A Heavenly City!

 

God has prepared for us a city. This is real. This isn't some fairy tale, some made up story, but a reality to all who make the choice to believe. The city-

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 

Rev 21:3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 

Rev 21:4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 

Rev 21:5  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 

Rev 21:6  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 

Rev 21:7  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 

Rev 21:8  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. 

((The CITY))

Rev 21:9  And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. 

Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 

Rev 21:11  Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 

Rev 21:12  And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 

Rev 21:13  On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 

Rev 21:14  And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 

Rev 21:15  And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 

Rev 21:16  And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. 

Rev 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. 

Rev 21:18  And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 

Rev 21:19  And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 

Rev 21:20  The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. 

Rev 21:21  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. 

Rev 21:22  And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 

Rev 21:23  And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 

Rev 21:24  And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. 

Rev 21:25  And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 

Rev 21:26  And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 

Rev 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. 

God sanctifies us- He makes US holy- Christ in us makes us holy. Christ isn't ashamed to call us brothers!

God is not ashamed to be called our God!

God has prepared for us a city!

The love! The amazing love!  Our God isn't ashamed of us because we have been made holy by Christ in us, our hope. Our Savior isn't ashamed to call us brothers (sisters) because He has made us holy in Him and if He is in us we have no need to be something shameful to Him, we are His!

All glory to God, always! All praise to our Lord, our Savior now and forever!

Heb 2:11  For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren

Heb 11:16  But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. 

*******

(Excerpt- E.J. Waggoner)

Christ not Ashamed. 

Concerning Christ we read, "For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one; for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren." Heb. 2:11. "God is not ashamed to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city." Heb. 11:16. 

Surely if the Lord is not ashamed to be called the brother of poor, weak, sinful mortals, man has no reason to be ashamed of him. 

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." 1 John 3:1. 

The Sabbath- Occupied With God.

 What makes a day special? Throughout our calendar year of 365 days (give or take a leap year) take a moment and count up the days that you hold special out of the year. Off the top of my head I'd say birthdays- we celebrate the day a person was born because it recognizes the length of time we've had with them and reminds of the various milestones of their lives. When I was, 16 years old, or the day I turned 18, 21, 30, 40, 50… We tally up our years and make the day that we were brought into this world a special day. Sure, you'll have plenty of naysayers, that's the way with most things. I remember my mother being a birthday naysayer, she could careless whether or not she received a card, gift or even a verbal 'Happy Birthday' or so she said and I have no reason to doubt her. There are others who just wish to forget the day because of bad associations with it- maybe growing up they were terrorized more than celebrated on that day, I don't know. Still others simply want to forget they've grown yet another year older, they kind of wish time would just stop and age would no longer take what's left of them, but that's a pipedream for sure. Celebrating our spouses, children, grandchildren, sisters, brothers and friends on their birthday make those days special too.  The other special days of the year could be considered the various holidays that we each personally keep. The country you live in may have made certain of those holidays special enough to warrant government recognition which might mean an extra work day off- or double time and a half pay if you do work, and school as well as many businesses choose to close their doors to for that special day. I can't leave out anniversaries and that includes all kinds of anniversaries and there are many- recognized days of specialness. You know I'm going somewhere with this- and you most likely know where that somewhere is if you know me well at all. 

Right now as I sit here writing this, I have entered Special time. The time I'm existing in is truly holy- and you don't get any more special than that! Holy time to recognize GOD- again, it doesn't get more special! Every Sabbath, from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown is holy time- a time more special than any other that exists.  No birthday, no anniversary, no secular or religious holiday at all whatsoever will ever be more special than the Sabbath- not one. 

Imagine, you grow up in a small family, just you, your mother and father and for six days every week your father goes away to work. You can still call him, text him and such, but that isn't the same as that seventh day when your father comes home from work and is there with you. How special would you make that day of the week? Would you bog it down with the mundane, the chores, the problems - things that can be taken care of in other ways on other days? If you did that what would it reveal to your father? That his being there with you wasn't all that important. If you didn't show up at all, and just told your father you'd see him the next week, what then? And then soon you tell him after a month's gone by without seeing him - not to worry you'll see him soon. Again what would your father get out of such behavior? The idea that he's grown less and less important to you. Maybe you'll even tell your father that you can meet him on the sixth day, not the seventh, but your father tells you he can't be there on the sixth day- it must be the seventh. And then you tell your father, it's okay, you think of him all the time even if you don't see him at all. We have sappy movies that depict this sort of scenario in various ways, where some dramatic event - health scare, impending death, death of others or whatnot triggers a person so want to reconnect with those they've shunned over time- even if it's not through any dramatic family feuding, but simply preferring to be alone.  

You think I'm the one being overly dramatic and a bit off the deep end, that I have some screws very loose, and lots of bats in my belfry and that's okay- the great adversary planned things to be this way. Ah, more crazy talk. Yes, to a lot of people it is crazy.

My Heavenly Father, my Creator and Redeemer, my Holy Comforter wrote humanity a guidebook- using humans to put the words down. The Holy Book that came to be from the inspired compilation of many Holy Books is what we know as our Bibles. Our Bibles come in many versions- but there was once originals and it is to those we need to go to when any doubt and confusion arises over what's been written in the newer translated versions.  Too much work? Oh, that we were all inspired to learn Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, Latin- so we could do proper comparisons for ourselves.  I digress as always…

The Word of God tells me the Sabbath from creation week and all the way to the world made new in the future that awaits us, that we will worship our Creators, Redeemers, the Holy Ones on the Sabbath.

Holy time, the most special of days because it was made to be so, this is a blessed gift given to us and the powers of this world have turned it into just another day - choosing to strip it of all holiness. Choosing to make it a chore to keep holy. Choosing to change it into something unrecognizable as important in any way. 

To keep the Sabbath holy, God asks that we stop working any job that isn't one connected to saving lives in some way. God asks us to keep from buying or selling anything on the Sabbath because to do so would mean others are being asked to work in a non-life saving manner. God asks that we focus our day around Him. He's here to visit with us in this holy time. 

Ask yourself… DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BE WITH GOD FOR ETERNITY? If you answered yes, then reveal that desire.

Do you want to belong to God? Do you long for the day when all evil is gone and we are taken to heaven with Jesus Christ after He returns for us? Why? Why do you long for this? Because God is the love that sin has separated us from and to be reunited to love is the only way we will ever truly be the humans we were created to be. The Sabbath reminds us so starkly of all sin's ravages upon mankind and our need to have faith in the Creator of humanity, He will restore us to Him fully- the way to restoration has already been made possible. Unfortunately, many more people will choose to ignore restoration, preferring to do things their own way. 

Our God didn't tell us that ONLY a few will find the Way - for no reason.

I'm in holy time right now and in this holy time I need to seek the Lord with all my heart as on no other day (not that seeking should ever end) but this is the day the LORD set aside for us to be with HIM, there is no other day of the week set aside with Holiness in it. God is the one who made it holy, and blessed the day. God is the one that told us to remember it. God is the one who chose purposefully not to make all seven days holy in time. God wants us to remember Him and the holiness of Him in the Sabbath day. 

Lord, You want me to search for You with all my heart. Lord, You want me to seek for You as for hidden treasure.  While six days a week I occupy my life with so many other things, and I include You in those things, I do, on this seventh day I occupy my life with You, and You include me in the things YOU do. You WILL be found of me, You said so! And You told me to SEEK, let me seek You on this Sabbath day LORD, let me seek You knowing that my tiny bit of ability to seek you now is made towards the ultimate outcome of being with you forever and ever. This glimpse of eternity You allow us, let us breathe in Your holiness and set our faces towards You in all we do. Let us be aware of Your presence, my God! Oh that we could truly slip from our world into Yours on this day, leaving this world behind to be with You!  

I love You, LORD! Thank you for Your love! ?Thank You for holy time with You! Thank You for the Blessed, Holy Day, The Sabbath!

Jer 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 

Jer 29:12  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 

Jer 29:13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 

Jer 29:14  And I will be found of you, saith the LORD

The Thoughs of God's Heart Are To Us.

 Jeremiah 29:11- For I know the thoughts I think toward you saith the LORD.

The thoughts of God's heart are to all of us. God's thoughts towards us cannot be numbered. God's thoughts are not our thoughts- how could they be? God's thoughts are much higher than ours.. And yet… God thinks of us.  God KNOWS the thoughts HE thinks towards us. How amazing is that? Our God lets us know that He's thinking of us. I imagine some people reading this might be a little upset in knowing that God is thinking about us. 

Why upset? Because it's easy to instantly start letting our imaginations run wild so that we have our own thoughts about God's thoughts for us. 

We think stuff such as- 

If God is thinking about me then why is my life so filled with chaos? 

If God is thinking about me then why does it hurt to breathe?

If God is thinking about me then why can't I have a moment in my life without pain? 

If God is thinking about me then why do my thought torture me constantly?

Why if God has thoughts toward us all, does He allow so much evil to befall innocent children and helpless animals, and the fragile, vulnerable aged -all who are forced to rely upon others for their protection and instead they are abused so cruelly? How can our God think about us and witness our heartbreak over the death of loved ones, even tiny helpless babies about to be born yet are never allowed to take their first breath? 

We think those thoughts and so many more and the one common theme they all have is suffering.

We are creatures of suffering trying to live in a world of suffering to what end? We strive to minimize the suffering we experience and if our hearts are so inclined, we strive to ease the suffering of others. Yet, no matter how much we strive towards this end suffering never goes away. We put on smiles, we allow ourselves laughter, we try as we might to think our own thoughts of good and not of the millions of others- human beings just like we are in mind, in heart, in feeling- and all their suffering that we are so helpless to alleviate. We build up walls to allow only so much in, and so much out of our souls just to survive.

The world we live in is a sin filled world. It's an evil world with glimpses of wonder and beauty, joy and laughter, love and ecstasy. We grapple for these moments, and we settle for simple peace in its place when it's denied us. Simple peace is nothing to be snubbed. Simple peace is allowing yourself to let go of all that would overwhelm you without turning you into some heartless, feeling-less, unloving human being at the same time. Simple peace is coming to terms with our existence and…  this is the important part right here…  and knowing because our God THINKS about us and hasn't cast us off entirely, we have hope beyond this sin-filled world. 

I can have peace only because I know where the evil comes from and it's not from my God who is thinking about me. Evil destroys utterly without allowing hope, not even a glimmer of it. My God allows evil to have it's way but ONLY for now, ONLY because not to do so would alter His very being into evil. Love demands that sin be allowed it's horrors so that when sin is extinguished never more to ever rise again, it will have been something annihilated because to allow it to exist would mean the blotting out of love, all love, and every single thing that is good. The temporary existence of evil and all that entails is allowed so that ALL evil will have an end. 

Yes. God could have stamped out evil the moment it appeared in the heart of Lucifer, but in doing so it would be miniscule in comparison to a parent killing their child the instant the child showed a single tendency of any sin- any deliberate selfishness (and we all know how selfish a child- even a young one with full awareness of their selfishness- can be). I can't imagine that happening, because if that happened mankind would be long over because no human being can live without revealing sin, with the exception of those mentally incapable of doing so. If we can't condone such action- the stomping out of sinners who sin, how could the God of all creation do so without completely and utterly destroying not just all of mankind, but HIMSELF in the process?

Sin had to be allowed to run its evil course, the course it is still running as hard and fast as it can. There will however be an end to sin and this is the beauty and wonder, the majesty, the love of our God who thinks about us.

Jer_29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

We will have an expected end, and that end will be us reuniting with our Creator in an existence where evil is destroyed to never be able to prey upon any ever again.

It's hard for us to comprehend this as a full reality because we are so oppressed by Satan who only wants our destruction. Satan would much rather have us not believe in Jesus at all whatsoever and just live these lives of oppression - spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically. 

The LORD thinks thoughts of peace towards us, not evil. Satan thinks only thoughts of evil towards us. 

May we dwell in the love of our LORD counting Him as our righteousness through our belief in Him to redeem us from all evil.

Psa 33:11  The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever! Amen!!!!!!!

I Look For A New World

 Jeremiah 29:11-14  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD

I can't get these verses out of my thoughts, and you know what? I don't want to. We live is such a chaotic world. The world as a whole is filled with strife- there are wars - some new, some old, some fought with modern weapons such as drones and others fought merely with machetes. There are rumors of wars- I haven't lived in a world without those rumors so they are often easy to dismissed as being a way of life, inconsequential in a lot of ways because they don't touch the little space of the world I happen to live in.  Nations are rising against nations, who doesn't read or hear the names of Russia and Ukraine and not know that right this very moment those two nations have risen up against each other in a very brutal war? Kingdom against kingdoms- these are the current ongoing wars as of 2022-Sept.  

Country      Type of conflict

Afghanistan civil war & terrorist insurgency

Burkina Faso terrorist insurgency

Colombia civil war/drug war

DR Congo terrorist insurgency

Ethiopia civil war

Iraq terrorist insurgency & political unrest

Mali civil war & terrorist insurgency

Mexico drug war

Mynamar  civil war

Nigeria terrorist insurgency

Russia    aggressor

Somalia     civil war

South Sudan ethnic violence

Sudan terrorist insurgency

Syria civil war

Ukraine   invasion 

Yemen civil war

(Web Source)

So many wars….  And famine, let's talk a moment about living in a world filled with hunger.  '2022: a year of unprecedented hunger  As many as 828 million people go to bed hungry every night.' (Web Source) Over eight million people!!!!!    'Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia and Yemen remain at the highest alert level, as they all have populations facing or projected to face starvation (Catastrophe, IPC Phase 5) or at risk of deterioration towards catastrophic conditions as they have already critical food insecurity'  (Web Source)

I've never lived in a world without famines existing. 

Earthquakes  -  January 2022- 

6.0−6.9      18

5.0−5.9      148

4.0−4.9      1,292 

(Worldwide)

February  2022- 

6.0−6.9      10

5.0−5.9      130

4.0−4.9      1,120  

(Worldwide) (Websource)

Go on, look it up for yourselves… there are constant earthquakes, they aren't unusual any more.

'Between the years 1973-2008, there was an average of 21 earthquakes of magnitude three and larger in the central and eastern United States. This rate jumped to an average of 99 M3+ earthquakes per year in 2009?2013, and the rate continues to rise. In 2014, alone, there were 659 M3 and larger earthquakes . Most of these earthquakes are in the magnitude 3?4 range, large enough to have been felt by many people, yet small enough to rarely cause damage. There were reports of damage from some of the larger events, including the M5.6 Prague, Oklahoma earthquake and the M5.3 Trinidad, Colorado earthquake.

The increase in seismicity has been found to coincide with the injection of wastewater in deep disposal wells in several locations, including Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Ohio. Much of this wastewater is a byproduct of oil and gas production and is routinely disposed of by injection into wells specifically designed and approved for this purpose. Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking”, does not appear to be linked to the increased rate of magnitude 3 and larger earthquakes.' (Web Source)

So many earthquakes and the above (two paragraphs) are just the United States. 

The world we live is quite horrific really if you let yourself think about it for awhile. Is there any wonder we've had books written, movies made about aliens from other worlds wanting to destroy us because they deem mankind not worth saving? You see this time and again, even in television shows, and comic books. The realization of humanity as an entire world that it's been one of dominance vs subservience, power and control over each other forever ought to tell us all something. There is NO amount of enlightenment, NO amount of progress, NO amount of technology, NO amount of time that will ever change this real life scenario as much as the majority of people might want it to be a world of peace- no dominance, no subservience.  All the just mentioned things only change the way we war with each other, not the fact that we war with each other. Truly this world leaves very little hope at all whatsoever in and of itself, it can't, it's impossible. 

Jeremiah 29:11-14  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD

I have hope that doesn't exist in this world. Does this mean I don't care about this world? On the contrary, I care more about this world because I want everyone in this world to realize they too can have hope that doesn't exist in this world.  

'An expected end.'   We can find the LORD and He WILL be found of us!  

Go on think I'm looney tunes if you wants, you are welcome to do so and I'll still love you. If history has proven anything to me, it's that there is no hope for the world the way it is so filled with evil. Hope has to be found in a new world. 

Jesus spoke these words-  'Joh_8:23  And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.' 

Jesus said He is NOT OF THIS WORLD. 

2Pe_3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

We look for a NEW heaven and NEW earth! This is where our hope is!  I have this hope, I have this faith in my GOD, in my SAVIOR, in my HOLY SPIRIT!  

Satan would have us doubt to our own destruction. Satan will keep ever before us an onslaught of despair. Satan will attack our faith from every single side!  What Satan cannot do is destroy the WORD of GOD. In that Word of God is all the truth we need to know, to believe in the face of any adversity! We must holdfast to our FAITH without wavering, knowing the truth -all that is written WILL come to pass!

Jeremiah 29:11-14  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD

 

I'm calling on you LORD, I'm praying to you LORD, hear me as I seek you, and find you with my whole heart. Thank YOU for letting me FIND YOU LORD! Thank you! All glory to you God, all God to you! In the name of JESUS all glory to you! Amen!

Sabbath

 Sabbath. What exactly is the Sabbath and why do I choose to keep the Sabbath? The LORD created the earth and all that is in it in six days. On that seventh day He created a day of worship, a day of rest, a day of holiness. Let's imagine if we can that creation week. I know it's a very big stretch of imagining because our brains simply can't fathom the reality of that week. Satan has so very many ploys in place that we've been bombarded with lies that skew our ability to imagine without the whispers of doubt over this theory and that theory intruding. For the sake of truth and that's what we all want, isn't it? For the sake of truth I'm going to say right now that I believe in the BIBLE. I believe in this incredible book filled with many books all inspired by the Holy Spirit, and even all the meetings that took place to put in place what we hold to be the Bible, they were led by God.  We were given access to a book of salvation and it's a book that many people have chosen to DIE for, literally giving their lives for this amazing message inside the Bible, salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Is the version I have of the Bible perfect linguistically through translations and such? It is…but ONLY when you're willing to take what is given and deeply study it out- using original language where needed. If I'd written that twenty five years ago people would think I'm crazy- but now we have the ability to search out so much right at our very fingertips. 

The Bible contains a literal six days of creation- not figurative. Six days. If you don't believe that, and don't want to study it out, then you might as well just stop reading this right now, there's absolutely no reason for you to read further. 

Six days- we know what six days means- it's all but one day in a week- our seven day week. Do we know exactly which day of the seven we are supposed to keep the Sabbath on? God gave us the means to know. When God saved the Israelites from Egyptian slavery He took them on a forty year walkabout.  I'll tell you right now no one packs quickly for a forty year journey- the sheer comprehension of food supplies that would be needed for even a single person for that sort of trip, well, no, not going to happen. Even today when people hike mountainous trails going from one end to another (Appalachians for example) they only pack so much food knowing they'll have to make stops at various points to resupply. They can't carry all the food & drink they'd need for that long of a hike. (Yes, I've read up on it, thought about the wonderous ability to actually do that sort of thing - then thought of the latrines or lack there of situation and I stopped thinking about it.)  

God brought them out of Egypt and then started them walking and soon the supplies they did bring with them were gone. So, what happened? God provided them food in the form of Manna. This manna was sustenance. And God provided it with a STIPULATION. Yes, I said a stipulation. He would feed them, they would not starve, they'd have plenty to eat in fact they were told to go out each morning and collect the manna laying on the ground, enough for that day and that day only. There would be no keeping leftovers for snacking on the next day. Each day provided enough manna for that day to keep every person satisfied and not hungry. Each day EXCEPT the seventh day Sabbath. On that day NO manna appeared for them to collect NONE. Were they supposed to go hungry one day a week? No. God instructed them that on the sixth day only they were to gather enough for two days. You might think if manna could be gathered for two days then maybe you could sneak a little extra during the week, maybe your tummy was rumbling during the night. So you tried. On the first day of the week you kept a little bit of the manna for a snack later on, and then you still had some leftover so you decided to keep it for the next morning. The next morning, the second day of the week, you woke up and that manna was rotten! Yet, none of the manna gathered on the sixth day of the week was rotten on the seventh day!  You experimented and tried this every day and each and every day but the Sabbath had the manna spoiled in the morning and unable to be eat. THIS was GOD'S way of reintroducing the people of Israel to His Holy Sabbath- they'd been captive for four hundred years and didn't quite know the ways of God any longer in very many forms. God was teaching them that the day - the seventh day of the week was the HOLY SABBATH DAY, a day He'd sanctified and blessed after all of creation was finished in six days- except for creating the Sabbath itself.  

The people entrusted with that seven day week schedule kept it and knew it, and comprehended the eternal aspect of the Sabbath being holy- set aside for man to reconnect with His creator on that seventh day- nothing else being as important as this. 

You see- when mankind separated themselves from God and realized a second later what an awful mistake that was, God revealed to mankind that all was not lost. There was a plan in place and down the line…way down the line… that plan would be fully realized and mankind would once more be united to God.  The mankind that would be reunited would be those who would CHOOSE to be. Not every human born would make this choice to be God's. Those who did make this choice had a very special day- the Sabbath- set aside for them to live in communion with their God in a way they couldn't any of the day of the week because no other day was blessed and sanctified by God but that seventh day Sabbath. This beautiful, beyond description, blessed Sabbath would be a teeny tiny foretaste of being reunited with God. Sabbath was a day for us to set EVERYTHING aside, but God and God's love for other. Lay down every single burden on this day, and though those burdens would still be there after the Sabbath for you to pick back up again- on the Sabbath you could just lay them down and worship God!

Now, I don't want to have any sort of debate on this at all whatsoever- I'm not the debating sort. There are plenty of sites out there where people just love debating and I'm sure there are plenty of Sabbath debating sites so - no- no debates for me please.

The questions I posed in the first whole sentence were this-- What exactly is the Sabbath and why do I choose to keep the Sabbath?

The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week and per God's instructions to be kept from sundown to sundown (Sundown Friday to Sundown Saturday in our world today).  The Sabbath is a whole twenty-four hour period set aside as holy, and blessed- by GOD. The Sabbath is a time we are to do no work for money, and no work for chores and such around the house, we are to cease from all work (remember God didn't want the people even gathering manna on that day).   We are to live that twenty four hour period as children whose Heavenly Father is visiting with them and how amazing that is! We give worship through song, reading, listening, learning of God. We comprehend that we need to deny ourselves the focus we usually place on ourselves and refocus that focus on God, our Creator, on God, our Redeemer, on God the Holy Spirit Comforter. This day is a day of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual rest. We choose to purposefully set aside this WHOLE day and pursue God in realization in our lives, GOD FIRST, others next, and ourselves last- we realize this on this day more than any other- though our lives are supposed to be this way always. Too much of this world tries to take over us completely- working, earning a living, pleasure that we don't get because we might work all the other days or most of them during the week and want the weekend for self-pursuit. Too much of this world yells at us to attract our attention and keep it from God. The Sabbath attracts our attention TOWARDS GOD completely. 

As with anything, people try to corrupt true Sabbath keeping. Even Jesus had to set the people straight and remind them that the Sabbath was made for MAN not man for the Sabbath. Man didn't have to be overwhelmed with severe restrictions in order to keep the Sabbath Holy and have the blessing of the Sabbath be theirs. Jesus healed on the Sabbath, Jesus took the edge off hunger on the Sabbath, Jesus taught in synagogues on the Sabbath, Jesus kept the Sabbath PERFECTLY and was never accused of not worshipping on the seventh day- though He was accused of breaking the traditions man had placed on it, not God.

I could go on and on as you know and probably think I already have, but now to WHY DO I CHOOSE to keep the Sabbath…

Because the Sabbath is all I stated above and I love my God! I want to learn and listen and follow my God as He would have me do so. God's word tells me that the Sabbath is important enough to include in the ten Royal laws that were never abolished not one cross of the letter t or the dot on an I would be taken from the law ever….

Mat_5:18  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Luk_16:17  And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.

If the Sabbath is even a tiny glimpse into eternity with my God I will do all I can to honor it through faith in my Savior as He would have me honor this day, yes, by His will, the entire day - it's been blessed and made holy by Him as no other day of the week. 

May God bless all who through faith in our Savior seek to keep the Sabbath as He would have us keep it, may His peace be with you all, and grace be upon you! All in the amazing love of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, now and forever!

God Thinks of Me.

 Jer 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 

Jer 29:12  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 

Jer 29:13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 

Jer 29:14  And I will be found of you

These verses from Jeremiah are not simply speaking to us as individuals, if you read it in context you'll know what I mean. Yet, so much of our Lord's word is for our hearts to take in, to absorb as much needed comfort. The Word of God is such an amazing thing, it truly goes beyond full comprehension. This gift of His to us, this living, eternal life giving, most Holy Word. 

Isa 28:10  For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little

Those words of Jeremiah, oh how wondrous to imagine hearing these words spoken to me! … 

I know the thoughts I think towards you (Dorene), saith the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you (Dorene) an expected end. Then shall ye (Dorene) call upon me, and ye(Dorene) shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you (Dorene). And ye(Dorene) shall seek me, and find me, when ye(Dorene) shall search for me with all (Dorene)your heart . And I will be found of you(Dorene).   

He thinks peace not evil towards me! He wants to give me an expected end! When I call upon Him, I will find him, when I search for Him with ALL my heart! He WILL be found of me!

Oh, Lord God, I'm searching for You with ALL my heart! I long to be Yours! I know that expected end is eternity with YOU, it's life as the creature you created me to be, not the creature sin has tainted, the creature you intended me to be, a creature cleansed by the blood of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, a creature made new by YOU, only by you through nothing I do, but believe. I believe You LORD, you have the power, you have the love, you've shown that in the most holy sacrifice of Jesus the only begotten Son! He died for me! For me! And I simply have to believe I am His and the Holy Spirit will live in me convicting me of all that is evil in my life, all that would separate me from you if I allow. I cry out like Paul…

Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 

Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 

Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 

Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 

Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 

Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 

Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

What? Who? Shall separate us from the love of Christ? NOTHING! NO ONE! Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord! NOTHING! 

I'm searching with all my heart, seeking to be known by You, seeking to find You and You will let me find you! 

Please, Lord let me find you as I ever seek you.

Amo_8:11  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD

Let me hear Your words LORD, let me ever hear Your words! I need to hear Your words always!

Come soon, Lord Jesus, come soon!

Salvation- A Gift.

 

Salvation is a gift freely given that so many want to pay for.

Did you ever have someone give you a surprise gift out of the blue and your first reaction was along the lines of … 'Here, let me get you some money for that! I have to repay you! You're too kind!' I know I've done that myself. The generosity of some people is amazing and they find out you have a need and want to gift you with that needed thing, but at the same time you're feeling beholden to them, even though that is the last thing they want you to feel. 

Jesus' offer of salvation to each of us individually is a gift from God.  A gift. We will never deserve such a gift. Sometimes people will treat the gift just like the above, they want to pay Jesus back for this amazing gift of salvation. They want to pay Him back by 'being good', by 'not sinning', by 'keeping all the commandments', by 'going to church', by 'giving to charity', and so on. Our actions after we accept salvation through Jesus are not us now having to pay Jesus back - as if anything we possibly do would even begin to pay the price He paid for us. 

We do not gain or keep salvation by any of our works. Yet we often believe once we have salvation we need to pay for it by our actions, our behavior. The idea of there being only one thing we are to do, in order to do the work of God, is an odd idea because we are sure we have to do so much more to keep salvation. 

There is only ONE work of God that we are to do! That one act you can do is BELIEVE in Jesus Christ to SAVE you.  When you believe in Christ ALONE  to save you then you are automatically denouncing any thought, any belief you might have that you can save yourself.

Joh 6:28  Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 

Joh 6:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. 

People want to have some sort of hand in their own salvation, just believing doesn't quite seem to be enough. That is why when they stumble and fall, failing to live up to the life they perceive is God-fearing and righteous, they are quick to lament of ever being 'good enough' to warrant being saved. They trampled on the salvation given them, they ruined it, they dirtied it up with their sins and now there is no point in trying to be God's because they are just too bad to keep salvation. Now, if they had not been bad then they would have *DESERVED* to keep salvation, right? That has to be their thought or else they couldn't be bad and undeserved the salvation gift they accepted.  The opposite must be true then, but is it? You know the answer. 

We were and are in need of a SAVIOR because we COULD NOT SAVE OURSELVES! What changed with that after we accepted salvation? Was salvation supposed to enable us to save ourselves from that point on? NO! Salvation is EVER a gift from God! You will NEVER be able to save yourself! All you can do is BELIEVE with a belief that is constant, Jesus is YOUR SAVIOR. Jesus is YOUR DAILY SAVIOR. Jesus is YOUR FOREVER SAVIOR. 

Does this mean it's okay to keep your life of sin and just daily ask for forgiveness? No. Jesus did tell some of those He healed- 'Go and sin no more.'  Sin is forever to be shunned, ever to be resisted. All temptation is to be resisted and if we still succumb to sin is it not because there wasn't a temptation battle fought and lost, but because there was and the desire for true repentance  is still there because you BELIEVE in the overwhelming, amazing, all consuming love of God and His Gift to us! You must engage in the spiritual warfare by comprehending you will never stop being tempted to sin, but through GOD you can fight the good fight against consenting to sin.  You'll engage in this fight NOT to get SALVATION, but because YOU have salvation and despise the sins that so easily best you!  You are given the conviction of sin in your life by the Holy Spirit- every single sin no matter what it is you will be convicted of when the Holy Spirit is a part of your life. You seek forgiveness constantly, constantly because you know that sin is a transgression against the very GOD who died to save you! You don't want to hurt the God who saved you! You believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior, and now live for Him because you love Him with all you are! 

We are told to forgive seventy times seventy… symbolically forgiving others always. Would Jesus do no less for those who sincerely seek forgiveness seventy times seventy times, always? Believe in a Savior who SAVES. Don't believe in a you that cannot earn saving.

This is the work of God- BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST!

Recognize-

Our Father Which Art In Heaven!

Recognize-

Hollowed Is Our Father's Name!

Recognize-

Our Father's Kingdom Come!

Recognize-

Our Father's Will Be Done On Earth As It Is In Heaven!

Entreat-

Give Us, Our Father, This Day Our Daily Bread!

Entreat-

And Forgive Us, Our Father, Our Trespasses As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us!

Entreat-

Lead Us, Our Father,  Not Into Temptation!

Entreat-

But Deliver Us, Our Father, From Evil!

Recognize-

For Thine, Our Father, Is the Kingdom! The Power! The Glory forever! Amen!

Recognize- 

This Is The Work Of God!

Recognize-

That Ye Believe On Him (Jesus) Whom He (the Father) Hath Sent!

Please, Father, we would believe, help thou our unbelief!

Dear Heavenly Father, 

Was I good enough today? Did I lose salvation  because I was angry without cause? Has my gift of eternal life in Christ disappeared because I can't stop coveting what others have and I do not? Did that brief spark of fierce jealousy wrench away my chances to be with You in the kingdom? Heavenly Father, I am so weak, so incredibly weak and I need a Savior. I found the Savior You provided and accepted Him into my life and He gifted me with Salvation, and now… now Lord, I'm still so incredibly weak, I still need a Savior. Do I still have my salvation gift, Heavenly Father? I do, don't I? You won't take it back will You, because I am still so undeserving and forever undeserving. I needed a Savior then, Father, before I accepted the Savior and I still need a Savior, I will forever need my Savior saving me! Forgive me, Heavenly Father, forgive me. I believe… I believe Jesus Christ is my Savior, that He died so I could live! I believe Jesus Christ has saved me and will continue to save me! I love you, Heavenly Father! I love you Jesus Christ, my Savior, I love you Holy Spirit - please never leave me. Amen.