Podcasts about glorify him

Sunday May 18, 2025 at the Hub City Church God's Sovereignty Over All | Acts 12 The Gospel for All | a teaching series through Acts Sermon by Tadd Anderson | Lead Teaching Pastor Sermon Notes: "No plan of God's can be thwarted; when He acts, no one can reverse it; no one can hold back His hand or bring Him to account for His actions. God does as He pleases, only as He pleases, and works out every event to bring about the accomplishment of His will. Such a bare unqualified statement of the sovereignty of God would terrify us if that were all we knew about God. But God is not only sovereign, He is perfect in love and infinite in wisdom.” — Jerry Bridges God is SOVEREIGN over life and DEATH, the MISSION of His church and EVERYTHING else, therefore, we ought to LIVE BODLY to GLORIFY Him! Romans 8:28 While no one knows the TIMING or MANNER of their own DEATH, believers can be sure that it won't happen OUTSIDE of God's PLAN and that when it does, they will be instantly ‘at HOME with the LORD'. Hebrews 9:27 // 2 Corinthians 5:8 While the church will face SETBACKS and SEASONS of DIFFICULTY, it is NEVER at RISK of ultimate FAILURE because it is SUSTAINED by God's INFINITE POWER. Matthew 16:18 // Hebrews 12:28-29 No matter what, the SUPREMACY of Christ GUARANTEES this: in the end, all who OPPOSE Him will LOSE and all who are WITH Him will WIN. 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 // Philippians 2:9-11 The Hub City Church is a local expression of the church in Crestview, Florida, making disciples Who Believe the Gospel, Abide in Christ and Obey the Word to the glory of God. Join us next Sunday at 10am. 837 W James Lee Blvd, Crestview, FL 32536.

The New Testament reveals a profound truth: as followers of Jesus, we are not merely called to gather but to be sent into the world to fulfill God's mission. Churches often measure success by attendance and budgets, but the New Testament prioritizes sending workers into the harvest field. As individuals, we can embrace that God has sent us to where he has us now to Glorify Him, Love People, and Make Disciples. Corporately, we have the opportunity to embrace a “Sending” culture and rejoice in the work of furthering the invitation to join the Kingdom of God.

HOPE: YOUR HIGHWAY TO CHANGE ROMANS 4:16-22 JANUARY 12, 2025 è Hope is a mighty spiritual force that internally reaches for a result that is not yet externally seen! • Romans 15:13: Now may the God of all Hope…. • Comes from God! • Hebrews 11:1: Hope is the atmosphere that encourages faith…. Guard It! è Embracing your God-given Hope • Identify the witness of Hope in you (What is ongoing, legitimate Hope!) • Ask the Lord to speak His Word to you regarding that Hope! (Romans 10:17) • Invest in Hope, resist other voices (nay sayers, circumstances, long waits …. Etc.) (Romans 4:18-21) • Partner with God. (Glorify Him for His ability to grant the manifestation, bring about change!) (Romans 4:20,21)

Hebrews 11:17-19 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. The Holy Spirit had something else to say about Abraham, which honored God above everything else he had done in his life. Abraham demonstrated his love for God by showing He loved Him more than his only son. God was a greater treasure to Abraham than Isaac or his reputation. Because God had said to Abraham, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called,” Abraham offered up Isaac to God. Do you get it? Abraham believed God's word about Isaac, so he offered him up by faith. Where did the faith come from? It came from the Holy Spirit when God promised that his descendants would come through Isaac. Since faith comes from God and Abraham believed God, he had the assurance that even if he killed Isaac, God would raise him up from the dead. This is one of those Bible stories that earth-blinded people cite as a reason not to believe in God. The story is too strange, too weird, too unthinkable. What kind of a god would ask a man to kill his only son as an act of worship? From an earthly point of view, we get it. There's no earthly explanation that makes sense because they don't understand God's purposes or supernatural faith. It's strange to them. We see Abraham's faith in two statements found in Gen. 22:5. “Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.'” And vs. 8 when Isaac asked about a lamb for the offering. “Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.'” God provided the ram as a substitute for Isaac according to Abraham's faith, and Abraham received his son back, just as God received His Son back after resurrecting Him to life. We can see the type, can't we? From God's viewpoint, He purposed in eternity to glorify Himself in Abraham, Isaac, and in Jesus, His Son. God prepared a prophetic testimony to His offering up His only Son as a sacrifice for the sins of those of whom He is not ashamed to be called their God. God is not ashamed to be the God of Abraham, who, by faith and love, offered up his only son, or the God of Isaac, who willingly gave himself to be sacrificed out of honor to his father. God is also not ashamed to be called the God of Jesus, who willingly gave Himself as a sacrifice for the honor and glory of His Father. For Abraham, Isaac, and Jesus to do what God commanded them made them all strangers and exiles on the earth. They did what they did because they believed in God and believed He was a rewarder of those who love, obey, and seek Him. God has made us strangers and exiles on the earth through what He has commanded us to do. Glorify Him by giving up our lives in this world to live to love with Jesus, His Son. The only way this is possible is by faith. Walk today in love, by faith.

John 16:14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 "All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. 16 ¶ "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father." 17 Then some of His disciples said among themselves, "What is this that He says to us, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, 'because I go to the Father'?" 18 They said therefore, "What is this that He says, 'A little while'? We do not know what He is saying." 19 Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'? 20 "Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. 21 "A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 "Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.  Jesus tells them another purpose of the Holy Spirit is to Glorify Him by declaring His Word to them. He then begins to tell them in a little while they will not see Him and then again in a little while they will see Him. This totally confuses the disciples who do not understand this at all. So, Jesus begins to explain it to them by using some terms that show that He is first going to the cross and they will weep and lament, but the world will have joy because they have killed Him. Then when he is resurrected they will have joy because He has died for their sins and overcome death. They will see him for a little while here on earth after He is resurrected, but then they will see Him and be with Him forever in Heaven. So remember, James 4:14, Rom 8:18, and Ps 30:5 Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. This life and it's sorrow will soon be over if we are a Christian and it's only a little while and then we will be with Him in heaven forever with no more tears, sorrow, pain, or anything else to cause us trouble.  AMEN!  14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine and show it unto you—Thus the whole design of the Spirit's office is to glorify Christ—not in His own Person, for this was done by the Father when He exalted Him to His own right hand—but in the view and estimation of men. For this purpose He was to “receive of Christ”—all the truth relating to Christ—“and show it unto them,” or make them to discern it in its own light.[1]  15 "All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. Because Jesus is the Logos, the revelation of the Father (or as Paul expressed it, “the image of the invisible God” [Col. 1:15]), all that belongs to the Father is also the Son's. The Spirit of Truth brought glory to Jesus as He revealed to the apostles things pertaining to the person and work of the Logos (taking from what is Mine and making it known to you). The Spirit worked in the apostles' minds so that they could perceive, understand, and teach about the Savior.[2] He will glorify Christ. That's the third aspect of the pattern. "He shall glorify Me for He shall receive of Mine and shall show it unto you all things that the Father hath are Mine...and here's the tangle of the trinity, the mystery of the trinity...all things that the Father hath are Mine...He's reminding them that He comes from God...therefore said I, He shall take of Mine and show it unto you." Jesus always wanted the disciples to remember that He was linked to God...that He was linked to God. And so He says the Holy Spirit will show you My things, and remember, I'm close to God, it's just the trinity. But notice the key thing in the ministry of the Spirit...He shall glorify Christ. This is the great feature of all the Holy Spirit's revelation. He said He's going to reveal the past. He will bring to your remembrance all things whatsoever I have said unto you. When He reveals the past it will be the things of Jesus. In the present He testifies to whom? To Jesus. In the future He shows you things to come that involve whom? Jesus. He constantly reveals Christ. His ministry is ever and always the same, it is to reveal Jesus Christ, always, always, always, and always. And if you do not know the revelation of the Spirit concerning Christ, you can't know Christ. First Corinthians 12:3, "Wherefore I give you to understand that no man speaketh...or speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed..." couldn't. If you spoke by the Spirit of God, could you call Jesus accursed? Of course not. What does the Spirit do? Glorifies Christ. Listen to this. "And that no man can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Spirit." You can't know "A" about Jesus Christ apart from the Spirit. His ministry is to glorify Christ. And if you ever speak concerning Christ and you speak from the Spirit, it will be glorifying, not accursing Christ. All false teaching is either the Bible plus, or the Bible minus.” False teaching either seeks to add to or to take away from Scripture. I think one can also say, “All false teaching is either Christ plus, or Christ minus.” Paul would say, “True teaching is Christ only.”[3] Is the Spirit of God working in your life and teaching you? Is the Spirit of God working in your life to glorify Christ? Is the Spirit of God at work in your life at all? John 16:16-22  16 ¶ "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father." Ye shall see (ὄψεσθε). A different verb for seeing is used here. For the distinction, see on 1:18. Θεωρέω emphasizes the act of vision, ὁράω, the result. Θεωρέω denotes deliberate contemplation conjoined with mental or spiritual interest. “The vision of wondering contemplation, in which they observed little by little the outward manifestation of the Lord, was changed and transfigured into sight, in which they seized at once, intuitively, all that Christ was. As long as His earthly presence was the object on which their eyes were fixed, their view was necessarily imperfect. His glorified presence showed Him in His true nature” (Westcott).  17 Then some of His disciples said among themselves, "What is this that He says to us, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, 'because I go to the Father'?" A little while (τὸ μικρόν). In vv. 16, 17, without the article. Here the article the or this little while defines the special point of their difficulty; this “little while” of which He speaks.[i]  18 They said therefore, "What is this that He says, 'A little while'? We do not know what He is saying."  19 Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'? John 7:33 Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  Joh 12:35 Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  John 13:33 "Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, 'Where I am going, you cannot come,' so now I say to you.  John 14:19 "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 "Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. “Truly, truly” is that solemn phrase we've looked at before. It's the prediction of a future event that they can be assured of. Jesus gives them a solemn promise, "It's going to be difficult." The words weep and lament are deep, dark, uncomfortable words. When you use them together, it's talking about a funeral service. The word weep is always associated with death and loss and grief, the way the word is used in the Bible.  So when He puts these words together, He says, "Look, you're going to have a heavy-duty grief at the loss of tasting death and you're going to lament and cry and be bitter about this experience. You're going to weep and lament, but the world's going to rejoice. The religious leaders of the day are going to be celebrating because they finally quieted this 'pesky prophet named Jesus'. They've gotten rid of Him. They've put Him in the ground. He's dead and gone. The religious leaders will be happy; they'll rejoice. You're going to be in incredible grief, but, mark My word, here's the promise: your grief will be turned into joy." The resurrection and the Holy Spirit's coming is going to enable them to understand something they could not otherwise have understood. Now a question that might be on their mind at this point, is, "How can this deep pain ever be turned into joy? If it's as bad as You're telling us is going to be, there's no way You could remedy the situation.” And that's where Jesus goes with an illustration in verses twenty-one and twenty-two:  21 "A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Jesus says the real intense suffering of childbirth is brutal. The real intense suffering you're going to face is brutal, for now. But you'll have joy. The intense suffering and difficulty of bearing a child gives way to the joy when the child is in your arms and you hold this creation in front of you.  Now this combination of suffering and joy and resurrection was not uncommon to the Old Testament mind. In fact, turn back Isaiah chapter twenty-six for a moment. Isaiah 26:16 The Old Testament ear knew the pain of childbirth. They knew the pain of the exile of the people. They knew the travail as a nation under discipline of God and they knew the hope of God and they knew the hope of the resurrection. Isaiah twenty-six, let's pick up in verse sixteen. Isaiah twenty-six verse sixteen:  Oh Lord, they sought You in distress; They could only whisper a prayer,  It's so difficult; they can't even talk out loud. They can just sort of eke out a little prayer.  Your chastening was upon them.  As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth, She writhes and cries out in her labor pains, Thus were we before You, O Lord  We were pregnant, we writhed in labor. We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind. We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth, Nor were inhabitants of the world born. Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy That's a very clear reference to the Rapture, a very clear reference in the Old Testament to the new birth, the rapture of the believer in Christ.  For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.  Come, my people, enter into your rooms And close your doors behind you; Hide for a little while.  Do you think Jesus had in mind the "little while" of Isaiah twenty-six?  Hide for a little while Until indignation runs its course.  For behold, the Lord is about to come out from His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; And the earth will reveal her bloodshed And will no longer cover her slain. The Old Testament year was not unfamiliar with pain giving way to joy with the hope of the resurrection. Well, the disciples are going to enter an incredible, intense time of pain, but joy is before them.  22 "Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. First of all, the disciples' joy erupts when they see Jesus Christ after the resurrection. They are explosive with joy when they see Him. They cannot contain themselves.  "Stop clinging to me,” Jesus says to one of His disciples. They're overwhelmed. All their grief is now transformed into joy. Now some of your Bibles you hold in your laps make, an unfortunate rendering of the verse twenty-two.  They say:  Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice.  They say "you will be happy" or they say "you will rejoice." Other Bibles contain the word "your heart" will rejoice. The word cardia is in the Greek text and for whatever reason, I don't understand translators, they took the word cardia out and they just rendered it "you'll be happy, you'll rejoice." I think it's unfortunate because heart is a rich word. It's the kind of depth of happiness that you have a joy in your heart about something. Secondly, the joy continues. He died once to sin, but He lives on forever. Someone or something dies a pet maybe.  You can't replace that, can you? You can't replace it. This text says the grief through which you went becomes joy. Do not miss it. It's not saying He's going to replace the child, replace the mate, replace the parent, and replace the loss and grief you've tasted. He's not going to give you something better that will overwhelm that thing you lost. He says, He's going to turn that grief into joy, thus the analogy of childbirth.  The pain of the birth canal becomes the joy of a child. Do you see it? He's turning your grief into joy. Only God can turn your grief into joy. Nobody else can do this thing. Only the Sovereign can turn your grief, your disappointment, your bitterness, your anger, your hatred, your injustices, only a sovereign can turn that into joy. That's what He does with His own death. The very thing that caused the pain becomes the source of joy. Thirdly, the sorrow is transformed into joy. Sometimes we think about if something bad happens then you replace it. So, you bury a child and well-meaning but very stupid people say, "You can always have another." Three times sorrow or grief are mentioned. I think He's saying, "Expect it." Your lot and mine in life is to swallow a certain amount of bitterness. That's what it means to be in a fallen, sinful world. Your sorrow and mine are in between. They are "a little while." If you don't get anything else out of this text, just circle the words "little while" in verses sixteen through nineteen and count them up. A little while. A little while. A little while. A little while. A little while. A little while. A little while. We're so focused. Sometimes we think when the sorrow is turned into joy that this good thing is going to overwhelm the bad thing and I'm going to feel a little better about it. Wouldn't the normal language of verse twenty-two go something like this: “Therefore you have grief now, but you'll see Me again?” If I have buried a friend, a mate, a child or a parent; if I've gone through the worst of the worst grief and I faced that grief, my hope is that I'm going to see them again, right? Notice something very interesting. He doesn't say, "You will see Me again." He says, "I'll see you again." I don't think that's a nit-picking detail. I think that's a theological, profound truth. You didn't choose Him; He chose you. You don't do anything to get His attention. He chose you.  He says, when I die and go away and come back, I'm going to see you. My promise is so good I'm going to come see you. Not, "You're going to see me again," that will take away the sting. I'll see you again. His promise is incumbent on His work, not ours. The joy, true joy, is not us seeing Him. It's that He would see us.  And I've seen so many friends, as you have, who in torturous experiences, whether it's abandonment of a spouse or news of cancer, they shoulder it in unique ways and it is a testimony. You can talk to people in a waiting room in that hospital who have no hope and they look at you like, "How are you doing this? How are you managing?"  And it is a transforming work of Christ that He can carry you. Sometimes it's just a minute at a time. Sometimes it's hour by hour, but He does sustain even in the worst. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today. hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32 The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.  

God is SMOKIN' in heaven. It is a visible manifestation of His POWER and His GLORY. He's smokin' when we catch a glimpse of heaven in Revelation 15, and since His power and His glory haven't changed, I'm betting He is smokin' right now.When people "go to glory" (die), it is not to their own glory that they go.  It is to GOD's Glorious, smoky place.  It is our job to GIVE HIM our recognition of His glory.  Glorify Him now then go to His smokin' place and glorify Him forever.For another glimpse of glory tomorrow subscribe at bewithme.us or write bewithme.us@gmail.com

Sara Rose Wasson is a Screenwriter, Singer/Songwriter, Artist, Herbalist and Devoted Child of God. After a long prodigal detour, she's come back to her Father's Kingdom to use the creative talents He blessed her with to Glorify Him in the industry she grew up in, but has only recently come back to. Sara has just relocated from LA to Texas in order to connect and collaborate with more creatives who share her love for God and Country and are ready to make a difference for His Kingdom and win souls to Christ through creative and inspirational media in all forms. Her work can be found at www.FaithfulHeartProductions.com

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Grace peace and mercy upon youWe hope all is well with yall this Christmas season as we focus on celebrating Jesus coming into this world to save us allOut His Glory, which is His love power sovereignty wisdom grace mercy etc..., God created us, the world and everything... That we would choose to love Him, that He would be glorified for who and what He is.... We chose Satan... Pride and selfishness...Out His Glory , He sent His Glory into this dark evil world , that He may Glorified through Himself, His Son Jesus...That Jesus would become fully God and Fully Man to walk this earth, to Glorify His Father and save all that are lost. Out His Glory , He sent God the Holy Spirit to live in us, that we would now Glorify Him and show the world how good God is through sharing the message of the gospel. In everything we do, may we glorify God and never ourselves for God wants us all in heaven with Him forever.God Bless Yall Merry ChristmasBig Love Jeff and Tamara Support the show

Trials of Faith Prepare Us For Battle (5)  (audio)  David Eells - 11/22/23  Personalize Your Relationship  Anonymous 3/1/23 (David's notes in red)   With a direct relationship in Christ Jesus to our Father, there is no middleman to corrupt and steal anything. He has and His Will be done through us. (I felt that the enemy tries to get in between us and God, and steal what God has for us and what we can do for Him.)  Put Me first and I will put you first forever! (I felt we need to seek Him to do our best, to give Him everything since it all belongs to Him.) (Joh 17:10 and all things that are mine are thine, and thine are mine: and I am glorified in them.)  Concentrate. I can reveal and guide you in all things. Trust in Me. I have every good gift for you. (I was reminded that the Lord can bring to our memory what I thought I had forgotten. And I also felt that when we make a mistake to never look back but to focus on the finished product.) (Psa 119:27 Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: So shall I meditate on thy wondrous works.  Joh 14:26 …he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.  Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth:…)  Keep trying on task. (Attempt and don't worry about how, it's about why. We willingly do so as He puts it all in us.) Keep trying with desire. (Seeking Him and His Will will be done.) (Mat 6:33 But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness;…  Pro 2: 4-5 If thou seek her [Wisdom] as silver, And search for her as for hid treasures: 5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah, And find the knowledge of God.)  Keep trying as Christ in us would so we would be refined for the Kingdom.) (Col 3:17 And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.)  There is much to learn and do, just concentrate on the moment. Be at peace and do not get too far ahead of the current day. (Mat 6:34 Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Jas 4:14-15 whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that.)  Lay down the blocks and build for the glory of the Kingdom. We are to give our all to the Lord to build His Kingdom.) (Psa 145:12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, And the glory of the majesty of his kingdom.  1Th 5:11 Wherefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as also ye do.)  (We can give nothing for God without offering our old life as a burnt offering on the altar of the fiery trial. We cannot offer to him a blemished sacrifice of a life. Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.  1Pe 2:5 …to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.)  Am I important to you? Then say so! (Let us confess God to man and Glorify Him to man.) (Mat 10:32 Every one therefore who shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven.) Be patient and faithful. (which are fruits of the Spirit.) (Heb 6:12…but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.)  Lambs among wolves...But I went before you and made it possible for you to conquered in all trials! (He suffered before us and enables us to have a relationship with our Father.) (Luk 10:3 Go your ways; behold, I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves.) Nothing you are experiencing is harder than what My Son suffered and showed His Love for you. See and know by faith how close I am to you. Cherish it!  Question yourself, Is what you are doing out of love? Not how others can love you and benefit you, but what are you from their point of view? Would I approve of what you are doing to them? (1Co 16:14 Let all that ye do be done in love.   Gal 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.)  Why do you want to do it?  In love for me? Or for self or because of fear? Or is it because I Am and love conquers all? (Php 2:3-4 doing nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself; 4 not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.  1Jn 4:16 And we know and have believed the love which God hath in us. God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him.)  Many have come before Me and failed. (I felt there have been many who thought they were righteous and deserved to be accepted into heaven, but were denied for their self-works that were not for his Glory.) (Eph 2:8-9 for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not of works, that no man should glory.)  Rest in the promises and know why I need you. (He paid the ultimate price for us and has heavily invested into us to meet the need for those whom He has chosen.) Even a tiny light can overcome, overwhelm and destroy the pitch-black darkness! (I was reminded of a watch I wore when I was a child that I pressed a button and it was bright enough to see in the dark at night.) (Joh 1:5 And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not.)  Speak and be the image of My light and My Word as My Son has given you example. Be strong to never let anything change the Christ in you. (We are conquerors by His faith!) You have two ears. You can't shut your ears but you can shut your mouth! (Two ears and one mouth show that we should be quick to hear and slow to speak.) (I felt very convicted on what and when I should speak anything, or if I should say anything at all.) (Psa 141:3 Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth; Keep the door of my lips.)  Be strong. Nothing can separate you from Me! Do not let the darkness be able to cover the light! (Mat 5:14  Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. 15  Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house.) You are dear and nearer to Me than even the breath you have inside you. (Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?...)  Reach up! Grab hold of me! Do you not see I await you, and that for an infinite eternal love relationship forever? Come, let us sup together!  (Eph 3:16-19 that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man; 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fulness of God.)      LED  Anonymous 1/8/23  I saw myself as an LED on a giant electronics board. There were billions of chips, transistors, diodes all sorts all linked in intricate ways and many other LEDs too. Then I saw the LED as myself, light up as a small flicker. Then it was more consistent and brighter. I felt that the power flowing through me was able to make the LED light shine, when aligned correctly to the way of the Lord, the great Designer.   Soon the LED grew so bright that nothing else of the bulb could be seen other than this intense light. Then the Lord placed His Hand on it and the LED was able to spread to other areas on the electronics board as the other LEDs were lighting up and getting brighter. NENT Joh 8:12  Again therefore Jesus spake to them, saying, I am the light of the world: who followeth me shall in no wise walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.   Mat 5:14  YE are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Mat 5:16  Thus let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in the heavens. Eph 5:8  for ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord: walk as children of light .      Video Game Revelation  Anonymous 2022 (David's notes in red)  I know this revelation may seem strange, but I used to play video games and one particular video game came to me through a vision. (I used to play before I was saved, but since I have repented and have nothing to do with them ever again.)  God is like the video game designer and He is also the one playing the game. He has control over all things in the game. (God only is sovereign and in control of ALL our trials that have been specifically and personally designed for each of us, and He alone is sovereign over the devil and our enemies.)  I saw a video game that was a top-down view over a vast area of control. I saw how there were many things being done as though looking on the face of the Earth and all the people and what the Lord created. As I was watching, I saw many developments and changes occur.  The perspective then zoomed in on one particular person who was the size of an ant. The person was in a frantic state, shaking their arms about and yelling up at the sky as though to ‘the Man in charge' of the view from above. (We should not be fearful or doubtful during trials, agreeing with what we feel and see but instead only believing and speaking God's word, and casting down everything contrary to the Word. We should ask God to give us grace to have faith during a trial.)  2Co 5:7 (for we walk by faith, not by sight); 2Co 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. The people were crying and asking for help with words in bubbles of all the things they could not do. Then just as quick as they cried out and were answered, they ran off and did more of their own things. Job 35:9 By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out;…  I felt this had to do with the Christians who call out to God for help, and once that thing is fixed, they quickly forget the Lord and runs off to please their flesh. (Psa 106:13 They soon forgat his works; They waited not for his counsel, 14 But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tempted God in the desert.) 1Pe 5:7 casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you. Heb 4:13 And there is no creature not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.      Choose The Wild West Wilderness   Samuel Fire 4/17/23 (David's notes in red)  I saw a vision of a pros and cons list. First on the right was written ‘Christ' and on the left was ‘antichrist'. Written underneath the Christ column was ‘Christ is Life', and on the opposite column were the words, ‘death', and ‘fake life that has an end.'  Christ  antichrist  Christ is Life  ‘death', ‘fake life that has an end'    I then saw myself standing inside an old western-style saloon bar and I ran outside onto the dirt street into the hot sun, and I knew that, “This is life!” (Joh 10:10 …I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.) The bar doors were still flapping, and I didn't even want to look or go back into that saloon bar. (Through the trials we are given a choice to choose life or death, the spirit or flesh, Jesus or the devil.) (I.e., Leave the beast kingdom of delusion of spirits and enter the “wild west” wilderness with Christ to find real, eternal life. Jos 24:14-15 Now therefore fear Jehovah, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt; and serve ye Jehovah. 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom ye will serve;…)  (Col 1:9-14 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray and make request for you, that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 to walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, unto all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks unto the Father, who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; 13 who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love; 14 in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins   And Col 1:21-23  And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works, 22 yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him: 23 if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister.)      Power In The Word   Samuel Fire 4/28/23 (David's notes in red) I saw (in a vision) how fire too close will melt the fake, plasticky flesh; the carnality of vanity. (Submitting to God's Word in trials and tribulations cause the old man to die and for the spirit of Christ to shine through us even brighter.) (Psa 119:28 My soul melteth for heaviness: Strengthen thou me according unto thy word.)  Then as the length of exposure increases, the flesh will then catch fire and burn, and then (the fire will) spread to whatever is involved, like to witchcraft evil and those in the apostate corporate body. (Isa 33:14-15 The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling hath seized the godless ones: Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire? who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings? 15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from taking a bribe, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from looking upon evil:)  Judges 15:4-5 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between every two tails. 5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines and burnt up both the shocks and the standing grain, and also the oliveyards.  (The strong man, Jesus, burned up the fruit of the old man to conquer our Promised Land.) Then I saw a soldier wielding a buckler to defend at the perfect time, without any indication of an attack. When a threat is exposed to the elders, there is then the full arsenal to be set to defend the whole body; much like a commander of an army organizing the troops (A buckler is smaller for personal close contact fighting. A shield is for a much larger attack to remain in position.) Psa 35:2 Take hold of shield and buckler, And stand up for my help. (His Word is a defence we must utilize to defend and fight for His Kingdom in unison as one Body in Christ.) Psa 91:4 He will cover thee with his pinions, And under his wings shalt thou take refuge: His truth is a shield and a buckler. (These are These are wisdom of the Word to defend against the wiles of the enemies.)      Replace The Dross    Anonymous 4/29/23 (David's notes in red)      I heard in prayer:    “Pause. Think about Me and what you are doing. Nothing in this world is perfect yet and there is brokenness everywhere. Bits and pieces fall off things all the time. (Psa 147:3  He healeth the broken in heart, And bindeth up their wounds.)  When filled with My Love and Holy Spirit and led by Christ, there can then be growth into the eternal prize I desire.    Wrestle and pin down the enemy. Raise the flag of victory. (The Lord has given us victories over our enemies on many fronts here and overseas. Isa 59:18  According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies…) The enemy has been surmising the largest possible attack to stop My Children from reaching their potential. Keep focused and look unto Me and My Promise. Remember I need you and you are indeed important to Me. How do you get rid of dirty hands? Wash them.”    (Then I saw us actually applying the Blood of Jesus by faith and washing all areas and replacing everything and thought it was with His presence and victory.)      Defeating The Dragon With Jesus Help  Marie Kelton 10/27/23 (David's notes in red) During the worship part of the meeting, the enemy was attacking my mind but I was telling him to leave me alone. I then had an open vision of me putting on a white medieval helmet that covered my nose (helmet of salvation.) I was in a cave, there was this big black dragon. I had a sword in my hand, and I knew I was supposed to kill the dragon. The dragon tried to attack by breathing fire at me, but I was able to avoid it by stepping behind a wall (representing sanctification) that was in the cave. I then stood back in front of the dragon. I was wondering how I was going to defeat it. Then I saw Jesus come behind me, and step inside my body. Then, I was able to swing the sword and cut the neck and the head of the dragon off its body. (Jesus is the Word Who lives in us. When we speak the Word, His power defeats the enemy. Php 4:13 I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me. We are in the process of casting down the Dragon of Rev 12 as the angels fight for us and we confess the blood. Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:  Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword,…  Act 17:28 for in him we live, and move, and have our being)      The Fiery Trials  Milt Green    Peter said, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator (1 Pet. 4:12, 13, 19).   The fiery trials today are the efforts of the world, the flesh, and the devil to turn our hearts away from God. Every man will either come through the fire and be like precious gold (with a divine nature), or else he will be a vessel of wood, hay, and stubble, which is burned up. When the pressures and trials come, if we strike back at others, we break God's law and give the fiery serpents ground to build strongholds and destroy us.   If anyone has a foundation built upon carnal doctrines, they have a false security. The fire will destroy all of those who walk after a form of godliness because they walk in disobedience. Anyone who stands on their carnal doctrines as a foundation is not standing on the Word of God. Their foundation is sand. They themselves are wood, hay and stubble, and in the fiery tests the fire will consume them because they have no hedge of protection from God. No other foundation except the Lord Jesus Christ can survive this fire: "But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built a house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great" (Luke 6:49).   Everyone who follows after a doctrine that does not conform them to godliness is destroyed. When you have a false security, you do not act on the Word of God.  Paul wrote, "Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stone, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire (powers of darkness) shall try every man's work of what sort it is. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 3:12, 13, 11).  That is why we need the true apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers: "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (until Christ's love is perfected in us). That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine" (Eph. 4:12-14).   God has been testing the hearts of men since the day He put Adam in the garden. He offered Adam the tree of life or the tree of death. God still tests the hearts of all creation. Only the ones who love the Lord with all their hearts and put their faith and trust in Him will survive the fiery tests of this world. All others will break God's laws and be under the punishment and judgment of the law, because their hearts love idols more than God. "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise government" (2 Pet. 2:9, 10).   We either resist the flesh and the temptations of Satan, or else we walk after the desires of the flesh in unrighteousness, in which case we stay under the judgment and punishment of God's law.   Jesus said, "I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful (wake up!), and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect (because you are not being perfected in love) before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard (remember the Gospel!), and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief (in judgment), and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. He that overcometh (the world, the flesh and temptations of Satan) shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life" (Rev. 3:1-3, 5).   Jesus is coming first like a thief in destruction. Jesus did not come the way the religious leaders expected him the first time. Neither will Jesus come the way the religious leaders expect Him this time. "Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord's servant? The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness' sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honorable. But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses (of the powers of darkness): they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore. Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? Did not the Lord, He against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient to his law. Therefore He hath poured upon him the fury of His anger and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire around about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart" (Isa. 42:18, 19, 21-25).   The sleeping church is being destroyed today and they don't even know it. They will scoff at warnings such as this. The fires of destruction are already being poured out among us. The Scriptures are not enough to lead most of these people out of darkness. That is the reason that only a remnant can hear. The others will not wake up-for them it is business as usual.   God warns us in His Word: "Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot: they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. Whoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it…    This is how Jesus comes as a thief upon the spiritually dead congregation that will not wake up and repent in these last days. The hedge is lowered, and He no longer restrains the hordes of the powers of darkness which have been unleashed against the spiritually dead, fallen away church. If you read these Scriptures through the eyes of a carnal doctrine, you will be led to believe that the men who are taken from the bed or out of the field are raptured, rather than destroyed by the fire. This is how the deception and darkness have come upon us today. This is why people are being burned and they pay no attention. This is the fallen away church today which practices sin (lawlessness).     The remnant will love the Lord Jesus Christ with all their hearts. They will be perfected in love and holiness. No one will be able to counterfeit the love that is perfected in the remnant. You will know them by their fruits. The stumbling blocks will also be evident and they will be destroyed. "Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also (tares are evident because they bear the fruit of the flesh)" (Mat. 13:24-26).     "Now the works of the flesh are manifest" (Gal 5:19). When we practice the deeds of the flesh, we bear the wrong fruit and break God's law. This is how men who teach doctrines that do not conform you to godliness lead you to walk under the judgment and curse of the law. This is how the church is being destroyed in the fire today. They have no fear of God as they teach a form of godliness and become stumbling blocks to others. The blind follow the blind and never bear the fruit of love. In fact, they cannot because they are tares. "As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity (by practicing sin)" (Mat. 13:40, 41).     "So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth (hate, anger, bitterness, sickness, pain, etc.) Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Matt. 13:49, 50, 43).     There are hundreds of different denominations and teachings in this country today and each one has its own form of righteousness. But there is only one true righteousness and that is walking right in God's eyes. When we establish our own righteousness, we do not submit to the righteousness of God. Israel departed from the law and righteousness of God to establish their own righteousness.     Paul said of them, "my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God" (Rom. 10:1-3).     When the wicked thinks he is righteous in his own eyes, there is no fear of God. He is blinded to the judgment of God because he has a false security. This is how millions are blinded to the judgment of the law today.     "Hearken unto Me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is My law: fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth (the powers of darkness) shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but My righteousness shall be forever" (Isa. 5 1:7, 8). The righteousness of God stands forever because only the righteous will survive. God has set up laws to destroy those who are wise in their own eyes, and will not submit to the righteousness of God.     Jesus said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth (remains, continues) in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit (of love): ... If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned" (John 15:5,6). "Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit (of love); so shall ye be My disciples (God's kind of agape love is the proof of discipleship)" (John 15:8).     Jesus sets us free from being slaves of sin (lawlessness) to become slaves of righteousness (a pure heart): "For as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness (a pure heart)" (Rom. 6:19).     Paul said, "What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life" (Rom. 6:2 1, 22).     Through obedience we have a pure heart and we are perfected in love to the fullness of the measure of the stature which belongs to Christ. When the Word of God and the Holy Spirit have removed the selfish nature of Satan, we no longer live for ourselves. Therefore we have the nature of God and love others as Jesus loved us. We have laid down our lives so we can walk in God's kind of love. "Charity (God's kind of love) suffereth long, and is kind; (God's kind of love) envieth not; (God's kind of love) vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own (way), is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity (God's kind of agape love) never faileth.   Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity (this God-kind of Love), I am nothing.   And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing" (1 Cor. 13:4, 5, 7, 8, 1-3). The God-kind of love is the only love which can love your neighbor as yourself: "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself' (Gal. 5:14). The ones who come through the fire will have this God-kind of love, which is the divine nature of God. 

Have you ever wondered if God loves you?  God loves you more than you can ever possibly imagine!  God does not wait for you to love Him before He will love you.  He has loved you all along.  He created you to be with Him and to Glorify Him, and, to love and respect Him with your whole heart, mind, strength, and soul.  And This is how he loves you too!  God loves you! God says to you: “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you…” - Isaiah 42:6 Heavenly Father, Prepare me first, oh Lord. Grant me your peace that I may be ready for what you reveal to me. Give me the humility to accept your will and your way. May your guidance be present always, and may your answer come when I am ready. I the sacred name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen.

Have you ever wondered if God loves you?  God loves you more than you can ever possibly imagine!  God does not wait for you to love Him before He will love you.  He has loved you all along.  He created you to be with Him and to Glorify Him, and, to love and respect Him with your whole heart, mind, strength, and soul.  And This is how he loves you too!  God loves you! God says to you: “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you…” - Isaiah 42:6 Heavenly Father, Prepare me first, oh Lord. Grant me your peace that I may be ready for what you reveal to me. Give me the humility to accept your will and your way. May your guidance be present always, and may your answer come when I am ready. I the sacred name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen.

In this week's episode, we learn the story of John Berry. John is a Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter. He's earned multiple Gold and Platinum records over his 40 plus year career. His song “Your Love Amazes Me” hit number one on the Billboard country chart. The day it hit number one, John was undergoing emergency brain surgery. He's had a very successful career but has dealt with and overcome more than his share of adversity, including brain surgery, vocal cord surgery, and most recently, throat cancer. He has an unshakeable faith in God and tries to live in a manner to glorify Him. This is a great episode of inspiration and faith. Check Out John Berry's Music >>> Key Takeaways Find joy in overcoming adversity. Rely upon your faith. Live your life with joy. Try to be a positive person. Surround yourself with like-minded people.  Have a spiritual component to your life.  Live your life as a creation of God. Glorify Him with the way you live your life. This episode was made possible by: Hand Arendall Harrison Sale  Buy Rod's Book "Get Back Up" >>> Buy Here Learn more about & contact Rod Cate:Rod Cate Website Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

The month of April is about "renewal", and "new beginnings". It's the season we celebrate the Resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. His Resurrection signifies a "new life,", and a "new beginning, for all who are in Him. There's more, God has given us gifts to Glorify Him and edify others, renew your commitment to the gifts, ideas, and dreams He's given you. Scriptures: Romans 10:9:10 John 10:10

Christ is Born! Glorify Him! We cannot fully understand the incarnation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. What we do know is that God became Man and fully revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Website @ https://www.st-innocent.orgInstagram @ https://www.instagram.com/st.innocentchurch/Facebook @ https://fb.me/SaintInnocentMaconGeorgia Help Support St. Innocent Orthodox Church @ https://onrealm.org/siocmacon/-/form/give/nowWebsite @ https://www.st-innocent.orgInstagram @ https://www.instagram.com/st.innocentchurch/Facebook @ https://fb.me/SaintInnocentMaconGeorgia Help Support St. Innocent Orthodox Church @ https://onrealm.org/siocmacon/-/form/give/now

It isn't always easy to be merry at Christmas. For many families Christmas this year is a time of pain and suffering. The Birth of Christ, our Savior, is worthy of celebration. This is why the traditional greeting for Christmas is ‘Christ is Born; Glorify Him!' It perfectly captures the truth that we glorify God no matter how merry we feel. We glorify Him because He has come to save us with His perfect timing.

Christ is born! Glorify Him! A Reading of the Prologue of Ochrid by St. Nikolai Velimirović and a homily on the Nativity by St. Justin Popović 0:11 Prologue of Ochrid by St. Nikolai Velimirović 0:23 On the Nativity 3:17 Hymn of Praise 4:50 Reflection 7:06 Contemplation 7:26 Homily 9:22 Homily by St. Justin Popović “Out of burning love, Thou didst come down from heaven; from eternal beauty, Thou didst descend into monstrous pain; from eternal light, Thou didst descend into the thick darkness of evil. Thou didst extend Thy holy hand to those choked in sin. Heaven was amazed, the earth quaked. Welcome, O Christ! O ye people, rejoice!” -from Hymn of Praise by St. Nikolai “The Lord was born in a cave to show that the whole world is one dark cave, which He alone can illumine.” -St. Nikolai “By celebrating Christmas, we essentially confess and glorify the only true meaning and reason of human existence, human spirit, human thought, human sense, human life. Because on the day of the Birth of the Lord, “it was the light of knowledge that dawned on the world", of divine conception, and filled the entire world to its very ends, and revealed to us the eternal meaning and reason of this world and of the human being that is in this world.” -St. Justin Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/orthodox-wisdom/message

Sara Rose Wasson is a Screenwriter, Singer/Songwriter, Artist, Herbalist and Devoted Child of God. After a long prodigal detour, she's come back to her Father's Kingdom to use the creative talents He blessed her with to Glorify Him in the industry she grew up in, but has only recently come back to. Sara has just relocated from LA to Texas in order to connect and collaborate with more creatives who share her love for God and Country and are ready to make a difference for His Kingdom and win souls to Christ through creative and inspirational media in all forms. Her work can be found at www.FaithfulHeartProductions.com

Celebrate the Son that was born for you and me. Glorify Him in the Highest!!!!Valerielee.org

God created you to fill a specific roll of glorification and edification. -Above finding out what God's will is for us, our desire should be to Glorify Him in ALL things.

God created you to fill a specific roll of glorification and edification. -Above finding out what God's will is for us, our desire should be to Glorify Him in ALL things.

In sura 71 The inevitable hour / alhaaqa/ verses 48-52 remind us that the Quran is sent to All from God. It is the Truth even if some disbelieve refuse it- they will regret it later. So believers you are commanded in the last verse of this sura to Glorify the Name of God the Almighty. So how do I use the Quran in my daily life ; our life coaching lesson for today is to Repeat Subhan Allah Alatheem سبحان الله العظيم throughout the day. Glory to Allah the Greatest. While you are walking or working in the small mundane things you do or with the difficult things around you. Remember He is the Greatest , greater than all your fear, worries, lost hopes or dreams. Glorify Him today and ask Him how to live the best life with ease and with his blessings. May Allah bless us with the blessings barakah of this Quran. Ameen. Have a wonderful day

The Power of Living by Design with Anita Morris How focused are you on God to help you understand His purpose and calling over your life? When you're focused on God's vision for you, you hear His purpose for you and live it in ways that Glorify Him and draw others to Him. In this episode of the Richey Workforce Inspires podcast, I speak with Anita Morris, a sewing instructor, author, and speaker. She teaches new beginners how to master the basics of garment sewing. Listen in to learn how to stay focused and allow God to awaken His purpose and calling in your life. You will also learn the power of living by design, which is being who God created you to be and showing up in a way that represents Him. In This Episode You Will Learn: [4:57] Anita defines her life's purpose as walking in obedience to God's call in her life.[6:27] She shares her profound story of pain and perseverance and how it has brought her to her purpose.[13:45] The importance of keeping your praise and glory for God regardless of what you're going through.[16:00] How to stay focused on God to hear the calling and purpose He has for your life.[19:29] How to understand God's vision for you so you can encourage and draw others to Him.[25:23] The importance of being consistent with your relationship with God to stay in alignment.[26:42] Understand that the trials of life don't come to destroy you but have the potential to usher you into your purpose. Standout Quotes: “The very space that the enemy tried to use to break me down is the same space that God used to build me up.”- Anita Morris [9:39]“A lot of us are really good about praising God and giving Him all the glory and shouting Him out when things are going well in life, but what happens when the trials come along? -Anita Morris [13:49]“Living in your design is being who God created you to be and showing up in a way that represents that and Him.”- Anita Morris [23:13] Let's Connect On: Website: www.richeywokforceinspires.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/richeyworkforceinspires/Facebook: https://facebook.com/RicheyworkforceinspiresLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/richey-workforce-inspires/ Connect with Anita: Website: https://www.anitabydesign.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anitabydesign/Book: STEP Into It by Anita Morris

Sara Rose Wasson is a Screenwriter, Singer/Songwriter, Artist, Herbalist and Devoted Child of God. After a long prodigal detour, she's come back to her Father's Kingdom to use the creative talents He blessed her with to Glorify Him in the industry she grew up in, but has only recently come back to.Sara has just relocated from LA to Texas in order to connect and collaborate with more creatives who share her love for God and Country and are ready to make a difference for His Kingdom and win souls to Christ through creative and inspirational media in all forms.Her work can be found at www.FaithfulHeartProductions.com

John 17:1-5 - High Priestly Prayer - Pt.1 - Jesus Prays For Himself Here we have the true Lord's Prayer. But, since that names already taken, we call it the High Priestly Prayer because we have recorded the prayer of Jesus as He prays for Himself, His disciples, and for all believers. His prayer for Himself is that the Father would Glorify Him through the Cross and return Him to the Glory He had with the Father before the foundation of the world. He also declares that He has glorified the Father and finished the work He was given to do. What about us? Do our lives bring Glory to Jesus?

John 17:1-5 - High Priestly Prayer - Pt.1 - Jesus Prays For Himself Here we have the true Lord's Prayer. But, since that names already taken, we call it the High Priestly Prayer because we have recorded the prayer of Jesus as He prays for Himself, His disciples, and for all believers. His prayer for Himself is that the Father would Glorify Him through the Cross and return Him to the Glory He had with the Father before the foundation of the world. He also declares that He has glorified the Father and finished the work He was given to do. What about us? Do our lives bring Glory to Jesus?

God chose you to Glorify Him from the beginning and wrapped you into Christ before He laid the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before Him. He reconnects you back to Himself to restore your original innocence. I made you alive in Union with Christ, saved you by My Marvelous Grace, and raised you up along with Him, faultless before Me. The Light of His Love shines within you, showing how much He truly loves you, giving you a rich and satisfying, abundantly overflowing life in the fullest measure. He cares deeply about the smallest details of your life, even the number of hairs on your head. He is intimately aware of you, understanding your every thought before it enters your mind.

Being in contrary is not being still! The Lord will battle for you in the knowing of your stillness. Then He works forth things that will Glorify Him and give you peace and Deliverance!

This chapter is one of the longer chapters found at the beginning of the Quran.  It is generally accepted that it was revealed in Mecca.  It is named after the height of the barrier that will divide the saved and the damned on the Day of Judgement.  It begins by reassuring Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, that the stories about disobedient communities of the past should serve as encouragement to the believers to take heed and repent before the great Day is upon them.Verses  1- 10 Take lessons from historyGod addresses Prophet Muhammad telling him not to feel any distress.  He (God) reassures him that this book (the Quran) has been revealed as a warning and a reminder to those who believe.  Follow, (and tell the people), what has been sent down and do not follow any other master apart from God alone.  How often have previous civilsations been destroyed? But still humankind does not heed the warnings.  Some were taken at night, others when they rested in the heat of the day.  When the punishment was upon them they admitted their wrongdoing. God will surely question those to whom a message was sent and those who carried the message.  Humankind will be questioned by God who has full knowledge of their deeds, both good and bad.  The weighing of the deeds on that Day will be just.  Those who scales are heavy (with good deeds) will be successful and those whose scales are light will be lost. Verses 11 – 18 The story of Adam and SatanGod established humankind in the earth and provided a means with which to make a livelihood.  Humankind is ungrateful yet it is God who created you, and shaped you into human form.  The angels were asked to prostrate before the first of your kind, Adam.  The angels obeyed; all except Iblis.[1]  Iblis (Satan) proceeded to argue with God, when asked why he did not obey God's instructions.  Satan considered himself better than the Adam.  He was created from smokeless fire whereas Adam was created from clay.God ordered Satan to descend from Paradise stating that it was not an abode for the arrogant and that Satan would henceforth be one of the contemptible ones.  Satan asked for a reprieve (from judgment and punishment) until the Day of Resurrection.  The reprieve was granted.   In his arrogance Satan told God he planned to deceive mankind, to lie in wait for them on the straight path and come at them from all sides.  You, Satan said to God, will find most of them ungrateful.   God ordered Satan out and swore to fill Hell with Satan and those who followed him.Verses 19 – 25 Acceptance of repentanceAdam and his wife were directed to live in Paradise and eat from wherever they will.  There was however one exception, the tree which God pointed out to them.  Satan whispered to Adam and Eve to make them aware of their nakedness, he also encouraged them to eat from the forbidden tree; saying to do so would make them immortal or angels.  Satan swore to be a sincere advisor to them.  After eating from the tree their nakedness became clear to them and Adam and Eve tried to gather leaves to cover themselves.  God questioned them as to why they disobeyed Him and did not take His warning to stay away from Satan.  Adam and Eve admitted their wrongdoing and asked for forgiveness.  Earth became their abode, where they would live, die and be raised back to life.Verses 26 – 32 A warningGod then addresses the children of Adam (humankind).  He explains that they have garments to cover their nakedness, and as an adornment, but the best garment of all is the garment of God-consciousness.  This is a sign He says.  Again they are warned that Satan is a sworn enemy so be not deceived.  The evil ones are allied to those who do not believe.  God did not order immorality, thus what your forefathers did is not an excuse.  God commanded righteousness, therefore direct your worship to Him alone and be devoted entirely to Him.  God created humankind and will repeat the process on the Day of Judgment.  Some are guided but some are doomed because they take the evil ones as their masters. God advises the children of Adam to dress well, when and wherever they pray, and to eat and drink from what He has provided.  However He warns them not to be extravagant for He does not love those who do so.  Prophet Muhammad is then advised to ask his followers as to who forbids them  from what God has provided.  They are for humankind to enjoy but will be for the believers alone on the Day of Resurrection.Verses 33 – 41 The closed gatesProphet Muhammad is advised to tell the believers that God forbids disgraceful deeds, those openly done as well as those hidden away.  Every nation's life span is set, it cannot be hastened nor can it be delayed for even an instant.  When the messengers come, those who believe will be saved but those who ignore the warnings will abide in the Fire.  The most unjust is the one who invents lies about God or denies the revelations.  They will live out their days, and the ones they used to invoke besides God will not help them; they will abide in the Fire.  They will curse and blame each other as they are herded into the Fire to face a double punishment.  The gates of Heaven will not be opened to those who deny the verses or are arrogant towards them.  Even if a rope was to be threaded through the eye of a needle they would not enter the Everlasting Garden.  This is the punishment for the guilty and the evildoers.Verses 42 – 58 A Day of Fulfilment (Judgment)Those who believe and do good deeds are the people of the Garden.  They will not be burdened with what they are unable to bear and the gates of Heaven will be open to them.  They will praise God because of the Paradise they have inherited and call out to the people of the Fire that the promise of God was true.  The people of the Fire reply that they too have found the promise to be true.  Next a caller will announce that the curse of God is upon the wrongdoers.  There will be a partition between both parties.  The people of the Heights will recognise each other and call out to each other.  The inmates from Hell then beg for food and water from the inmates of Paradise, but their answer is that God has forbidden them sustenance.  They will be forgotten just as they had forgotten the inevitability of this Day which is the fulfilment of what was promised in the Quran.The Lord God created the universe and then rose over the Throne in a manner that suits His Majesty, so call upon him with humility, and invoke Him with fear and hope.  He is the one who sends the wind and the rain bringing forth all kinds of fruit, likewise He will raise the dead.  Vegetation emerges by the permission of God.Verses 59 – 73 The stories of Noah and HudGod sent Noah to his people and he asked them to worship God alone.  They denied Noah so God saved him and those with him in a ship, the others, who denied God's signs, were drowned.  Prophet Hud was sent to the people of Aad, saying worship God alone but they denied him.  They called him a liar and a fool when he was giving them sincere advice.  Hud reminded them of the people of Noah and of the favours God has bestowed upon them, he warned them of a terrible punishment but they taunted him and asked Hud to bring on the punishment.  Hud said he would wait with them for the decision from God.  The disbelievers were annihilated; Hud and his companions were saved by the mercy of God.Verses 74- 94 The stories of Saleh, Lot and ShuaibThen, to the people of Thamud, God sent Prophet Saleh.  He asked them to worship God alone.  Saleh asked them to protect the she-camel sent from God and reminded them that they were the inheritors of Aad, capable of building great mansions in valleys and carving out homes from the sides of mountains.  Remember God's blessings Saleh told his people, however the arrogant ones asked the believers if they really thought Saleh was sent from God.  They answered yes but the arrogant ones rejected this and hamstrung the camel they had been charged with protecting.  So bring us this promise (of God's wrath) they said, so an earthquake seized them and they fell down dead.  Saleh turned away.Lot was sent to his people and confronted them with the promise of punishment for the indecent acts they performed with each other, but their only response was to try to evict Lot and his family from their city.  God saved Lot and all his family, except for his wife who was among the evildoers, when the rain of stones destroyed them.Shuaib was sent to the people of Midian and he asked them to worship God alone.  He asked them to cease their corrupt business practices and to stop waylaying visitors and wayfarers in their cities.  He reminded them that God increased their numbers and of the shocking ends to some previous nations but they did not want to heed the warning.  Instead of being grateful to God they attributed changing fortunes to the passage of time.  The people of Midian were stuck down by an earthquake, those who had disbelieved Shuaib's warning ceased to exist.  Shuaib turned away without grieving for the disbelieving people.Verses 95 – 100 A lesson to learnWhenever God sent a prophet to a town (or nation) he afflicted the people with adversity and misfortune in order that they might humble themselves before Him.  Then God changed their hardship to prosperity but the people did not recognise God's grace.  Had they believed they would have been showered with riches but they did not so they were seized for their misdeeds.   God asks, did those people feel secure at night, or in the day? The only people who feel secure from the plan of God are those doomed to destruction.  Do people not understand, from the stories of those before them, that God can afflict them for their sins and seal their hearts?Verses 101 – 126 God sends Moses to PharaohThe people in the cities in the previous verses were sent messengers with warnings but they refused to believe in them.  Then God sent Moses to Pharaoh and his priests but they too treated the message unjustly.  See then what happened to those who spread corruption.  Moses told Pharaoh that he (Moses) was a messenger from the Lord of all the worlds and Pharaoh asked for a sign.  Moses threw his staff to the ground and it tuned into a slithering serpent.  Then he pulled his hand out from under his robe and it was shining white and radiant.  The leaders around Pharaoh said that Moses was a sorcerer and suggested a competition.  Pharaoh's sorcerers arrived and were promised a place in the inner circle if they won.The sorcerers threw their sticks and they turned into snakes.  God inspired Moses and he threw down his staff that turned into a snake that devoured all the snakes the sorcerers had conjured.  The sorcerers were defeated; the truth was clear so they fell to their knees saying that they believe in the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Moses.  Pharaoh declared that he would cut off their hands and feet on opposite sides and crucify them all because they believed before he (Pharaoh) had given his permission for them to do so.  They cried out to God asking Him to keep them steadfast and let them die devoted to Him alone.Verses 127 – 137 Plagues afflict EgyptThe leaders amongst Pharaoh's people asked if he intended to let Moses and his people cause corruption in the land.  He answered that he would put their sons to death and spare their daughters.  Moses advised his people to be steadfast and turn to God for help.  Moses' people complained that they were used to persecution before and are still being persecuted, but Moses gives them hope. Pharaoh's people were afflicted with several years of famine in the hope that they would come to their senses but they thought good provision their right and bad circumstances were due to Moses (an evil omen).  Their fortune however was in the hands of God but still they did not recognise it.Next the people of Pharaoh were inflicted with a flood, followed by plagues of locusts, and lice, and frogs, and blood.  Pharaoh's people asked Moses to intervene with his Lord and have Him remove the punishment, saying that if he did so they would let the enslaved people of Israel go.  However when the punishment was removed they broke their promise.  God drowned them and caused those who had been oppressed to inherit the land.Verses 138 – 143 God rescues the Children of Israel and talks to MosesGod took the Children of Israel across the sea where they came across people who worshipped idols.  The children of Israel asked Moses to make them an idol to which he replied that they were an ignorant people.  He told them the cult the idol worshippers were following was doomed to destruction.  God summoned Moses on the mountain for forty nights.  He asked his brother Aaron, who had been with him from the beginning, to take his place to lead the people and being careful to keep them away from the idol worshippers.  Moses arrived at the appointed time and asked God to show Himself.  God answered, you will not see Me, but look at the mountain, if it can look at me and remain in place you will see me.  The mountain crumbled before Moses' eyes and he fell down unconscious.  When he recovered he said to God, ‘Glory be to You! To You I turn in repentance! I am the first to believe!'Verses 144 – 147God told Moses that he was chosen, from amongst all of humankind, to be the one who could hear God and receive His message, thus he should be grateful for such an honour.   God inscribed all details and instructions on the tablets, saying hold firmly to them.  Those who deny the signs of God will be kept distracted.  The deeds of those who deny the signs and the meeting in the Hereafter will become worthless.Verses 148 – 156 The wrath of GodWhile Moses was gone the people began worshipping a shape like a calf made from their jewellery and ornaments but they perceived that they were doing wrong and when Moses returned they said if God does not forgive us we will be among the losers.  Moses was angry and upset with them but especially his brother Aaron.  He threw down the tablets, seized his brother by the hair and pulled towards him.  Aaron said, "Oh son of my mother, (reminding Moses of their kinship) they would have overpowered me and killed me".  Moses asked God to forgive both his brother and himself.Those who worshipped the calf would gain the anger of their Lord but those who realised their misdeeds and repented would be forgiven.  When Moses had calmed down he picked up the tablets on which were inscribed guidance and mercy for those who feared their Lord.  Moses chose 70 men from among their number and they came towards Moses fearful and shaking.  They were supposed to apologise and beg forgiveness for worshipping the calf but instead they demanded to see God.  The mountain convulsed in a massive earthquake and they fell down dead.  Moses prayed for forgiveness and God's mercy encompasses all things.  Mercy is for those who are God conscious, pay the prescribed alms and believe in the revelations.Verses 157 – 158 Mohammad in the Torah and GospelSpecial mercy will be assigned to those who follow the unlettered Prophet who they will find mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel.  He enjoins them to good and forbids them from evil.  He makes good things lawful and bad things unlawful.  He relieves them of their burdens.  Those who follow him will succeed.   God says to Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, to declare to the people that he is the Messenger of God sent by the one who controls the heavens and the earth and that there is no true deity worthy of worship except God.Verses 159 – 168 The Children of Israel are testedIn the nation of Moses there were some who were guided and thereby established justice.  God divided them into twelve tribes.  When the thirsty people asked for water God revealed to Moses where to strike the rock with his staff.  Twelve springs gushed forth and each tribe had its own drinking place.  God sent down mana (pure things) from heaven for them to eat.  They rebelled, but they did not harm God by their rebellion; they harmed only themselves.God said to them, reside in this town, eat whatever you please, ask for forgiveness and enter the gate with humility.  God would then forgive their sins and multiply the reward of the good-doers but there were wicked amongst them who changed the wording of God's commandment.  So God sent down upon them a scourge from heaven.  God tells Prophet Muhammad to ask them about the town by the sea and what happened when they transgressed the laws of the Sabbath.  They were tested because of their disobedience.  On the Sabbath the fish came easily but did not appear on other days.  Ask them also, God said, about the warners and why they preached to a people who surely would be destroyed or punished by God.  The warners said they wanted to discharge their duty to God and they hoped some would take admonition.  However they disregarded the warning, continued with their behaviour and God said to them "Be thee detested apes".Remind them also that God said he would raise against them those who would inflict them with grievous harm right up until the Day of Resurrection.  God broke their unity as a nation and dispersed them all over the world.  Some are righteous and others are not, they were tested with both blessings and misfortunes.Verses 169 – 180 Including the covenant with the descendants of Adam.Then they were succeeded by an evil generation.  They enjoyed a low life thinking everything would be forgiven.  Why do they not see that the Hereafter is better? Those who follow the Book and establish the prayer will never have their deeds go to waste.  And mention to them the mountain that was suspended over them as if it were an umbrella.  They thought it was going to fall on them but God said hold fast to what we have given to you and remember so that you will return to God consciousness.Remind them Oh Prophet about the time when God brought into existence every single descendant of Adam (every human) and made them testify asking, "Am I not your Lord?" God did this, in case on the Day of Resurrection, anyone said, "but we were not aware".  Or in case they should try to blame their ancestors for idolatry or ascribing partners to God, saying we just followed our forefathers.  Everything is made clear.Tell them also the story of the man in the time of Moses to whom we gave our stories but he chose to ignore them and Satan pursued him until he became one of the deviators.  He would have been exalted through the revelations but he clung to his earthly life.  He was like a dog; if you chase him he pants, if you leave him he still pants.  Tell them the stories that they may reflect, whomever God guides is truly guided, whoever he forsakes is a loser.God says He created Hell for those of the jinn and humankind who have hearts but do not understand, eyes but do not see and ears but do not hear.  They are worse than animals because they are heedless.  And to God belong the best names, so invoke Him by them.  And leave the company of those who use them improperly.Verses 181 – 188God created a community (the followers of Prophet Muhammad) who guide to the truth and establish justice.  Those who deny God's revelations are drawn step by step towards destruction.  Their companion (Prophet Muhammad) is not mad, but he is a warner.  What could they believe in if they do not believe in this? Whoever God leads astray cannot be guided, He leaves them wandering blindly.  When they ask (you, Prophet Muhammad) about the Hour say, "Its knowledge is only with my Lord.  None will reveal its time except Him.  It lays heavily upon the heavens and the earth.  It will not come upon you except unexpectedly." Prophet Muhammad is told to tell the people he has no power to benefit or avert harm from himself and that he is nothing more than a warner and bearer of good news for those who believe.Verses 189 – 206  God created everything – worship HimIt is God who created everyone from one soul (Adam).  The people are ungrateful and set up partners with God but He is far exalted above the partners they ascribe to Him.  God says to Prophet Muhammad, say that your protector is God who sent the Quran and protects the righteous.  Be tolerant and say what is right, if Satan should tempt you seek protection with God.  When those who fear God are tempted by Satan they only need to remember God and they will know the right course of action.Tell them Muhammad that you follow only what is revealed from God; the Book (Quran) is a guidance and a blessing.  When you hear it recited, be silent and listen.  Remember God with humility and reverence in the morning and in the evening.  Do not be heedless; those who are close to God are never too proud to worship Him.  Glorify Him and bow down before Him._______________________________________By Aisha Stacey (© 2015, 2018 IslamReligion.com)Copyright © 2006 - 2021 IslamReligion.com. All rights reserved.Used with permission.The source of this article is: www.IslamReligion.com

Join Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony as they continue their conversation about the joys of the Christmas season, including the Circumcision and Baptism of our Lord. Christ is born! Glorify Him! Merry Christmas!

Join Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony as they continue their conversation about the joys of the Christmas season, including the Circumcision and Baptism of our Lord. Christ is born! Glorify Him! Merry Christmas!

There are certain days and seasons that lead us to making a fresh start…to hit the reset button on the past: like a wedding day, new job, new home. New Years is a good time to hit the reset button, get a fresh start, make needed adjustments. This week we will look at ways for us to “be in sync” with God's plans for us. It begins with hitting the reset button on our past…looking forward to God's promise to never leave you…and then living in the present. We stay in sync with the Lord by giving Him thanks throughout the day, praying to Him regularly, being in His Word often, being active in His Church, and then using your gifts, abilities, and situations to Glorify Him! January 2, 2022

Sign-up for my free 20 day devotional, The Word Before Work Foundations, at http://TWBWFoundations.com “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.' Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.' And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” Genesis 1:28-31 (NIV)The Bible gives us very little detail of Jesus' life between the ages of twelve and thirty, when He began his public ministry. One of the only things Scripture notes about this significant chunk of time is that Jesus was known in His community for His work as a carpenter. This is remarkable! The only thing the Bible tells us about what Jesus was doing for half of His life was doing the work of a creator and entrepreneur, revealing to us this important characteristic of the Trinity.Given Jesus' ultimate purpose for coming to earth, you might have expected God to choose for the Messiah to grow up in the home of a priest, like the prophets Samuel and John the Baptist, or maybe in a Pharisaical household, like the Apostle Paul. Instead, God placed Jesus in the home of a carpenter, where for eighty-five percent of His working life, He would reveal God's character as a creator and an entrepreneur, creating new things for the good of others.In just three years of public ministry, Jesus revealed countless characteristics about His Father. To the five thousand, Jesus showed us that God is our provider. To Lazarus, Jesus showed us that God is the giver of life. And on the cross, Jesus showed us that “God so loved the world” that He would sacrifice His only Son in order to spend eternity with us. If Jesus was able to reveal so much of God's character in such a relatively short period of time, the fact that Jesus spent twenty years revealing God's creative and entrepreneurial spirit should stop us in our tracks.Think back to the first week of this devotional series. What God created in the first six days is astonishing, but what's equally remarkable is what He did not create. After six days of work, God left the earth largely undeveloped and uncultivated. Then He called you and I to join Him as His co-creators, “filling and subduing” the world. When we create, we are emulating the entrepreneurial and creative character of the Godhead: Father, Spirit, and Son. Your work as a creator is not “secular” or “less than” the work of a “full-time missionary” or pastor. No, you are doing God-like work for His glory and the good of others. Glorify Him through your creating today!

Join Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony as they talk about the celebration of Christmas (forty days!) through the lens of Isaiah 9:2-7. Christ is born! Glorify Him! Merry Christmas!

Christ is born! Glorify Him! Merry Christmas to you all!“This is the festival of the virgin birth! Our address must be exulted therefore in accordance with the greatness of the feast, and enter into the mystery, as far as this is accessible and permissible, and time allows, that something of its inner power might be revealed even to us. Please strive, brethren, to lift up your minds as well, that they may better perceive the light of divine knowledge, as though brightly illumined by a holy star. For today I see equality of honor between heaven and earth, and a way up for all those below to things above, matching the condescension of those on high.”“Brethren, let us preserve this peace in ourselves as far as we can, for we have received it as an inheritance from our Savior who has now been born, who gives us the Spirit of adoption, through which we have become heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ (cf. Romans 8:15, 17). Let us be at peace with God, and doing those things which are well pleasing to Him, living chastely, telling the truth, behaving righteously, "continuing in prayer and supplication" (cf. Acts 1:14), "signing and making peace with ourselves, by subjecting our flesh to our spirit, choosing to conduct ourselves according to our conscience, and having the inner world of our thoughts motivated by good order and purity.”“May we all attain to this, at the future glorious advent and epiphany of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, to Whom belongs glory unto the ages. Amen.”Text: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2016...This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/orthodox-wisdom/message

Join Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony as they talk about the celebration of Christmas (forty days!) through the lens of Isaiah 9:2-7. Christ is born! Glorify Him! Merry Christmas!

Christ is Born. Glorify Him. Almaseeh wulidah. Famijodoo. One of the most common questions people ask each other is: “How are you doing?” A friend always answers: “I'm going great because every day is Christmas.” Support the show (https://www.holycrossmelkite.org/donate)

You are probably seeing this and wondering what is going on and why yet again the name change. Please bear with me guys God has been taking your boy through a journey and I am allowing myself to shift where I must in order to Glorify Him. Please take the time to listen to this podcast and feel free to let me know what you think. Prayer requests, questions and/ or Encouragements please leave a voice a message on the link below and I will try my best to include it into the next podcast episode. Thank you for sticking it out with me I appreciate it! Social Media:Instagram: @alexsyfelix--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alexsy-felix/messageSupport the showConsider supporting the podcast! Click the link above "support the show" and with your support Chaos & Christ will be able to grow, bring on new guest and provide greater quality content that can serve you in the midst of Chaos. Sign up for our Newsletter! Chaos & Christ Newsletter Official Website: Chaos & Christ Podcast official websiteAffiliate LinksAll links below are services and/or products I used and trust that I recommended because I myself use them. Yes they pay me a small percentage for the purchase you make on this link. You obviously do not have too but I mean, if you are going to buy it anyway, could you help a brother out? My Podcast Website This is how I built my podcast website in like 10 minutes- (Affiliate link) Social Media:Instagram: @alexsyfelix Facebook: @chaosandchristpodcastTwitter/X: @alexsy_felix Gab: @alexsyfelix This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chaosandchrist.substack.com

Allison speaks with author, Barbara Lee, about her new book, Answering God's Call: a Scripture-Based Journey for Older Adults (Loyola Press).Barbara and I share experience in the law field, though her career was far more illustrious than mine! Still, the lessons we learned there helped us do what God called us to after those careers.The Wisdom of Age and the Enthusiasm of Youth: The Blessing of Cross-Generational Bible Studies (I think that needs to be my next book title!).I shared Bishop da Cunha's newest Pastoral Letter and his poignant question, "What faith legacy do you want to leave?"Barbara's book includes Scripture verses pointing us to amazing role models for the older, more seasoned, adult. Mariam packed a Tambourine for her journey through the Red Sea - God used her lifelong interest and talents to Glorify Him. He will do the same for with you - so dust off those lyres and harps!Some of my favorites featured stories — Anna at the Presentation (just when she thought her work was through, like Juan Diego, God had a mission for her), St. Joseph's stillness (which is far deeper than just silence), and Peter's Mother-in-Law (healed and immediately wants to serve)!Related Links: Purchase the book: Loyola https://store.loyolapress.com/answering-gods-callor via Barbara's Amazon link:  https://www.amazon.com/Barbara-Lee/e/B079DWD673/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1  After the Fever, Service (blog post): https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/after-the-fever-service   

Psalm 50; 10 -15: The Lord God is the creator of everything and everything belongs to Him. Give your troubles to God and He will deliver! Glorify Him and watch your deliverance come through! Be blessed! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tina-tatum/message

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ~ 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NLT) I was at a wedding a couple of years back. It was two kids – I say “kids” even though in actuality they are in their mid-twenties – who attended my youth group back in Salem, Oregon. I was also their sophomore Bible teacher. It was several years ago that I received their invitation. I was flattered, and excited for the day when I could watch these two amazing kids tie the knot. At the ceremony, one of my good friends officiated (he was the pastor saying all the stuff up front). The subject of the entire service was Jesus Christ. You see, Ethan and Cynthia love Jesus, and have accepted Him as their personal Lord and Savior. But, beyond that, they have invited Him into their relationship with each other. Even though it was their wedding, Jesus had to be lifted up and glorified – and He was. For those of us who have taken the plunge and accepted Jesus into our lives through His invitation to unite with Him, we can't forget that we too need to issue an invitation to Him. It's not enough that we just call Him Lord and Savior, we must act upon it. This is what the apostle Paul meant when he stated in our verse today, “whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” In other words, we must invite God into our everyday life. Of course, the simple answer is “I did,” or “I have.” But Paul's direction goes deeper than that. He is telling us that in every part of our lives, we must invite God to be a part of it, to be Lord of it. That means we must give Him an invite into our romantic relationships (as Ethan and Cynthia have); into our careers; into our friendships; into our finances; into our families; into our church (it's sad that this even needs to be stated); into our entertainment choices; into our hobbies; into every little piece of our lives. Because, if He's not there, He can not be glorified as Paul describes. If we call Jesus Lord, or Savior, then our lives are to be lived as an act of worship to Him. And, if we are truly worshiping Him, we must glorify Him no matter where we are, or what we're doing. If we call ourselves “Christian,” then we must make sure that Christ is with us. So, today, and every day, invite Jesus into your activities. Truly worship Him. Glorify Him.

Reverend Richard Beckford discusses the theme for July 2021, "Purpose - What Am I Here For?", in his message delivered at Grace Missionary Church. What is our "Purpose"?We have heard the spiritual talk "I am here to Worship God, Glorify Him and bring Him pleasure". However, the question must be asked, what does that mean? What does it look like?

The Four Generation Curse is a significant truth taught in the Bible. You need to know about it considering what is going on in this country. We're living in a chaotic climate. If the anti-God trends continue, fueled by social media influencers, God will bring judgment on our nation. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Since you rejected knowledge, I will reject you” (Hosea). God requires us to LAG: Learn, Apply, and Glorify Him. Every generation is responsible for the decisions it makes, the culture it chooses. Rejection of authority is the most prominent cause of suffering in life. Rejection of God will bring suffering to our nation. ”There's a generation whose teeth are like swords and whose jaws are like knives” (Prov 30:14). This is the last generation before God brings the fifth cycle discipline upon a nation. This generation has a lust for power. Full Transcript: https://rhem.pub/spiritual-profile-985b00 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/rick-hughes/message

Fr. Roger J. Landry Sacred Heart Convent of the Sisters of Life, New York, NY Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter Memorial of St. Christopher Magallanes and Companions May 21, 2021 Acts 25:13-21, Ps 103, Jn 21:15-19   To listen to an audio recording of today's homily, please click below:  https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/catholicpreaching/5.21.21_Homily_1.mp3   The following […] The post Loving the Lord Enough to Glorify Him in Death, Seventh Friday of Easter, May 21, 2021 appeared first on Catholic Preaching.

Charmaine Rayment is a voluntary missionary at Jews for Jesus. She has a real passion for worship ministry. Rayment has agreed to become a contributor to a podcast series called “A Life of Worship”. This is part four of a series devoted to the Tabernacle of the Lord. Below, you will find some notes from the episode as well as the podcast itself. Enjoy listening. Notes from this episode Music by Avihu Medina Shalom listeners! Today we will explore the courtyard of praise and how to enter into an attitude of praise Psalm 100:4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving (tôwdâh), and His courts with praise (tehillâh)! Praise (yâdâh) Him; bless (bârâk) His name! SEVEN KEY HEBREW WORDS FOR PRAISE The word praise appears many times in the bible however we lose the exact meaning in the English language. Hebrew has seven words to describe praise. I would like to encourage you to take a concordance and everywhere you see the word “praise” in your bible, write down the Hebrew word next to it and you will get a better understanding of what is being said. I am just going to give a brief description of the seven Hebrew words for praise. The references have been added so that you may look them up for their full meaning. Hâlal (Strong’s Concordance 1984) To praise God explosively and enthusiastically. (Primary root of the word hallelujah Psalm 22:23 “I will declare Your Name to my brothers. I will praise (Hâlal) You amid the Congregation. Psalm 63:6 …so my mouth praises (Hâlal) You with joyful lips. Psalm 69:31 I will praise (Hâlal) God’s Name with a song, and magnify Him with praise. Psalm 150 Tehillâh (Strong’s Concordance 8416) To sing praises extravagantly. Psalm 40:4 “He put a new song in my mouth – a hymn of praise (Tehillâh) to our God. Many will see and fear and trust in ADONAI.” Psalm 22:4 “Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises (Tehillâh) of Israel. Psalm 34:2 “I will bless (Barak) ADONAI at all times. His praise (Tehillâh) is continually in my mouth.” Psalm 66:2 “Sing the glory of His Name – make His praise (Tehilâah) glorious.” Shâbach (Strong’s Concordance 7623) To shout; to exclaim praise, to proclaim with a loud voice. Psalm 63:4 “Since Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise (Shâbach) you.” Psalm 117:1 “Praise (Shâbach) ADONAI, all you nations! Glorify Him, all you people. Psalm 145:4 “One generation will praise (Shâbach) Your works to another and declare Your mighty acts. Psalm 147:12 “Exalt ADONAI, (Shâbach) O Jerusalem! Praise (Hâlal) your God, O Zion. Yâdâh (Strong’s Concordance 3034) To worship or revere with raised or extended hands. Psalm 134:2 “Lift up your hands (Yâdâh) in the sanctuary and bless ADONAI.” Psalm 9:2 “I will praise (Yâdâh) ADONAI with my whole heart. I will tell about all your wonders.” Psalm 7:18 “I will praise (Yâdâh) ADONAI for His justice. I sing praise to the Name of ADONAI Elyon!” Psalm 54:8 “I will sacrifice a freewill offering to You. I will praise (Yâdâh) Your Name.” Psalm 142:8 “Bring my soul out of prison, so I may praise (Yâdâh) Your Name.” Tôwdâh (Strong’s Concordance 8426) To give thanks; to extend the hands in thanksgiving. Psalm 100:4 “Enter His gates with thanksgiving (Tôwdâh) and His courts with praise (Tehillâh)! Praise (Yâdâh) Him, bless (Barak) His Name.” Psalm 50:23 “A sacrifice of praise (Tôwdah) honors Me, and to the one who orders his way, I will show the salvation of God.” Psalm 116:17 “To You I will offer a sacrifice of praise (Tôwdâh), and I will call on the Name of ADONAI.” Bârak (Strong’s Concordance 1288) To bless God as an act of adoration; to kneel expectantly and quietly before him. Psalm 145:21 “My mouth declares the praise of ADONAI. Let all flesh bless (Bârak) His holy Name forever and ever!” Psalm 34:2 “I will bless (Bârak) ADONAI at all times. His praise (Tehillâh) is continually in my mouth.” Psalm 63:5 “So I will bless (Bârak) You as long as I live. In Your name I lift up my hands. Psalm 72:15 “…May he pray for him continually and bless (Bârak) him all day. Zâmar (Strong’s Concordance 2167) To use musical instruments. Sometimes accompanied by the voice. Psalm 33:2 “Praise ADONAI with the harp. Sing (Zâmar) praises to Him with a ten-string lyre.” Psalm 98:5 “Sing (Zâmar) praises to ADONAI with the harp, with the harp and a voice of melody.” Psalm 144:9 “God I sing a new song to You, on a ten-string harp (Zâmar) I sing praises (Tehillâh) to You.” The Hebrew word most used in the Old Testament for worship is shâchâh (Strong’s Concordance 7812) meaning prostrate; bow down. The Greek word most used in the New Testament for worship is prŏskunĕō (Strong’s Concordance 4352) meaning to prostrate oneself in homage. As we enter the courtyard of praise, let’s examine the kind of worship that David instituted and which can be seen in the book of Psalms. NINE WORSHIP POSTURES FOUND IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS VOICE Speak! Psalm 34:1 I will bless ADONAI at all time. His praise is continually in my mouth. Sing! Psalm 47:7 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! Shout! Psalm 32:11 Be glad in ADONAI and rejoice, you righteous, and shout for joy, all who are upright in heart! HANDS Lift! Psalm 63:4 So I will bless You as long as I live. In Your name I will lift up my hands. Play Instruments! Psalm 33:2 Praise ADONAI with the harp. Sing praises to Him with a ten-string lyre. 3 Sing to Him a new song! Play skillfully amid shouts of joy. Clap! Psalm 47:2 Clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of joy! POSTURE Stand! Psalm 134:1 Behold, ADONAI, all you servants of ADONAI, who stand by night in the house of ADONAI. Bow! Psalm 95:6 Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before ADONAI our Maker! Dance! Psalm 149:3 Let them praise his name with dancing. Let them sing praises to him with tambourine and harp.

This is His doing. Cover song sung by Gabriella Jennifer Allwyn to Glorify Him. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cornerstonesct/support

With these declarations, God wants to take you on a journey of love, salvation and accountability. Regardless of where you have been, what happened through the year, how great or not you were and regardless of how your journey with Him has been, God wants you to know that you are loved, you are called and you are chosen. With these words He will bring you in again, equip you and open your eyes to see you like He does. With these words He will bring you to your knees and let you take in His love again. Through this prayers you will arise, you will move forward and you will fulfill the mandate over your life in 2021! I love you and God constantly adores you! Glorify HIM in 2021 because He believes in you! He always has and He always will. He never required performance, He only requires heart. Give Him yours. Attempt to love Him this year.

Christ is born. Glorify Him. Almaseeh Woolida. Famajidoo. I wasn’t sure whether to come to Church today, because I am very busy. I have paperwork to do, messages to send and read, and a Christmas dinner to go to. Besides, I usually go to Church on Sunday. That should be enough. Support the show (https://www.holycrossmelkite.org/donate)

Glorify Him! - Advent 4 by Newland Presbyterian Church

“What shall I say! And how shall I describe this Birth to you? For this wonder fills me with astonishment. The Ancient of Days has become an infant. He Who sits upon the sublime and heavenly Throne, now lies in a manger. And He Who cannot be touched, Who is simple, without complexity, and incorporeal, now lies subject to the hands of men....” (St John Chrysostom) In the Church, we call Christmas "the Nativity According to the Flesh of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ." Because it's the day we celebrate the very Son of God taking on flesh and becoming human for our sake: the Lord's Incarnation. This is when we celebrate the coming of the Philanthropos, the "Lover of Mankind." A season when we are called to be philanthropists ourselves and be a loving, healing presence in a troubled and mixed-up world. Christmas spirit is more than a theme we see in movies like "The Christmas Chronicles." It's something we can share in our everyday lives: in concrete ways for the life of the world. Christ is Born! Glorify Him! As always, we've prepared a FREE downloadable workbook to help you act on what you'll learn: https://mailchi.mp/goarch/bethebee161

“What shall I say! And how shall I describe this Birth to you? For this wonder fills me with astonishment. The Ancient of Days has become an infant. He Who sits upon the sublime and heavenly Throne, now lies in a manger. And He Who cannot be touched, Who is simple, without complexity, and incorporeal, now lies subject to the hands of men....” (St John Chrysostom) In the Church, we call Christmas "the Nativity According to the Flesh of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ." Because it's the day we celebrate the very Son of God taking on flesh and becoming human for our sake: the Lord's Incarnation. This is when we celebrate the coming of the Philanthropos, the "Lover of Mankind." A season when we are called to be philanthropists ourselves and be a loving, healing presence in a troubled and mixed-up world. Christmas spirit is more than a theme we see in movies like "The Christmas Chronicles." It's something we can share in our everyday lives: in concrete ways for the life of the world. Christ is Born! Glorify Him! As always, we've prepared a FREE downloadable workbook to help you act on what you'll learn: https://mailchi.mp/goarch/bethebee161

“What shall I say! And how shall I describe this Birth to you? For this wonder fills me with astonishment. The Ancient of Days has become an infant. He Who sits upon the sublime and heavenly Throne, now lies in a manger. And He Who cannot be touched, Who is simple, without complexity, and incorporeal, now lies subject to the hands of men....” (St John Chrysostom) In the Church, we call Christmas "the Nativity According to the Flesh of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ." Because it's the day we celebrate the very Son of God taking on flesh and becoming human for our sake: the Lord's Incarnation. This is when we celebrate the coming of the Philanthropos, the "Lover of Mankind." A season when we are called to be philanthropists ourselves and be a loving, healing presence in a troubled and mixed-up world. Christmas spirit is more than a theme we see in movies like "The Christmas Chronicles." It's something we can share in our everyday lives: in concrete ways for the life of the world. Christ is Born! Glorify Him! As always, we've prepared a FREE downloadable workbook to help you act on what you'll learn: https://mailchi.mp/goarch/bethebee161

This chapter is one of the longer chapters found at the beginning of the Quran.  It is generally accepted that it was revealed in Mecca.  It is named after the height of the barrier that will divide the saved and the damned on the Day of Judgement.  It begins by reassuring Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, that the stories about disobedient communities of the past should serve as encouragement to the believers to take heed and repent before the great Day is upon them.Verses  1- 10 Take lessons from historyGod addresses Prophet Muhammad telling him not to feel any distress.  He (God) reassures him that this book (the Quran) has been revealed as a warning and a reminder to those who believe.  Follow, (and tell the people), what has been sent down and do not follow any other master apart from God alone.  How often have previous civilsations been destroyed? But still humankind does not heed the warnings.  Some were taken at night, others when they rested in the heat of the day.  When the punishment was upon them they admitted their wrongdoing. God will surely question those to whom a message was sent and those who carried the message.  Humankind will be questioned by God who has full knowledge of their deeds, both good and bad.  The weighing of the deeds on that Day will be just.  Those who scales are heavy (with good deeds) will be successful and those whose scales are light will be lost. Verses 11 – 18 The story of Adam and SatanGod established humankind in the earth and provided a means with which to make a livelihood.  Humankind is ungrateful yet it is God who created you, and shaped you into human form.  The angels were asked to prostrate before the first of your kind, Adam.  The angels obeyed; all except Iblis.[1]  Iblis (Satan) proceeded to argue with God, when asked why he did not obey God's instructions.  Satan considered himself better than the Adam.  He was created from smokeless fire whereas Adam was created from clay.God ordered Satan to descend from Paradise stating that it was not an abode for the arrogant and that Satan would henceforth be one of the contemptible ones.  Satan asked for a reprieve (from judgment and punishment) until the Day of Resurrection.  The reprieve was granted.   In his arrogance Satan told God he planned to deceive mankind, to lie in wait for them on the straight path and come at them from all sides.  You, Satan said to God, will find most of them ungrateful.   God ordered Satan out and swore to fill Hell with Satan and those who followed him.Verses 19 – 25 Acceptance of repentanceAdam and his wife were directed to live in Paradise and eat from wherever they will.  There was however one exception, the tree which God pointed out to them.  Satan whispered to Adam and Eve to make them aware of their nakedness, he also encouraged them to eat from the forbidden tree; saying to do so would make them immortal or angels.  Satan swore to be a sincere advisor to them.  After eating from the tree their nakedness became clear to them and Adam and Eve tried to gather leaves to cover themselves.  God questioned them as to why they disobeyed Him and did not take His warning to stay away from Satan.  Adam and Eve admitted their wrongdoing and asked for forgiveness.  Earth became their abode, where they would live, die and be raised back to life.Verses 26 – 32 A warningGod then addresses the children of Adam (humankind).  He explains that they have garments to cover their nakedness, and as an adornment, but the best garment of all is the garment of God-consciousness.  This is a sign He says.  Again they are warned that Satan is a sworn enemy so be not deceived.  The evil ones are allied to those who do not believe.  God did not order immorality, thus what your forefathers did is not an excuse.  God commanded righteousness, therefore direct your worship to Him alone and be devoted entirely to Him.  God created humankind and will repeat the process on the Day of Judgment.  Some are guided but some are doomed because they take the evil ones as their masters. God advises the children of Adam to dress well, when and wherever they pray, and to eat and drink from what He has provided.  However He warns them not to be extravagant for He does not love those who do so.  Prophet Muhammad is then advised to ask his followers as to who forbids them  from what God has provided.  They are for humankind to enjoy but will be for the believers alone on the Day of Resurrection.Verses 33 – 41 The closed gatesProphet Muhammad is advised to tell the believers that God forbids disgraceful deeds, those openly done as well as those hidden away.  Every nation's life span is set, it cannot be hastened nor can it be delayed for even an instant.  When the messengers come, those who believe will be saved but those who ignore the warnings will abide in the Fire.  The most unjust is the one who invents lies about God or denies the revelations.  They will live out their days, and the ones they used to invoke besides God will not help them; they will abide in the Fire.  They will curse and blame each other as they are herded into the Fire to face a double punishment.  The gates of Heaven will not be opened to those who deny the verses or are arrogant towards them.  Even if a rope was to be threaded through the eye of a needle they would not enter the Everlasting Garden.  This is the punishment for the guilty and the evildoers.Verses 42 – 58 A Day of Fulfilment (Judgment)Those who believe and do good deeds are the people of the Garden.  They will not be burdened with what they are unable to bear and the gates of Heaven will be open to them.  They will praise God because of the Paradise they have inherited and call out to the people of the Fire that the promise of God was true.  The people of the Fire reply that they too have found the promise to be true.  Next a caller will announce that the curse of God is upon the wrongdoers.  There will be a partition between both parties.  The people of the Heights will recognise each other and call out to each other.  The inmates from Hell then beg for food and water from the inmates of Paradise, but their answer is that God has forbidden them sustenance.  They will be forgotten just as they had forgotten the inevitability of this Day which is the fulfilment of what was promised in the Quran.The Lord God created the universe and then rose over the Throne in a manner that suits His Majesty, so call upon him with humility, and invoke Him with fear and hope.  He is the one who sends the wind and the rain bringing forth all kinds of fruit, likewise He will raise the dead.  Vegetation emerges by the permission of God.Verses 59 – 73 The stories of Noah and HudGod sent Noah to his people and he asked them to worship God alone.  They denied Noah so God saved him and those with him in a ship, the others, who denied God's signs, were drowned.  Prophet Hud was sent to the people of Aad, saying worship God alone but they denied him.  They called him a liar and a fool when he was giving them sincere advice.  Hud reminded them of the people of Noah and of the favours God has bestowed upon them, he warned them of a terrible punishment but they taunted him and asked Hud to bring on the punishment.  Hud said he would wait with them for the decision from God.  The disbelievers were annihilated; Hud and his companions were saved by the mercy of God.Verses 74- 94 The stories of Saleh, Lot and ShuaibThen, to the people of Thamud, God sent Prophet Saleh.  He asked them to worship God alone.  Saleh asked them to protect the she-camel sent from God and reminded them that they were the inheritors of Aad, capable of building great mansions in valleys and carving out homes from the sides of mountains.  Remember God's blessings Saleh told his people, however the arrogant ones asked the believers if they really thought Saleh was sent from God.  They answered yes but the arrogant ones rejected this and hamstrung the camel they had been charged with protecting.  So bring us this promise (of God's wrath) they said, so an earthquake seized them and they fell down dead.  Saleh turned away.Lot was sent to his people and confronted them with the promise of punishment for the indecent acts they performed with each other, but their only response was to try to evict Lot and his family from their city.  God saved Lot and all his family, except for his wife who was among the evildoers, when the rain of stones destroyed them.Shuaib was sent to the people of Midian and he asked them to worship God alone.  He asked them to cease their corrupt business practices and to stop waylaying visitors and wayfarers in their cities.  He reminded them that God increased their numbers and of the shocking ends to some previous nations but they did not want to heed the warning.  Instead of being grateful to God they attributed changing fortunes to the passage of time.  The people of Midian were stuck down by an earthquake, those who had disbelieved Shuaib's warning ceased to exist.  Shuaib turned away without grieving for the disbelieving people.Verses 95 – 100 A lesson to learnWhenever God sent a prophet to a town (or nation) he afflicted the people with adversity and misfortune in order that they might humble themselves before Him.  Then God changed their hardship to prosperity but the people did not recognise God's grace.  Had they believed they would have been showered with riches but they did not so they were seized for their misdeeds.   God asks, did those people feel secure at night, or in the day? The only people who feel secure from the plan of God are those doomed to destruction.  Do people not understand, from the stories of those before them, that God can afflict them for their sins and seal their hearts?Verses 101 – 126 God sends Moses to PharaohThe people in the cities in the previous verses were sent messengers with warnings but they refused to believe in them.  Then God sent Moses to Pharaoh and his priests but they too treated the message unjustly.  See then what happened to those who spread corruption.  Moses told Pharaoh that he (Moses) was a messenger from the Lord of all the worlds and Pharaoh asked for a sign.  Moses threw his staff to the ground and it tuned into a slithering serpent.  Then he pulled his hand out from under his robe and it was shining white and radiant.  The leaders around Pharaoh said that Moses was a sorcerer and suggested a competition.  Pharaoh's sorcerers arrived and were promised a place in the inner circle if they won.The sorcerers threw their sticks and they turned into snakes.  God inspired Moses and he threw down his staff that turned into a snake that devoured all the snakes the sorcerers had conjured.  The sorcerers were defeated; the truth was clear so they fell to their knees saying that they believe in the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Moses.  Pharaoh declared that he would cut off their hands and feet on opposite sides and crucify them all because they believed before he (Pharaoh) had given his permission for them to do so.  They cried out to God asking Him to keep them steadfast and let them die devoted to Him alone.Verses 127 – 137 Plagues afflict EgyptThe leaders amongst Pharaoh's people asked if he intended to let Moses and his people cause corruption in the land.  He answered that he would put their sons to death and spare their daughters.  Moses advised his people to be steadfast and turn to God for help.  Moses' people complained that they were used to persecution before and are still being persecuted, but Moses gives them hope. Pharaoh's people were afflicted with several years of famine in the hope that they would come to their senses but they thought good provision their right and bad circumstances were due to Moses (an evil omen).  Their fortune however was in the hands of God but still they did not recognise it.Next the people of Pharaoh were inflicted with a flood, followed by plagues of locusts, and lice, and frogs, and blood.  Pharaoh's people asked Moses to intervene with his Lord and have Him remove the punishment, saying that if he did so they would let the enslaved people of Israel go.  However when the punishment was removed they broke their promise.  God drowned them and caused those who had been oppressed to inherit the land.Verses 138 – 143 God rescues the Children of Israel and talks to MosesGod took the Children of Israel across the sea where they came across people who worshipped idols.  The children of Israel asked Moses to make them an idol to which he replied that they were an ignorant people.  He told them the cult the idol worshippers were following was doomed to destruction.  God summoned Moses on the mountain for forty nights.  He asked his brother Aaron, who had been with him from the beginning, to take his place to lead the people and being careful to keep them away from the idol worshippers.  Moses arrived at the appointed time and asked God to show Himself.  God answered, you will not see Me, but look at the mountain, if it can look at me and remain in place you will see me.  The mountain crumbled before Moses' eyes and he fell down unconscious.  When he recovered he said to God, ‘Glory be to You! To You I turn in repentance! I am the first to believe!'Verses 144 – 147God told Moses that he was chosen, from amongst all of humankind, to be the one who could hear God and receive His message, thus he should be grateful for such an honour.   God inscribed all details and instructions on the tablets, saying hold firmly to them.  Those who deny the signs of God will be kept distracted.  The deeds of those who deny the signs and the meeting in the Hereafter will become worthless.Verses 148 – 156 The wrath of GodWhile Moses was gone the people began worshipping a shape like a calf made from their jewellery and ornaments but they perceived that they were doing wrong and when Moses returned they said if God does not forgive us we will be among the losers.  Moses was angry and upset with them but especially his brother Aaron.  He threw down the tablets, seized his brother by the hair and pulled towards him.  Aaron said, "Oh son of my mother, (reminding Moses of their kinship) they would have overpowered me and killed me".  Moses asked God to forgive both his brother and himself.Those who worshipped the calf would gain the anger of their Lord but those who realised their misdeeds and repented would be forgiven.  When Moses had calmed down he picked up the tablets on which were inscribed guidance and mercy for those who feared their Lord.  Moses chose 70 men from among their number and they came towards Moses fearful and shaking.  They were supposed to apologise and beg forgiveness for worshipping the calf but instead they demanded to see God.  The mountain convulsed in a massive earthquake and they fell down dead.  Moses prayed for forgiveness and God's mercy encompasses all things.  Mercy is for those who are God conscious, pay the prescribed alms and believe in the revelations.Verses 157 – 158 Mohammad in the Torah and GospelSpecial mercy will be assigned to those who follow the unlettered Prophet who they will find mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel.  He enjoins them to good and forbids them from evil.  He makes good things lawful and bad things unlawful.  He relieves them of their burdens.  Those who follow him will succeed.   God says to Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, to declare to the people that he is the Messenger of God sent by the one who controls the heavens and the earth and that there is no true deity worthy of worship except God.Verses 159 – 168 The Children of Israel are testedIn the nation of Moses there were some who were guided and thereby established justice.  God divided them into twelve tribes.  When the thirsty people asked for water God revealed to Moses where to strike the rock with his staff.  Twelve springs gushed forth and each tribe had its own drinking place.  God sent down mana (pure things) from heaven for them to eat.  They rebelled, but they did not harm God by their rebellion; they harmed only themselves.God said to them, reside in this town, eat whatever you please, ask for forgiveness and enter the gate with humility.  God would then forgive their sins and multiply the reward of the good-doers but there were wicked amongst them who changed the wording of God's commandment.  So God sent down upon them a scourge from heaven.  God tells Prophet Muhammad to ask them about the town by the sea and what happened when they transgressed the laws of the Sabbath.  They were tested because of their disobedience.  On the Sabbath the fish came easily but did not appear on other days.  Ask them also, God said, about the warners and why they preached to a people who surely would be destroyed or punished by God.  The warners said they wanted to discharge their duty to God and they hoped some would take admonition.  However they disregarded the warning, continued with their behaviour and God said to them "Be thee detested apes".Remind them also that God said he would raise against them those who would inflict them with grievous harm right up until the Day of Resurrection.  God broke their unity as a nation and dispersed them all over the world.  Some are righteous and others are not, they were tested with both blessings and misfortunes.Verses 169 – 180 Including the covenant with the descendants of Adam.Then they were succeeded by an evil generation.  They enjoyed a low life thinking everything would be forgiven.  Why do they not see that the Hereafter is better? Those who follow the Book and establish the prayer will never have their deeds go to waste.  And mention to them the mountain that was suspended over them as if it were an umbrella.  They thought it was going to fall on them but God said hold fast to what we have given to you and remember so that you will return to God consciousness.Remind them Oh Prophet about the time when God brought into existence every single descendant of Adam (every human) and made them testify asking, "Am I not your Lord?" God did this, in case on the Day of Resurrection, anyone said, "but we were not aware".  Or in case they should try to blame their ancestors for idolatry or ascribing partners to God, saying we just followed our forefathers.  Everything is made clear.Tell them also the story of the man in the time of Moses to whom we gave our stories but he chose to ignore them and Satan pursued him until he became one of the deviators.  He would have been exalted through the revelations but he clung to his earthly life.  He was like a dog; if you chase him he pants, if you leave him he still pants.  Tell them the stories that they may reflect, whomever God guides is truly guided, whoever he forsakes is a loser.God says He created Hell for those of the jinn and humankind who have hearts but do not understand, eyes but do not see and ears but do not hear.  They are worse than animals because they are heedless.  And to God belong the best names, so invoke Him by them.  And leave the company of those who use them improperly.Verses 181 – 188God created a community (the followers of Prophet Muhammad) who guide to the truth and establish justice.  Those who deny God's revelations are drawn step by step towards destruction.  Their companion (Prophet Muhammad) is not mad, but he is a warner.  What could they believe in if they do not believe in this? Whoever God leads astray cannot be guided, He leaves them wandering blindly.  When they ask (you, Prophet Muhammad) about the Hour say, "Its knowledge is only with my Lord.  None will reveal its time except Him.  It lays heavily upon the heavens and the earth.  It will not come upon you except unexpectedly." Prophet Muhammad is told to tell the people he has no power to benefit or avert harm from himself and that he is nothing more than a warner and bearer of good news for those who believe.Verses 189 – 206  God created everything – worship HimIt is God who created everyone from one soul (Adam).  The people are ungrateful and set up partners with God but He is far exalted above the partners they ascribe to Him.  God says to Prophet Muhammad, say that your protector is God who sent the Quran and protects the righteous.  Be tolerant and say what is right, if Satan should tempt you seek protection with God.  When those who fear God are tempted by Satan they only need to remember God and they will know the right course of action.Tell them Muhammad that you follow only what is revealed from God; the Book (Quran) is a guidance and a blessing.  When you hear it recited, be silent and listen.  Remember God with humility and reverence in the morning and in the evening.  Do not be heedless; those who are close to God are never too proud to worship Him.  Glorify Him and bow down before Him._______________________________________By Aisha Stacey (© 2015, 2018 IslamReligion.com)Copyright © 2006 - 2021 IslamReligion.com. All rights reserved.Used with permission.The source of this article is: www.IslamReligion.com

Grace is more than simply the unmerited favor of God displayed & enacted in Jesus. Grace also has a purpose…the practical outworking of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Believers. It is Grace alone that saves us and it is Grace alone that empowers and enables us to Glorify Him.

Using God's Blessings to Glorify Him - 1 Corinthians 10: 1-13

What are we called to do as exiles? What's our role in the world? Live good lives. See me. Glorify Him.

A teaching enlightening anyone who desires to get married to marry JESUS CHRIST 1st!! To submit to HIS wisdom on the Holy Union HE created to GLORIFY HIM! Understanding the spiritual principles regarding marriage and applying them will allow the PEACE OF GOD to abide within your marriage! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/anthony-bonner6/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/anthony-bonner6/support

Homily. Christ is Born. Glorify Him. And a happy and blessed new year. If someone gave you new clothes you would be happy. If someone gave you a new car you would get excited. And if someone gave you a new house you would be hysterical. Getting new things always brings us great joy and that is one of the reasons Christmas is such a happy time of year. In addition to all the new things you recently purchased, in the next week or two you will receive at least one more new thing. It will be something you did not have before and something that may be with you for a very long time. Look for it in the mail. You will get a specially marked envelope announcing to you that in addition to all the new things you purchased you now have new bills and you are the proud owner of brand new debts. So, congratulations on all your new purchases, your new bills, and your new debts. There were a group of men in a very important meeting. They were all asked to turn off their phones and leave them in their jackets. But, during the meeting someone’s eel phone started ringing. One of the men quickly answered in a low voice then left the meeting and said “Sorry honey I can’t talk for long.” The woman on the phone said “Don’t worry, I just have a quick question. I was at the mall today and saw a beautiful dress. It is a bit expensive, but…” The man cut her off and said “Sweety, don’t worry, just buy it. I gotta go.” She was so surprised at his positive answer, then said “Honey, one other quick question. Before I left I noticed a very nice gold collector’s edition watch. I’m not sure how much it costs but it looks so nice and….” The man quickly cut her off again and said “Sweety, don’t worry, just buy it. I gotta go.” I promise I only have one more question: “As I was driving home our car was giving me some trouble. I went to the car dealership and the salesperson gave me a great deal on a brand new car with thousands of dollars of extras, outstanding features, and...” He stopped her and said: “Sweety, don’t worry, just buy it. I am in a very important meeting and I definitely have to go. Good-bye.” She said “Have a good meeting and try to be home by 6 because I’m going to prepare the best dinner ever.” He hung up then went back into the meeting and said: “Sorry guys, I just realized this is not my phone, but whosever phone this is, your wife wants you home by 6. She is preparing a great dinner for you and your family.” We live with the joy of getting and giving new things but we also live with a delusion when we think these new things have a lasting value. Things that are new may seem exciting for a while but the happiness they bring us does not last very long. In fact, most of the things we purchased has either made us fatter or given us a bigger debt. Usually the joy we get from new things quickly turns to disappointment. The Bible teaches us that we should be careful about becoming too happy when we acquire new food, new clothes, and new items. The Bible even warns us about new friends that like us for the wrong reasons. For example, we read in Proverbs 19:4. “Wealth brings many new friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend.” We all wished each other a happy new year? But what is happy and what is new about this year? If our happiness comes only from what we bought or received, then we will not have a lasting happiness.Visit: https://www.holycrossmelkite.org/parish/homilies for the full homily description.Support the show (https://www.holycrossmelkite.org/donate)

Fr. Apostolos Hill dives into what we mean when we say, "Christ is born, Glorify Him" as well as other Orthodox Christmas meanings.

Fr. Apostolos Hill dives into what we mean when we say, "Christ is born, Glorify Him" as well as other Orthodox Christmas meanings.

The story of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is filled with wonder. We should be in awe of the full extent to which God went to redeem His beloved creation. Tonight we use the Icon of the Nativity as a guide to behold the fullness of the love of God manifest on this wondrous night. He wrapped our fallen flesh around Himself that He might act on our behalf and make us whole again. Christ is born! Glorify Him!

A Messaged that was crafted at 3am by God in a moment of Weakness in my life. I couldn't be more grateful for a God that uses our Weakness to Glorify Him. Are you operating in your own Power?! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/refreshed-podcast/support

Today we see the strength in Faith. We see God’s strength he gives us! God wants us to put Him above all else and He will crush Sin everytime. Let’s run in the streets and tell someone. When we deny our creator he weeps. God gave us everything let’s Glorify Him!! Our hearts are restless until they rest in you Lord! Readings from 11/20 are: 1 MC 2: 15-29 PS 50: 5-6 LK 19: 141-44 The closing song is My Worth is Not in What I Own by Shane&Shane!

HalleluYAH! All Praise to the MOST HIGH YAH...THE CREATOR of the HEAVENS and The EARTH in the name of our MELCHI-ZEDEK KING YAHUSHA HA'MASCHIACH through the POWER of HIS RUACH HA'QODESH. HALLELUYAH! In this SUN | SON RISE PRAISE... I HEARD TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE POWER OF YAH EACH MORNING! IN THE NAME OF OUR KING YAHUSHA HA'MASCHIACH I PRAY EVERYONE WHO HEARS THIS MESSAGE WILL ARISE AT 3am to SUNRISE to meet with our HEAVENLY ABBA YAHUAH... HALLELUYAH! HE will fill you up...when you show up and Glorify HIM. HALLELUYAH! "No good thing will HE withhold from those who Seek HIM." Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask and it shall be given...Seek and you shall find...Knock and the door shall be opened...For everyone who seeks finds and everyone who knocks the door shall be opened and everyone who seeks...finds."

Summary:Pride fuels lust, and lust kills love. Therefore God extends His Love to us through the Cross of Jesus Christ, by the Power of the Holy Spirit. His Love kills our lust and unleashes us to be the absolute best versions of ourselves. We in turn make our neighbors' lives better. Together, we make Boston better, and by extension, the World.Audio Transcript:This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston and our neighborhood churches, or donate to this ministry, please visit mosaicboston.com.Good morning. Welcome to Mosaic Church. My name I Jan. I'm one of the pastors here with Pastor Shane. I'm so glad you're here. If you're visiting or if you're new, we'd love to connect with you. We do that officially through the connection card in the worship card. If you fill that legibly, you can either toss it into the offering basket after. But my recommendation is that you take it to the Welcome Center and exchange it for a gift, a really nice gift that we've prepared for you.Also, if you have any prayer requests, you can leave those in the card as well, or if you today you choose to follow Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior or recommit to him, or if you're interested in baptism, that's the place to do it as well. With that said, would you please pray with me over the preaching of God's holy word.Heavenly Father, we love you and we thank you that you are God of love and of truth. And because you are a good father, you set boundaries for your children, in which we can thrive, in which we can enjoy your boundless love, where we can love our neighbor as ourself.We thank you, Holy Spirit, that you are with us today. And, Lord, we are about to cover a sensitive topic, a topic that for many of us, it comes with shame and guilt and sadness. I pray that you comfort those who are afflicted. But then also, Lord, if there's anyone who is comfortable in that sin, I pray, send your Holy Spirit of conviction. I pray, Holy Spirit, that you continue to empower every single one of us.I pray every single Christian at Mosaic, I pray that you solidify the team, solidify the army so that we fight the good fight of spiritual warfare together and realize the mission in front of us, that we live in one of the most disproportionately influential cities in the world, and day to day we're next to people who are so far from you, and they're on their way to spend eternity apart from you and I pray, break our hearts for those people, empower us with the spirit to love them and to speak truth with love.Holy Spirit, we are nothing apart from you. We're nothing, you're everything. We pray that you do your thing today. We pray this all in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.I had the last week off. And whenever I have a week off or I have some time to reflect, and it just hit me last week, that last weekend marked 10 years that I finished seminary. And my wife and I, that same day, packed up the moving truck and moved up to Boston. My wife's still mad at me for that. So this Sunday marks exactly 10 years of our family being in the city. So praise God for that. SDG, Soli Deo Gloria.Today also is the start of Pride Month in Boston. We're about to talk about lust and sexual immorality, and I just want to say that we did not plan this. I found out about Pride Month... we set our preaching schedule three months ago. I found out about Pride Month this past Wednesday. That's all to say this is a word from the Holy Spirit. I believe that this is a sacred moment and I pray that you receive a word from the Lord today.The title of the sermon is Lust Kills Love, and Love Kills Lust. It is a PG13 rated. I forgot to mention that in the first service, but it is. So we have a kids' ministry downstairs.Next Saturday is the Pride Parade, and thousands of our neighbors, our dear neighbors, people we love, people who have kids that go to school with our kids. Our neighbor, we see them at Trader Joe's. We run into them at Whole Foods and stop and shop. We see them. We love these people. And they will be marching shoulder to shoulder celebrating pride.Should we go? How should we think about the conversations that we inevitably are going to have when people invite us? People we love. It's very real, and it's very personal. We have people whom we really love that consider us to be homophobic bigots, just because of the label of Christian. How do we deal with this question?I'm looking at this through gospel glasses. The gospel always comes with truth and love. God's truth and God's love, they come together. Truth without love isn't truth and love without truth isn't love. So we look at this question through those glasses. As a Christian, I love my gay neighbor. I love that guy. I invite that guy over my house. I don't have a backyard. I've had a little plot of land that I share with the other people at my condominium. They weren't using it, so I stake the claim in it and I bought a grill and I put it out there. I said, "You guys can use it any time that you want." They haven't used it yet, so it's working out for me."So invite my friend over and I hear his story. I invite him over to listen to his heart, what do you feel? I grill him a bomb steak because grilling bomb steaks is my love language. This is how I show you how I love you, now eat. And I've got the pattern going and the checkers, so yeah. I'm welcoming. I'm hospitable. But I'm not affirming of that lifestyle. Just like God is loving toward me and he doesn't affirm my sin, just like I myself, I love me, but I don't affirm the sin inside. To say welcome and affirming is to assume that we're pure, that there's no sin inside, that we're not a mixture of good and evil.Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said that the line between good and evil, it doesn't run between countries or political parties. It runs through the heart of every single human being. It's a mixture. So how are we to discern what's good, what's right? How do we discern and filter our own desires? This is where we need God's truth, His loving truth.He speaks to us with tender love, and it leads us to speak with same tender love as we speak tough truth. So I kindly declined my friend's invitation to go with him to march shoulder to shoulder in the Pride Parade. Why? Because celebrating sin, celebrating pride is against God's truth, against God's love. It breaks His heart, and therefore, it should our hearts. We love people, therefore, we speak truth graciously. Instead, I invite my friend over again for another barbecue. This time I don't go to Trader Joe's for the steak. I go to Whole Foods to show him I'm going to sacrifice. I love you, love sacrifices. I'm going to get the ribeye, the grass-fed ribeye. It's so much better than [inaudible 00:07:33], like five times better and half the price.We believe that these are good citizens. We believe that they can be good people. What I try to communicate is scripture, holy scripture, it doesn't condemn same sex relationships. I can be friends with you. It actually commands same sex relationships, a little intimacy that we rarely achieve.Like scripture talks about John the apostle up next to Jesus during the Last Supper. They were boys and they were close. There's nothing wrong with intimacy in a same sex relationship, men with men, women with women. But scripture does also command sexual restraint for every single human being, me included. Scripture said that there's not one human being alive or who has ever lived that is not guilty of some kind of sexual sin, except for one. That's Jesus Christ who's come to save us from guilt, from shame, from condemnation.Every single one of us, we struggle with it. That's why it's such a sensitive topic. My beautiful wife, Tanya, she's from the Ukraine. She's also a Sage. This is what she says. She says, "Everybody has dirty mind." I totally agree. That's brilliant. My whole sermon is you're a mess, I'm a mess, we're all a mess, and we need Jesus. That's the whole sermon. That's the point. We're all broken, in particular in this area of life. We need grace.Sam Allberry who is a same-sex attracted Christian, he's written a lot on this. He's done a lot of talks. You can YouTube. You can Google. He says, "In our fallen state, we are all broken and skewed in every area, and therefore including in our sexual desires. In that sense, none of us is straight." That means we all fall short of the glory of God.I guess, we might not choose our sexual attraction, but we do choose our sexual actions. And though we are broken, we're still responsible for our decisions. So I communicated tough truths. It's tough truth. But he has no doubt of my tender love to him as the smell of the steak wafts in the air and we're having this conversation. That's the way that Jesus dealt with this.The problem with how many churches deal with this issue is they offer grace to believers without holding them accountable, without calling them to repentance in areas of sin. But grace without truth isn't grace. And at the same time, they offer truth to non-believers expecting them to live like believers. They haven't met Jesus yet, and it's truth without grace. Truth without grace isn't truth.We're not called to call non-Christians to live the Christian life. We're called to love them and we're called to introduce them to Jesus, not to heterosexuality. Don't think God will love me if I change. That's not how it works. It's God loves me so that I can change, so accept the love of Jesus Christ poured out on the cross for you.So if my neighbor becomes a Christian, Lordwilling, now he's my little brother, spiritually speaking. And I'm his big brother spiritually. I do everything I possibly can to help him grow in the faith, and that's exactly where the text takes us today.St. Paul is the big brother. He's led these people to the Lord, who struggle with sexual sin, and he's writing to them. He's saying, "I want to help you. I want to help you grow. I want to help you be the absolutely best version of yourself so the Holy Spirit is moving powerfully through you to change the City of Corinth," for us to change the City of Boston.Would you look at the text with me. Today we're in 1st Corinthians 6:12-20. 1st Corinthians 6:12-20. "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me but I will not be enslaved by anything. Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodes are members of Christ? Shall I then take members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never. Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For as it is written, 'The two will become one flesh.' But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality.Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you now know that you body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, for you are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." This is the reading God's holy, inerrant, infallible word. May He write these eternal truths upon our hearts.Two points but one big idea, lust kills love, and then we'll talk about how love, God's love, kills our lust. Lust kills love, and I don't have to give you the statistics. We live in probably the most oversexualized time and culture that's ever lived. It's like a machine gun of assault coming at us on a daily basis, from every which way.1st Corinthians 6:9-11, St. Paul gives us a list of sins, including sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, men who practice homosexuality, etc, etc. Then he also connects it with greedy and drunkards and revilers and swindlers. He says, "As were some of you." The big idea is he says this is counter to the gospel, because the gospel is all about Jesus, and Jesus gives, whereas sin takes.Jesus sacrifices whereas sin comes in and demands and feels entitled to. It's all fueled by pride. He says, "Sin is selfish." The gospel of Jesus Christ is selfless. Sin through pride and entitlement leads to lust. It fuels the lust. This is what I want, how I want it, with whom I want. The gospel says, "No, love sacrifices. Love gives. Love listens to the Lord." It all starts with the heart of the Christian.Jesus says in Matthew 5:17-30. He's not just getting at the sin. He's getting at the thoughts behind the sins, the desires of the heart. That's where we're at war, our desires are conflicted. He says, "You've heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman or a person with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Meaning the act of sin has happened before the eyes have done anything."... already has committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away." Obviously, he's being hyperbolic here. But he's saying radical actions need to take place because this sin is so dangerous. "For it's better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell."Jesus is looking at the sin from the perspective of eternity, because this is how scripture talks about heaven and hell. It talks about these desires, these fire of desire within us. And if the fire of desire of lust is not extinguished, it continues to grow, it continues to grow. What happens if it continues to grow a decade, a second decade, a third...We have a term called dirty old men for a reason. Jesus comes and he says, "I've come to extinguish that flame of lust. I've come to extinguish it with my love that I pour out into your heart, so that you continue to grow, continue to improve, continue to be sanctified. And that trajectory goes into eternity.Hebrews 12:14, "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." You know what holiness is? It's being set apart for God. It's pursuing the presence of God, closeness to God. Flee from sin, pursue God. That's the idea. And true believers, do we sin? Yeah, we sin. We do sin. Samson sinned. David sinned. Solomon sinned. But the true believer repents. The true believer can't stay there. It can't turn into a pattern or it can't turn into habitual sin.There's a fight that arises within the believer and he says, "I don't want to live like this. I don't want to dishonor God. I want to love God. I want to love people." The true believer repents and fights and makes war. And if there's no fight in you, then you need to question, am I really saved? If there's no spiritual heartbeat, if there's no pulse, are you a Christian? Saving faith always produces holiness, and if there's no desire for outward renewal, most likely there's no evidence for inward renewal.That's why he says in verse 9, "Do not be deceived, because this sin, more than any other sin, it has deceiving... it lulls us into a spiritual stupor where we don't even see it. We don't think that this is a sin. It's no big deal. And also, there's God's grace, right? So I can just come to God, repent at any time. He forgives me, and then I go back to this pattern. And that's not how Christianity works.Christianity works like this. You're saved by grace through faith. You believe in Jesus Christ. He puts his Holy Spirit in you. And if you take the Holy Spirit who's in you and you take it into sin, you're taking the Holy Spirit with you, and the Holy Spirit doesn't like that. The Holy Spirit will discipline. The Holy Spirit will convict, and if that isn't happening, if there's no desire, Lord, help me grow. Help me fight. If there's no desire, most likely you're not a Christian.Then at that point, we welcome you to look to Christ. Place your faith, your hope in Jesus Christ, and be saved. Verse 12, he's having an argument with them. They say, "All things are lawful for me." That was the motto in the church. And then Paul repeats and says, "Not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything." He says, "Yes, we're not under law, but we're under grace, and grace is given to us." It's a costly grace. It's given to us to transform us. It's given to us to make us the people that we're called to be.He gives us here two safe cards. He says, "Is this helpful? And does this enslave? Does this dominate?" And this sin, more than any sin, dozens, it enslaves. It's starts at the heart level where you're worshiping creation over creator, and it starts spiritually. But doesn't stay there. It grows. It grows into our decisions, and all of a sudden, it's taking over our body. We're dominated by... and yes, there's a spiritual problem primarily, but has undeniable, physical consequences.It dominates you, consumes you, and ultimately, it wants to destroy you. It's a master that's ruthless. This is the pattern, and this is the pattern for any addiction, but in particular here. There is the initial use, the initial experience, and there's that buzz. Then you chase that buzz again. You want more. But you're not getting it. You're not getting the buzz, so now you need to ramp up the use, the frequency, the intensity. Then what happens is there's a process called habituation. Your body builds up a tolerance to it, and then you need higher dosage, higher frequency.The brain goes through physiological change. It decreases brain chemical production, and there's a loss of brain chemical receptors. What we're doing is we're playing with neurochemical fire. That then leads to the next stage, which is dependence. It's addiction. It's all you think about.You wake up, there's a craving. You're spending extra time seeking it. There's an inability in daily responsibilities in doing the things that you need to do. All of a sudden, your relationships begin to suffer because of the shame and the guilt. You have a harder time looking yourself in the mirror, and you have a hard time making eye contact with people because of shame.There's regular use in inappropriate settings. This is so real. I took my kids to Summit Park yesterday, and there was the hammocks and they're really nice. There was something hanging off the hammock and my daughter came up to it and she's like, "Daddy, what's that?" Then if you try to stop it, there's withdrawal. There's fatigue. There's anxiety. There's irritability. Now you've got to decide, okay, what do I do with that? I've got a new normal in my life and I need to self medicate with something. Then that leads to all kinds of other addictions, and you don't see how addicted you were until you're out. That's the deception part.There's inherent restlessness when it comes to lust because your bodies, your heart is never satisfied. Augustine said, "Our hearts are never satisfied until they find their satisfaction, their rest, in you." Why? Because sex never gives us what it promises. What are we really looking for? It's not just a buzz. It's not the physical. Deep down inside we want the intimacy. We want to be fully known and fully loved. We want a deep, emotional connection. That's why hooking up and hooking up culture, it doesn't deliver. And for many young people today, hand to hand, holding hands, is more intimate than body to body. That's where there's all kinds of companies and services that provide snuggling and cuddling, just physical affection. People just want intimacy.Paul says it's lawful. Okay. You're going to play that game? But is it helpful? Even if you're not a believer, this part, even if you're not a believer, is it helpful, if you are pursuing sexual... if you're down this route, is it giving you what you want? Is it helpful? Is it profitable? St. Paul says, "No, it's not." Is it helpful? It's not helpful in your relationship with God, dear Christian, because what happens is you lose your ability to love God, because your heart gets hardened with the sin. And what God does, He withdraws His fellowship from you because He can't be in close proximity to the sin. It repels Him because God is holy. You lose love for God and the feeling of God's love.You also lose love for yourself. You lose respect for yourself. And vice versa. For yourself and from yourself. That's why he says in verse 18, "Flee from sexual morality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body." What he's saying is you're hurting yourself. What he's saying is this isn't just another appetite. It's different. That's why in verse 13, that's where he started the train of thought. He quotes them, this is what they're saying to justify their decisions. Food is meant for the stomach and stomach for food. This is a lot of people in our culture think, that sex is just like eating. It's just another appetite. It's a biological need. I can't go without eating, and I can't go without sex, right? It's not healthy.Paul is like, "No, no, no. This is so different. Sex is different than food. Babies aren't conceived by eating. It's completely different. Sex is different than food. You can't be born without sex. But you can live without it. You can live a glorious life without it. No voice in our culture is going to tell you... you can have the most glorious life ever lived with the life of Jesus Christ, and he never had sex.Why does scripture talk with caution about sex? Because scripture recognizes its power. It's a force. In the right confines, like a fire. It's good. A fireplace, my dad has a fireplace. People in Brooklyn have fireplaces. I love fireplaces. They're beautiful. You sit back, they give you warmth. I love the smell of it. Sometimes I walk around the winter and I try to find a house with a fireplace. In the confines, beautiful. It's life-giving. It's awesome.Outside the confines, it's absolutely deadly. It's destructive. In the right context, sex has the power to give. It has the power to love. In the wrong context, it's destructive. Proverbs talks about pursuing sexual morality, talks about an ox going to the slaughter, like you're on a path toward hurting yourself.Then it's not helpful in your relationship to others. You do lose love for other people and vice versa because you're hurting them, they're hurting you. There's no such thing as NSA, no strings attached. That's not a thing. That's a lie. That's a lie. The morning after, there's always emotional attachment. Always. If you don't like the emotional attachment, what do you have to do? You have to mask it and it's not a real... it hurts people.If you're married, it hurts your spouse. If you have kids, it's going to hurt them. It's going to hurt your future grandkids because there is such a thing as generational sin. So God gives us this truth. And what He's asking us, what kind of life do you want? What kind of legacy do you want?Jesus Christ said, "I have come to give you life and to give you life to the full, so live that full life. Lust kills love. Lust levels even kings. King Solomon, the most brilliant man to have ever lived, dies as a creepy, perverted, pathetic old man, a hollow shell of himself.Every single human being is created in the image of God. Every single human being has a sweet spot, a zone of genius. I meet so many people who are just brilliant. They've found that sweet spot. They've found that zone. And when in the zone, they are absolutely powerful. There are so many people who are pulled away from that, and mostly a lot of it because of sin, because of the sideways energy being channeled in every other direction.They say that the human brain, we only use about 10% of the human brain. And in my research, I found out that that was a myth. But all of us absolutely know the cloud that happens when our time is being dominated, our money, our schedule is being dominated by this thing. What happens is that we lose capacity.Lust does rewire the brain signs that prove that. But it does more than rewire the brain. It also rewires our hearts. It changes our ability to love and to receive love. We lose love for and from God, for and from self, for and from others. There's a reason why sex sells. You hear that. That's the number one marketing tool. Sex sells. Why? Because people are driven to give money. Here, take my money. I'm willing to sacrifice my money to get this product, and it's not the product that I want. Everything is about sex except for sex and what sex is about.Sex is about the heart longing for intimacy. We long for it. 1st Corinthians 6:13 and 14, he talks about the body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by... He's saying that the Lord is for the body. For the Christian, the Lord gives us the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is a power. It wants to use us as a conduit for his power, for his mission.I believe, for many Christians today, this is the primary reason why we are not as spiritually powerful as God wants us to be. It diminishes our potential, diminishes our capacity. It diminishes our desire for God and for lost neighbor, and for Christian. Many of you are killing at your job. You are super talented. You are so smart it's stupid, and you can do that. You can kill it at your job. You can make the world a better place while partaking dabbling in sexual sin with a little porn out on the side, or fill in the blank.But you cannot make a difference where it matters most, operating by the flesh. We need the Holy Spirit. We need to be led by the spirit, not driven by the flesh. And the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit stays always quenched, he's suppressed by our lust, by our sin. And God says, "Get free. Get unleashed. Think about your impact in eternity, not just in the physical realm."We can't do what God has called us to do apart from the Holy Spirit. When we're struggling with sin, it's as if we're charging the gates of hell with water pistols and God is saying, "Stop, cut it out. I'm offering you true MO, true guns, spiritually speaking. John wakes guns, I'm offering it to you, all of it in that final scene. Just take it. Spiritually speaking, of course. Because that's where the fight is. The fight is with ideas. The fight is with desires. The fight is with words. And the Holy Spirit wants to empower us to actually spend the kingdom.Just imagine, if Jesus turned a few loaves and a few fish into a feast for 10,000. The disciples said, "Use us." God said like, "Okay." How much more can he do through the talent pool, the talent stack of people like you at Mosaic Boston, if you are fully yielding, fully committed to him, and his spirit pouring through... You can change eternity.We can't have people... we're on the same team. I'm nothing, you're nothing. But together, together we can win in the most important winning, spiritual winning. And it's a winning I will never get tired of, ever, ever, ever. God is saying, "Make sure you don't have team members who turn around and they're trying to score on the other goal. No. Turn around. There's people on their way to hell. Don't buy their gas. Do everything you can to help them turn around. Do everything you can to help them meet Jesus Christ.Lust kills love. So what do we do? We need love to kill our lust. He says the body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord. And he's talking about design. That the Lord designed the body for the Lord, that the body runs best when it's close to the Lord. So you weren't designed for sin. It's like iPhones weren't designed to hammer nails, and violins weren't designed to heat a house. Violin in the hands of a musician, it sings. God wants your life to sing. Allow him to fine-tune that violin.The greatest violin ever made, Stradivari. The greatest violinist that ever lived, Paganini. God wants you to be Stradivari in the hands of Paganini. And he wants to make beautiful music that makes everything better. God is saying, "I designed you. I know how you work. I designed you. I know the best version of you, and it's not pursing sexual immorality."God's will is always for our best, that's why he gives us boundaries because human beings thrive in boundaries. We thrive in boundaries. Children thrive in boundaries. That's why God gives us these boundaries so that in those boundaries, the boundaries of love, we abound in his love. We deepen in his love and love with one another. This just works in every sphere of life, the spatial boundaries.Fenway Park has boundaries. Pesky Pole, if it goes on the other side of Pesky Pole, that's it. A foul ball. I don't care how hard you hit it. You could enjoy the game in these boundaries, there's time boundaries, temporal work hours. You can't work 24 hours a day. You need boundaries, and sleep boundaries.There's relational boundaries. It's not okay to touch a stranger any way you want or say whatever you want to a stranger. So God gives us boundaries when it comes to sexual intimacy. Opposite sex marriage, one man, one woman, one covenant, one lifetime. And what that provides is security, that provides and understanding that we... if there's no plan B, if there's no fire escape, we, by God's grace, will work through whatever.June 10th will be 13 years I'm married with my wife. And all these 13 years, not one have I had a thought, what would I do if she divorces me? And in these 13 years, she has never had a thought, I hope... I don't know. It's like I don't have to go person to person to person to person to person to get the buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, when that's not even what I'm looking for. What I'm looking for is one person. I love you fully. I know you fully. You know me fully. You love me fully. That's what you want. And the intimacy, it just gets better and deeper. That's what God wants for us. That's His will for us.In 1st Corinthians 6:19, he tells us why, he says, "Because you're not your own. You were bought with a price." That we, as Christians, we belong to God not once, we were created by Him, but twice. He also redeemed us, and what a price He paid to redeem us. What did He redeem us from? A slave market of sin. How did He redeem us? Through the blood of His son, Jesus Christ. God is love. Jesus is God. Jesus is love. Love dies on the cross to kill our lust, to free us to love God and to love neighbor.Jesus Christ died on the cross, paid the penalty for all of our sins, in particular this one, in order to forgive us, in order to purify us, in order to make us his. You are not your own.Sex isn't evil. Sex is a gift. It's a gift from God, and gifts aren't rights. You can't demand a gift. You're not entitled to a gift. Sometimes when I go away on a trip and I come back, my daughters are always like, "Daddy, daddy, what'd you bring us? What'd you bring us?" And I don't like that, so I mix it up. Once in a while I'll bring a gift, and once in a while I'm like, "Here I am. My presence is your present," just so they know, you can't demand a gift. The giver chooses to give the gift and chooses how to give the gift. And God chooses to give this good gifts with restrictions.It's a right not a privilege, just like your driver's license. You've got to follow the rules of the road because it's not just about you. Yeah, they want to protect you, but they also want to protect themselves and they want to protect the people in the communities.The reason why many people also struggle with this teaching of scripture, sexual ethic, God's sexual ethic, is because of Satan's lie. And Satan is a liar. The lie goes like this, "God's way won't make you happy. Sin will make you happier." That right there is one of the most diabolical lies from the deepest pits of hell.Did sin make you happy? Has it made you happy? Then why in the world do you think it will make you happy? Maybe just for a little bit. We begin to believe that if we give up sexual sin, we'll be depressed. And honestly, that initial stage, it's hard. I've counseled people. It's hard. Why? Because of the withdrawal symptoms, and the physical withdrawal symptoms. But you've got to keep going because God's freedom at the end is so much better. No sin tastes as good as God's love feels. Nothing comes even close. When God is close, there's nothing that comes remotely close.Augustine in his early 30s, he knew Christianity. He was attracted to it. But he struggled with the sin. This is what he said. He said, "I loved the happy life, but I feared to find it in your abode, and I fled from it. Even as I sought it, I thought that I would be too wretched if I were kept from a woman's arms." Then he turned from his sin. God released him, and the whole trajectory of his life changed. And we're still talking about this guy because of his influence on the world.We're not looking for that buzz. What we're really longing for is intimacy, the truest intimacy. And there's no true intimacy than that with Christ. And he says in verses 15 through 17, that we are members or members of Christ. "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never. Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, the two will become one flesh. But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him."He's talking to people in church who are in Corinth and there's the Temple of Aphrodite. The priestesses are actually prostitutes and Christians of the church are frequenting it. And what he's saying here isn't that sex doesn't have a physical component. It does. It has neurological impact on us where neurologically you're bound to the object of the climax. But the biggest problem is the spiritual part. You are becoming one flesh, a one-flesh reality. A soul-to-soul reality with a person who's not your spouse, and there's deep consequences to that.There's a reason why we always remember our first, our first kiss, our first everything. He says, "If you've been joined to the Lord, now you're one spirit with Him. Therefore, when you go there, you're taking Him with you." That when you look at that, when you partake in that, Jesus Christ is in the room and he is weeping. He's weeping over the pain that you're inflicting on that person, and the pain that they're inflicting you, and the pain that you're inflicting God. And that's why Paul says, "May it never be," and that you're one with God. He uses this language of absolutely unity, and this is why when God talks about sex in the confines of marriage, he talks as a signpost to marriage, to a relationship with God.Marriage is a scale model. The greatest human marriage is nothing but a scale model of our relationship with God, and that's why there is no marriage in heaven. That's why homosexuality is a big deal, because it attempts to reconstruct the scale model. God creates. Marriage is His idea. He created that word. He created that idea. Marriage is husband and wife. That's God's idea. It's a beautiful idea. God creates, the enemy, Satan, counterfeits. He has no idea, so he counterfeits God's ideas.Then he flips everything and he makes true love seem bigoted. That's the work of the evil one. Jesus didn't marry Jesus, the church doesn't marry the church. That's why it's such a big deal. It clashes with the very heart of God, the very mind of God.1st Corinthians 6:18. "Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body." What does it mean here? Alcohol, drug abuse, doesn't that have an impact on the body? He's talking about something deeper, because sexual intimacy unites on the deepest level. It begins to corrupt on the deepest level, and begins to impact absolutely everything in your life.C.S. Lewis in the screwtape letters says, "Every time a man and a woman enter into a sexual relationship, a spiritual bond is established between them, which must be eternally enjoyed or eternally endured." God says, "You're one with me." Stay there. Flee sin. Pursue God. Glorify Him in your body because that's the greatest thing for you. You're not looking for sex. You're looking for love. You're looking for true love.You know how you're in a nice restaurant and you have a great meal? You have an amazing meal. What do people usually say after an amazing meal? This is what people say, pretentious people. This is what they say to the waiter, "My compliments to the chef." You know why that's a thing? Because it's so enjoying this mean that they're like, "Man, whoever made this must be amazing."You listen to great music, you hear a song for the very first time. 92.5 the river. You hear a phenomenal song, you Shazam that song. You're like, "Wow, whoever came up with this music must be amazing." And Shazam tells you, "Its the Fine Print." Shout out to Caleb Savari, and my brother Vladimir who's on the drums. If this creation is so good, how much better is the creator? This is exactly what God is saying. Sex is good in the confines of God's boundary. How much better is He who came up with that idea?God wants to free us. By the power of the Holy Spirit, He wants... every single one of us needs to be purified. Every single one of us needs to be forgiven. Every single one of us needs to be released.The Smashing Pumpkins had a song way back in the day called Bullet With Butterfly Wings. One of the lines is that despite all my rage, I'm still just a rat in a cage. That's the image. That's the image. You're a rat in a cage. We, we, me, whatever, however you... people. You're a rat in a cage. You're hitting that button for another drop of whatever the drug is. You're hitting it, you're hitting it. You think the one's satisfies, the next one's... it doesn't satisfy and you feel like there's no hope. And he says in the song... there's a line about Jesus. Jesus was an only son for you. The song ends with the line, and I still, I still believe I cannot be saved.That's a lie. You can be saved. That rat is hitting it more, more, more. And Jesus is standing at the door. The door is open. Jesus has unlocked the door and he's saying, "Turn around." That's what repentance is. And he says, "Come here, little rat. I want to free you. There's a beautiful world out there. The world of Austin, and Brighton, just don't go too much into Brookline. You get the idea. That's what the gospel does. You receive God's love. You receive His sacrifice, and His love extinguishes the lust within. When you see what it took for Him to save you, that begins to undo the power of sin in our life.Two commands. He says, verse 18, "Flee sexual morality." Don't stay in the situation physically or mentally. You've got to flee from it, take every thought captive, and this informs our consumption of entertainment, and what we do in our free time, and on our weekends. Does it extinguish or does it inflame?Then verse 20, he says, "Glorify God in your body," meaning you can't compartmentalize where I love God in my heart but I do whatever I want with my body. Scripture says, "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice." God calls us to an embodied spirituality now, to being now, because heaven is an embodied reality. Why does God say, he says, "Glorify me. Glorify me," because that's the best thing for us.Westminster Shorter Catechism, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." Pleasure is overrated. Joy is where it's at. God's fighting for your joy. 1st Corinthians 6:19, he says, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? And the Old Testament, in the temple, the most sacred part, was the Holy of Holies. One priest, only one priest, entered only one time a year, to present only one sacrifice. And he says, "Now you Christian are a holy of holies. You, you embody the Holy Spirit and dwelled with the Holy Spirit.So how dare we think we can justify taking the Spirit of God, the temple of God, into the temple of Aphrodite. May it never be so. What do we do practically? Here's how I think about it. The holy scripture says, "Be killing sin, or it will be killing you." That's John Owen. He got that from Paul, who said, "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness which is idolatry." You've got to put it to death, but it's a continual verb. You don't just slay it once.Lust is a monster with nine lives. The way I think about it is putting it to sleep. Scripture has this in Song of Solomon, says, "Do not awaken love." Do not awaken love, meaning we have the ability to put it to sleep, and awaken it, put it to sleep, and awaken. And you already have this skill. You know in what context that you can't just let your sexual energy go. You know. You have that skill. Now you've just got to apply it to every single part of your life so it's integrated and you can do it by the Holy Spirit walking in step with the Holy Spirit.Then finally, 1st Corinthians 6:15. "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?" This is so important. He says, "We together are members of Christ," meaning the way that we fight lust is intimacy with God and intimacy with one another, where we lead with transparency, where we pray for one another openly, we share with what we're struggling with. It's one body unity. That's not just for husband and wife, brothers and sisters knit together in love. We've got a gospel partnership. We're comrade in arms. When soldiers shoulder to shoulder, that's where true unity, the intimacy happens, and that's where the Lord allows us to be freed from these sins.Finally, just a quick word, because it's June... brothers and sisters are responsible for one another. We are each other's keeper. And that means we need to do everything possible to help one another extinguish sin and not inflame. So this has to do with our words to one another, our touch toward one another, and how we dress. Are we helping our brothers and sisters fight the good fight or are we hurting them?I'm not saying that we all of a sudden were taking style tips form the Amish or Mormonites. But I'm also saying we're not taking wholesale style tips from the Kardashians. That's all I'm saying. Dress like you would at a family reunion with grandpa and grandpa there. Dress like that. And then it's not selfish, it's selfless.I'll conclude at this and then we turn to Holy Communion. Satan invented sin. Sin leads to pride, pride leads to selfishness, selfishness leads to lust, and lust kills love. The gospel was created by God. God creates the gospel. It leads to humility. It leads to selflessness, which leads to love. And what does love do? It kills lust. Stay in that sweet spot. The gospel changes absolutely everything.I'm going to transition to Holy Communion. Before we partake in Holy Communion, we have an opportunity as the ushers hand out the elements, to pray, to repent. We're all a mess. We need to confess that and we need to accept God's Holy Spirit to purify us. If you're not believer, we ask that you refrain from this part of the service. It does nothing to you. We're saved by grace through faith.The way that we celebrate is ushers are going to hand out the elements. Take some bread, take a cup, and pass it down to someone in your aisle. And after everyone's received them, we'll partake together. Let's pray.Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gospel. We thank you that the gospel reminds us just how bad we are, but it also reminds us just how good you are, and that you gave us your son to redeem us, to save us. I pray, Lord, pour out your Holy Spirit on every single one of us and unleash us as a force in this city for good, for transformation, for your glory. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

Season 1 Episode 9 - To Whom Should I Pray and Why? Introduction to Episode: During this episode, a crucial question is discussed, 'to whom should I pray and why?' This question raises a lot of questions and controversy among Christianity or people of different faiths. This episode is not to disrespect other denominations or make anyone feel unwanted. This episode is designed to teach and reproved in love. We have to remember that the name of the Father is hallowed and should be set apart. We ara a people redeemed but the blood of Jesus Christ that was given by the Father and carried out through the Holy Spirt. When we pray, it is the Father that gets first recognition, and in the name of the son, Jesus Christ and sustained by the Holy Spirit. Co-Host: Gordon Duncan is an award-winning educator, salesman, teacher, manager, and writer. He has taught in the public school system, lobbied for school's accreditation, managed eye clinics, led sales' teams, and also publishes books on theology, church, and culture. He has been happily married to Amy for over 20 years and is the proud father of 3 wonderful girls. He is a graduate of East Carolina University and Reformed Theological Seminary. He has been in the eye industry since 1999, an elder in the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) since 2000, planted Sovereign King Church in Garner, NC in 2005, and planted Evident Grace Church in Fredericksburg, VA in 2013. Learn more at www.evidentgrace.com. Episode Summary: As we turn to scripture, Jesus teaches us to pray to the Father in Matt. 6:9. In the garden before Christ was betrayed, He prays directly to the Father. While on the cross Jesus prayed a prayer asking his accusers and murders to be forgiven. The Westminster Shorter Catechism #101 ask us 'For what do we pray in the first request?' Answer: In the first request (hallowed by your name) we pray that God will enable us and other to GLORIFY HIM in everything he uses to make himself known... Matthew 6:9 John 3:16 & 2 Cor. 5:17-19 Praying to the Godhead (One in Essence) WCF Shorter Catechism Q & A #104 Notable Quotes: "The Father is the giver of all good gifts, ordinarily we will address the Father of all good gifts." - Gordon Duncan "Who is responsible for giving forgiveness? The Father. Who is responsible for sending his Son? The Father." - Brandon Queen Recommended Links: TableTalk Magazine | Westminster Confession of Faith | Presbyterian Church of America Platforms: Google Spotify Stitcher PocketCasts --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/elderqueen/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/elderqueen/support

Jesus has already been found guilty and sentenced to death by the Jewish Sanhedrin. He now goes before the Romans to have His fate decided by Pilate the Roman Governor. But all of this is according to God's Sovereign plan in order to purchase the salvation of His people. Jesus, the Innocent One, is declared guilty by the guilty ones, in order to purchase the pardon of all repenting sinners. Look upon Jesus! Trust Him! Rest in Him! Obey Him! Glorify Him! Preached by Lem Lane on April 7, 2019Mark 15:1-15 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Have no fear!  Christ is Born! Glorify Him! + by Fr. Athanasius

The Word made Flesh. The topic in this episode looks at the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. We will hear the prophecies concerning His birth and how angels announced to the shepherds of the miracle birth of the Savior of the world. We will also look at Mary's participation in being the Holy Theotokos and a vessel chosen by God.Christ is Born! Glorify Him!Presented by Dr. Al (Petros) Maeyens Doc. of Div.This show is broadcast live on Monday's at 12PM ET on W4CY Radio – (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (http://www.talk4radio.com/) on the Talk 4 Media Network (http://www.talk4media.com/).

For a chapter with only two verses, it packs in all the praise we need! Praise the Lord! Glorify Him!

Ephesians 1:3-6 - God has blessed us and demonstrated His blessing to us in tremendous ways. He chose us to Glorify Him in a life that is set apart and full of integrity. He adopted us and gave us the privilege of being His children. We have a new Father and He has a purpose for our lives.

Today we talk to Lorraine Hess about her new album Glorify Him.  Lorraine tells the stories behind her new release. You can get this album from VoicesAsOne.com, wlpmusic.com, or iTunes.   The post World Library Podcast Episode 5-Lorraine Hess: Glorify Him By Your Life appeared first on Sing Amen.

Today we talk to Lorraine Hess about her new album Glorify Him.  Lorraine tells the stories behind her new release. You can get this album from VoicesAsOne.com, wlpmusic.com, or iTunes. https://voicesasone.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/WorldLibraryPodcastEpisode5-LorraineHessGlorifyHim-122017-6.39-AM.mp3  

Today we talk to Lorraine Hess about her new album Glorify Him.  Lorraine tells the stories behind her new release. You can get this album from VoicesAsOne.com, wlpmusic.com, or iTunes.   The post World Library Podcast Episode 5-Lorraine Hess: Glorify Him By Your Life appeared first on Voices As One.

“BonaFide Talk” radio is just what the name suggests. It doesn't get any more real than this. With real topics addressing real problems, and hosted by a really fantastic host sharing BonaFide scriptural answers realistically” -----Raymond Mentor...a New York Listener .Human Rights Activist, Philanthropist, Author/Motivational Speaker/Radio Talk Show Host, The 2017 Spin Awards Season Finalist for “Internet Radio Show Of The Year”.....Evangelist Felana---Born and raised in Rocky Mount, NC. She currently resides in Raleigh, NC. Her VISION is coming to life. “I've been writing and Public Speaking in some form or fashion since I was 4 years old. Little did I know that God would have me utilize these gifts to Glorify HIM and to WIN SOULS TO CHRIST!! Social MediaTwitter @BFTRadio Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Evangelist.Felana Facebook Fan Page https://www.facebook.com/BonaFideTalkRadio/ Instagram EvangelistFelana-BonaFideTalk YouTube https://youtu.be/AaQ58wMG3Z8Sheron Davis started singing at a young age at 13 years old started singing with Chicago's on Walter Whitman and Soul Children of Chicago until 17. 2008 end up winning Chicago's gospel icon for radio station 1390 am and 102.3 song written single by: Jonathan Nelson - and produced by Donald Lawrence song titled (everything you are.) Went on to sing with Stellar Award winner - VaShawn Mitchell" recording lead singing One More Chance, also leading Miracle, and My testimony. Also leading a song with Ricky Dillard & New Generation song entitled (Our Father You Are Holy ). I am truly blessed to be able to singing behind a lot of great gospel artists!! Such as " Michelle Williams, Karen Clark, Kelly Price, Deitrick Haddon & LXW. And many others... God is still blessing"" Now Releasing my new single CD" entitled(WHO IS THE ONE)

“BonaFide Talk” radio is just what the name suggests. It doesn't get any more real than this. With real topics addressing real problems, and hosted by a really fantastic host sharing BonaFide scriptural answers realistically” -----Raymond Mentor...a New York Listener .Human Rights Activist, Philanthropist, Author/Motivational Speaker/Radio Talk Show Host, The 2017 Spin Awards Season Finalist for “Internet Radio Show Of The Year”.....Evangelist Felana---Born and raised in Rocky Mount, NC. She currently resides in Raleigh, NC. Her VISION is coming to life. “I've been writing and Public Speaking in some form or fashion since I was 4 years old. Little did I know that God would have me utilize these gifts to Glorify HIM and to WIN SOULS TO CHRIST!! Social MediaTwitter @BFTRadio Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Evangelist.Felana Facebook Fan Page https://www.facebook.com/BonaFideTalkRadio/ Instagram EvangelistFelana-BonaFideTalk YouTube https://youtu.be/AaQ58wMG3Z8Sheron Davis started singing at a young age at 13 years old started singing with Chicago's on Walter Whitman and Soul Children of Chicago until 17. 2008 end up winning Chicago's gospel icon for radio station 1390 am and 102.3 song written single by: Jonathan Nelson - and produced by Donald Lawrence song titled (everything you are.) Went on to sing with Stellar Award winner - VaShawn Mitchell" recording lead singing One More Chance, also leading Miracle, and My testimony. Also leading a song with Ricky Dillard & New Generation song entitled (Our Father You Are Holy ). I am truly blessed to be able to singing behind a lot of great gospel artists!! Such as " Michelle Williams, Karen Clark, Kelly Price, Deitrick Haddon & LXW. And many others... God is still blessing"" Now Releasing my new single CD" entitled(WHO IS THE ONE)

DO NOT be Ovecome by Evil, but Overcome Evil with GOOD-what Originates from God and is Empowered by Him in your Life through Faith.(Romans 12:21)In the world you live in you are bombarded by news reports that are alarming, and people who call evil good and good evil, who put forth darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! ‭‭(Isaiah‬ ‭5:20‬)‭ ‬‬This is the work of the prince of the power of air, the power of darkness, which attempts to sway the course and fashion of this world with his evil tendencies. Spirit who now works in the sons and daughters of disobedience. Those who are obedient to and under the control of the demon spirit that still constantly works in the sons of disobedience, the careless, the rebellious, and unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God.Those who live and conduct themselves in the passions of their flesh, theirn behavior governed by their corrupt and sensual nature, obeying the impulses of their flesh and the thoughts of the mind, their cravings dictated by their senses and our dark imaginings. Who are by nature children of God's wrath and heirs of His indignation, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians ‭2:2-3)‬ You in Christ Jesus have His Mind, Woe to those Who Call Evil Good and Good Evil, God Abandons you to Shame!-1 Cor 2:16, Isa 5:20, Romans 1:24-26God knows fully the deceitful, wicked conditions of the human heart. This is the reason He says: you must be born again. (John 3:5,7) God knows fallen needs to be re-created in Christ Jesus, become a new creature altogether. new life in Christ has come, and the old life is left behind. (2 Corinthians 5:17)God calls you the Light of the World to Shine Before men, to Do His Good Works Regardless of what the World Conditions are around you to Glorify Him. (Matthew 5:14)So Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven. (Matthew ‭5:15-16‬)You Who is a Born Again Believer in Christ Jesus are Not of the World, do Not Belong to the World, Just as He is Not of the World.-Jn 17:14Live in Christ! For The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things and it is Exceedingly Perverse and Corrupt and Severely, Mortally Sick!-Jer 17:9No One can Serve God and Deceitful Riches. Where your Heart is Determines Whom you Serve. Serve God-Stop Worrying about your Life.-Mt 6:24-25Instead do GOOD things directly against the bad things that upset you. Show a better spirit; the power of kindness and benevolence; the value of an amiable, Christian deportment. So doing, you may disarm them of their rage, and be the means of bringing them to better minds.Daily you are Given Choices to Agree with God or Agree with the World. Where your Love is Determines the Choses you Make. Agree with God!DO NOT Fear; Believe God is Intervening on your Behalf No Matter your Situation. God is For you. He is Among those Who Help you.-Ps 116:6-7

Be faithful with the resources that God has given you. To each their own measure, God had given you for a reason to honour Him and Glorify Him.

The sin of immorality is against your body. Your body is God's temple. He purchased it with His blood. Use it to glorify Him.

The sin of immorality is against your body. Your body is God's temple. He purchased it with His blood. Use it to glorify Him.

Christ is Born! Glorify Him! Isaiah 52:6-10, Hebrews 1:1-12, John 1:1-14

Christ is Born! Glorify Him! In his last video of 2016 Fr. Ted exhorts us to remember the true meaning of Christmas and to hold fast to the Orthodox traditions surrounding the Nativity of our Lord.

Christ is born!  Glorify Him! Social Media Maven and Monastic, Fr. Peter Preble (Shepherd of Souls) talks with me about the vocation of monasticism in 21st century America.  I also snuck in another story by my son, Nicholas.  In this one, Kira is engaged in some serious spiritual warfare.  Enjoy the show!

The Universe Declares His Glory The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. (Psalm 19:1, 2 NIV) We Were Created for God's Glory everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” (Isaiah 43:7 NIV) John 17:1-5 1. The godhead, glorifying each other, constant glory resonating between The Father and the Son. Distinct, yet unified in being and glory. 2. Jesus, given authority over all people, able to grant eternal life 3. What is eternal life? Knowing God and the One He sent, Jesus Christ. 4. Jesus glorified God by fulfilling the Father's will. He glorified God with His life. 5. As he obediently fulfilled his last, his most difficult act of obedience, He asked the Father to glorify him. Glorify Him in His death - by accepting his suffering and death as payment for our sins - and for God to resurrect him and give him the glory he shared with the Father in heaven. Jesus lived and died to bring glory and honor to the Father. To follow Jesus is to live a life of glorifying God. John 17:6-10 6. Jesus is the greatest expression of Who God is. 8. Jesus' disciples accepted Jesus words. They believed what he said. They believed Jesus was from God and sent by God. 10. "Glory has come to me through them." Jesus' disciples were imperfect. Argued over who was greatest. Abandoned him. Denied even knowing him. Yet, Jesus was glorified by them. Jesus' disciples glorified Him by living out their faith in Him. Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Moving from indifference to having love for your neighbor is an act of worship Listening to your coworkers, more than you talk about yourself, so you can know how to pray for them is an act of worship. Growing in generosity because Jesus has been gracious to you is an act of worship. Men, learning how to love your wife sacrificially as Jesus loves the church is an act of worship. Ladies, learning how to honor your husband as you would honor Jesus is an act of worship. Believing in God's goodness when life is going wrong is a beautiful act of worship. Living out your faith in God is worship. Sing praise to God No fewer than 41 psalms command us to "sing unto The Lord." Singing can serve to focus us, center us. Our fragmented minds and spirits are united in worship. Join in worship with other believers When people are gathered for genuine worship, they are like fresh, burning coals warming one another as a great strength and life flows into them all. -Richard Foster Sing praise to God Join in worship with other believers Go, praying. Go, expecting. Go, looking for God to do a new and living work in you. Practice the presence of God Learn to practice the presence of God daily. Really try to follow Paul's words, "pray without ceasing." Punctuate every moment with inward whisperings of adoration, praise and thanksgiving.

Miracles, signs and wonders are gifts from God. Sometimes it's tough to see miracles in our midst. The Bible is replete with accounts of miracles. We still see them today. God continues to work through and among us. Be faithful to God, and seek Him daily. Glorify Him in all you say and do.

How to keep the fire burning? GLORIFY HIM, pt 2 - Alex Shipman - Matt 5:13-16

How to keep the fire burning? GLORIFY HIM, pt 1 - Alex Shipman - Matt 5:11-16

Glorify Him

Humility serves as the bridge to this final section of the letter. Humbly, we: 1. Enjoy God’s grace. 5 2. Trust God’s timing for exaltation. 6 (The meek do inherit the earth!) 3. Recognize His care and cast our worries on Him. 7 4. Resist the adversary by trusting God. 8-9a 5. Know ours isn’t the only story. 9b 6. Look forward to the work of God in our lives. 10 7. Glorify Him. 11 Peter then closes in the formal Greek style: 1. His secretary (see notes on Silas) is mentioned. 12 2. His purpose is simply stated. It’s all about standing in grace. 12 3. Greetings are sent and expected. 13 4. Peace is spoken. 14