thessalonians 3:2), and also to Christ (Romans 15:8).

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

WHO TOUCHED ME

Luke 8:45, 47 “Who touched me?“ Jesus asked, Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling at His feet.”

Is there someone crying out for your attention? Is there someone who sees what you have, and wants to know what it is, that sets you apart. Who does God want you to reach out and touch today? Will you see them, will you hear them, and will you answer them?

Everyday when we get up, there is an assignment waiting for us. God has a plan for each day of our life. Who do we see on a daily basis that we have never reached out to? What of the perfect stranger that crosses our pathway?

There are times when we all need someone, will you be ready if someone touches you for a Word from God.

Jesus felt not saw that the women touched His garment. We are sometimes so caught up in our own life’s that we wouldn’t feel it if someone only touched our garment. How many people do we pass each day without a thought of what God did to get them ready to receive a Word from Him, and we are so caught up in our own life’s, we fail to give them what God intends for us to give them.

Has someone ever walked away from you and you thought I should have said something, and did not call him or her back?

I heard a preacher one time tell of getting up one morning for an important meeting. His car would not start. He had to take the bus, which meant 2 transfers. He got off the first bus and just missed the bus he needed; now he had to wait 30 minutes for the next one. Running late, he was stressed. There was another man at that bus stop and the preacher said he felt the urge to speak to the man, but he was worried about being late and when would the bus come, and why did his car not start, he said nothing. Finally the bus arrived and he got on, the other man did not. As he sat there for the ride to his meeting God spoke to him. The Lord told him, “Do you have any idea what it took for Me to get the two of you together. You do realize the frame of mind I had to get him to, to receive the My word from you. And you did not speak to him.”

Everything that this preacher thought was problems was God’s plan to get him to the right place at the right time. We can be in the right place and let the moment slip by.

Take a look around you, is there someone in your pathway that God put there for you to minister to.

Don’t let the touch on the garment go unnoticed, God has a plan. It is up to you to fulfill it.

God Bless,
rECj/LJG

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
Job 7:18 And [that] thou shouldest visit him every morning, [and] try him every moment?

WORD OF WISDOM

BREAD ~ The word bread is used figuratively in such expressions as "bread of sorrows" (Psalm 127:2), "bread of tears" (80:5), i.e., sorrow and tears are like one's daily bread, they form so great a part in life. The bread of "wickedness" (Proverbs 4:17) and "of deceit" (20:17) denote in like manner that wickedness and deceit are a part of the daily life.

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

JUNK FOOD-SOLID FOOD

Psalm 103:5 He satisfies my desires with good things.

With a sensible diet plan I lost weight and kept it off for 20 years, then I fell into some of the same bad habits that had caused my weight problem to begin with, and I gained everything back and more. In the last 5 months I have lost over 40 pounds and still am dropping the weight. I feel better, look better and have more energy. Over all I am healthier.

Bad habits are hard to break. Once broken, they can just as easily be picked up again. We have to be careful to stay away from things that we are attracted to, that we know are bad for us. We have to replace the bad with good.

What is good for us is not always easy to like. We have to retrain ourselves to like what benefits us.

I can remember sitting down and eating an entire extra large pizza, not counting the soda to go with it. Now it is all I can do to eat one slice. And the most exciting thing is I enjoy the one slice more then I did the entire pizza. My eating habits have changed.

The desire I had for food is now filled with over things. One of my favorite sayings that I have used before is one I will use now. God will not take something of value away from you without replacing it with something of more value. God knows and understand that we value certain things in life. When we in searching ourselves find that there is an area that needs cleaning up [that we value to highly, that is not good for us] we can and should take it to Him in prayer. As the scripture says he will satisfy my desires with good things.

He will take those desires away from us and give us good things to fill up the void that is left. How wonderful to have such a loving Father. He will not only take away the things that are not good for us, but He will in turn give us something valuable to replace that empty spot with.

We have to take the first step by admitting we have a problem. The second step is to take it to Him. Now if we give something to God, we need to leave it there. We find scriptures such as the one above and we stand on it. When that entire pizza calls my name I know that God has delivered me from that, and it is not a problem. But I cannot have a cake in the house. No if there is a cake I will want to eat the whole thing. I do not bake anymore. I buy two cookies or two donuts. We have to exercise will power, and that will power comes from not stepping into that which we know we cannot handle.

I trust God to keep me safe while driving and have not had an accident in 35 years. I trust God with my life, but I would not walk out in front of a moving truck, and expect Him to keep me safe. It is up to us to use wisdom and understanding. Pizza is not a problem to me, but cake is.

The point is whether it is cake or something major, if it is a problem, do not put yourself in a position to let it be a problem. If you go to Him, He will satisfy you with good things. God offers us Food for the Spirit. We want to rush into the junk food of the world, instead of reaching for the Living Bread. I think waiting on the good things of God is much better then the good things of the world. What do you think? Do you prefer the junk food of the world or the Solid Food of the Word of God?

God Bless,
rECj/LJG

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

HELP ME TO STAND

Isaiah 53,7 “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows…He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth.”

Oh, Lord help me to be as strong as You were.
When troubles come my way, let me stand.
When my heart is broken, let me stand.
When the world turns against me. Let me stand.
The attacks are strong and long. Let me stand.
When death comes to my door. Let me stand.
Pain comes to greet me. Let me stand.
When it seems there is no way out. Let me stand.
The bills are past due. Let me stand.
Clouds burst into rain with thunder over my head. Let me stand.
Be my example let me stand.
In your strength let me stand.
By Your power let me stand.
In Your comfort let me stand.
Wrapped in Your peace let me stand.

Let me stand in the present of the Almighty God of heaven and earth.
No matter what comes my way let me stand in You.
Let me open not my mouth with one word or complaint.
Help me to stand in You.

God Bless,
rECj/LJG

WORD OF WISDOM

CROWN ~ The crown was among the Romans and Greeks a symbol of victory and reward. The crown or wreath worn by the victors in the Olympic games was made of leaves of the wild olive; in the Pythian games, of laurel; in the Nemean games, of parsley; and in the Isthmian games, of the pine. The Romans bestowed the "civic crown" on him who saved the life of a citizen. It was made of the leaves of the oak. In opposition to all these fading crowns the apostles speak of the incorruptible crown, the crown of life (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10) "that fadeth not away" (1 Peter 5:4, Gr. amarantinos; Comp. 1:4). Probably the word "amaranth" was applied to flowers we call "everlasting," the "immortal amaranth."

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

TO THE WINNER GOES THE REWARDS

2 Timothy 2: 5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

There is hardly a day that goes by we are not hearing about athletes who have been caught using drugs, or not behaving in a manner that the league they are in approves of. Most of us remember Pete Rose getting ousted for placing bets on his own players. All of us have heard of wrestlers and other players using steroids. Recently dogfights, and animal abuse have come to light.

They were not playing according to the rules and everything they had accomplished is thrown out. Now they are remembered not for the goals they made, the awards and records they set, they are known for the mistakes they made.

When we serve Christ, we have to play by His rules. There are no acceptations; there is forgiveness when we make a mistake. But we cannot change the rules to suit ourselves. The two that come to mind when I think of something like this is abortion and homosexuals.

You can say a woman’s body is her own business. Well that is a lie, when we give our life’s to Christ we become a part of Him. He said No to killing. You can say it is not a real person. That is a lie; the Bible tells us that God knew us before we were in the womb. God will forgive you, and I will tell you something else, there will be many babies in heaven, because all those children are there. But if you take the stand that it is okay, you are not playing by the rules.

Homosexuality is wrong, it is a sin. The Bible says it is wrong for men to turn after their own, and the same applies to women. Will God forgive you, yes He will. But if you take the stand that each to his own, and it is okay, then you are not playing by the rules.

God put those rules into affect for a reason. He created every one of us, and He knew that we needed rules, not just to please Him. No those rules were put in place to keep us safe, to protect us from harm, to guide us and strengthen us.

And if you don’t play by the rules, you do not get a crown. There are some things that coming into the family of Christ I had to pray about, things that I did not see a problem with. But as I grew closer to Him, I begin to see His reason behind the rules.

I would rather agree with God then agree with the world. Where do you stand? Are you playing by the rules? Will you get your crown, or will you not even be a memory.

God Bless,
rECj/LJG

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
1 Cr 9:25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.

WORD OF WISDOM

THEFT ~ Punished by restitution, the proportions of which are noted in 2 Samuel 12:6. If the thief could not pay the fine, he was to be sold to a Hebrew master till he could pay (Exodus 22:1-4). A night-thief might be smitten till he died, and there would be no blood-guiltiness for him (22:2). A man-stealer was to be put to death (21:16). All theft is forbidden (Exodus 20:15; 21:16; Leviticus 19:11; Deuteronomy 5:19; 24:7; Psalm 50:18; Zechariah 5:3; Matthew 19:18; Romans 13:9; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Peter 4:15).

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

SUNDAY EDITORIAL

Psalm 15:4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call on the Lord?

Have the workers of injustice no comprehension of what they are doing wrong? Do they really think they it is okay to steal kill and destroy. Wait a minute that is what the devil does. And they wonder and are alarmed when someone try’s to tell them the wages of sin are death.

God did not create hell for humans, it was created as punishment for the angels that turned on Him in heaven. It is humans that silently make the choice to be sent to hell. It is earned, and given to those who not want or desire to know the Lord and obey the simple Laws that He gave.

Even worst is those who twist and teach others to follow things that are not of God. People who are willing to listen and not heed the true words of God, because this is what they have always been taught.

Some people are so indoctrinated in false teachings that they honestly believe them to be true, and this belief that it is true will not save them. I am sadden by friends who are not happy, feel something is missing and search for fulfillment, but will not leave those old teaching alone. Why, I ask, do you hold on to that which does not give you any peace?

My Momma taught me many old home remedies that I still use today. Last week a young lady had a cyst on her leg that the doctors gave her antibodies for. I told her what Momma had told me to do, she did it and today I saw her leg and there is just a light scar. The remedies momma gave caused that cyst to pop and drain overnight. I have also been told things over the years that I know to be false, some I tested and some I wouldn’t even try they were so outlandish.

The devil wants things to look good, he will make the ugliest thing look beautiful. If you faithfully pray to a statue you will get answers. Why because the devil wants you to keep praying to them. It is only in turning to God that he will get alarmed, but fall and you are on your own.

Knowledge is a wonderful gift. The Bible tells us that all will have a chance to hear the Truth and the Truth shall set us free. Workers of iniquity only have the knowledge of lies and are happy in them. Why then should they call on the Lord?

God Bless
rECj/LJG

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

WORD OF WISDOM

GIFT ~ Simply a thing given (Matthew 7:11; Luke 11:13; Ephesians 4:8); sacrifical (Matthew 5:23, 24; 8:4); eleemosynary (Luke 21:1); a gratuity (John 4:10; Acts 8:20). In Acts 2:38 the generic word dorea is rendered "gift." It differs from the charisma (1 Corinthians 12:4) as denoting not miraculous powers but the working of a new spirit in men, and that spirit from God.

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

SATURDAY EDITORIAL

PROSPERITY

PROVERBS 3:9) Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

Let us lay out our estate, not to please ourselves, but to glorify God. As was commanded in the law, Ex 23:19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk., De 26:2 That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there., and by this we acknowledged that God is the giver of all things, and that we are ready to bestow all at His commandment. Our firstfruits simply means our chief or our best.

Worldly wealth is but poor substance, yet, such as it is, we must honour God with it; and those that do good with what they have, shall have more to do more good with. Where riches increase we are tempted to honour ourselves (Deut. 8:17 and lest thou say in thy heart, My power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth.) and to set our hearts upon the world (Ps.62: 10 Trust not in oppression, And become not vain in robbery: If riches increase, set not your heart thereon.); but the more God gives us the more we should study to honour him.

We are just plain mistaken if we think that giving will undo us and make us poor. No, giving for God's honour will make us rich, Hag. 2:19 Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, the vine, and the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree have not brought forth; from this day will I bless you. What we give we have.

We must not come to worship God empty-hearted; our souls must be filled with holy desires toward Him, and dedications of ourselves to Him; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. What a good Master do we serve, who has made it our duty to rejoice before Him! Let us devote with pleasure to the service of God that portion of our time which He requires, and count His Sabbaths and ordinances to be a feast unto our souls.

When God has made good His promises to us, He expects we should own it to the honour of His faithfulness. And our creature comforts are doubly sweet, when we see them flowing from the fountain of the promise. And though we become rich and great, there is no reason to be proud, secure, or forgetful of God. We must thankfully acknowledge God's great goodness.

The world tries to get it by shrewdness, unscrupulousness, and by many other vices which are elevated to the rank of virtues; but he who honours the Lord in getting and spending will generally have as much as his true needs and regulated desires require.

God, who is the first and best, must have the first and best of every thing; His right is prior to all other, and therefore He must be served first.

God's Blessings to each of you,
LJG/rECj

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

WORD OF WISDOM

DWELL ~ God "dwells in light" (1 Timothy 6:16; 1 John 1:7), in heaven (Psalm 123:1), in his church (Psalm 9:11; 1 John 4:12). Christ dwelt on earth in the days of his humiliation (John 1:14). He now dwells in the hearts of his people (Ephesians 3:17-19). The Holy Spirit dwells in believers (1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Timothy 1:14). We are exhorted to "let the word of God dwell in us richly" (Colossians 3:16; Psalm 119:11).

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

HOW LOVELY

Psalm 84:1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!

A statement, not a question. Yes His dwelling place is beautiful. It is the finest of fine. It is a glory to behold. It is filled with all things good, and wonderful.

It was shaped into being for the purpose that it serves, in serving Him. . It is all colors, all sizes, and all shapes. It is never ugly, or abnormal to His eyes. Everything He created is beautiful and so His dwelling place is above reproach.

Nothing mars the finish of it. It is excellence beyond what we can think or imagine. Everything is in perfect order, set to perfection by His hands.

O how lovely is Your dwelling place O LORD!
O how lovely is your dwelling place O my LORD!

Would you like to see His dwelling place? Would you like to look upon the splendor of His greatest creation? Would you like to behold the image of such a wonderful thing?

Then my child, go look in the mirror! Behold the dwelling place of the Lord God Almighty!

Thank you my dear rECj. I have never thought about His dwelling place in this way. What a wonderful way to start and end the day, beholding His home on this earth.

God Bless,
rECj/LJG

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
2 Ch 6:2 But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever.

WORD OF WISDOM

SURETY ~ One who becomes responsible for another. Christ is the surety of the better covenant (Hebrews 7:22). In him we have the assurance that all its provisions will be fully and faithfully carried out. Solomon warns against incautiously becoming security for another (Proverbs 6:1-5; 11:15; 17:18; 20:16).

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

GOT MY HEAD UNDER MY HEART

Would you believe I had to take my head off my shoulders and put it back under my heart where it belongs? For some crazy reason my head actually thought it belonged above my heart. Well I cannot have that, and I hope you don’t either. My head belongs right where God put it. Under the subjection of my heart.

Let me share with you what happened. I am planning a trip to finally see LJG after 35 years, and it includes the both of us going to a 2 day Women of Faith Retreat. Well, I have been saving up the money for the trip, and low and behold something comes up. Now I could take the money and take care of the something. Common sense would do that; after all it is something that needs to be done, and a trip well it can always happen later. DO WHAT? Okay lets be honest, I have been putting up with something for a while now. Since I moved I have been on dial-up. Now any one who has been there and left it, knows what a pain it can get to be when we are used too much faster. The past few days, and not for the first time, AOL is down and MSN is down and it has been running so slow when it’s up, I am just fed up.

See today I got on-line ready to write, full of all kinds of articles and here I sit, research on-line forget it. Even to look up Bible verses, not possible. Yes I am spoilt behind the computer; it does so much work for me. I had to resort to actually picking up books and looking for things myself instead of my fingers doing the walking.

That I was okay with, until my head spoke to my heart. Now the minute it did I got a little mad. I was already fed up dealing with the computer and now head wants to put in its two cents. Wait a minute head don’t you remember your place, Jesus is in charge here not you. My heart rules, not you. Shut up. THEN I started letting my heart think about this. Have I asked God to get me off dial-up, NO? Had I bothered to speak to Him about how frustrated I was with dial-up, No? Had I even once thought to go to Him with something so important to me, NO?

I had asked Him about the trip and He has more then confirmed that I am to go. I have had miracles happen concerning this trip. So why bother Him with something so minor as dial-up with Him doing what He is doing. Excuse me, don’t I know who I am. What is important to me is important to Him. Did I not just yesterday write that He would satisfy me with good things? What is my problem? Yeah that is right, my problem.

See not only was my head trying to overtake my heart, but also I had allowed my mind set to slip. Before my head spoke I had already slipped. God said that He would supply all my needs. I didn’t bother Him with this as there was so much going on, that it was second place at the time, until today when it finally reached the limit. I have been fed up with dial –up but was tolerating it. Why did I tolerate it, because my mind set was out of quack?

People none of us is perfect and it is so easy to slip. Just like I also wrote about the cake, I can’t have it in my house. So what do I do? First I repent. Lord forgive me. Next I tell Him what is going on, and ask Him to fix it. I am as exact as possible in my request. Then I thank Him that He has already done it. One more thing to do and that is prepare a place for the things I asked for; Because I know He has heard me, and He will answer me.

Lord forgive me, I know that all in my life is important to you, forgive me for thinking that something was not important to You. Forgive me. Thank You Lord that You are a good and gracious Lord and that You will supply all my needs. Now not only do I believed my car is outside for my trip, my printer, copier, scanner is on my desk, and my dial up connection is now back to high speed.

Now if you will excuse me I am going to go look out the window at my car sitting in my parking space. And after I do that I am going to do something else that I should have done when I first asked for it, I am going to clear the space for that printer, copier, scanner. See I had over time forgot to leave it clear and had started putting things in it’s space and now I need to move those things out of the way so when it gets here I can set it right on the shelve without moving anything.

My God wants me to have the little things in life that will make it easier for me. Oh and by the way I just want you to know tomorrow I am having a rib eye steak for lunch and it cost me .57 cents. Yes my God is good all the time. He wants me to have the little things I like in life.

What have you let God do for you lately?

Mind set: setting the thoughts of your mind under your heart, which is where the Spirit of the Lord lives in you. We have lived many years letting our heads [brain] govern our life’s. In giving our life’s to the Lord He comes to reside in our heart and now it is in control and governs our life’s. We have to keep a right mind set. Think with your hearts and not with your head.

God Bless,
rECj/LJG

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

WORD OF WISDOM

MAMMON ~ Chaldee or Syriac word meaning "wealth" or "riches" (Luke 16:9-11); also, by personification, the god of riches (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:9-11).

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

WHO IS YOUR MASTER

Luke 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Mammon is confidence in wealth, personified. Riches, greed, and worldly gain personified as a false god in the NT. Riches considered as an evil influence of an object of worship. It is anything that you place of value ahead of God. This means your loyalty to anything other than God.

Anything that we do instead of spending time with God, takes the place of God at that moment. Everything we do, we should do with a Godly attitude. When we carry God in our hearts, it is hard to step out from His banner, which goes before us.

I remember as a child wanting to fit in with all my classmates. Because of this I would tell each group what the other was doing. In the end I lost because I was not loyal to either. Neither group could trust me. Thankfully I learnt that lesson fast.

Fitting in is not as important as fitting right. To be loyal means to stand for what you know to be the truth, even if it is not what the peer group wants or stand for. It is being loyal to the one and only God that we serve.

There is a young man who was prospering very well in his new business. He had the personality that just attracted people to him. He spoke to a number of close friends about joining a group that is well known around the world. I myself told him to stay away from it, and gave him reasons why, and places he could look for more information. The group asks you to take vows, vows above and ahead of everything else in his life. He cannot even share with his wife, the things that go on in this group. He made the choice to join, and there in that one decision his life has turned upside down. Employees have left him, one after the other. His business has slowed down, where before he would work a few hours here and there, now he is back to working full time.

Someone asked me “what has happened to this man?” my answer is he made a choice. The devil does not care about him now. And he choose something ahead of God. Whom does he have left? Understand the devil will do his best to make things look good, but as soon as you make the choice to follow him, he is finished with you. The devil does not care about you at all, except to make you fall.

This young man will tell you point blank he knows and has a relationship with the Lord. I asked him in what way. He put something ahead of the Lord. God does not stand for anything to be ahead of Him. Nothing mind you. Not your spouse or children, your job, and certainly not your wealth.

He is a jealous God. He created you, and He wants you for Himself, not to share you. That is one of the reason’s when we become married we become one; that is when we marry according to God’s plan, if out of God’s plan, we have confusion.

We cannot serve two masters. The choice is yours. What do you choose?

God Bless,
rECj/LJG

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
Mat 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

WORD OF WISDOM

FULNESS ~ (1.) Of time (Galatians 4:4), the time appointed by God, and foretold by the prophets, when Messiah should appear.

(2.) Of Christ (John 1:16), the superabundance of grace with which he was filled.

(3.) Of the Godhead bodily dwelling in Christ (Colossians 2:9), i.e., the whole nature and attributes of God are in Christ.

(4.) Ephesians 1:23, the church as the fulness of Christ, i.e., the church makes Christ a complete and perfect head.

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

JUST IN TIME

Psalm 145:15-20
15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. 16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. 17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. 18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. 19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. 20 The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.

Those that have a relationship with the Lord look to Him; their eyes are upon Him, and only Him. He provides us our meat, in due season. He opens up His hands and satisfies all our desires.

He is righteousness, He is Holy, and His works also are Holy.

He is near to all who call upon Him, if we call on Him in truth, being honest.

He will fulfill the desires of all those that fear, reverence Him. He will hear our cries and save us, from everything that can come against us.

He preserves all of us that love Him. All the wicked, those that do not want Him, He will destroy.

Great is the Word of the Lord. His Word is truth. It is life to our bodies, food for our souls. We are hungry because we do not know enough of His Word. We can starve for lack of His Word. Only the Word of God can and will fulfill us.

In due season, His time is not our time. God is not a late God, He is not a rushed God, He is a Just on Time God.

God Bless,
rECj/LJG

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
Heb 12:28~29 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God [is] a consuming fire.

WORD OF WISDOM

REST ~ (1.) Gr. katapausis, equivalent to the Hebrew word noah (Hebrews 4:1).

(2.) Gr. anapausis, "rest from weariness" (Matthew 11:28).

(3.) Gr. anesis, "relaxation" (2 Thessalonians 1:7).

(4.) Gr. sabbatismos, a Sabbath rest, a rest from all work (Hebrews 4:9; R.V., "sabbath"), a rest like that of God when he had finished the work of creation.

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

REST

Genesis 1: 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended His work, which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which he had done.

Today at work I accomplished a lot, even more then I thought I would do, as the boss asked me to do some extra things. Tomorrow I am off. Even now sitting here I can look back at my day and see where I did a good thing, a very good thing. Tomorrow I can rest at home knowing that my job today will even made it easier for those who will be at work tomorrow.

I remember my dad coming in from a long day. He would take off his hat, untie his boots and slip them off. He would lean back in his chair and throw one leg over the arm of the chair and smile. He was as happy and content as all get out. He knew that he had done a good thing. He had worked, provided for his family. In other words He had done a very good thing. Myself I come in, take off my shoes, undress and slip into something comfortable and just sit in my favorite chair and rest.

We know from the Bible that God has a throne, and I can see Him sitting there. That throne has a soft cushion, and is very comfortable. He puts His feet up on His footstool and leans back and listens to the angels singing to Him. He knows He has done a good thing.

Even now with all that is going on in the world, I know He is not worried or fretting about anything. He knows that His Son Jesus has paid all our debts, and He knows the end of the story. He sits back and relaxes and listens to the angels singing.

The Lord wants us to rest with Him. Look at Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. When we rest, we are to rest in Christ. No matter what happens we know that our Father knows the end of the story.

LISTEN is that angels I hear singing, or is it me singing to my Lord?

God Bless,
rECj/LJG

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
Gen 18:4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

WORD OF WISDOM

October 13 1843 ~ B'nai B'rith ("Sons of the Covenant") was established in New York City by a group of German Jews. It is both the oldest and the largest of the Jewish fraternal organizations.

SOURCE: Today in Christian History

SUNDAY EDITORIAL

YOU CAN, I CAN’T, YOU CAN’T, I CAN

Sometimes it seems like that is the way of life. At times there is nothing we can do about it, but there is a way, the thing is to find it.

My company added this to our monthly letter attached to our checks this past week: “ Because of the diversity of our customers, their life styles, value systems, religion, etc…Brookshire does not allow wearing pins, buttons, ribbons, etc on their uniforms that are not company issued.”

Brookshire is a Christian Company, and I am proud to say that, and that I work for them. What I do have a problem with is this stand. I am not asking to walk around with a t-shirt in big letters, I am asking to wear a ribbon, not a button or pin, just a simple ribbon that is barely noticeable.

To be quite honest, I can understand their view, were would it end, but still I have a problem with it. I will follow company policy as far as they can see. A young man at work today told me that recently when all supporting a local issue in our state were asked to wear all black he wore his black shirt under his uniform shirt. I myself had my ribbon on my collar; maybe I am the reason for the request. But when the need arises again, I will wear my ribbon, if I have to wear it in my hair.

Which brings me to my point. I might hide my ribbon, or conceal it so as to be not noticeable, but when it comes to my belief in God, you can forget it. I will not be quite, I will not change the subject, nor will I shut up.

I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, that He is the only way into heaven. Without Him and Him alone, there is no other way. He does not have any sidekicks, or helpers. Mary cannot do it for you; no person that has died can help you. You can talk to air all you want, it you aren’t talking to Jesus you are not talking to anyone.

I do not look to Brookshire for my paycheck. Do not misunderstand, I go to work, and do what I was hired to do. I even go above what my actual job duties are at times. But I look to God as my source, 1 Peter 5:7 having cast all your care upon him, for he cares about you. He is the one who said He shall supply all my needs. Brookshire told me when they hired me, God first, family second, job third. I agree with that whole heartily.

Because of company policy I will hide my ribbons, but I will not be quite if the issue is brought up. I will speak on it, as I will any subject that God has laid on my heart. I do not carry my Bible round with me at work, but I carry it in my heart. The same goes for the issues in this life that He lays on my heart. Oh they can take my ribbon from me, but they cannot take my belief away from me. The day they try to do that is the day my Father will tell me to speak what He says, and then go.


God Bless,
rECj/LJG

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
Phl 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

WORD OF WISDOM

AFFECTION ~ Feeling or emotion. Mention is made of "vile affections" (Romans 1:26) and "inordinate affection" (Colossians 3:5). Christians are exhorted to set their affections on things above (Colossians 3:2). There is a distinction between natural and spiritual or gracious affections (Ezek. 33:32).

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

SATURDAY EDITORIAL

"I can almost hear LJG saying well heck are we supposed to say, God what do I get for doing this, that is just plain stupid. I love LJG and yes I do know pretty much what she will say most of the time. And if I am wrong, well then she will just add her 2 cents at the bottom." (From 9/30/07 Sunday's Editorial).

I am adding my 2 cents worth not because she is wrong but is very right in knowing what I will say. Most of the time she puts into words what I am thinking. Yes, that is the bond that God has blessed us with.

It really works my last nerve when people, especially "so called Christians," have the audacity to ask God or even to think that God owes them something for doing good to others. Yep, it is just plain stupid. The greatest commandment is "to love." Christian Charity does not have a "price tag" on it. It comes from the heart. Just goes to show those that ask God what He is going to give them don't have anything pertaining to God in their hearts to begin with. Then these are the very same people who wonder and ask God where their blessings are.

Yes, I do believe in getting a return on what we do for God. When we plant a seed, we expect to see a harvest. When we give our alms, time and the other little things God has told us to do, in SECRET then I do believed that the harvest will be supplied. As bold as I am with the Lord, I wouldn't even think to ask Him what are you going to do for me. I (so does rECj) just do whatever is necessary and when the harvest comes we are made aware of why He has chosen to give it to us. Another reason I wouldn't ask Him such a stupid question is cause I am afraid He would slap me right on down to the ground.

God is not a job that we have that we must get paid for. God is LOVE. There isn't any person dead, living or waiting to be born that will ever have the amount of love in their hearts that God has for us. No there ain't one of us that would be willing to go thru all the horrible things that was done to Him before being nailed to the Cross. Ah the blessed CROSS. People come on, how can anyone even want God to pay us for the little dab of love that is in our hearts, when, out of love, He gave His all for us.

The next time you are fixing to do something for a fellow man don't even think what God is going to pay you for doing so. If you do don't be surprised when you find yourself on the ground. If this is your thinking on God then you need to rethink your salvation cause you ain't got none.

The following are scriptures may help you in understanding brother/brethren.

(1.) In the natural and common sense (Matthew 1:2; Luke 3:1, 19).

(2.) A near relation, a cousin (Genesis 13:8; 14:16; Matthew 12:46; John 7:3; Acts 1:14; Galatians 1:19).

(3.) Simply a fellow-countryman (Matthew 5:47; Acts 3:22; Hebrews 7:5).

(4.) A disciple or follower (Matthew 25:40; Hebrews 2:11, 12).

(5.) One of the same faith (Amos 1:9; Acts 9:30; 11:29; 1 Corinthians 5:11); whence the early disciples of our Lord were known to each other as brethren.

(6.) A colleague in office (Ezra 3:2; 1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1).

(7.) A fellow-man (Genesis 9:5; 19:7; Matthew 5:22, 23, 24; 7:5; Hebrews 2:17).

(8.) One beloved or closely united with another in affection (2 Samuel 1:26; Acts 6:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:1). Brethren of Jesus (Matthew 1:25; 12:46, 50: Mark 3:31, 32; Galatians 1:19; 1 Corinthians 9:5, etc.) were probably the younger children of Joseph and Mary. Some have supposed that they may have been the children of Joseph by a former marriage (where in the Bible does it say Joseph had been married before?LJG), and others that they were the children of Mary, the Virgin's sister, and wife of Cleophas. The first interpretation, however, is the most natural.

God's Blessings to each of you,
LJG/rECj

WORD OF WISDOM

COMMENDS ~ To praise

LIPS

Psalms 94:4 How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? They ramble. They speak arrogantly. All troublemakers brag about themselves. They pour out arrogant words. All the evildoers boast. Utter - Or pour forth freely, constantly, abundantly, as a fountain doth waters (so this Hebrew word signifies.) Hard things - Insolent, and intolerable words against thee and thy people. They crush Your people, O LORD, And afflict Your heritage.

There will come a day of reckoning for all the hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against God, His truths, and ways, and people. It would hardly be believed, if we did not witness it, that millions of rational creatures should live, move, speak, hear, understand, and do what they purpose, yet act as if they believed that God would not punish the abuse of His gifts. As all knowledge is from God, no doubt He knows all the thoughts of the children of men, and knows that the imaginations of the thoughts of men's hearts are only evil, and that continually. Even in good thoughts there is a want of being fixed, which may be called vanity. It concerns us to keep a strict watch over our thoughts, because God takes particular notice of them. Thoughts are words to God.

Psa 75:5 Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck. Lift not - A metaphor from untamed oxen, which will not bow their heads to receive the yoke. Stiff neck - With insolent pride and contempt. The prophet warns the wicked that they would not set themselves against God's people, seeing that God at His time destroys them who rule wickedly. To the proud, daring sinners He says, Boast not of your power, persist not in contempt. All the present hopes and future happiness of the human race spring from the Son of God.

1 Samuel 2:3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. Do not show your pride against God. He knoweth thy heart, and all that pride, and envy, and contempt of Me, which thy own conscience knows; and all thy perverse carriage towards Me. He trieth all mens thoughts and actions, (for the Hebrew word signifies both) as a just judge, to give to every one according to their works The strong are soon weakened, and the weak are soon strengthened, when God pleases. He respects not man's wisdom or fancied excellences, but chooses those whom the world accounts foolish, teaching them to feel their guilt, and to value His free and precious salvation. The subjects of Christ's kingdom will be safe, and the enemies of it will be ruined; for the Anointed, the Lord Christ, is able to save, and to destroy.

Pro 27:2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips. Avoid self-praise. We must do that which is commendable, for which even strangers may praise us. Our light must shine before men, and we must do good works that may be seen, though we must not do them on purpose that they may be seen. Let our own works be such as will praise us, even in the gates, Phil. 4: 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. When we have done it we must not commend ourselves, for that is an evidence of pride, folly, and self-love, and a great lessening to a man's reputation. There may be a just occasion for us to vindicate ourselves, but it does not become us to applaud ourselves. Self-praise defiles the mouth.

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. So he who does not hate evil, does not fear God. God hates pride and arrogance, evil ways and froward conversation; these render men unwilling to hear His humbling, awakening, holy instructions. His wisdom makes all truly happy who receive it in the love of Christ Jesus. Seek Him early, seek Him earnestly, seek Him before any thing else. Christ never said, Seek in vain. Those who love Christ, are such as have seen His loveliness, and have had His love shed abroad in their hearts; therefore they are happy. They shall be happy in this world.

God's Blessings to each of you,

LJG/rECj

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY 2 Corinthians 10:18 For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.

WORD OF WISDOM

WOMAN ~The word "woman," as used in Matthew 15:28, John 2:4 and 20:13, 15, implies tenderness and courtesy and not disrespect. Only where revelation is known has woman her due place of honour assigned to her.

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

YOU LIKE WOMEN?

No of course not, most women would answer. Why not? We can no longer communicate and be accepted by other women. We do hurt each other unmercifully, something we have learned from a very young age. We let them know in no uncertain terms they are not welcomed into our little pious group. Now, let me ask you this question, have or do you understand your position according the Bible? For the answer we will start from the beginning.

God looked upon Adam and knew there was no one for him to have close to him. So He put Adam into a deep sleep and from Adam's rib cage and created woman (Gen 2:22). She was the answer. Yes, God created woman to be the answer.

We are the guardians of the heart. In Proverbs wisdom is referred as a "woman." We are told there to hide her words in our hearts. She builds her house, she is a crown to her husband, and a gracious woman keeps honour. Most women have more compassion than men. We feel more deeply than do men. We show our feelings more easily. We need not be in competition with other women. We should be willing to complete them.

Take for instance the relationship between rECj and myself. We honestly love each other. She is the brain behind our site; she is the writer as compared to my duties as being behind the scene. Does that bother me? Not in the least. I enjoy proofing her articles that we publish. I enjoy doing research for her. I enjoy all the little things that need to be done. I know yall are having a problem with the statement "we honestly love each other." Now, here is the explanation of that statement, God created our relationship over 35 years ago, as we have mentioned more than once. We know that the Bible tells us "whatsoever God has put together, let no man put asunder" (Matthew 19:6). Yes, the first part of that very same verse is talking about a man and a woman, but I also think God was also giving instruction to the women of the world.

I know, I know, in the world we are living in today seeing two women, as close as we are, is looked at in a very negative and unhealthy way. But you see God doesn't create negative or unhealthy, people do.

Down thru the years woman have become to believe that they must have a man in their lives to be complete. If you know your history, you will know that in the beginning women did spend a lot of time together. They had a good time together. They exchanged ideas, receipts, and wisdom for life for the younger and even sometimes for the older women as well. Not today. We have to keep our secrets of life to ourselves because we are afraid that we will lose our own importance, or other woman will be liked more than we. Oh that way of thinking is just plain silly when we think about it.

There is no one who can be you. We are and were created by a great God. We all have our very own importance that has been given to no one else. So why are we so afraid of other women? Because we want to look good in the eyes of the world. The world is going to send us straight to the pit if we, as women, don't do something about it.

Remember we were created to be the answer. Who do your children come to when something in their life needs to cleared up? You know as well as I do others come to you for answers as well but we turn them away so many times. Don't do that anymore. God has bestowed on each of us knowledge and wisdom. Please share with all who come to you for help.

God is the man of our lives. Live for Him. Share His love. We are the answer.

rECj: What LJG is speaking of is so true. It is hard to trust anyone in this day and age. How many of us know husband’s that have left a wife for her good friend, or the babysitter. As with everything we need to seek God on whom to form closer relationships with. It is wonderful to know that I can speak and share with LJG any and everything. People such as this are called mentors, and it is important to have them in our life’s.

Let me explain what a mentor is first. A mentor is someone who will not judge you, never put you down, and always be there for you. God puts them in our life’s to coach us, teach us, and yes to correct us.

Closer friends should be able to do this for each other, it is a two way street. But again we have to seek God and wait on Him to guide us to trusting women who will not put our business down the street.

As I told one younger lady not long ago, “If we are not there for each others as sisters in the Lord, who then can we trust?” Making friends is like building a house; you want to use the best material possible. That means starting with Christians. Woman we do need to be there for each other, make a start today by reaching out to another lady. Take it slow and let it built over time.

We also need to remember to not tell our business to just any and everyone. That is why it is so important to built and develop relationships slowly, and with Chrsitian ladies.

A comment on LJG being behind the scenes, without this lady there would not be a scene.

God's Blessings to each of you,
LJG/rECj

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
John 20:13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my LORD, and I know not where they have laid him. (It was the "woman" who got to tell the "men" that Jesus had risen.)

RAHAB

Many are the are times when LJG and I will be talking and ask each other questions about things of the Bible. Yesterday she was telling me how Jesus could be traced back to Rehab, I spoke before I thought and said PROVE IT. We are so used to having to have facts to back up everything. The following is her answer to me. Hopefully you can see why she is my right hand, and why I thank God daily for her in my life. Without her none of this would be possible. So what follows is my LJG's answer to how Jesus is related to Rehab. I hope you enjoy.
Subject: RAHAB


Joshua 2
Rahab had heard of the miracles wrought on behalf of Israel, and had become convinced that Israel's God was the the True God (10,11). And when she met the spies, she decided, at the risk of her life, to cast her lot with Israel and their God.

She may not have been as bad as the word "harlot" now implies. She lived among people without morals. Priestesses of the Canaanite religion were public prostitutes. Her profession was considered by the people among whom she lived, as honorable, and not disgraceful, as it now is among us.

Rahab married an Israelite named Salmon (Matthew 1:5). Caleb had a son named Salmon (1 Chronicles 2:51). She married into a leading Family of Israel. She, thus became ancestress of Boaz, David and of Christ. She is named among the heroes of Faith (Hebrews 11:31).

Rahab, (Hebrews Rahab; i.e., "broad, " "large"). When the Hebrews were encamped at Shittim, in the "Arabah" or Jordan valley opposite Jericho, ready to cross the river, Joshua, as a final preparation, sent out two spies to "spy the land." After five days they returned, having swum across the river, which at this season, the month Abib, overflowed its banks from the melting of the snow on Lebanon. The spies reported how it had fared with them (Joshua 2:1-7). They had been exposed to danger in Jericho, and had been saved by the fidelity of Rahab the harlot, to whose house they had gone for protection. When the city of Jericho fell (6:17-25), Rahab and her whole family were preserved according to the promise of the spies, and were incorporated among the Jewish people. She afterwards became the wife of Salmon, a prince of the tribe of Judah (Ruth 4:21; 1 Chronicles 2:11; Matthew 1:5). "Rahab's being asked to bring out the spies to the soldiers (Joshua 2:3) sent for them, is in strict keeping with Eastern manners, which would not permit any man to enter a woman's house without her permission. The fact of her covering the spies with bundles of flax which lay on her house-roof (2:6) is an `undesigned coincidence' which strictly corroborates the narrative. It was the time of the barley harvest, and flax and barley are ripe at the same time in the Jordan valley, so that the bundles of flax stalks might have been expected to be drying just then" (Geikie's Hours, etc., ii., 390).

ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTE: Dr. John Garstang, director of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem and of the Department of Antiquities of the Palestine Government, excavated the ruins of Jericho (1929-36). he found pottery and scarab evidence that the city had been destroyed about 1400 BC, coinciding with Joshua's date, and, in a number of details, dug up evience confirming the Biblical account in a most remarkable way.

"The wall fell down flat" (20). Dr. Garstang found that the wall did actually "fall down flat." The wall was double, the two walls being 15 feet apart; the outer wall, 6 feet thick, the inner wall, 12 feet thick; both being about 30 feet high. they were built, not very substantially, on faultry uneven foundations, of brick 4 inches thick and 1 to 2 feet long, laid in mud mortar. The two walls were linked together by houses built across the top, as Rahab's house "on the wall."

Ruth 2
Boaz was the son of Rahab, the Jericho Canaanitish harlot (Joshua 2:1), Matthew 1:5). Thus David's great grandmother was Moabite, and his great grandfather half Canaanite; outside blood to form the Chosen Family within the Chosen Nation; foregleam of a Messiah for All Nations.

About a mile east of Bethlehem is a field, called "Field of Boaz," where, tradition says, Ruth gleaned. Adjoining is Shepherds' Field," where, tradition says, the angels announced the birth of Jesus. According to these traditions, the scene of Ruth's romance with Boaz, which led to to the formation of the Family that was to produce Christ, was chosen of God, 1100 years later, as the place for the Heavenly Announcement of Christ's Arrival.

Ruth 3, 4
Under the Church of the Nativity, in Bethlehem, there is a room in which, it is said, Jesus was born. An old tradition says that the same room was part of the ancestral home of David, and before David, of Boaz and Ruth. Thus, according to this tradition, Boaz took Ruth to be his bride, and started the Family that was to bring Christ into the world, in the very same room in which, 1100 years later, Christ himself was born.

The Genealogy (4:17-22), showing Ruth's son to be Obed, Obed's son to be Jesse, and Jesse's son to be David, is the thing for which the Book of Ruth was written. Thenceforth Old Testament thought centers around the coming King of Kings, to be born in David's line.

He was a rich landowner who noticed Ruth the widowed Moabite daughter-in-law of Naomi, a relative of his, gleaning grain from his fields. He soon learns of the difficult circumstances her family is in and Ruth's loyalty to Naomi. In response, Boaz invites to her to eat with him and his workers regularly as well as deliberately leaving grain for her to claim while keeping a protective eye on her.

Eventually, Boaz and Ruth strike up a friendship which leads to Ruth asking him to marry her. Boaz accepts, but cautions that there is a family member who has a superior right to her hand in marriage. However, he arranges a meeting with the relative and convinces him to buy Naomi's husband's land while forfeiting his right to marry Ruth to avoid complicating his inheritance with his existing heirs.

Although Boaz is noted to be much older than Ruth in the Biblical account and he marries her for Naomi's sake, most dramatic adaptations have Boaz as a handsome young man so as to enhance the romantic nature of the story.

Their son was Obed, father of Jesse, and grandfather of David.

Boaz in the Rabbinic Jewish tradition

In the Talmud, some rabbis identify Boaz with the Judge Ibzan of Bethlehem (Judges xii.8). A legend is given that he lost all his sixty children during his lifetime because he did not invite Manoah, Samson's father, to any of the marriage festivities in his house. For, since Manoah was at that time without children, Boaz thought that he need not consider on such occasions a childless man who could not pay him back in kind (B. B. 91a).

According to the Talmud, Boaz was a just, pious, and learned judge. The custom of using God's name in greeting one's fellow-man (Ruth ii. 4) received the approval of even the heavenly court (Babylonian Talmud Mak. 23b; Yerushalmi Talmud Ber. ix. 14c; Midrash Ruth Rabbah to ii. 4).

The midrash Ruth Rabbah states that being a pious man, Boaz on his first meeting with Ruth perceived her conscientiousness in picking up the grain, as she strictly observed the rules prescribed by the Law. This, as well as her grace and her chaste conduct during work, induced Boaz to inquire about the stranger, although he was not in the habit of inquiring after women (Midrash Ruth Rabbah to ii. 5; Shab. 113b).

Boaz was especially friendly toward the poor stranger during the meal, when he indicated to her by various symbolic courtesies that she would become the ancestress of the Davidic royal house, including the Messiah (Ruth R. to ii. 14; Shab. 113b). As toward Ruth, Boaz had also been kind toward his kinsmen, Naomi's sons, on hearing of their death, taking care that they had an honorable burial (Ruth R. to ii. 20).

In the conversation that followed between Boaz and Ruth, the pious proselyte said that, being a Moabite, she was excluded from association with the community of God (Deut. xxiii. 4). Boaz, however, replied that the prohibition in Scripture applied only to the men of Moab, and not to the women. He furthermore told her that he had heard from the Prophets that she was destined to become the ancestress of kings and prophets; and he blessed her with the words: "May God, who rewards the pious, also reward you" (Targ. Ruth ii. 10, 11).

love you

God's Blessing to each of you,
LJG/rECj

WORD OF WISDOM

WIFE ~ The ordinance of marriage was sanctioned in Paradise (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6). Monogamy was the original law under which man lived, but polygamy early commenced (Genesis 4:19), and continued to prevail all down through Jewish history. The law of Moses regulated but did not prohibit polygamy. A man might have a plurality of wives, but a wife could have only one husband. A wife's legal rights (Exodus 21:10) and her duties (Proverbs 31:10-31; 1 Timothy 5:14) are specified. She could be divorced in special cases (Deuteronomy 22:13-21), but could not divorce her husband. Divorce was restricted by our Lord to the single case of adultery (Matthew 19:3-9). The duties of husbands and wives in their relations to each other are distinctly set forth in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 7:2-5; Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18, 19; 1 Peter 3:1-7).

SOURCE: Easton's Bible Dictionary

THE REST OF THE STORY

In this day and age the world has turned many to thinking that they can do as they wish and it is all well and good. Many Christians have stepped into the world and chosen a mate, and then the tears came. As one minister told a group of young people, “ You picked him, and you sit here in church thinking all is beautiful, but within weeks after your wedding you will be in my office crying because he is not who you thought he was.”

The most precious gift you have and you throw it to a man, like a bone to a dog. And because you threw it so easily, he is not going to respect it or you.

God compares His very own relationship to you as a bride and groom. How sad we have taken what He intended to be one of the most important parts of our life and treat it so causally. Next in our life after God is suppose to be our spouse.

I will not speak anymore but let the scriptures speak for themselves. After all it is the Word of God, and it is the truth. Where do you stand?

Revelation 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

Isaiah 62:5 5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
Isa 65:19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice crying. [When we look at Isaiah 62:5 and 65:19 together the Lord is speaking not only of Jerusalem (His chosen bride) but we can also relate it to a man and a women being put together by God compared to a couple choosing for themselves and having problems. When letting God choose the bride and groom there shall not be a problem with weeping.]

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

1 Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

Exodus 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Matthew 19 [Jesus speaking on marriage]
3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.
12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

1 Corinthians 7:9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.

1 Timothy 5 [addressing widows]
3 Honour widows that are widows indeed.
6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.
11 But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry;
2 Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.
14 I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
15 For some are already turned aside after Satan.

1 Timothy 4
1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.
7 But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.
8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
11 These things command and teach.
12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

God Bless,
rECj/LJG

Proverbs 6:32 The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; He who would destroy himself does it.