NCarolinian

In my distress I call out to you LORD, and I know you will answer me. From the depths of the grave I call for your help and I know you hear my cry. I am in the deep, in the very heart of the seas, and the currents are swirling around me; all your waves and breakers are sweeping over me.I know I have been banished from your sight; yet I focus again toward your holy temple. The engulfing waters threaten me, the deep surrounds me; seaweed wraps around my head. I sink down to the root of the mountains; the earth has barred me in forever. But you have brought my life up from the pit, O LORD, my God. My life is ebbing away, but I remember you LORD, and my prayer rises to you, to your holy temple. Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I will sacrifice to you with a song of thanksgiving. And what I have promised in my heart and mind to you LORD I will make good, for I know that Salvation comes from you LORD. v. 10 - "And the LORD command...

"The word of the LORD came to me:  'Son of man speak to your countrymen and say to them:  'When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head.  Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head.  If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself.  But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood. Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the [citizens and church in America]; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from m...

Heavenly Father, There is something very sacred about your name and I honor it. I am praying for the release of your power through your body, the church.  I am praying for the release of your purpose everywhere.   And I am praying for the release of your daily provisions. I need your blessing, grace, understanding and forgiveness - so I forgive. Help me not to give in to what I know is against your plan for my life. Plus, please help me when I cannot help myself from all kinds of trouble. You are the Rock I lean on, my sure Foundation. I receive my strength from you Father. Help me to always give you the credit for the favor and blessings in my life. Amen.

Authenticity, this is the key in today's world.  The current technology can manipulate video and audio so much as to make anyone believe or accept anything.  Explaining away a mystery is fun, challenging at times, and sometimes dangerous.  It requires evidence beyond the shadow of a doubt and that is where authenticity at every level comes into play. Bigfoot.  The story about and reports of this creature have been around at least since the Native Americans ruled the United States.  The legend of Bigfoot has been circulated within the tribes of our native Americans before settlers from anywhere else on the globe visited this land. That's the first major piece of evidence - a culture and society that already existed here long before anybody else had a record of a being they called Sasquatch.  Even though the Patterson film came along and some claimed it to be staged, the shear number of sightings, documented on video or not, is the second piece of evidenc...

Daniel had the proper resolution in Daniel 1:8.  "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine,..."   He had the proper response in Daniel 2:14. "When Arioch, the commander of the king's guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact."  Thirdly, Daniel had and knew the proper reward for himself in Daniel 5:17.  "Then Daniel answered the king, 'You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else.  Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means."  But Daniel did not get a chance to even react to the charges brought against him in Daniel 6:16.  "So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den."   However, it is interesting to note that the king at that time, King Darius, must have liked Daniel because Scripture previous to that says, "When the king heard t...

Daniel's friends and brothers in the faith - Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were all insulted as captors by having their names changed.  Their original names reflected their Jewish background or belief in Yahweh.  The king now called them Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - after the gods the Babylonians worshiped.  Then in chapter three of Daniel we read about a very proud King, Nebuchadnezzar, that sets up an image of himself to be worshiped whenever the musicians make a certain call on their instruments. Whether or not the king knew he would get a certain reaction out of Daniel's friends is mere speculation.  However, the decree was made, "the astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews" for not following the decree and the three Jewish captors were escorted in to the king's presence by a summon from the king himself. "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?  .......if you ...

Daniel 2: 14 - 49 Daniel was not around for the ordeal that took place between his highly advanced-in-knowledge staff and the king of Babylon. Talk about being on the short end of the stick!  Daniel did not even hear that he, his Jewish brothers, and his Babylonian counterparts were sentenced to death until almost the last minute. Daniel's approach in Scripture is what initially halted a whole cabinet of officials and potential knowledge from certain death.  Verse 14 says,  "Daniel spoke to him [Arioch, commander of the king's guard] with wisdom and tact." Daniel then "asked the king's officer" (v.15) about Arioch's charge, sought the king's presence and "asked for time" (v.16) so that he may fulfill the desire of the king to both speak the dream and it's interpretation.  Then he got a prayer team organized (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) and asked, actually Daniel instructed his brothers - "plead for mercy from the...