WHEN WAS JESUS REALLY BORN?

When was Yeshua (Jesus) born. Tradition says Dec 25th (Christmas),but as has been demonstrated in earlier articles (Roots of theChristian Faith), this date was done to convert a Pagan Festival intoa "Christian" Festival. The motive appears to have been to makealternatives to the Pagan Festivals. This has had unfortunateside-effects as outlined in the previous article.So when was Yeshua born? Below is the explanation of why many believeYeshua was born on Succot (Feast of Tabernacles). This Theory isconsistent with scripture, historical events and Jewish Culture. Moreimportantly, it is consistent with G-d's prophetic foreshadowing ofmajor events. As we have seen in the Feasts of the L-rd article, G-dgives extra purpose to His ordained Feasts, in that they are"foreshadows" of the coming of Messiah.This work includes major portions from Dr. David Hargis, President ofMessianic Bureau International (MBI, www.messianic.com).So with that brief introduction, consider this amazing work ofHa'Elyon (The Most High).Conception of JohnIn order to establish the date, we must first rely on clues found iinscripture, then add external historical and cultural elements. TheBirth of Yochanan (John) is key as he is a forerunner who announcesMessiah.First Chronicles tells us that the Levitical priesthood was dividedinto 12 divisions of priests. The ancient Jewish Historian Josephus(Antiquities 7) tells us that each division served for a period of oneweek. The first division began its period of service on the first dayof the year — 1 Nisan (also called Aviv or Abib) — as God hadestablished the calendar in Exodus 12:2. Three weeks out of each year— during the weeks of Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost), andSukkot (Tabernacles) — all 24,000 priests served together.As Zekharyah was in the division of Aviyah (Luke 1:5), his term ofservice began in early Spring on the first day of the eighth week(27th of Ayyar) and ran for one week through the 4th of Sivan. As thefollowing week (5-11 Sivan) was Shavuot, the Feast of Pentecost, hewould have stayed in the temple and served that week also with all thepriests. Luke 1:23-24 tells us that Zekharyah finished his duties atthe Temple , and that Elisheva conceived shortly after his returnhome. This sets the date for Yochanan's conception at approximatelythe third week of Sivan. [In Gregorian year 2001, that weekcorresponds to the first week of June. Adding nine months to that dateputs the birth of Yochanan sometime near the first week of theGregorian month of March.]Conception of YeshuaWe know from scripture that Yeshua (Jesus) was conceived afterYochanan (John), further more, with this information we can nowascertain When Yeshua was conceived. An interesting point, The earlyChurch may have agreed on December for the reason that was Hisconception date, not birth.Near the end of the sixth month of Elisheva's pregnancy the angelGavri'el appeared to Miryam and told her about Elisheva saying, "thisis the sixth month with her who was called barren." Miryam immediatelyleft Natzeret (verse 39, "with haste") and went to the "hill country"near Jerusalem to the home of Zekharyah and Elisheva. We know for surethat Miryam was already pregnant with Yeshua because Yochanan, stillin Elisheva's womb, recognized the unborn Yeshua. [What furtherevidence do the pro-abortionists need that life begins at conception?]This sets the conception of Yeshua about end of Kislev during Chanukah(mid-December), the Feast of Lights, thus demonstrating in a veryspecial way that Yeshua is the Light of the World."Yeshua is shown celebrating Chanukah in John 10:22,23. It is at thiscelebration that He declares `I and My Father are One' [John 10:30],which testifies to His Divine origin in His conception. It alsoreinforces Chanukah as the time of His conception."Birth of JohnGiven the above events, it is now straight forward to calculate whenYochanan was born.The prophet Mal'akhi (Malachi) tells us that Eliyah (Elijah) theprophet must come to prepare the hearts of the fathers and theirchildren before Mashiach comes.4 "Remember the law of Moshe [Moses] my servant, which I commanded tohim in Horev for all Yisra'el, even statutes and ordinances. 5 Behold,I will send you Eliyah the prophet before the great and terrible dayof the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to thechildren, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I comeand strike the eretz with a curse." (Malachi 4, HNV)Therefore, in anticipation of the coming of Mashiach, when Pesach(Passover) is celebrated, a place at the table is set and a cup ofwine is poured for Eliyah (Elijah), and the door of the house is leftopen so that he may come in to the celebration. It is clear that forcenturies before the birth of Messiah the Jews had been anticipatingthe return of Eliyah during Pesach.The way in which Gavri'el worded his announcement to Zekharyah makesit clear that Yochanan was to be the fulfillment of Mal'akhi'sprophecy: "He will turn many of the children of Yisra'el to the Lord,their God. He will go before his face in the spirit and power ofEliyah, `to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and thedisobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people preparedfor the Lord."Luke 1:56 tells us that Miryam stayed with Elisheva for three months,which would have been up until the time Yochanan was born. We can nowcalculate the date of Yochanan's birth with a great deal of accuracy.• A full term pregnancy term is 41 weeks.• There are 27 weeks in the first six months (two trimesters) ofpregnancy.• There are 27 weeks from the spring service of of Abiyah to Chanukah.• There are 14 weeks remaining to accomplish the last trimester and bringthe pregnancy to full term.• There are exactly 14 weeks from Chanukah to Passover (Nisan 14-22).Therefore, Yochanan was born at Passover, most certainly on the firstday of Unleavened Bread. He was circumcised on the eighth day, whichwould be the last day of Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread. His birththerefore exactly fulfills both Mal'akhi's prophecy and the Jewishexpectation of that fulfillment to occur at Passover.The Birth of YeshuaSo we have established that Yochanan was born at Passover. Giventhis, and knowing Yeshua was conceived in December (Kislev), we cometo the time of His birth. Chanakuh occurs on Kislev 25 (note asimilarity to December 25th, adding weight to the Theory the earlychurch picked Dec. 25 because it was His conception). Adding 9 monthsto Kislev, and you get Tishrei, Succot occurs in the Hebrew month ofTishrei.For the past several hundred years, Gentile Christians have taughtthat poor Mary and Joseph were forced to go to Bethlehem to registerfor their taxes, and that there were so many people trying to registerat the same time that all the motels and hotels were full. It's abeautiful story, but it's simply not true ... it's only a tradition.First of all, when the decree was issued, citizens were given a fullyear during which to register for the census. There was absolutely noreason for thousands of Bethlehemites to have to come to their hometown all at once to register. That being the case, we must ask whyJoseph would bring his wife Mary all the way from Nazareth toBethlehem to register when her pregnancy was so far along.There were three great feasts during the year when the people ofAdonai were expected to make every reasonable effort to attend inJerusalem : Pesach (the feast of unleavened bread and Passover),Shavuot (Pentecost, the feast of harvest), and Sukkot (the feast ofingathering, booths, or tabernacles). ["You shall observe a feast tome three times a year." Exodus 23:14]During these three feasts, the population of "the metropolitanJerusalem area" would swell from about a hundred twenty thousand tosomething over two million people (according to Josephus). Every homein the entire area was open to guests, and of course all the hotelsand motels would have been booked up for months.However, during the feast of Sukkot [Tabernacles or Booths, pronounced"sue-coat"], every family was expected to live at least part of eachday in their tabernacle or booth, called a sukkah, which is atemporary dwelling usually made out of palm and/or bamboo branches, toremind them that for 40 years their ancestors had lived in temporaryshelters in the wilderness on their trek to the Promised Land. Atnight, these sukkot [the plural form of sukkah] were available for theovernight lodging of out-of-towners, and the homeowners would stockthem with food for the travelers. The food was placed on a food-trayattached to the inside wall of the Sukkah to keep it up off the ground.Beit-Lechem ( Bethlehem ) was a small village in the suburbs justabout four miles south of Jerusalem . Miriam and Yoseph had apparentlydecided to register with the census-takers when they came up toJerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. Evidently they had intended tostop over night in Bethlehem , register in the morning, and thenproceed on into Jerusalem for the feast. When they checked the hotelfor available rooms, as there were no vacancies the innkeeper offeredthem shelter in his Sukkah, his Tabernacle, which had been erected andwell-stocked with food for the express purpose of shelteringfeast-keepers. It was not a shelter for animals at all. And when theirBaby was born, they laid Him on the food shelf to keep Him up off thedamp ground. When the (probably agnostic) Gentiles who translated the"King James" Bible got to this passage in Luke's gospel, they had noknowledge of Jewish tradition or of how Sukkot was observed. Thinkingonly in terms of life in Medieval England , they translated the wordfor "food tray" as "manger" and the whole Gentile myth of Yeshua'sbirth in a barn was created out of an ignorant error in translation.We can know for sure that December is wrong for the birth, theSheppard's provide the answer.As to establishing the date for His birth, one thing is very certain …He was certainly not born during the winter. Luke 2:8 tells us: "Therewere shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keepingwatch by night over their flock."The weather in Israel is very similar to that in central California .By December it is quite cold, and the sheep have all been brought intothe fold for the winter. "As is well known, the shepherds in Palestinedo not `abide in the fields' during the winter season. The shepherdsalways bring their flocks in from the mountain slopes and fields notlater than the fifteenth of October!" [Ralph Woodrow, Babylon MysteryReligion. Self-published, 1966, p.160]Since we have already demonstrated that Yeshua was exactly six monthsyounger that Yochanan, it is now easy to establish the time of Hisbirth as mid-Tishrei. The only reason that Beit-Lechem would possiblycrowded in mid-Tishrei would be for Sukkot. The first and last days ofSukkot were "high Shabbats" and travel on those days was forbidden.Therefore Yoseph would have planned their trip to arrive not laterthan a few hours before sunset preceding the first day of Sukkot.According to Luke's account, Yeshua was born that night, on 15 Tishrei.The circumcision of YeshuaTo someone growing up in church, and probably never being taught theculture & History of the "Roots of His Faith", the circumcision mayseem unimportant. But in the culture, and to fulfill the commands ofG-d, this event is critical.The "birth" of a Jewish baby boy was not considered complete until hehad been circumcised on the eighth day. On the eighth day, Yeshua's"presentation" in the Temple included His circumcision according toTorah. Thus we see that the birth of Yeshua HaMashiach spanned theentire eight days of Sukkot, including His birth on the holy Shabbatwhich was the first day of Sukkot and His circumcision on the holyShabbat which was the eighth and final day of Sukkot.The Bread of LifeIf indeed this theory is correct, then it adds even more meaning tothe "Bread of Life" analogy. Scripture says that Succot will becelebrated even by the gentiles, for all time, could the reason bethat it remembers the greatest miracle of all, G-d becoming a mna, anddying for our sins?At His birth he was placed on the food tray in the Sukkah, thusdemonstrating that He is indeed the true Bread of Life (John 6:33-51).God's preparation of the Feast of Sukkot centuries before His birthgives extra significance to Yochanan's comment "The Word became flesh,and lived [literally, "tabernacled"] among us. We saw his glory, suchglory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace andtruth" (John 1:14)."Note that God provided two holy feasts that lasted eight days,Passover/Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Tabernacles. John theBaptist, the forerunner of Messiah, was born and circumcised in theeight days of the first, then six month later Yeshua, the Messiah, wasborn and circumcised the eight days of the second. John came in thefirst month of the year and Yeshua came in the seventh month. Inministry, John introduced the way through Messiah and then Yeshuaperfected it, even as the first and seventh months signify. …The Feast of Tabernacles is a most important commemoration. Zechariah14:16,17 tells us that one day all nations will be required by law tohonor this feast. For what greater reason, than it is the birthday ofthe King of Kings! Why should we delay?"Source:http://bethhamashiach.com/whenwasYeshuaborn.htm

Genius of medieval church builders rediscovered with a crucifix that is only illuminated twice a year

It is an unforgettable moment. As the sun traverses the sky its light is suddenly focused into an intense beam which illuminates a carving of Christ on the Cross. This is not a scene from an Indiana Jones film, however, but a stirring piece of visual synchronicity that dates from medieval times. At the spring and autumn equinox, the setting sun hits a window at Holy Trinity Church in Barsham, Suffolk, and illuminates the 5ft carving for four spellbinding minutes.
The spectacle dates back to the 1300s, when the narrow window was built in the church tower, but it was lost for centuries. It was only rediscovered recently by the village church's assistant curate, the Reverend John Buchanan, who spotted it by chance. On Friday, the church was packed with visitors to witness the phenomenon on this year's spring equinox.
Mr Buchanan, 77, said: 'It is just incredible to see this brilliant shaft of sunlight illuminate Christ on the Cross. It is a magical moment and very uplifting. 'The church is in gloom as it is dusk and then all of a sudden the setting sun is in exactly the right position to shine this brilliant beam of light through the window.'It is like a searchlight. It makes the hair on the back of your neck stand on end.' The carving of Christ is on the top of a traditional rood screen, made of wood, which crosses the centre of the church.
The original screen was torn down in the 16th century following Henry VIII's split with the Roman Catholic Church.Although the screen was rebuilt in 1870 with an identical figure of Christ in the same position, the window was obscured when the vicar at the time hung a painting over it. The painting was only taken down in 1979 when a fire destroyed the nave roof. Even then, the light show went unnoticed for several more years until Mr Buchanan spotted it.
He said: 'It only happens for a few minutes so it is very easy to miss and obviously if the weather is cloudy, it doesn't happen at all. 'I began to plot the dates and realised that Christ was only lit up on the equinox. I've often wondered whether this spectacle was the work of a cunning priest trying to do a bit of magic to impress the locals.' In 1981's Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford, discovers the Ark of the Covenant - which carries the tablets of the Ten Commandments - by placing a golden disk on the top of a staff and putting it beside a model of Tanis, an ancient Egyptian city. When the sun passes overhead, it creates a beam of light which reveals that the Ark is hidden in the Well of Souls.

Posted by World Of Mysteries at 4:54 PM
Labels: Facts

TIME AND ETERNITY, AND JUDGEMENT FROM THE BOOK IS HELL ETERNAL OR WILL GOD'S PLAN FAIL BY CHARLES PRIDGEON

Here are a few tidbits from the book titled below that I agree with .

Is Hell Eternal?Or Will God's Plan Fail By Charles Pridgeon
TIME AND ETERNITY
"Time" is always a relative term; "eternity," in any accurate sense, is always absolute. The difficulty is increased by popular speech. "Eternity" is used for time that does not end, but this is incorrect.
There is no word in the whole Bible that can be accurately and consistently translated "endless time." Time not only implies temporary, but also implies the realm of the phenomenal.
All time will one day be converted into eternity. Time is allied to motion; eternity to rest. Time is made up of successive moments. The quality of eternity is its simultaneousness. Eternity is the opposite of time. It signifies a new state of things, a different condition; it denotes timelessness, that is, the absence of time. Time is the revolving circumference of a circle. Eternity is the fixt and unchanging center.
Hell/Hades
The Hadean/Hades state is the state into which the departed pass immediately upon death and there remain till the resurrection. It is, therefore, frequently spoken of as the Intermediate State.
Many theologians seem to teach that we immediately receive all God has for us when we die. The full harvest of both joy and suffering comes only after the Second Coming of the Lord. This does not derogate from the fact that Paradise is a blessed state, or that Tartarus is a place of suffering. We believe more than this; viz., that rewards and punishments begin in this life, that heaven and hell begin here. He alone can go to Paradise or heaven who has heaven begun in him and he alone can go to hell, Tartarus, or the Lake of Fire, who has hell begun here. The Intermediate, or Hadean state, will have more of both joy and suffering than we have in this life, but the fuller state, heavenly or hellish, will not come until after the resurrection. It is a source of great comfort to know that we never lose our identity in the Intermediate, or in any state.
Our Lord went and preached to the spirits in prison that were aforetime disobedient in the days Noah (1Pet. 3:18-29). He went after He was killed and was quickened in spirit. He greeted the repentant thief in Paradise, but it was especially in the Tartarus portion that He is said to have preached to the very same antediluvians who would not heed Noah's preaching.
Dives and Lazarus are represented as having preserved their identity and as knowing each other.
Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration were manifested from the Hadean state--their identity was preserved. Even the unsaved pass into the next life with the forces of their spirit which formed and made their body in this life. This spiritual body goes with them into the Hadean state, no matter how warped and dwarfed it may become. Each one that passes out of this life reaches the next life in exactly the same spiritual condition in which he was when he died. Death did nothing for him except to separate him from his earthly body. The intermediate state is for discipline, punishment, a process of judging, and for improvement, progress, and growth. There are those who without others will "not be made perfect" (Heb. 11:40); and there are others whose "spirits are made perfect" (Heb.12:23). Our Lord, after His death, was quickened in spirit and went and preached to those who were disobedient in the days of Noah (1Pet. 3:18-20); this is proof of conscious activity in the Hadean state.The suffering of the rich man in Tartarus had certainly done wonders for him. He probably had never been concerned about his "brothers" before. Now he is more than solicitous. It was more than earthly water that he thirsted for. He had no physical tongue. His thirst was spiritual, and only the spiritual water of life could satisfy him. He is not saved yet, but he is moving already in that direction. Of those who are righteous the Hadean state will be for them a time of further training, discipline and development. "He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6). In place of the work of grace being finished God will carry it on till the Day of Christ and that day reaches not only to His coming but to the end of the ages. May we not pray as well as preach in the Intermediate state? Yes, and beyond, for our Lord still does both, and He is in the resurrected state. Our work will extend through all time. He "hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ; . . . That in the dispensation of the fulness of time He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth" (Eph. 1:3,10). God has called us to a magnificent service which will bring to us an ample discipline and a fuller glory.
When man fell it was a twofold fall. He fell into spiritual selfhood and he fell into an earthly nature. To get man back he has to die two deaths: he has to die to the natural and earthly and he has to die to self. If in this life man does not have these deaths wrought in him, then he enters the Hadean life with its judgments, discipline, training, and service. If man is still stubborn, there awaits him, and all such, the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, which is "the second death." The first death slew the natural and animal and took him into the Hadean state, and at its end, it and death, that is, all in Hades that have not repented are cast into the Lake of Fire where the process of the second death awaits, which is the death of all selfishness.
A Sane and Scriptural Doctrine of Punishment
The text, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Gal. 6:7), contains many of the principles that obtain in a true doctrine of punishment. We will note some of these principles.
The Certainty of Punishment. One of the elements that makes punishment effective is its certainty. If a man thinks that there is a chance for him to escape the punishment for wrong doing, he may take that chance. Every one needs to learn that this law of certainty has no exceptions. There is no chance about it; what you sow, you reap. Every sin has its certain consequences. This is true even of the wrongdoer who thinks that he has escaped the working of this law. He is mistaken. The evil has already wrought damage to his character and one day its direful consequence will be manifest, unless divinely dealt with. Every offer of salvation; every presentation of more or new light; and every opportunity proffered, brings added responsibility. Every rejection increases guilt and multiplies the consequences as a punishment. From this law there is no escape. When this principle of punishment is understood, it furnishes one of the strongest deterrents to evil doing and also to the rejection of light.
The Limitations of Punishment. The harvest is limited by the quantity and character of the seed. Punishment is graded in proportion to light and opportunity. The law of justice will obtain. Some will be "beaten with few stripes" and some with "many." "And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more" (Luke 12:47,48). Punishment, as well as reward, is to be graded. A finite sin will have a finite punishment: nothing else would be justice. God Himself has set bounds to the consequences of evil, whereas to good there are practically no limitations.
The Kinds of Punishment. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap," implies that the punishment will be of the same kind as the sins. Sins of the flesh bring forth consequences in the flesh. Sins of the mind beget mental suffering. Sins of the heart bring forth blasted affections and emotions. Sins of the spirit blight our highest nature on its Godward side. This law is certainly one of the harvest laws and is also in accord with the principles of justice. Jacob cheated his brother Esau, and he himself was deceived ten times (Gen. 31:41). Israel failed to keep God's law of the sabbaths and they reaped seventy years of captivity as a consequence (Jer. 17:27; 25:11; 2Chron. 36:20,21). When we think that every thought, word and deed will bring forth a harvest after its kind, we certainly need to take warning, to "flee from the wrath to come," and to bring forth "fruits of righteousness." The Author of Punishment. God is not the author of punishment, even tho He is over all and makes everything that happens serve His purposes in the government of His universe. It is the creature who is the author of sin and is thus responsible for its consequences. Sin has its origin in the creature's acting independently of God. God is not the author of anything that is evil. He never made any of the consequences of sin any more than He made the sin. God's creature is the only one to blame. God did not make a fallen nature. It resulted from the fall of angel and man. God never made a punishment for sin. Every punishment for sin is manufactured by the one committing the sin, "Whatsoever a man soweth." Our punishment springs from our own sowing. This consideration dispels all detraction in reference to God's character and Word. The place of punishment referred to in Matt. 25:41 as "prepared for the devil and his angels," may be better translated, "prepared by the devil and his angels." Wicked men share this punishment because their sins were similar to those of the evil angels, and they cooperated with the evil angels and followed their suggestions.
THE PURPOSE OF PUNISHMENT
1. He uses the punishment of sin as a preventive. This is for the breaker of His law, that he may be prevented from other infractions of it. God also has in mind the deterring of others who may learn or witness the terrible consequences of sin.
2. Punishment is also disciplinary. The root-meaning of one of the chief words for punishment is that of pruning. The Lord of the harvest never prunes to kill, but to help. The persistence of the consequences of sin long after the sin is forgiven by God is doubtless intended so to deepen and burn in the lesson that the cause of punishment may be cured. God purposes to establish in righteousness, that the creature, even if he could, would not yield to sin.
3. Punishment is also meant by God to be self-corrective. This is expressed in Jer. 2:19, "Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backsliding shall reprove thee." This still is disciplinary, but it implies that in the punishment itself is a self-corrective element. The fermentation of liquids tends to their own purification. The principle of the modern disposal plant is that one germ of impurity devours another till all their malignity is destroyed. God tells us what the harvest of sin is; "The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). This denotes all kinds of death, answering to the different kinds of sin. Sin always attempts to kill God. Its culmination was reached when it slew the Christ, but His death overcame "him (Satan) that had the power of death" (Heb. 2:14). And through our Lord's death all death has been potentially destroyed, and will be actually and historically destroyed before the end of the ages, when the Son hands over the kingdom to the Father: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." God has thus limited the extent of the consequences of evil. It, in one sense, wears itself out. Let no one say however that Christ, the Savior, is not needed. We have already indicated that slaying Him only promoted His plan of redemption. It cut away all our nature of flesh and blood that He had taken, and in Him we and the whole creation were potentially set free from all corruption and all harvests that are the consequence of sin and sins. "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2).This is a Sane and Scriptural Doctrine of Punishment. "For God hath shut them all up for unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counsellor? Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto Him again. For out of Him, and through Him, and unto Him, are all things: to whom be glory for the ages. Amen" (Rom. 11:32-36, literal).

WHAT IS LIMITING MY FAITH?

Do you struggle in your faith in YHWH/GOD? It may be ,that we

have unreal expectations of YHWH. We expect Him to operate in a certain way or manner and He never seems to comply , so after a while we say:"Forget it, there is no God!". But you know we can be sure of this, YHWH/GOD, DOES NOT CHANGE! Our faith in YHWH/GOD only fails when we hold a faulty understanding of HIM.

If we want our faith to increase in HIM we must increase our knowledge of HIM. Little knowledge of HIM produces little faith. Great knowledge in HIM produces great faith in HIM.

If I want a steadfast faith for healing of my body, mind and spirit, I must be rid of all the uncertainty concerning YHWH/GOD will in the matter.

Appropriating faith in YHWH/GOD can not go beyond one's knowledge of the revealed will and knowing of YHWH/GOD, which can be found within the pages of the Bible.Before we can exercise any faith we need to know what the Scriptures plainly teach about YHWH/GOD.

We tell ourselves " If only I can believe, if only I can believe!" Any attempts to push ourselves beyond what we know about YHWH/GOD and His ways is to move from faith to presumption, and I fear many of us do that. We choose to believe YHWH/GOD according to what we already know of Him and what we already know to be true from His Word. And the only time tested way to increase our faith in our CREATOR is to increase our knowledge of Him. As the object of our Faith He is infinite, the only limit to our faith is the time spent reading His word , studying His word, prayer and meditating in His word. The practical and tangible potential for our faith to grow as we endeavor to know YHWH/GOD through His word is boundless and with out limits.

It is important to understand that there is no way that we can cleverly word a prayer so that YHWH/GOD must act on our behalf, but if YHWH/GOD declares something to be true, we simply must believe Him and live according to what is true, If YHWH/GOD did not say it , there is no amount of faith that will make it so. Believing does not make YHWH/GOD'S word true, His word is true, there fore we believe it.His promises are each a revelation of what YHWH/GOD is eager to do for us, but until we know what YHWH/GOD's will is in the matter, there is nothing on which we can base our faith. It is important that our minds be renewed so as to be brought into harmony with the mind of YHWH/GOD.

Faith for the appropriation of YHWH/GOD'S promised blessings is the result of knowing and acting on HIS word (Rom.10:17). The renewed mind(Rom 12:2) is what makes steadfast faith possible to all.

"Heavenly PARENT YHWH/GOD, increase the boundaries of our faith today as we increase our understanding of YOU through the prayerful study and meditation of YOUR WORD, HOLY SPIRIT of the MOST HIGH fill us ,teach us, enable us to know You better."

THE GOSPEL I LIVE

The Gospel of the Kingdom, Of Godde, of Jesus Christ,is not about the escaping hell, but about growing up into maturity as Godde's children, understanding that we are NOW, co-heirs with Christ and co-workers in Godde's corporate body ("the Body of Christ") for the wonderful purpose of transformation and restoration of the whole world. We must never think that the role and goal of Christianity is to escape the anger of a wrathful god by professing religious doctrines ,traditions and dogma, about Jesus Christ, if you believe this ,then you have completely missed the point. If this is what you believe then you do not know the Godde that Jesus Christ came to reveal to us, then you do not have a clear understanding of who you truly are, and therefore you are very unclear as to the real and wonderful Divine plan of Godde.

The True Gospel reveals to us the true freedom that is found in Christ . The gospel of eternal damnation that is being preached to millions of human beings and the narrow escape into heaven for a few who are fortunate enough to profess the "correct" religious doctrines,who are fortunate enough to live in a country that has a bible, who are fortunate enough to live in a country that is not ruled by religious extremist who have wedded with government who have power over the people, this so called gospel is nothing but a sham , an out right lie ,and can never be identified as the good news. It is not the Authentic Gospel of Jesus Christ, no matter how many Christians believe it to be. The time has come for the world's 'mis' understanding of the meaning of "Christianity" and the ultimate purposes of Godde, to be radically challenged , changed and transformed.

In Ephesians 1.10 we see the key to Godde’s purpose to which we should understand which is : “That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.”

There are three lines of evidence Paul gives to support the view that Godde would eventually overcome all things in Heaven and Earth, by gathering together all things in Christ they are:
1. Death is the greatest force in which we all must face. Godde has overcome this maleficent force by his “mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead” (Eph 1.20). Resurrection, then, is the first ground of ultimate unity.
2. Sin is the next all invasive power, which separates us from Godde and from one another. by the forgiveness of sins through Christ, Godde has brought us to new life and reconciliation with himself (Eph 2.1-10).
3. Divisions from gender, race, social and economic, cultural and national , that we all come in contact with ,has been shown to us, between Jews and Gentiles as our examples, that this wall of separation and division, in all areas, has been overcome by the cross of Christ, who broke down the wall of partition and made “one new humanity” (Eph 2.11-22).

Universal texts in the Bible (NRSV)
Certain biblical texts support the view that Godde’s plan of redemption embraces the entire creation, including every person. Admittedly, other texts propose a final separation of saved and lost. Simply to list individual texts like this does not fully serve the purpose; we need to examine texts more completely in their immediate as well as in their full canonical context. May I call to your attention the occurrence of words like “all” and “every” and “world” and to urge that we give them due weight.

JOHN. 1.9: The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
1.29b: Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
3.16-17: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
12.32: [Jesus said] And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people [margin: all things] to myself.
. Romans 5.18: Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.
Romans 11.32a: For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.
Romans 14.11: For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.”
1 Corinthians 15.22: For as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.
2 Cor 5.19: In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them.
Philippians 2.9-11: [Because of Jesus’ obedience unto death] Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Ephesians 1.9-10: [God] has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Colossians 1.19f: For in [Christ] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
1 Timothy 2.3-4: This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 4.10: For to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
Titus 2.11: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all.
REVELATION 5.13-14: Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, “To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

You will also see that this was not some new idea that God just happened to throw out there , all through the Hebrew Scriptures God spoke about this as well:Isaiah 45.22-23: “Turn to me and be saved all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.’ ”

The Bible begins with God’s creation of humankind as male and female, both made in the image of God and both blessed with dominion over the rest of creation (Gen 1.26-28).

Sin affected not only all humankind but the world of nature itself, and following the judgment of the flood, God made a covenant of mercy never to do it again, signified by the rainbow, as was announced to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you for all future generations” (Gen 9.12).

The psalmist praises God, declaring, “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgments are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O LORD” (Ps 36.6).

The original ancestor of the chosen people, Abraham, was called and promised to bring blessing to all the families on earth (Gen 12.2-3).

As we can see that this has always been the Goal of our God in Christ Jesus.

Now here are some logical conclusions that can be gleaned from popular hell and damnation theology:
1: God’s power for salvation is less than God’s power of creation.
2: God is willing to destroy the vast majority of all the world’s people, in spite of having created them in the divine image.
3: God shows partiality if God saves me and you because we were lucky to live in a modern society and condemns ,everyone else in all the third world nations and lets not forget the indigenous peoples all over the world.
4: The power of sin is greater than the power of forgiveness.
5: The power of death is greater than the power of life.
6: Adam is greater than Christ

Popular theology says “Yes, Christ’s salvation is great enough for all, but it is effective only for those who believe.”

So in response to those six illogical conclusions of popular theology,Lets see the truth of the matter here in reverse order:

6: Christ is far superior to Adam. Christ has totally reversed the condemnation that Adam brought on the human race. Through Christ, God freely gives acquittal and life to everyone.
5: The life which God created and which God renewed in the resurrection of Christ, is far more powerful than death. For where death formerly reigned, eternal life through Christ reigns supreme.
4: God’s grace of forgiveness is far more powerful than our sin. “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more!”
3: God does not show partiality, saving a special few and condemning all the rest. As Paul said in 2 Cor 5.19: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to God, not counting their trespasses against them.” And Jesus said, “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto myself.”

2: It is clear therefore that God is not willing to destroy the vast majority of the world’s people, all of whom God made in the divine image.
1: The scope of God’s plan of redemption is at least equal to, and perhaps even greater than, the scope of God’s work of creation. Again, in Romans 8.21, Paul says, “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.”

We have much to praise Godde over, we have much to celebrate! We have much to proclaim! The true and authentic Good News is that Godde will be all in all !

Many blessings

a minister of reconciliation

Endura/PATC

Some words of truth

Legalism is the belief system of the world, the flesh and the devil.With all its do's and don'ts, touch and touch not's, eat and eat not, drink and drink not's.

Jesus referred to the Pharisees as "the world" their legalism,and religious obediance to the letter.

"Legalism is seeking to achieve forgiveness from God and acceptance by God through obedience."
O. J. Mahaney

Walking in the Spirit of God is what overcomes the flesh, because our focus is on Christ and not what is happening in our circumstances.

Too many of us give Satan more credit than he deserves.No the devil did not make you do anything.

Although it is important to be aware of the devil. It is more important to focus of God.

One of God's greatest purposes for His servant Satan is the destruction of our flesh.

Whether we obey through love or by the letter of the law, obedience is only part of the equation in our sanctification. God's Grace and mercy is what makes it all possible.

Legalism gives the illusion that we are in control. We are not in control. Satan is not in control. God is in control.

We overcome the devil by the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony and loving not our lives unto death .

GOD'S PATCHWORK QUILT IN CHRIST

The Christian life is the presence of Christ in the believer. It is not the denomination and name that is on the door of the particular church that a believer goes to. The Believers of Christ , as part of the many tribes and flavors and rich colors that is found within Churchdom, all belong to His One Kingdom,and as believers our primary focus is and should always be Christ . It is His Spirit that enables and empowers all Believers to spread the fragrance of His Love to others through each and every diverse life as Children of the Living God. What makes us all ONE is that we are all in the family of God by His Spirit which is within each of us, who believes.

Believers will be likeminded inasmuch as they will seek to reach similar goals, but they will not each seek those goals in the same way, and they may not always agree as to how a particular goal can best be reached. And that is OK. I believe the diversity in this world is here for a reason, and that is to teach us the lesson of love and tolerance and acceptance of each of us for our differences and to understand that through our diversity we are basically the same it is only our covering that is different.

It is not a problem that there are so many churches and denominations, they are indeed a good thing. What it indicates is that in Christ there is a one size , that does fits all, but each of us wears Christ differently. We are all different , it is like 2 people that wears the same color and style shirt but it looks and wears differently on them . We all come in different shapes and sizes. There is one Lord, but many tribes, and flavors with Christ being the distinctive base flavor for us all and each has a unique style, sound, and look. We all process things differently which is colored and flavored by our differences of environment, social, economic and education levels, personal hystory , health, genes, diet,culture, physical make up and the list can go on and on.Yes Christ is our head, our mind, but the body dynamic is different and therefore what the Mind of Christ does in one place will be different in another but the foundation and ethics and moral behavior will be the same. We may respond differently in any given situation but it will always and should always be through the bond of love and peacemaking that is Christ Spirit within each one.

It should also be remembered that the minds of different believers are not to be pressed into a single mold of thinking--this is not what is meant by being "likeminded" (Phil. 2:2). To be like minded is that Christ is our focus, our lives should be centered and ground in Him and all our responses in each of our different lives will be flavored and colored, and enhanced by the Peace and Love of Christ within each of our different lives.

It is indeed a good thing to have different forms of expression, different ways of worship , and thanksgiving, some loud, some quiet, some vocal, some silent, some dancing and clapping, some reverent and calm. Each of us are so different and that is a wonderful and beautiful blessing, some of us are introvert others extrovert, and the rest of us falls in between. Thankfully God has designed us this way because as nature shows us ,God indeed loves diversity, and colors, and different fragrances. Our God is not a boring God who wants everything done the same way and every person wears the same clothes, but God has shown us through the various races, various animals, and insects, and different birds and fishes in the seas that our God is a God of diversity! Out God loves different flavors, and as long as we live as peace makers, and flavor all our acts through Love, we can indeed overcome all that we will encounter as long as we do all through the Spirit of love in service of Christ . We all are a different color and fabric on a patch work quilt , all adding to the creation of a master piece, that requires each of us to be a part of the big design, without our particular patch of color of fabric, it would not be what it is. Christ covers us all with his blanket /quilt of love. May we all be knit and held together with the bonds of peace and love to give warmth to a cold hurting world.

warm blessings in Christ

KEEPING AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

This life we live , some think it is all there is, we are born , we live as we choose and as we please , we die, that is all there is. I on the other hand believe that life is the birthing process, from conception (our conversion) until the day we die is all the process of Christ being formed in us. Our true birth does not take place until our Lord's return and our resurrection or our change from mortality to immortality. We are in the wilderness throughout our growth and dying to self. As a Christian our perspective should be an Eternal Perspective, in that All things that happen do so for a eternal reason, there is more to this life that merely experiencing it, there is truly a Higher purpose for our lives. To think that maybe my life and yours is an accident and that there is no reason for living but doing as you and I please then in the end of it all we die. Nothing in my mind is more awful and hopeless than to think that we are here just to live and to just exist.If that is our only purpose, how little is this kind of thinking? It takes a small mind to think such thoughts!
I know there is more to life than this, I know because I have found that indeed All things in my life has a reason and a purpose behind them, and that my purpose in this world is much more than I can get my little mind around. This kind of thinking is not that I think I am something, but that God thinks that I am, for He came down to our level and revealed His true nature to us in the life of Jesus . Jesus is our true purpose in life, and all that we encounter while in the wilderness that is our lives,is so that He, Christ will be formed in us as God was in Him. So my Eternal Perspective in life as a believer and Christian ,is that I can Know That indeed All things are of God!

Many people will say that they wished that they didn't do this in life, or that they wished they had made better choices, or that they had wasted their lives and that all their past was of no purpose......but we can know for a fact that no matter how we had lived our life, there was indeed a purpose in all that we encountered, and although we probably didn't like most of it, they all served a purpose in the Eternal scheme of things. We really do not have all the answers, there are more questions the more we learn , than when we first started, and that there is so much more to the Universe, that we are so not aware of ! We will hopefully come to the conclusion, some of us, sooner and some later, that we miss the mark , all the blasted time ,of the Glory and the perfection that is God. We are not as grand and powerful and wonderful, and smart as we think we are............. and when we realize our need, Christ will be able to fill it. So we must live with an Eternal Perspective in this life, and Know for a fact that what ever happened in the past be it good or bad, what ever happens today, and what ever happens in the future, we can be sure that God is working His plan in us through the circumstances we find ourselves in!
Romans 8:29 amplifies on this powerful truth. God will use all things, (read again it says ALL THINGS), our sins, our suffering, our failures, our successes, even our self-righteousness, ALL THINGS, for our good. And what does God deem to be for our good? It is the transformation of our souls ,of those who love Him and Christ being formed in us to all who are called according to His purpose.
Our plans and purposes that we have for our lives are much too small and pitiful to even come close to what God has purposed for us! God and His purpose for us is so much more than we can ever imagine, or even can think and comprehend.
We have heard that Christianity is not a religion and this is so true, and we have heard that Christianity is a relationship with God in Christ, but this relationship is also with His Body , the church, the believers and children of the most HIGH." Oswald Chambers said "Our Lord's words are not, 'Do this, or don't do that,' but—'Come to me." All religions are for the most part a regulatory business of telling their members what and how they must live, they tell us to do this, don't do that, wear this, don't wear that, keep the Sabbath, no keep Sunday, keep the laws , no don't ..........It is not that, it is God living in and working through us , which requires relationship and not laws to do.
May we come to the understanding that we are the purpose of God, and that everything will work out for our good, as Christ is formed in us.
May we take heart in knowing that we have a purpose and it is unfolding even as we breathe.....................
It is not for us to think small, there is so much more than we can ever imagine in store for us in the coming ages of God. God will be All and in All, and we can believe that because God has never failed.........
An eternal perspective is grounded in the belief that there is something more important than the here and now and that there is blessing in every good thing and in every bad thing that comes our way.We enter the invisible realm of eternity through God's gracious gift of faith. We are living in the age of Faith, it is what opens heavens doors, at this time . The next age, Faith will not be necessary, but in this age it is, that is how it works right now, and that is just how it is, we must determined to live this faith every moment of every day, for there is great reward for the faithful.

SOUND WISDOM and the CROSS HAS TWO SIDES

Sound wisdom has two sides.
(Job 11:6)
The Two-Edged Sword
The word of God is a two-edged sword. A few examples of this two-edged sword, the two sides of wisdom, are seen in the following scriptures.
"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace" (Ecc. 3:1-8).
God appointed Jeremiah to " . . . root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant" (Jeremiah 1:10).
" . . . whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25).
"So the last shall be first, and the first last . . . " (Matthew 20:16).
" . . . he that is least among you all, the same shall be great" (Luke 9:46).
" . . . he that is greatest among you shall be your servant" (Matthew 23:11).
"Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in the world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise" (1 Corinthians 3:18).
"For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" (Luke 14:11).
When I am weak, then am I strong.
(2 Corinthians 12:10).

In Hebrew and Greek word studies, grief and glory are definitions for the same Hebrew word. Likewise, to bemoan and confess also mean to give thanks and praise. Praise is a result of bemoaning and confessing our sins. Virtue, power and wealth are from the same root word, meaning to writhe in the pain of childbirth, to grieve, sorrow and travail. Again we see the same principle at work. Virtue, power and wealth are birthed out of grief, sorrow and travail. The root word also means hope, rest, trust and to wait patiently.
To inherit or possess also means (to be) consumed and destroyed. Do I need to clarify? When we are consumed and destroyed we inherit and possess.
Forgiveness, mercy, atonement, purging and cleansing are all definitions for the same word.
To be prepared is from a root that means to consume, fail, waste and complete. To be merciful is in the same word as to put to shame. Sin and trespass are in the same word as repent, cleanse, purge, purify and make reconciliation. Each of God's paradoxes are two sides of the same coin. We cannot have one side without the other. This principle is evident in His Word and in His words. We should know that the cross brought death before it brought resurrection.

Psalm 105:19 says,"Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tried him" (NAS). This scripture means that the promise tested him until it was fulfilled! What is meant by this? We can look at all the people in the Hebrew Scriptures whom God gave promises too, to see this played out, Abraham, Joesph ,David , Daniel, Sarah,Mary and etc. were all given promises from God,but until these promises came to pass, the promise tested all of them most severely. Will God do no less with us? Even in all natural births or hatching of eggs, the process is the same, the infant must labor through the narrow gate the birth canal, before they are birthed, the chick must labor and pick away at the shell before it can be hatched. God has not left us without a witness to these things in the natural world, which is only the shadow of the reality of Spirit.We may have been given by the Holy Spirit a promise of healing or prosperity, but we are tested intensely before the promise is made manifest in our lives. We must remember the lessons given to us by the people of faith within the Scriptures that by applying our faith to His promises , we must then believe that He is using our trials that WE WILL ENCOUNTER, to heal, deliver, transform and deliver us. All things are for a reason, and the reason is not that we will go around always being blessed with health and abundance in this life without troubles and without problems, the reason is that these trials will produce the fruits of righteousness in our lives for the Glory of God.

There is always a purpose behind all our trials and sufferings and for the promises, and blessings, which are transformation and growth , the results of these promises and blessings of God are for the reason and purpose in all our lives, which is that Christ be formed in us , which should be the sole purpose and reason for our being.

We must never consider the trials, and sufferings we go through as shameful, but they are in fact blessings. We should never be ashamed that we are going through tough times ,never, for they are always opportunities for our betterment and transformation. We must embrace the cross of Christ, just as we must embrace our own crosses. If we are the children of God, we will not escape His cross nor our own cross, we can only delay its transformative results. Without the cross there would be no personal resurrection in this life and He desires this for ALL of His children! We must remember this as we live out our lives in this world, whether we view the cross as hystory or not, Whether we resent it or not, Whether we resist it or not, Whether we hide from it or not, it is ever present in our lives. Many do not understand that suffering and the trials and tribulations and the crisis we have in our lives IS the cross at work. Once we embrace His cross, We will be able to embrace ours. We must remember that there are 2 sides to His cross, Crucifixion resulting in death, and burial resulting in resurrection!

We don't have to wait until we're dead! to experience the resurrection life of Christ for we are always while we are alive in our bodies going through mini and many deaths, which produces mini and many resurrections in our lives, this the beloved , is good news not bad news!

We are told that the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted/tried by the devil. Even Jesus had to go through the wilderness experience, of which we all must go through as well! He experienced our pains, sufferings, trials and temptations, all of them in His Flesh, yes God truly knows what we are going through, because He has experienced them already. How did Jesus handle his wilderness experience? He dealt with them in 2 ways, He spoke the word of God to the tempter and the problems, and in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared" (Hebrews 5:8). We have the same two responses available to us that Jesus did. The word, and our brokenness and realization of our inability to handle the situation on our own, but we come to the point that we realize that it is more than we can do, we need God to do it through us. And the fact of the matter there is no other way around it, but through it, by the will and the help of God's Spirit within us.

Dear Jesus,

Your Word says we are to submit to God and resist the devil and he will flee from me. Lord, I want so much to fully submit my will to you,help me to surrender to whatever you choose for my life, help me to desire only your perfect will.Help me to trust in your promises, and help me to be your faithful servant, as was Paul. Help me to understand that it is Your grace which is sufficient for any circumstance I find myself in. Help me to understand that it is not my power but Your power which is always perfected in my weakness. Only then will I be able to boast as Paul did in his weaknesses, may I also be able to boast in my own weaknesses, so that your power may always dwell in me. Lord it is my hope and my intention to be well content with all of my weaknesses, insults, distresses, and what ever persecutions, and difficulties I may have for Your sake. For Lord I am well aware that only when I am weak, then I am strong in you. Lord in all I contend with day in and day out, may it be so that I may know you and the power of your resurrection, the fellowship of your sufferings, being conformed to your death, so that I may attain to our resurrection from death in this life as well as in the world to come. In Your Name and power and your will be done in my life,I pray, to you ,Jesus Christ.

To Satan:
In the all powerful Name of Jesus, and in obedience to the Word of God, Satan, I stand against you. God has my complete cooperation with anything He desires to do in my life, and, Satan, that includes anything He gives you permission to do. But that's where I draw the line. I hold the Name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, the power of the Holy Ghost and the Word of God against you. You can do nothing God doesn't give you permission to do. And whatever you do, Satan, God will use it for my good because I love Him and am called according to His purpose. You are a defeated foe. I tread you under my feet as the dust of the earth. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

What have you done today, unto the Lord?

What have you done in My name today, child? Who have you sheltered or fed? How many lives have been warmed by My touch Through something you've done or said?" .

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat . . . I was a stranger and you invited me in" (Matthew 25:35).
"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" (I John 3:17).

Living on the road as I do , since I travel with my trucker husband , I do not have a church home or church family. I don't give often to charities and I believe that when one gives, it should first be to their family, to their friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need, and to those who are in dire straights, homeless, hurting and so forth, but to those you personally come in contact with. It is OK to give to organizations if that is where you are led to give by the Spirit of God, but for the most part, I believe it should be a one on one exchange. It should be on a personal level.

I must admit my heart has not always been with the Lord, and I have strayed, and backslidden more times that not or that I really care to admit. I have more times than not, harbored more doubt than faith, more questions than answers. I struggle daily to overcome and endure and to live as a Believer, so just to let you know, I am no saint.

But the other day, the Lord gave me an opportunity to give unto Him, it wasn't much, but it was all I had on me. I don't usually carry money on the road, I leave that to my husband who is a very big man and if someone would want to take it from him, they would have to do it by force, so I let him carry the money,and buy what we need, I don't even carry my purse around because mugging is a big problem on the road, my brother who is a trucker had gotten robbed and mugged twice, once by a man with a pistol and the other a knife, so I just don't want to give an opportunity for that to happen. So the other day I had about 7 dollars that I folded up and placed in my pocket, we had stopped at a rest area to use the bathrooms, and a homeless man and his dog was sitting out side near the door, it was cold and rainy and they were looking for a ride, we cannot give rides to others , company policy, so there was nothing we could do, but I felt led to give him my money, with out my husbands knowledge, he is an unbeliever and has very hard feelings towards this kind of thing, but he does give to beggars now and again. So any way I gave it to this man, who had no front teeth, he was dirty, had long gray dirty hair, his pants 3 sizes to large for him, he looked pretty rough. I knew that God blessed me with an opportunity to give unto Him, and I am so absolutely blessed to have been able to do it and that I had placed my money in my pocket in the first place.

When giving to others we are giving to God, the word makes that very clear, and I was blessed that day that the Lord had given me this opportunity to do something, anything. I have been feeling useless and down in spirit for quite sometime, and needed to be used as a blessing to anyone.
The next day on our way back we stopped again, and he was still there no one had given him a ride, I prayed that God would take care of him that day, and I am trusting that He did.

I just wanted to relate to you all that we are given opportunities every day, if we are opened to them to be a blessing to others and to receive the blessing of being used by God to help others, and for that I am gladdened and thankful for an opportunity to do so. The Lord answered my prayer to be used as a blessing, and for a change I did not pass up this opportunity as I have done so many times in the past. Thank you Lord.

Blessings in His light

PRAYING THE WORD

I continually ask God to fill me with the knowledge of HIS will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that I may live a life worthy of the Lord and please HIM in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to HIS glorious might so that I may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified me to share in the inheritance of HIS people in the kingdom of light. I will continue to ask that the God of my Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that I may know HIM better. I pray that the eyes of my heart may be enlightened in order that I may know the hope to which HE has called me, the riches of HIS glorious inheritance in HIS people, and HIS incomparably great power for me because I believe. I ask that out of HIS glorious riches that HE may strengthen me with power through HIS Spirit in my inner being, so that Christ may dwell in my hearts through faith. And I ask that I be rooted and established in love, and that I have power, together with all the Lord's people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that I may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

And this is my prayer: that my love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that I may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

THE CALF PATH a poem by SAM WALTER FOSS

Here are words that apply to the problem I have with the religions and specifically of Christianity. This is the reason , I believe, that many are leaving organized religions, because people are not growing spiritually by doing things the same way that they have always been done, these ways are not applicable for today, and I dare say, have these ways ever proved to be beneficial to one's growth at all? They will tell us that the way that they preach is tried and true, and we can not venture off the path. I ask, even if the path leads to no where? I have chosen to get off the tried and so called true, and have stepped on the path of the Holy Spirit, and I am finding that it is indeed the way that will prove to be beneficial for my growth. Just because this is the way it has always been done, does not make it the right way and so the implications to church life are obvious. Many are leaving either all religions, or just organized religion and taking a path of Spirit that is more intimate, and personal because God is. For what it is worth.
blessings in Christ

THE CALF PATH

by SAM WALTER FOSS
One day, through the primeval wood,

A calf walked home, as good calves should;

But made a trail all bent askew,

A crooked trail as all calves do.

Since then three hundred years have fled,

And, I infer, the calf is dead.

But still he left behind his trail,

And thereby hangs my moral tale.

The trail was taken up next day

By a lone dog that passed that way;

And then a wise bell-wether sheep

Pursued the trail o’er vale and steep,

And drew the flock behind him, too,

As good bell-wethers always do.

And from that day, o’er hill and glade,

Through those old woods a path was made.

And many men wound in and out,

And dodged, and turned, and bent about

And uttered words of righteous wrath

Because ’twas such a crooked path.1

But still they followed—do not laugh—

The first migrations of that calf,

And through this winding wood-way stalked,

Because he wobbled when he walked.

This forest path became a lane,

That bent, and turned, and turned again;

This crooked lane became a road,

Where many a poor horse with his load

Toiled on beneath the burning sun,

And traveled some three miles in one.

And thus a century and a half

They trod the footsteps of that calf.
The years passed on in swiftness fleet,

The road became a village street;

And this, before men were aware,

A city’s crowded thoroughfare;

And soon the central street was this

Of a renowned metropolis;

And men two centuries and a half

Trod in the footsteps of that calf.

Each day a hundred thousand rout

Followed the zigzag calf about;

And o’er his crooked journey went

The traffic of a continent.

A hundred thousand men were led

By one calf near three centuries dead.

They followed still his crooked way,

And lost one hundred years a day;

For thus such reverence is lent

To well-established precedent.

A moral lesson this might teach,

Were I ordained and called to preach;

For men are prone to go it blind

Along the calf-paths of the mind,

And work away from sun to sun

To do what other men have done.

They follow in the beaten track,

And out and in, and forth and back,

And still their devious course pursue,

To keep the path that others do.

They keep the path a sacred groove,

Along which all their lives they move.

But how the wise old wood-gods laugh,

Who saw the first primeval calf!

Ah! Many things this tale might teach—

But I am not ordained to preach.—

TEN LIES THE CHURCH TELLS WOMEN

As a woman, and a non church goer, I find that it is vitally important that true Christianity be returned to it's proper place. For over a couple thousand years men have had their way with the truth, and in the process has succeeded in marginalizing, half of the population. They have brought in lies and half truths. Think about this, do you really think that having a penis gives one more spiritual knowledge, and leadership ability?Surely you jest. It is the Spirit of God that equips us to serve,not what gender we happen to be, and the biggie, and our obedience to that call. I think, I know, that women have had the rough go at it since the very beginning when God prophesied what would happen through out the ages:Gen.3:14-15

So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman,"

Enmity means "a feeling of deep ill-will or hostility." The word is used to translate the Hebrew word of the Old Testament , pronounced ay-bah, meaning hatred, and the Greek word of the New Testament , pronounced ek-thraw, also meaning hatred.

We don't have to be a brain surgeon to see that since the beginning women have been treated like second and third class slaves. It doesn't matter what religion, be it of the Book or Pagan, women have had a rough go at it. I am tempted to say, and will, "could it be Satan?" that has done this to the minds of men? I would ask the men and the Churches to see that Christ has set us free from the curse, any curse, and that would be from the very beginnings as well, it is time for us all to wake up and get out of the claws of the evil one and put on the Mind of Christ, and put this demon to rest.

From Christopher Witcombe, Eve and the identity of women.

"Eve represents everything about a woman a man should guard against. In both form and symbol, Eve is woman, and because of her, the prevalent belief in the West has been that all women are by nature disobedient, guileless, weak-willed, prone to temptation and evil, disloyal, untrustworthy, deceitful, seductive, and motivated in their thoughts and behaviour purely by self-interest.
No matter what women might achieve in the world, the message of Genesis warns men not to trust them, and women not to trust themselves or each other. Whoever she might be and whatever her accomplishments, no woman can escape being identified with Eve, or being identified as her."

Here is a wonderful article on this.

Ten Lies The Church Tells Women
FOR CENTURIES, A PATRIARCHAL SYSTEM OF CONTROL HAS KEPT WOMEN IN SPIRITUAL CAPTIVITY THROUGH DISTORTION OF THE SCRIPTURES. IT'S TIME TO DEBUNK THE MYTHS.
By J. Lee Grady
We live in the 21st century, but if we're honest we have to admit that in some ways the church is still in the Dark Ages--especially when we look at the way we treat women.Even though the Scriptures never portray women as secondary to men, our male-dominated religious system still promotes a warped view of female inferiority. Women are tired of this, and as a man, so am I--because such demeaning attitudes don't reflect God's heart. Jesus challenged gender prejudice at its core when He directed so much of His ministry toward women. In a Middle Eastern culture that considered women mere property, He healed women, discipled them and commissioned them to minister. Yet today we spend much of our energy denying them opportunities--and using the Bible to defend our prohibitions. I've identified 10 erroneous views about women that for too long have been circulated in the church, preached from pulpits and written in the study notes of popular Bible translations. I believe we must debunk these lies if we want to see the church fully released to fulfill the Great Commission.

LIE #1. GOD'S ULTIMATE PLAN FOR WOMEN IS THAT THEY SERVE THEIR HUSBANDS.
How sad that so many Christian men view women from a selfish perspective. This view is often promoted by misreading the account of Eve's creation in Genesis 2:18-25, in which Adam is provided a "helpmate." The Hebrew word used here often is translated "companion," denoting intimacy and partnership. But through the centuries it has been used to imply that Eve was some type of domestic appendage. We men have assumed that God gave Eve to fulfill Adam's sexual needs as well as to serve as his cook, laundress and maid. But the Genesis account does not say this. After Eve's creation, God did not tell her: "You are Adam's helper; I command you to serve him well." She was not created for servitude; she was fashioned to be a co-laborer with Adam so that they might rule together over creation as God commissioned them to do (see Gen. 1:28).

LIE #2. WOMEN CAN'T BE FULFILLED OR SPIRITUALLY EFFECTIVE WITHOUT A HUSBAND.
From the time she was released from a German death camp in 1944 until her death in 1983, Corrie Ten Boom taught the world about a Savior who could forgive the cruelest Nazi. Yet she never married. Did the fact that she did not have a husband make her less "complete"? Some Christians would say yes. We have spent so much energy defending the concept of the biblical family that we are guilty of idolizing it. We've preached that a woman's primary responsibility is to find a godly husband, have lots of babies and stay home to raise them for Christ. But marital status is not a qualifier for ministry. The Bible does not even state whether certain key followers of Jesus, such as the 12 disciples, were married or not. The highest calling of all believers--married or unmarried--is to develop a relationship with Jesus. Any other earthly relationship is secondary, and Christ Himself warned us never to allow people we love to become idols that distract us from Him.

LIE #3. WOMEN SHOULDN'T WORK OUTSIDE THE HOME.
Many evangelical churches have preached that women who work outside the home are breaking a scriptural commandment, but this conclusion can be reached only by distorting the biblical record. The woman described in Proverbs 31 is often used to bolster a traditional view of the June Cleaver-style matron who spends her day baking casseroles while her husband is at the office. But a careful reading reveals that the Proverbs 31 woman, in her ancient Middle Eastern context, functioned as a real estate agent and ran a textile business.
Titus 2:5 instructs women to "take care of their homes" (New Living Translation). But most scholars would agree that this passage simply exhorts married women not to forsake their children.
It is true that, because of ambition or materialism, some Christian women neglect their children even though the Holy Spirit has urged them to put their career objectives on hold. But rather than placing a legalistic burden on women by telling them that having a career is ungodly, we should tell both men and women to submit their career plans to the Holy Spirit's direction.

LIE #4. WOMEN MUST OBEDIENTLY SUBMIT TO THEIR HUSBANDS IN ALL SITUATIONS.
A distraught Christian woman who was regularly beaten by her husband finally gained the courage to seek counsel from her pastor. After she told him about her husband's fits of rage, the pastor responded, "If your husband kills you, it will be to the glory of God."The pastor reached this irresponsible conclusion because of a distorted view of "male headship." We often portray marriage as a hierarchy, with husbands on the throne and wives at the footstool, and we use Scripture to justify this view: "Wives...submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord" (Eph. 5:22).We assume this verse means women have no say in family matters or that their opinion is second-rate. In extreme cases, women have been told to submit to abuse in order to honor male headship. But this is not a Christian view. Paul also told the Ephesians, "submit to one another" (5:21, emphasis added). I have heard teachings by male clergy on the subject of male headship, but I've never heard a pastor encourage men to submit to their wives! Yet in a loving marriage, a man and woman will defer to one another as they make decisions. In my 16 years of marriage, my wife and I have had plenty of disagreements. But when we reach an impasse, I don't announce, "I am the head of this house, so what I say goes." Rather, Deborah and I either agree to pray about the matter, or we choose to defer to one another. The point is never who is in charge. I view my wife as an equal. I am not "over her." We function as one.

LIE #5. A MAN NEEDS TO "COVER" A WOMAN IN HER MINISTRY ACTIVITIES.
This idea came from a distorted interpretation of the apostle Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 11:3, "the head of woman is man" (NKJV). People have used these words to bolster the idea that women are subservient to men or that they cannot approach God without a male authority figure in their lives. Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 11 about head coverings is a difficult passage, and Bible scholars don't agree on its meaning. However, most teach that Paul is addressing specific cultural concerns in first-century Corinth and that he is calling for propriety and order in a society where immorality and paganism had blurred gender distinctions. Paul was not placing men in a position of generic rulership over women. Because there is "no male or female in Christ" (see Gal. 3:28), women can pray, worship, study the Bible or minister without a man present. How silly to think that a man, because of his gender, could add credibility to prayer or Spirit-empowered ministry! To believe this would be to trust in the flesh.

LIE #6. A WOMAN SHOULD VIEW HER HUSBAND AS THE "PRIEST OF THE HOME."
Search your concordance. Scripture never describes men as "priests of the home." This man-made concept was popularized in evangelical churches in the last century. We have one priest, Jesus Christ, whose blood atoned for our sins. It is a mockery of the gospel to suggest that any human being needs an additional priest apart from the Son of God.The Bible says all believers are priests (see 1 Pet. 2:9, Rev. 1:6); there is no gender restriction. Husbands function as priests when they pray for their families or when they minister the Word of God to them, and wives also function in this role. My experience in marriage has been that God speaks both to me and to my wife. He doesn't say to me, "Since you are the head of this house, I'll tell you my plans for your family, and you can tell the others what I said." Often God has revealed His plans to my wife before I heard anything!Christian men need to stop being defensive and recognize that God has called us to function in unity with our wives. We need to listen to their counsel, consider their opinions, and pray together for the mind of the Lord rather than putting our foot down and shouting, "I am the leader of this family, and what I say goes!"

LIE #7. WOMEN ARE NOT EQUIPPED TO ASSUME LEADERSHIP ROLES.
The most common mistake we make in biblical interpretation occurs when we take one isolated verse and build a doctrine around it--even if the verse seems to contradict other passages. This is often what we do with 1 Tim. 2:12, "I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man" (NASB).Most theologians believe that this passage was addressing an isolated situation in Ephesus. They came to this conclusion after studying the myriad of references in the Bible to women in spiritual authority. The Old Testament records that Deborah was a judge over Israel--and God blessed her leadership in battle (see Judg. 4-5). Other women who held authority over men include Miriam, Huldah and Noadiah. Jesus issued His first gospel commission to women (see Matt. 28:1-10), and both men and women were empowered to preach on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). Priscilla, Chloe and Phoebe were leaders in the early church, and one woman, Junia, is called an apostle by Paul (Rom. 16:7).The promise of the prophet Joel was that "sons and daughters" would prophesy after the Holy Spirit was given to the church (Joel 2:28, emphasis added). Yet we have taken one misunderstood verse from Paul's writings and used it to negate hundreds of other passages that support the full release of women into ministry.

LIE #8: WOMEN MUST NOT TEACH OR PREACH TO MEN IN A CHURCH SETTING.
Since 1 Timothy 2:12 obviously contradicts the overall biblical endorsement of women in authority, how are we to understand it? What is Paul actually saying in this passage?In their book I Suffer Not a Woman, Richard and Catherine Clark Kroeger explain that certain cultic worship practices involving female priestesses of Diana had invaded the first-century church. These priestesses promoted blasphemous ideas about sex and spirituality, and they sometimes performed rituals in which they pronounced curses on men and declared female superiority.What Paul was most likely saying to the Ephesians was this: "I do not allow a woman to teach these cultic heresies, nor do I allow them to usurp authority from men by performing pagan rituals." He was not saying, as some Christians have assumed, "I do not allow godly Christian women to teach the Bible." In his day, Paul would have been thrilled to have had more skilled women who could teach the truth!

LIE #9. WOMEN ARE MORE EASILY DECEIVED THAN MEN.
This idea has been taught by twisting the meaning of 1 Timothy 2:14, which says, "It was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression" (NLT). Some have suggested that because Eve was tricked by the devil, women have a stronger propensity toward deception. Others have gone so far as to insist that women are to blame for all the evil in the world and are therefore under a greater curse than men. No respectable Bible scholar in the church today would promote such a view. The Bible clearly states that Adam and Eve were both held guilty by God for their disobedience, and they were both punished. In 1 Timothy, Paul cited the creation account not to place extra blame on Eve but to refute a bizarre teaching that was circulating in Asia Minor. In the first century, Gnostic heretics were mixing Christianity with paganism. One of their teachings stated that Eve actually liberated the world when she disobeyed God and gained secret knowledge from the devil. Paul was not teaching that women are more prone to deception. He was explaining that what Eve did was not right, and that the Christian view of the creation was that Adam and Eve sinned when they listened to the serpent. Women are certainly capable of spreading deception because they have a fallen nature as men do, but there is no evidence that they have greater gullibility. That view is rooted in demeaning stereotypes and prejudice.

LIE #10: WOMEN WHO EXHIBIT STRONG LEADERSHIP QUALITIES HAVE A "SPIRIT OF JEZEBEL."
Once I was listening to Bible teacher Cindy Jacobs speak at a prayer conference in Colorado. When she approached the pulpit, two men who were sitting in front of me turned to each other and began to pray softly. "Lord, we bind the power of the devil from bewitching this audience," one man said, adding, "We bind the power of Jezebel in the name of Jesus." These men believed that the crowd would automatically come under a spirit of deception when Jacobs taught them--simply because she was a woman. How absurd! Was Barak "deceived" when he took orders from Deborah? (See Judg. 4:14.) Did baby Jesus come under a harmful influence when Anna prophesied over Him? (See Luke 2:36-38.) Was Apollos spiritually emasculated when he submitted to the teaching of Priscilla? (See Acts 18:26.) Of course not!To associate godly women with Jezebel, a wicked Old Testament despot, is unfair and offensive, yet men in the church today often pin Jezebel's label on strong, anointed women because they feel threatened by them. Let's stop the insults. If a woman is using manipulation to usurp authority or if she is spreading heresies, then she certainly deserves the Jezebel label--as do men who do such things. But women who walk in spiritual integrity and preach the Word of God with power deserve our respect. ________________________

J. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma magazine, has enlarged on this topic in his book, Ten Lies the Church Tells Women. It is excellent.

WE HAVE BEEN SET FREE FROM RELIGION.

Christian religions ,it would seem to me,depends on the religion of Christianity, for their existence, but True Christianity has never needed or has it ever depended on religion to keep it afloat. Christ said that "He alone is the way," He was not declaring a new religion! Nor did He ever mention that he was ever going to do so. He never stipulated that to believe in Him, that we must be Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, or any of the many denominations that have built their religions around HIM. to find the truth. Jesus Christ did not die for a religious cause. He died to lift all of His physical creation out of its darkness and to bring us, as human beings, closer to Him. For we have already been reconciled to God, it is just that many do not know this, and religion will keep many in the dark chains of ignorance about this, claiming that we must live a certain way, that we must strive on our own to be what we or the church thinks we should be, and that we must follow their dogma, doctrines, and traditions in order to please God and be who God would have us be, by our own pitiful efforts.

Many believe that once someone becomes a Christian , that they can no longer do that which is wrong, or sin. But you see Christianity is not living by the principles of right and wrong, good and evil. But rather , it is about life from the inside out! Watchman Nee, in his book The Finest of the Wheat, Volume I (pp 220-221) said "What is Christianity? Christianity is life. It does not ask whether a thing is right or wrong. It asks instead what your inner life says: it is a matter of how the new life which God has given us addresses the situation." The Christian life is about allowing the Spirit of Christ within to address all the situations we face in life, it is about yielding our wills to do that which the Spirit of Christ within leads us to do in each circumstance we are in. The Christian Life is about relearning and renewing our minds and thoughts to the truth of who we are now in Christ, not our bodies which belong to this world and which gets glorified at the resurrection at Christ physical return, but in our spirits which have been made alive and resurrected with Christ at His Resurrection 2000 years ago! and our spirits ,now are being formed into the image of Christ now in the progressive revelation we are now receiving in Him. It's about 'reprogramming' from the physical worlds identity, to the spirit's true identity found only in the life of Christ which dwells in every believer.We now are free from having to do anything to please God from our own self effort. God is well aware of our weaknesses, and as we become aware of our weaknesses, Christ will become more formed within us to do the Work that God would do through us.

We have been set free from all those religious rules and laws, oughts, shoulds, could's, that choke and chain us like slaves to a religious prison cell.

We have been taught that everything written in the Hebrew Scriptures is a complete and total revelation of who God is, but then Jesus/Yeshua Christ comes around to set us free from bad theology to reveal the true heart and Spirit of God. Jesus spent a good deal of time showing us the Father, and the Religious Leaders of that day as well as many today in the Religion of Christianity do not like the God as Jesus shows us he is and that is why true spirit believers in Christ will suffer as he did by their hands.
The real and true essence of God's character is love. The demonstration of His love is that He has provided a plan of salvation and reconciliation for all humanity through the death on the cross of His son Jesus Christ. He will ultimately achieve His desire of reconciliation with all people.In each of our spiritual journeys, our understanding of God will continue to evolve, not because God changes, but because in this journey we can only understand Him as He reveals Himself to each of us in the context of our personal lives and our personal growth. We know that we are limited in our understanding of God and are aware of our individual shortcomings. Therefore, we must strive to cherish the liberty granted to all of us by God and honor the ability of each and every one of us , to hear what God is speaking to him or her on an individual basis, affirming both our liberty in Christ and our accountability to each other in accordance with the Word of God. The primary mission of the 'church' which is the body of believers,is to encourage all people to participate in this glorious salvation and reconciliation given to us by and through Christ,during our lifetimes. [2 Cor. 6:2; 1 Tim 2:4; 1 Tim 4:10; 1 Tim 2:6]

The Scripture which was recorded by mortal and imperfect men both before and shortly after the time of Christ. Is divinely inspired and serves as the record of God's revelation of Himself to humanity. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It was authored by the Holy Spirit of God, to reveal His plan for the salvation and reconciliation of all humanity to Himself. We must believe that it is true and inerrant but only as it is interpreted through the person and work and LIFE of Jesus Christ who Himself is the revealed Word of God. We must never shove it down any ones throat, but keep in mind that it is only by and through the Divine Holy Spirit that the dead words are given and made alive to those who will take the time to meditate and contemplate , prayerfully digest it's words.

Christ came that we might have life and have it abundantly. He came to free us from the impossibly heavy weight of performing the laws and traditions and the responsibility of achieving righteousness through our own will and human effort. The Christian life is the process of yielding to the gentle work of Christ, which brings rest and peace and joy to our lives. [Galatians 5:1; Romans 8:2; Philippians 2:13; Galations 3:3; John 15:10-11; Colossians 3:15; Matthew 11:28]