NCarolinian

When Scripture speaks on this topic of  abiding with God  and  Him abiding with us  the meaning does NOT carry with it a sense of visitation.  The Holy Spirit does not spend a vacation weekend every Sunday away from Heaven with Believers to hear our praises, petitions, and give us Holy Ghost goose pimples only to retreat back to Heaven. Abiding with God means much more and for a much longer period of time. Just like there is a Tale of Two Temples - one structural, Solomon's Temple (1 Kings 8:12-13), the other biological, our bodies (John 14:16) - there is also a Tale of Two Abides.  In  1 Kings 8:12-13 , King Solomon speaks of the temple he has built to house the awesome presence of The Lord. Since the first coming of Christ, God's presence - His Holy Spirit - can be found in another  Temple  as well - the Believer's body.  Unlike the first, structural, temple the Holy Spirit does not stop dwelling or residing within us EVER. Now that...

The Spirit was upon them to pray, so they prayed.  All 400 of them prayed out loud the 91st Psalm. The sound from the camp as the British-American mixed group prayed was faith-building. Listen, in your minds ear, if you will, to 400 men reciting Psalm 91 , one particular day in May 1940. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."  3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.  4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.  5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,  6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.  7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you....

Ephesians 5:20  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, always give thanks for everything to God the Father. Thankful Heart Words by Bob Hartman and Dino Elefante Music by John Elefante I have a thankful heart that you have given me And it can only come from you There is no way to begin to tell you how I feel There are no words to express how you've become so real Jesus, you've given me so much I can't repay I have no offering There is no way to begin to tell you how I feel There's nothing more I can say and no way to repay Your warming touch that melts my heart of stone Your steadfast love - I'll never be alone I have a thankful heart that you have given me And it can only come from you I have a thankful heart; words don't come easily But I am sure you can see my thankful heart Help me be a man of God A man who's after Your own heart Help me show my gratitude And keep in me a thankful heart

We sing the following, we pray the following, and many Presidents have ended their speeches with the following - God Bless America. God Bless America, but first, America Bless God. As a nation we desperately need to fulfill 2 Chronicles 7:14 . With this challenge comes instruction for Christians nationwide followed by a promised response by God. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray , and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. This conditional If...Then  statement is a national "hearing", "forgiving", and "healing". However, it must start with the individual Christian being "humble", "prayerful", "seeking His face" (not His hands), and "turning from our wicked ways", then it will have a great opportunity to spread like wildfire in the congregations of our churches. Choosing to...

Rehabilitation Officer: Ellis Boyd Redding: your file says you've served 40 years of a life sentence. Do you feel you've been rehabilitated? Red: Rehabilitated?... Well, now, let me see. You know, I don't have any idea what that means. Rehabilitation Officer: Well, it means that you're ready to rejoin society, to— Red: [Interrupting] I know what you think it means, sonny. To me it's just a made-up word. A politician's word, so that young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie and have a job. What do you really wanna know? Am I sorry for what I did? Rehabilitation Officer: Well, are you? Red: There's not a day goes by that I don't feel regret. Not because I'm in here, or because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try to talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone...

In my studies while reading The Bible today, I came across the word whistle(s). According to the word search I performed on www.crosswalk.com, these words - whistle/whistles - appear once, each in the same book - Isaiah. Evidently it is Not A Good Thing to hear this whistle. The whistle originates from The Lord and has some kind of judgement following it in each event. Therefore the LORD's anger burns against his people; his hand is raised and he strikes them down. The mountains shake, and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised. He lifts up a banner for the distant nations, he whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Here they come, swiftly and speedily! Not one of them grows tired or stumbles, not one slumbers or sleeps; not a belt is loosened at the waist, not a sandal thong is broken. Their arrows are sharp, all their bows are strung; their horses' hoofs seem like flint, their char...

In the same way that the robot of Lost In Space warned Will of impending danger, so I take this opportunity to do the same with my brothers and sisters in Christ.  The Name It and Claim It doctrine or movement or whatever you desire to call it is not Scriptural.  If you are a parent, do you give your child everything he/she names or claims that would seemingly be impossible to live without? Remember back to when you were a child - did you receive everything you named and claimed that you thought was vital to continuing with your life? The answer is a loud, resounding - No! Nobody has ever received everything they wanted, from this world, otherwise we would be told how to master the desire or disease of want .  Similarly, God does not always award the Christian whatever is named or claimed. Many people quote the James 4:2 - "You do not have, because you do not ask God." - as a means to justify their Name It and Claim It mentality. However, people lift ver...

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. - Colossians 2:8 Although seemingly shrinking, there are good and sound philosophies out there. However, there are some hollow and deceptive philosophies that have grown up and are standing alongside the decent ones "which depend on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."  "Human tradition" says - That is how WE have always done it, no need to change now . - even though change may be greatly needed.  The "basic principles of this world" orbit around me, I, or self. If the enemy of our souls can use "hollow and deceptive philosophy" to sway our attention and affection onto the things of this world "rather than on Christ" then he is succeeding in his goal of spiritual blindness. The Pharisees and teachers of ...

I am almost afraid to ask this question, but - when you give directions for someone to drive to your location, do you provide them a slew of options they can choose from or do you equip them with the most direct route? Hopefully it is the later - the more direct route. In the same vein I desire to supply Scripture supporting the direct route to eternal life in Heaven with God to both my family in Christ and unbelievers. There is a saying that states, "All paths lead to the same god." This is true IF you do not know and/or claim Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, King, and God. Many, many paths have been laid out on the broadest of roads to accommodate those who desire to live for self. Satan, fallen god of this world (Luke 4:5-6), has attached himself to the end of the self-made road of life. In the New Living Translation, Jesus explained it this way -   You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide fo...

Except for Christ, nobody is perfect or has lived a perfect life. Even Christians can only hope and strive to live a Sin-Less life. Matthew 6:14-15 screams this fact at the top of it's lungs! Speaking to potential believers, including His disciples, Jesus said, For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Jesus was preparing to pay with His own life for the  "wages of sin"  (eternal death or separation from God -  Romans 6:23 ) when He said this. Again, notice that Jesus, says to future Christians, they will still make mistakes -  " your heavenly Father will also forgive you "  (future tense). However, note who is listed first to act in this verse - Believers. Observe what the Believer reaps, the Believer will also sow. Living the Christian life begins with us giving first not receiving. In discussing this with my dad, he agree...

In my  minds-eye  I see two doorways in the heavenly realm. Both doorways are so active the doors themselves have been taken off their hinges. One door opens from God in Heaven to earth below. From behind this door, through this door, and to the intended recipient goes The Holy Spirit with a life in His hands. When He arrives at His destination, The Holy Spirit creates his/her's  "inmost being" , He  "knits"  him/her together in their  "mother's womb"  and  "fearfully and wonderfully"  makes them ( Psalm 139:13 ). As The Holy Spirit finishes molding His creation within the mother, I can almost see an imprint of a question upon the soul - " What will you do with or believe about Jesus Christ of Nazareth? " The other doorway with empty hinges is the one humans pass through when we die. As we approach the doorway, the imprinted question we have on our souls from birth is answered. Passing through the door one type of individual...

I have a feline friend at home whose name is Gabriel (after the angel in Scripture) but who I like to call every now and then - My Little Black Panther. Sure, it might be cute and appropriate because he is an all-black cat, however, the reason I mention it here is that if Gabriel could really understand me when I call him that, maybe he would start, just start living toward that potential. For me as a "cat parent", the joy of observing Gabriel develop into a stealthy, cuddly, mysterious black panther - would be awesome. It would be equally awesome, if not more-so, to discover how God views us and start to live in God's potential for our lives. That is an incredible amount of hope and an amazing future to testify about - when we live out God's potential for our lives. God has that potential, that plan for us to execute. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a futu...

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. " - Deuteronomy 31:6 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you . Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. - Deuteronomy 31:8 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you . - Joshua 1:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." - Hebrews 13:5 ______________________________________________________________________________ It is good to hear or read something repeated a few times every now-and-then in life. For example, I believe we all like to hear - I love you.   Other phrases of positive reinforcement are  I respect you  and  I think highly...

I have heard many people lately and some persons in particular declare to an assembly of believers - " I'm not worthy of God's.....! " I understand the posture of the heart and mind that these individuals have when they say this - humility. We do not have the right to stand before Almighty God and demand anything, especially our redemption. BUT the statement - " I am not worthy " - is no longer correct because of God's intimate dealings with humanity. Worthy:  having value; deserving. Read how God views this -  God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but now in these final days, he was sent to the earth for all to see. And he did this for you. - 1 Peter 1:20 (New Living Translation)  This is how much God thought of our worth. "Long before the world began" the All-Knowing God chose my worth, your worth, everyone and everything's worth. "Long before the world began" I have been on God's heart and mind. ...