Podcasts about he is god

He IS God!

When we seek Jesus with a heart willing to surrender, that is when we truly find Him and when we do, we find peace. #theloriclineshow Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org! ~~~ What kind of Jesus do you seek? When you even hear the name of Jesus, what are your first thoughts? What you've heard spoken or read about Jesus is usually what leads you to believe what you believe about Him. Or, maybe you're thoughts on Jesus are a result of what you think about people who claim to follow Jesus. You might not like what you see so therefore you choose to not have anything to do with the Jesus they follow. That's putting a lot of weight into human hands, opinions and worldviews when YOUR soul is on the line. You're seeking something today. Maybe you're even running after it. I think if you silenced all the voices in your mind and filtered through all the desires of your heart, the one thing you, or any of us, are seeking is PEACE. Peace is found only IN Jesus, but the key requirement is letting go of everything else YOU hold dear. Yep, there it is. Surrendering your will for HIS is required. Any other Jesus you or anyone else tries to put out to the world, is an ANTI Christ. Simply meaning, it is a false or counterfeit spirit that actually opposes God and leads people away from the one true Jesus with false teaching. Read more for yourself on that in 1 John 2:18-22. If you deny the one true Jesus for any other form of Jesus you seek, you are LOST and forever without peace. Jesus made it very clear in what it takes to know and follow Him. We can quickly look at a couple examples we have in scripture of interactions people had with Jesus. They wanted a Jesus that fit into their world. They wanted a Jesus they could feel good about and celebrate all while clenching with white knuckles onto what they held dear. It simply does not work that way. Jesus said it himself and we'll look at his words about it in just a bit. First let's look at the very rich, but left still wanting, rich young ruler. His interaction with Jesus is recounted in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. He desperately wanted eternal peace. He runs to Jesus, kneels before Him and wants to know what he can DO to be saved. While he claimed to be a ‘good' man, none are righteous apart from Jesus. Still, this man wanted a Jesus that worked into HIS plan, not the other way around. Mark 10:21-22 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus isn't who YOU want Him to be and He doesn't fit into our lives any way we want like those bendable Jesus toys you can buy online. He IS God. He is HOLY. He wants ALL of you. When Jesus called Peter and Andrew, the interaction looked quite different. Matthew 4:19-20 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Drop our livelihood? Sure. Leave it all behind? Done. You want ALL of me? You got it. Now in that moment they had NO IDEA the path set before them and what it would all entail, but what they did know was the savior they were seeking, was calling them by name and that was all they needed. Later they would hear Jesus say, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” They were beginning to see it more clearly every day they spent with Jesus. Less of me. More of Him. When we seek Jesus with a heart willing to surrender, that is when we truly find Him and when we do, we find the PEACE we were looking for all along. That's the truth. The truth doesn't bend, but the love God has for you, never ends. I'm Lori Cline.

Hey good people! This week, we're talking about the power of our decision making. There are times where we are waiting on God and it's imperative that we're still and know that He Is God. There are other times where God is waiting on us to move and we need wisdom, insight, discernment, and understanding to go do what He's already shown us. In this season, my prayer is that we mature beyond God giving us signs and seek the principles that God has shown us move His heart.Scriptures:Psalm 25:3-4Psalm 86:11Proverbs 4:5-6

(Dictated in English.) (NOTE: The footnotes are not dictated by God. They are added by Sister. Sometimes the footnote is to help clarify for the reader Sister's sense of the meaning of a certain word or idea, and at other times to better convey the sense of God's tone when He spoke.) Write, My daughter. - What shall I write?[1] That the Triumph of My Immaculate Heart is very near. My beloved children, All of you, who were entrusted to My Motherly care by My Jesus as He was dying on the Cross. Since that Hour I have carried each of you – across all time – in My Heart. Since that Hour I have loved you as My children. All of you. Each of you. As My Jesus' Heart was split open by the lance, thus opening the floodgates of Grace and Mercy for all the children of God, so My Heart was split open by the pain and the obedience of that Hour – the mystical sword that rent open My Heart, allowing the infinite Love of the Father, of My Son, of the Most Holy Spirit of God to widen It, making It capable of loving and receiving all His children in this new Refuge prepared for them – a Refuge that has been present and active since then. How much you are loved, children. How much. I wish to speak to you today – the anniversary of My first Apparition to My little ones at Fatima. Children, do not set My Words aside – not these nor any of the Words I have spoken to you throughout the centuries – Words that have come forth from My Immaculate Heart – from the Heart of your Mother – to help you, to guide you, to correct you, to warn you. If I speak, I do not do so of My own accord – I speak the Father's Will for you. I speak My Son's Love for you. I speak the Divine Light shed upon you by the Most Holy Spirit of God. If you turn a deaf ear to My Voice, you are turning a deaf ear to the Voice of the Most Holy Trinity Who never ceases to speak, to communicate with His children; Who – as the Everlasting Font of Life and Love – ceaselessly pours out His Mercy in myriads and myriads of ways, continually drawing your hearts back to His Own. By My example and by My prayers for you –My ever-present intercession on your behalf before the Throne of God – I teach you how to be truly attentive to the action of the Most Holy Trinity, that you might cooperate with this Divine Action in every moment of your lives. Blessed are they who, setting aside their own criteria, allow Me to form them according to the Divine Will and the work for which each soul was created. Come to your Mother, and allow Me to remove all the cobwebs of so many useless reasonings, of so many harmful and prideful thoughts, of so many lies that the enemy has woven around you. How can you see clearly, if your eyes are still covered by the scales of pride and arrogance? Come to Me, little children, that I might remove these stubborn scales with My tears, and cleanse your eyesight in order to see the true Face of My Jesus – the true Face of the Father. And that you might recognize the Signs We are giving you for these times – that you might see and recognize the unfolding of the Father's perfect Plan, and humbly receive the Grace you need in order to take your place in My Army for the accomplishment of this Plan. Children, this is the Hour that unites all other Hours – all other Ages. Each preceding Hour with its Grace, its purpose, its fulfillment; each preparing the coming of the next Hour. Each Hour acting in the present moment of the Father's Plan, which stretches from the beginning to the end of time, and carries all souls and all events to the fulfillment of this Plan for His Great Glory and the salvation of all of His children. My beloved children, contemplate with Me the beauty of this Plan of the Father's Heart. Contemplate with Me its vastness, its greatness, its Wisdom. Its Justice and Mercy. My children, open your eyes, but above all open your hearts through true docility, humility and trust, that the Light of the Most Holy Spirit of God might enlighten you, and, being able to see, you might be able to cooperate in His Work. This is what I ask of you during these days of the Cenacle – of this great New Cenacle – in which I join you to My Heart and to the prayers of all of your brothers and sisters, who throughout the centuries have asked for His Coming, who have prepared by their Faith and prayers and offerings your cooperation with His Grace, and who bring you encouragement in this darkest of Hours. I join you to My Heart, children, and I ask that – entering the safe refuge of My Heart, by means of your consecration, your entrustment to Me – you make an act of humility, Faith, and trust, that I might show you the Truth – that I may place it in the center of your being, like the Jewel of incalculable value, the Anchor you need in these times full of confusion and lies of the enemy, but full to overflowing with the Mystery of the Divine Action unfolding before you. My children, the Father's Plan is active everywhere and at all times, bringing about the eternal good for all of His children. Who can limit His Action? Who can say, “God would never do that”? Who – from such a limited, darkened, fallible, minuscule mind – can say to Him Who Is, to the One Who created all that is, to the One Who knows and sees every movement of every heart – who dare say to Him, “You cannot do this”? My children, My children – silence. Silence before the Mystery of God. The loving and trusting silence that is the filial act of adoration to the Father – recognizing that He is your God. And you are His creature, His child, willed into existence by Him. Silence before His Perfect Will – that is the perfect act of obedience – that does not question, does not doubt. “God knows why.” The thrice-holy Silence that humbles the soul, that beautifies it and makes it capable of receiving the Divine Light. The Silence, My children, that is born of true, living, simple FAITH. My beloved children, consider all the times that I have been sent to you to warn you and to bring you the Light of God to see the reality surrounding you as God sees it. HOW MANY TIMES, CHILDREN. AND HOW LITTLE I HAVE BEEN HEEDED – IGNORED, AND EVEN MOCKED BY THE ARROGANCE OF SO MANY OF MY BLINDED CHILDREN, THUS BLOCKING TORRENTS OF GRACE THAT WOULD HAVE DESCENDED FROM HEAVEN TO HELP MY CHILDREN. Actions have consequences, My children. And the setting aside, the despising of Our Gifts, has tremendous consequences not only for the souls who reject them, but for the whole world. Have you not yet understood that each time a soul rejects Our Grace, it affects all of Our children? And each time one soul responds to Our Grace, obeys the Will of the Father, We can pour forth rivers of Grace upon allof Our children? Do you see how important then, is your receiving or not receiving Our Gifts, Our Grace? My beloved Army, do you begin to understand now what it is that I need from you in order to lead you into battle? [gentle smile] Do you understand how it is you fight? How it is you help Me reconquer the hearts of your brothers and sisters? IT IS THROUGH FAITH – LIVING CHILD-LIKE FAITH – AND THROUGH YOUR ABANDONMENT TO THE FATHER'S PERFECT WILL. And do you begin to understand too then, what the greatest obstacle is to Our Plan? The horrendous LACK OF FAITH that produces contempt for Our Things, Our Words, Our Actions, and that is born out of the seed of pride planted by the enemy and fed by arrogance and fear. And how this seed of pride [has] fallen into so many of the souls of My Priests and Consecrated children, and found fertile soil, turning these souls into unrecognizable brambles of thorns and bitter fruit, useless – completely useless – for Our Plan.[2] Do you understand now, why then, the Fire that will come down from Heaven is needed to consume all these brambles and free My children from the corruption of pride? [Sigh] My children, this is why I ask you to come to Me, to enter the refuge of My Heart, to humble your heart and your mind before the Divine Mysteries – and to let Me cleanse your eyes and hearts, that you may be able to receive the fullness of the Light of the Most Holy Spirit of God, and you might see as He does, and, being able to see, you might cooperate with His Plan. My children, I have said to you that His Plan stretches from [the] beginning to [the] end of time, from one end of the earth to the other. Consider, then, that all Our Works cannot be contained or limited by any human consideration or reasoning. My children, how much it grieves Me when you attempt to limit Our Works. How many unnecessary obstacles you place with such reasonings in the paths of My little ones who believe with child-like Faith that Our God can do as He pleases, when He pleases, what He pleases – HE IS GOD. HOW MUCH PAIN has been caused to My little Messengers, the “voices” entrusted with Our Voice, to carry Our Words to you. HOW MUCH THEY HAVE BEEN MADE TO SUFFER. BY THE INCREDULOUS AND PROUD, ESPECIALLY AMONG THOSE FROM WHOM THEY SHOULD RECEIVE THE GREATEST HELP – PRIESTS AND CONSECRATED SOULS. I DO NOT FORGET THEIR PAIN. Nor the humiliations they were subjected to – their Glory now. My Melanie and Maximin; My Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco; My Bernadette; My Conchita, Mari Cruz, Mari Loli, and My other Jacinta [smile].[3] My beloved sons and daughters in Medjugorje, who still receive Me and bear witness to the Mission entrusted to them. And My beloved children – who gave their lives in bloody deaths out of love for Me and My Jesus in Kibeho.[4] And how many more, whose names are engraved in My Heart for their fidelity and their obedience and their endurance. HOW MUCH I LOVE THEM. And how it pains Me to see them reviled. Do you not see that it is MY VOICE that speaks to them, across the ages? And that this VOICE contains the VOICE of the Most Blessed Trinity, and that this VOICE is LOVE and MERCY? And that if you were attentive to It, you would perceive the DIVINE MYSTERY OF GOD at work in that moment, in that place, for you, for the accomplishment of the Father's Will at that moment. Every Divine Action has eternal effects – it can never be limited to one time – its effects are felt, they continue to produce fruits of everlasting life. But each of these Divine Actions is given at a precise time, for a precise reason, My children, and should be received by you as such – as helps sent to you at that moment, for that moment. My children, if the Father sends His Gift, His Action, will He not also send His Light that you might know that it is He Who is acting? If you are united to Him by Grace, by your Faith and humility, if you know His Voice, His Heart, shall you not recognize His Voice and His Action? And, recognizing the Father, shall you not also be given light to recognize the deceits of the Ancient Serpent, the eternal Ape, who in his pride mocks all the works of God? Come to Me, My little ones, if you wish to know the Father's Heart, if you wish to recognize His Voice, whether He speaks in silence, in action, or through His Messengers. In My Heart you find the Heart of My Jesus, Who is One with the Father. The Most Blessed Trinity has made My Heart your Refuge, a safe haven in which you can meet, and know, and love the Father, the Son, and Their Most Holy Spirit. My little ones, the Father's Plan is at work. Do not fear, do not despair. My Army is being gathered. I Am uniting you day by day, continuing to form you, to show you what it is that We need of you, how you cooperate in Our Reconquest. At each of My visits I have asked for what was needed as a response from My children and from My Church at that time– to allow the Father's Plan to be fulfilled at that time, to prevent unnecessary suffering. What I ask of you now – what is needed of you now – is your FAITH, TRUST, ABANDONMENT and HUMILITY – the true Silence of the attentive heart, ready to receive the order of his Captain in order to fight in the Great Reconquest. HOW CAN YOU ACT AND FIGHT IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO DO – AND HOW CAN YOU KNOW WHAT IS BEING ASKED, WHAT THE ORDER IS, IF YOU ARE NOT ATTENTIVE TO YOUR CAPTAIN'S VOICE? AND HOW CAN YOU HEAR YOUR CAPTAIN'S VOICE IF YOU DO NOT SILENCE YOUR THOUGHTS – YOUR OWN VOICE – YOUR CRITERIA, YOUR WILL? AND HOW CAN YOU SILENCE YOUR MIND, WILL, AND HEART IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE? My children, WHAT I ASK OF YOU IS YOUR FAITH. YOUR HUMILITY. YOUR OBEDIENCE. YOUR TRUST. Come, children, let us bow down together before the Father of Mercies, before HE WHO IS, and, with Me, offer Him your love, your adoration; and together with Me say, “Father, may Your Will be accomplished in me and in all of Your creatures. Here I am, Lord, to do Your Will, to love You and serve You for all eternity.” My little children, I bless you with My Motherly Blessing. I gather you to My Heart in these days of the great Cenacle – the time when I gather all of My children, all of the Church into My Heart, into this holy Refuge prepared for you – as the Hour fast approaches when the Divine Light will pour down, will thunder down upon all that is to reveal once again the TRUTH. Do not be afraid, remain in Me. Remain in My Son, under the shelter of His Blood, behind the Shield of His Cross. My beloved ones…[smile]…I love you. I bless you, and I bless your families. Entrust them to Me and do not be afraid.   Amen. He is coming. To Him be given all Glory and Adoration and Thanksgiving and Praise for all ages. To the ONE WHO IS, WHO WAS, AND WHO IS TO COME, TO THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, TO THE SON ALL-HOLY, TO THE SPIRIT OF GOD MOST HOLY – HE WHO GIVES BREATH TO ALL THAT IS – TO HIM MAY ALL HEARTS ADORE, AND LOVE, AND OBEY. AMEN. Your Heavenly Mother, Who leads you by the hand, Mary Most Holy, Queen of all the Angels, Queen of the Apostles and Mother of the Church, Who loves you and protects you. ---------- [1] On some occasions – such as in this Message – when I am given the order, “Write, My daughter,” my soul immediately perceives the serious and solemn tone with which it is given and thus it responds without thinking, “What shall I write?” – words that seem to me to express the attitude of the soul of being particularly attentive to what is going to be said, as if this act of special attention and obedience were needed from me before the dictation can begin. And I perceive that what They say right after – usually a short phrase – is of great solemnity and importance. They have a different weight than Their other words. [2] I understood that, though it is especially harmful when the souls of Priests and religious fall into pride, that this spirit of pride has spread into many, many souls, destroying simple Faith in them, allowing the spirit of godlessness to spread widely and deeply. “And will not God vindicate His elect, who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay long over them? I tell you, He will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:7-8) [3] Our Lady is confirming Her Apparitions – and those who received them – at LaSalette (1846), Fatima (1917), Lourdes (1858), Garabandal (1961-1965), Medjugorje (1981-present), Kibeho (1981-1989). I had a sense that even though She mentions these specifically, She is also including all Her other “minor” Apparitions throughout the world in recent times – and there are many. [4] As I was transcribing these paragraphs I thought of how varied the witness required of all these “messengers” is – some were asked to offer their lives while very young, enduring much physical pain and illness; others were asked to enter religious life; others have been asked to wait, and wait, and wait for the fulfillment of the events announced to them, while living ‘normal' lives in the world; others must endure the complete and constant invasion of their privacy; others are asked to offer their lives in bloody martyrdom; others to offer the white martyrdom of life-long humiliations, misunderstandings, loneliness. All have had to endure the tremendous trials of Faith. It seems to me that there is a great lesson in this variety of witness – even though the experience itself of receiving an Apparition is very similar, what is then required of each person can be very different.

As we walk with Jesus and serve Him, we should take time to spend time with Him and know Him. #theloriclineshow Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org! ~~~ Do you avoid eye contact? I know people who do and to be honest it drives me crazy. I think the thing is, the extrovert side of me, wants to get to know you, like everyone of you! So, when I meet people or talk to people, I want to connect, lean in and really hear what they have to say. It's difficult for me to do that, without eye contact. For some though, eye contact is a difficult thing. It's good for people like me to understand that some people have very real social anxieties and looking into someone's eyes can be overwhelming or intimidating. I read there's actually a 50/70 rule when it comes to eye contact. Maintain eye contact 50% of the time when speaking and 70% when listening. Good to know. No matter where you are, when it comes to eye contact, the reality is, when we look into someones eyes, we can't NOT be seen. Has there ever been a time you didn't want to be seen? Yeah, me too. I think back to when I was a little girl and I was in trouble for doing something or maybe I wasn't telling the whole truth about a situation and my Mom and Dad knew it. They would say, “Lori Lee, look at me.” The moment I would look into their eyes, I was undone. Guilty as charged, whatever I had done had to come out! I could NOT look them in the eyes and not tell the truth. They saw right through me and loved me still. Another time I did not want to be seen, was actually a time that my husband and I had one of our biggest arguments ever. It was a doozy. We were not seeing eye to eye. I was done with the conversation, and did not want to look into his eyes in that moment. He didn't give up and he wanted me to know he saw me. Behind my wall of anger and frustration, the truth was, I was afraid. I couldn't hide that and he saw right through me and loved me still. INTO ME SEE. Intimacy, is knowing and being fully known. Even when we want to hide in shame or avoid being seen for who we have been or for who we really are, Jesus wants us to draw close to Him and look into His eyes. When we look into His eyes we are looking into the eyes of the Father. John 14:8-9 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father'? Jesus had just washed the disciples feet in the upper room. Philip and all the disciples had walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus and saw Him do amazing things. They had been a part of His ministry. Yes, they had looked into the eyes of Jesus, but they didn't fully see that they had looked into the eyes of God. The Father asks us the same question. Don't you know me? Look me in the eyes and be known, be seen for all you are and all you are not and be loved. Are we guilty of walking with Jesus, talking with Jesus and doing all the things FOR Jesus, but NOT stopping each day to look into the eyes of Jesus? When I really stop and draw close to the Father, I see His love for me. I know Him more. He sees me and He knows me, every part. My guilt is revealed. I am undone. My wall of anger and frustration, over all the pain of my life and this broken world, crumbles. I am in awe of His holiness and my fears are driven out and my trust renewed as I see Him and He sees me and loves me still. The eyes of the Father are always on me, He just wants me to be still and know He IS God, draw near to Him daily and look into His eyes. That's the truth. Drawing closer to the Father has nothing to do with what you DO for the Father. Today, look into the Father's eyes. Be seen. Be loved and be renewed. I'm Lori Cline.

23_04_20 -Ep.309 - Run With Horses Podcast - It's all about Jesus   Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast   Last week we talked about how Jesus is our focus. As a disciple, you become like the one you follow and we follow Jesus. Today we consider how we worship Jesus as we follow Him.   Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is both incredibly simple and potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to live intentionally and on His mission. It's very cool that we can do that together!   We are working on what it might look like to live out my working definition of church by going through the definition a word at a time. Today we turn to worship.   MY WORKING DEFINITION OF CHURCH A CHURCH is a group of followers of Jesus who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the mission of Jesus as His witnesses to the world, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and equip others to join them on His mission.   Worship – Merriam-Webster 1: to honor or show reverence for as a divine being or supernatural power 2: to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion   ****https://wheatmyermusic.com/on-christian-worship-old-testament-vocabulary/ The two most common Old Testament Hebrew words commonly translated as “worship” are shachah and abad. Vine's Expository Dictionary defines shachah as meaning “to worship, prostrate oneself, bow down.” It occurs more than 170 times in the OT and is the principle Hebrew word translated into English as “worship.” To bow is to express complete surrender to the mercy of the second person to be used as they willed.   Vine's defines abad as meaning “to serve, cultivate, enslave, work.” It is very common throughout the OT (nearly 300 instances) but is only occasionally translated as “worship” (about 15 times). Rather, its most frequent English translation is “to serve” where it refers to all manner of ordinary labor.   To conclude, when we read the word “worship” in the Old Testament we should always see within it the essence of bowing, an aroma of surrender and service, of saying, “here I am, use me as you will.” To borrow a line from Issac Watts, when the Old Testament says worship, it is saying, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.” **** shachah Gen 18:2 -   Gen 22:5 - abad Gen 2:15 -   Deut. 10:12-13 -   Key Points from OT worship – It involves HUMILITY and SERVICE.   NT worship   John 4: 19-24 - 1   1 Peter 1:4-5 -   Romans 12: 1-2 - 12:1 - latreia: service, sacred service - Usage: service rendered to God, perhaps simply: worship   Hebrews 13: 15-16 - Let's go back to our definition of the church for a minute.   MY WORKING DEFINITION OF CHURCH A CHURCH is a group of followers of Jesus who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the mission of Jesus as His witnesses to the world, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and equip others to join them on His mission.   Last week I said that We follow Jesus, because He is God and Savior and because He is doing something. Jesus offers us a part in His mission as His witnesses. There is no greater work we can give our lives to. We follow Jesus because outside of Him our lives have no purpose. Once you truly understand who Jesus is and what He offers you, there is no choice to be made.   We follow Jesus because of Who He IS and what He is doing. And that is also the reason we worship Him. He IS God.   What is your response to Jesus? Will you follow when the journey gets hard? Making intentional, serious efforts to obey the commands of Jesus will result in your spiritual growth and the building up of the church. Intentional obedience to the commands of Jesus will connect you directly to Jesus and His mission. More importantly intentional obedience to the commands of Jesus, trying to do what HE said, is at the heart of our worship. It takes HUMILITY to follow someone else. When we serve Him we proclaim Him as Lord of our lives and glorify Him in the worship of our actions. It doesn't matter how much you know about Jesus if you aren't practically engaged in following Jesus.   The question we all answer every day is how do WE live this HERE, NOW. The answer says a lot about our view of God and His place in our lives. A life that is focused on Intentional, Relational Disciple Making that is Centered on Jesus is a life of worship. And what a journey He takes us on when we follow Him! Thanks for joining me again today! Stop and say a prayer for your church family today! I'd love to hear from you, write me at norman@runwithhorses.net or leave a comment on the Run With Horses Podcast facebook page. Take time today to pause and thank God for His work in your life and keep running.

When we seek Jesus with a heart willing to surrender, that is when we truly find Him and when we do, we find peace. ~~~ What kind of Jesus do you seek? When you even hear the name of Jesus, what are your first thoughts? What you've heard spoken or read about Jesus is usually what leads you to believe what you believe about Him. Or, maybe you're thoughts on Jesus are a result of what you think about people who claim to follow Jesus. You might not like what you see so therefore you choose to not have anything to do with the Jesus they follow. That's putting a lot of weight into human hands, opinions and worldviews when YOUR soul is on the line. You're seeking something today. Maybe you're even running after it. I think if you silenced all the voices in your mind and filtered through all the desires of your heart, the one thing you, or any of us, are seeking is PEACE. Peace is found only IN Jesus, but the key requirement is letting go of everything else YOU hold dear. Yep, there it is. Surrendering your will for HIS is required. Any other Jesus you or anyone else tries to put out to the world, is an ANTI Christ. Simply meaning, it is a false or counterfeit spirit that actually opposes God and leads people away from the one true Jesus with false teaching. Read more for yourself on that in 1 John 2:18-22. If you deny the one true Jesus for any other form of Jesus you seek, you are LOST and forever without peace. Jesus made it very clear in what it takes to know and follow Him. We can quickly look at a couple examples we have in scripture of interactions people had with Jesus. They wanted a Jesus that fit into their world. They wanted a Jesus they could feel good about and celebrate all while clenching with white knuckles onto what they held dear. It simply does not work that way. Jesus said it himself and we'll look at his words about it in just a bit. First let's look at the very rich, but left still wanting, rich young ruler. His interaction with Jesus is recounted in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. He desperately wanted eternal peace. He runs to Jesus, kneels before Him and wants to know what he can DO to be saved. While he claimed to be a ‘good' man, none are righteous apart from Jesus. Still, this man wanted a Jesus that worked into HIS plan, not the other way around. Mark 10:21-22 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus isn't who YOU want Him to be and He doesn't fit into our lives any way we want like those bendable Jesus toys you can buy online. He IS God. He is HOLY. He wants ALL of you. When Jesus called Peter and Andrew, the interaction looked quite different. Matthew 4:19-20 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Drop our livelihood? Sure. Leave it all behind? Done. You want ALL of me? You got it. Now in that moment they had NO IDEA the path set before them and what it would all entail, but what they did know was the savior they were seeking, was calling them by name and that was all they needed. Later they would hear Jesus say, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” They were beginning to see it more clearly every day they spent with Jesus. Less of me. More of Him. When we seek Jesus with a heart willing to surrender, that is when we truly find Him and when we do, we find the PEACE we were looking for all along. That's the truth. The truth doesn't bend, but the love God has for you, never ends. I'm Lori Cline.

The third gift from the magi, myrrh, is full of both hope and sorrow throughout scripture. This is reflected by the reality that Jesus is the ultimate prophet -  He IS God's steadfast love, faithfulness and hope brought to life in the midst of sorrow. None of these gifts from the magi make something true about Jesus. They represent the truth of who He is: a king who reigns, a priest who redeems, and a prophet who reveals.

As we celebrate Hanukkah this season, let's examine our hearts, in order to fully receive God's grace. Be blessed with the history of Hanukkah and its correlation with the book of Nehemiah. **** Welcome to Celebrating God's Grace, A Women World Leader's Podcast, I'm your host Robin Kirby-Gatto. Thank you for joining us today as we celebrate God's grace, in our lives, in our ministry, and around the world. Title: Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication. 1 “The words or story of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: Now in the month of Chislev in the twentieth year [of the Persian king], as I was in the castle of Shushan, 2 Hanani, one of my kinsmen, came with certain men from Judah, and I asked them about the surviving Jews who had escaped exile, and about Jerusalem.” Nehemiah 1:1-2 AMPC'' Hanukkah is known as “the Feast of Dedication.” It is a time in which the Jewish people celebrate the rededication of the Second Temple, cleansing it from the things of the pagan culture that had crept in with a part of the priesthood, given over to the Hellenistic ways. Although, Nehemiah preceded those at the time of Hanukkah, there's a correlation. God's people were grieved at the worldly things that had happened against Jerusalem, infecting God's Holy City. Hanukkah is on the 25th of the Jewish Month Chislev on the Hebrew Calendar, and commemorates the Maccabean Revolt in the 2nd Century B.C. The Maccabees revolted against the suppression of the practice of their faith, with a Syrian-Greek king. This revolt went on for 30 plus years, with the main phase being over a seven-year period, from 167-160 B.C. During that phase, in 164/165 B.C., the Maccabees captured Jerusalem, then the subsequent cleansing of the temple came on the 25th day of Chislev, where they found a small amount of pure oil, that was a day's worth of supply, to light the menorah. It would take at least another eight days to make the purified anointment to light the menorah again. The supernatural occurrence of the one-day supply of oil kept the lamp burning for eight days, which is where we get Hanukkah. What does that mean for us? As we celebrate the eight days of Hanukkah, we look at it as a time for examining our hearts, to see if the things of the world, have gotten into our inner man, so that we can cleanse ourselves of it, by God's grace. The Maccabean Revolt, not only dealt with the Jewish people being free to practice their faith, but it also dealt with cleansing God's temple of the priests who were influenced with the practices of the pagan culture, mixing it into Judaism within the temple. I love Nehemiah 1, and looking at the first two verses, when it comes to the time of Hanukkah. I've written extensively on Nehemiah 1, in my book God's Fire Wall Healing of the Soul, Session 1 The Light, showing how the soul fragments, where there's unclean things within our members, and it causes us in the smallest wat to disassociate. Having worked as an outpatient psychotherapist with adults, the elderly, and children in long term foster care, I've had patients who had Dissociative Identity Disorder, or those who disassociated on some level. I get into small disassociations in my book Mindfulness, the Mind of Christ, in what is labeled “a mood, temperament, and evolves into our personality.” I experienced this after my ninth month marriage at 19 years old back in 1999, to a demonically oppressed man, who starved and beat me, kept me imprisoned, as well as constantly threatened me with guns pointed at me, or knives put to my throat. It was my first internship supervisor, who pointed out my abuse, which I had shut down and through disassociation, acted as though it had never happened. This is all in my book Session 1 The Light, showing how the fragmented soul is made whole. You've might not have anything drastic like this, but on some level, the influence of the fallen world, might have taken a toll on your soul, bringing in a mixture, into your Christian life. The point of the kingdom of the world, is to get us confused about God's grace. I grew up loving the Lord, having had a supernatural encounter at the age of seven, and always attending church. It was in my last year of high school that I rebelled, because all the guys I ever dated, would break up with me, for keeping myself pure. I got angry with God, and rebelled, and then backslid. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus, God heals our backsliding. (Hosea 14:4) Like the revolt of the Maccabees, the power of Holy Spirit upon my soul, revolted against the pollution of the world, that had worked its way in, where I tolerated the oppression of the enemy. Looking at Nehemiah 1, we're given a glimpse into this revolt with God's people, as Nehemiah is stirred with jealousy and grief, to see Jerusalem rebuilt, as he would look over the repair of the wall. Maccabee means “hammer” in Aramaic and has the connotation “Who is like unto thee among the gods, Oh Lord!” God's Word is a hammer within us, to show us HE IS GOD, HE IS GRACIOUS! “Is not My word like fire [that consumes all that cannot endure the test]? says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks in pieces the rock [of most stubborn resistance]?” Jeremiah 23:29 AMPC God's Word pounds away the stubborn places of the heart that have been influenced by the world. In those places of our soul, He brings the Light of Truth, where His Name dwells. (Nehemiah 1:9) Nehemiah 1, verses 1 and 2, bring so much to illumination, as we see that Nehemiah has come to the Lord in the month of Chislev, which is the time of Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication, preceding the event for nearly two-hundred years. However, we can see the reflection of what happened in Nehemiah's time, compared to what happened in the time of the Maccabean Revolt. God's people were oppressed, and the city profaned by the pagan culture, having its toll on Jerusalem and the temple. Nehemiah in Hebrew means “comforter,” indicating the foreshadowing of Holy Spirit. His father, Haciliah is mentioned in verse one, whose name means “Jah of Darkness,” where God will bring the Light to you, and enlighten you. Chislev means “thickening,” indicating the heavy rains. Moreover, the kinsmen mentioned in verse 2 is Hanani meaning, “gracious.” Names aren't happenstance in God's Word, and the 24 workbooks I've written on the book of Nehemiah, which three have been edited and revised into books, unpack EVERY SINGLE NAME in the book of Nehemiah. There are a lot of names in that book, to where you almost feel as though you're reading the Chronicles. When we look at the name meanings in verses one and two, it shows us that The Comforter, Holy Spirit, will come into our Darkness, bringing enlightenment to our soul of God's thick and weighty presence, revealing His grace. This is what happens to areas of our soul, in need of God's grace. We have the beautiful presence of His love, mercy, and truth, that visits us in our darkness, to lift us into the place of wholeness. This reflects the occurrence of the Maccabean Revolt. The people hungered for the presence of God, and in the darkness of the influence of the world, God brought the Light, the supernatural supply of oil that lasted until they could get the pure oil made. This signifies being a Bond Servant of God! Have you gotten busy with things in life, that you might have slipped and allowed the influence of the world? Is there an area of your soul that's influencing you with negative thoughts, and bad behaviors. As you're hearing this podcast on the last day of Hanukkah, December 15th, 2023, commit yourself afresh and anew to God. Breathe a deep breath and acknowledge the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast! Join us each Monday, Wednesday and Friday as we explore together God's extravagant love and your courageous purpose. Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry. From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders. All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without express written consent.

Last week, we talked about the 5% and the 95% and were challenged by Mary's story to live in the 95% realm of believing in a supernatural God who does supernatural things. This week, we will explore one of the most powerful proofs of his miracle-working power — the union of God and man in the life of Jesus. Brothers and sisters, this is good theology! He who was fully God became fully human — two distinct natures in one Person. He had both the power of his divinity and the experience of his humanity, and only Jesus was able to reconcile those two natures inside one personality. The nature of Jesus is a miracle and THE great mystery of his existence. He IS God, and yet he has lived my life and yours. Why does that matter, and why does it give such hope? Come on Sunday and let's dive in.

We know that God is our refuge, but there are times we question where God is. Be still and know that He IS God.

 For those of you who are joining us for the first time - or the first time in a while - let me quickly give you a synopsis of the study we have undertaken in the NT Book of Hebrews…What the Book of Hebrews is, is a letter written to Hebrew converts to Christianity in the First Century. And the REASON the letter was sent as an encouragement for these converts to stick with their new-found faith. Persecution had arisen, things were getting difficult for Christians. Add to that the fear that maybe they made a mistake and that perhaps they couldn't fully trust in the sacrifice of Jesus to make them right with God.Well by way of encouragement, chapter 1 was all about how Jesus had a better message to reveal because he was God's agent in salvation. He served as perfect prophet, priest, and is now reigning as KING. The Author of this letter is telling the Hebrew believers to trust in Jesus because HE IS GOD. And if they go back to the Law to try to justify themselves, it would be a grave mistake. They needed to know for a fact that JESUS IS GREATER than the old ways.Now, even though this letter is written to Hebrew converts to Christianity in the First Century, I think this is a message we ALL need to hear. I have a good friend who, as I was sharing the Gospel with him, told me that his father was Jewish and his mother was Catholic - and so he KNEW the guilt!And that's the problem. When those of us who have put our faith in Jesus are tempted to doubt his sufficiency, to wonder if the NT is accurate when it tells us that we are saved - NOT BY WORKS, but by God's Grace. We need to be reminded that Jesus is enough, right?And that is why this second chapter of Hebrews is so important. Fixing our faith so that we don't dangerously drift is the focus. So let's read the first few verses together… 

Do You Not Know? Have You Not Heard?THE LORD, HE IS GOD. It Is HE, WHO Has Made Us and Not We Ourselves. The WONDER of our First Birth - The GLORY of The Rebirth!

Acts Book Study Week 80 Acts 25:1-12 1) “NO matter how continual the attacks, God is ever faithful!”  2) “When surrounded, be still and know that HE IS GOD!” 3) “Fear NO man, only God!”

HE IS GOD

Much of the controversy around Jesus' teaching during His day was the claims that He was making. On different occasions, to different people, He claimed to be God, God being His Father, and having all authority over heaven and earth. Those are some pretty lofty claims, and many people didn't like it. However, Jesus was able to back up all His claims when He defeated Sin and Death on the cross! In today's message, Pastor Bill will be sharing how Jesus isn't just connected to God, but He IS God!

Much of the controversy around Jesus' teaching during His day was the claims that He was making. On different occasions, to different people, He claimed to be God, God being His Father, and having all authority over heaven and earth. Those are some pretty lofty claims, and many people didn't like it. However, Jesus was able to back up all His claims when He defeated Sin and Death on the cross! In today's message, Pastor Bill will be sharing how Jesus isn't just connected to God, but He IS God!

Well, hey there. Hello to ya and welcome to the podcast. So thankful you're here. We are working our way through the Bible, book by book, and grabbing hold of a promise from each book along the way. So, by the time we get to the book of Revelation, written by John the Revelator (how's that for a job title?), we will have stored up 66 rock solid promises. Every book a promise has kind of been my moniker for this, and I'm gonna say that a few more times between now and Revelation. Every. Book. A. Promise. For you, God's got promises, and I am so glad you're here today so we can take a look at your promise from the Lord in the book of Deuteronomy. Susie Larson Closer Than Your Next Breath book Psalm 91 Pray It & Believe Audio Course   You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing via the Edifi app. This episode's recommended resource comes from Susie Larson and her new book, Closer Than Your Next Breath. Susie's books are always impactful and among those that I read and highlight and read again and underline and read some more and give as gifts and I've been very blessed to be on the launch teams for several of her books. This one is a good one, and I'm sharing the link to order in the Show Notes. When you start looking at ideas for book options or study options for your small groups or women's gatherings this fall, keep this one in mind. Now, let's dig into God's promises here in episode number 155. When I began looking into the book of Deuteronomy in order to find a verse with a promise to share with you on the podcast, well let me just say the pickings were the opposite of slim. There are so many wonderful promises in this book! And it is a great reminder that we don't need to avoid reading the entire Bible, Old and New Testaments, for fear that nothing in the Old Testament will apply to us today since we know Jesus and are under the New Covenant. Every jot and tittle of the law, the Old Testament, was fulfilled by Jesus - that's what He said in Matthew 5:18. So when we read the OT, we can and should read it with hope, with the knowledge that Jesus fulfilled it all. I really had a lot to choose from as far as promises go when it came to this part of the Bible. So I want to encourage you to maybe just jot this down, make a note of it in your phone, text it to yourself so that you see it later on, but in Deuteronomy chapter 7 starting around verse 12 all the way through chapter 11, right up to verse 25, there are a vast array of promises. Promises to Israel, and one thing you and I can do when we see promises to Israel is to pray them - remind God of His promises to His people Israel, to the nation Israel, and pray for them to see Jesus as Messiah, for their land to be blessed, for all the things God has promised them to come to pass, and for the role Israel is playing in the end times to be seen clearly by a watching world. Keep your eyes on what is going on in Israel, because really if we think about it, the Bible came to us out of what God did in and through and for the people that became the Jewish Nation, the Israelites. It's where Jesus lived and ministered. It's the home of God's chosen people. Jesus and the Bible changed the world, one life at a time, one moment at a time, down through the centuries. What nation is at the heart of the Bible? Israel. It's more than just a tourist spot and more than just a spot on the map somewhere over by Egypt. In God's story, it's the heart of this world we live in, if you will. So, Israel matters. And praying that every promise God has made to the Israelites will come to pass is in accordance with the will of God as we read it in our Bibles.  Add Dueteronomy chapters 7-11 to your upcoming Bible reading, and pray for Israel as you are so led, and if there is anything promised therein that you feel led to pray over yourself, as one who is grafted in and has now become Abraham's seed, which we read about in Romans chapter 11, then pause and pray those things over your own life, your loved ones.    Among all these promises I was reading in this book, I landed on a promise that you have most likely heard. It's one of those verses that you may kind of already know, even if you don't remember exactly where it is located in the Bible. And it is a promise that you and I are to KNOW. To KNOW this promise, know it like we know our own name, that would be really wonderful. Know it without a shadow of any doubt. And understand that the Lord your God, He IS God, the faithful God, who IS keeping His covenant and His steadfast lovingkindness to a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.   I've kind of given it away already, what this promise verse says.    Let me read it to you from the Amplified and the NLT.   Therefore know [without any doubt] and understand that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who is keeping His covenant and His [steadfast] lovingkindness to a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;   Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.   Got a couple of questions for ya based on this verse. Do you love the Lord God Almighty? When is the last time you considered this - like, your love for Him? Yeah, we talk about His love for us, and that is important and foundational! But it's also good to think about how much you love Him.  Do you keep His ways? What the Word of God says, what is written on the pages of your Bible, do you do what it says? More than read it, highlight a verse here and there, close the cover and move on but maybe don't actually do what it says to do. Do you keep God's ways? Do you love God? Do you keep His ways? (Which is a pretty natural response to loving Him and being loved by Him, honestly).   Do you know the Word of God well enough to really know what to do? Can't really do what it says and keep God's ways if we aren't all that clear on what the Bible has to say, am I right? It's not osmosis, this growing in our understanding of the Bible.  Do you know it well enough to do what it says? And do you know it well enough to know what NOT to do? (also pretty important!)    If not, there's a fix for that! Read it and apply it to your very own life, read it and then do what it says. Simple fix! And life-changing, too, I might add!   Without any doubt, understand that He is God.    This verb, is, it's in the present tense here. He IS God. Not the God of yesteryear, not the God of down the road a bit. Now. He IS God. Do you and I live like, act like, behave like, make decisions and choices like He IS God right now. At this very moment. He IS God. If we did make our choices and decisions and speak our words carefully and really live like He IS present tense God, what kind of result could we expect? How would our lives be changed if we lived those lives moment by moment like God is God. IS. Tiny Little word but huge importance in this verse.    I'm going to repeat something I said a few moments ago. Without any doubt, understand that He IS God.  Live like that present tense IS God is really really real, like the most real thing in your life, and things are going to change for you, my friend. They can't not change when you live with the continual understanding that He IS God! Why am I emphasizing the present tense of this verb, you might wonder? Because if He is the God of the right now, that means there is no later on to be applied to this promise.  This is not for “later on” (whenever in the world that might be…don't we do this sometimes, think some promise from God is for later on, but we have no idea when that later on may be, and we end up just simply keeping God's promises in a state of continual deferment…which is sort of like rendering them as inactive, sort of dead…and we know the Word of God is living and active, according to Hebrews 4:12…what if we stopped thinking so much in terms of “later on” as a way to play it safe just in case God doesn't show up and keep His promises…what if we chose belief, and hey, if God opts to keep His promises to us on this very day, as in today, as in right now, well why not? Who are we to put limits or time limits on God? Let God be God, and do as He sees fit, when He sees fit! Might that not be a life lived in a state of belief, that could very well grow into chronic belief? Contagious belief? Yeah, “later on”...bye bye!) This is for right now.   He is the faithful God. That's in the singular. THE faithful God. Not one among many. And many of us, we have some little g gods in our lives that need to go to the trash heap, need to be ground to fine dust in the Kidron Valley, need to be decimated and destroyed.  If something has no place in the Kingdom of God then it has no place in the life of one of the King's children.    I am stating plainly that there is ONE GOD and He IS the faithful God. He cannot be otherwise. He is faithful, and whoop looky there, another second just passed and He is the faithful God. The only God. The one true God. The Alpha and Omega. The King of all kings. The Great I AM. There is none before Him, and none will come after. He is, He was, and will always be.   Do you know this God as your own? If so, then this is your promise today.   He is the one true God, and will always be so far in your life. He is the faithful God, and will always be faithful in your life.    Is. The.   Two tiny words that bear so much weight on the way we think about God, and about how God behaves toward us. Two tiny words that change the way we think when we consider them rightly and choose to actually believe that what God has said in the Bible is exactly what He means. And what happens when your thinking changes? Well, that's when your life changes. Because how you think is how you live, how you think determines the course your life takes.    You think rightly when you think according to the word of God, when you take every thought captive and make it submit to the word of the Lord. That's what it says in 2 Corinthians 10:5. And when your thoughts are submitted to the Lord, your life is, too.   This verse from Deuteronomy, it's a biggie. There is one faithful God. And He expects His people, those who bear His name and claim Him as Father, He expects us to know and understand this.  There is one faithful God.  You don't need to be out searching for some other form of a god to fill some void in your life. Because you have the one faithful God.   Take God's word and consider it a balm, a healing balm, to place over the wounds you have in your life - in your mind - your heart - your soul. God is a healer, and His word is powerful.   I hope you are really getting this today. This is FOR YOU, for RIGHT NOW.    He IS keeping His covenant, His promises, and is loving a thousand generations of those who love Him and obey Him.   Now how's that for a legacy, and inheritance to leave to your descendants? Ain't nothing else like it, I'll tell you what.   Love and obey.  Can you be about that today? And can you add in some real faith that God will do as He has promised here?   Don't wait another day, another moment, to choose to believe that God's promises are true. Why wait? I cannot think of a single, solitary good reason. Believe today, reap the benefits and blessings of that belief today, and keep on reaping for the rest of your days. And when you step into eternity, you surely won't feel regret for believing God fully and leaving all the results of that belief in His capable hands.   The hands that bear the nail scars are the hands of safest keeping for your life, your hopes and dreams, your loved ones, and your every moment.   Lord bless you today and thank you for listening today.   Hey I'm also gonna add a link to grab the Psalm 91 Pray It & Believe audio course if this series of promises has been encouraging to you, then Psalm 91 is worth studying and praying through.   I'll see you next time for a promise from the book of Joshua. Now, that's a book that's got a lot happening, a lot of proof of God keeping His promises. Remember those geometry proofs we used to have to write out? If you did them, you will never forget them. They are called proofs for a reason. It had to be provable, this process of solving the problems. You had to know the proofs step by step in order to prove you'd solved the problem correctly. Joshua is a book of proofs, in many ways. And we'll dig into that next time. See ya then, my friend and have a blessed day!

"Jehovah-Magen - He Is My Shield Pt. 3"Sermon from Sunday, June 18, 2023Part 25 of the series "He Is God"

"Jehovah-Magen - He Is My Shield Pt. 2"Sermon from Sunday, April 11, 2023Part 24 of the series "He Is God"

"God's Relentless Compassion"Sermon from Sunday, May 28, 2023Part 22 of the series "He Is God"

"Jehovah Magen - He Is My Shield"Sermon from Sunday, June 11, 2023Part 23 of the series "He Is God"

"Beyond Flowers & Chocolates"Sermon from Sunday, May 14, 2023Part 20 of the series "He Is God"

"Get Overturned!"Sermon from Sunday, May 21, 2023Part 21 of the series "He Is God"

"Adonai - Living From Calling"Sermon from Sunday, April 16, 2023Part 16 of the series "He Is God"

"Adonai - A Devoted Temple"Sermon from Sunday, April 23, 2023Part 17 of the series "He Is God"

"Adonai - Discovering Applied Wisdom"Sermon from Sunday, April 30, 2023Part 18 of the series "He Is God"

"The Story of Jonah: Calling"Sermon from Sunday, May 7, 2023Part 19 of the series "He Is God"

"Immanuel - Looking At The Man In The Mirror"Sermon from Sunday, March 27, 2023Part 13 of the series "He Is God"

"Adonai - The Humble King"Sermon from Sunday, April 2, 2023Part 14 of the series "He Is God"

"Adonai - Jesus Is The Key"Sermon from Sunday, April 9, 2023Part 15 of the series "He Is God"

Immanuel - God Is With YouSermon from Sunday, March 19, 2023Part 12 of the series He Is God

"Jehovah Jireh"Sermon from Sunday, February 5, 2023Part 6 of our series "He Is God"#downtowndavenport

"The Promised Land"Sermon from Sunday, January 29, 2023Part 5 of our series "He Is God"#downtowndavenport

8:31-32: This is the first time in Mark's gospel that Jesus reveals his death and resurrection, and Peter has a hard time with this news. Not only is he still not grasping all that is required of Jesus as Messiah, but he probably doesn't want to believe that his beloved rabbi and friend must suffer, be rejected and killed. 8:33: Jesus recognizes right away the work of Satan present (through the lips of one of his closest friends!). He responds with a rebuke (“Get behind me, Satan!”) and a warning ("For you are not setting your mind on the things of God but on things of man"). Contemplate what this warning implies for us today. When we set our minds on the things of man, we're more vulnerable to Satan's lies & temptations… and our view of Christ is muddied... But when we set our minds on the things of God, we see Jesus more clearly… we see Him for who He truly is.8:34-35: Jesus goes on to tell them: “deny [yourself], take up your cross and follow me.”  This isn't an easy task! We are called to shift our allegiance from SELF to CHRIST. The cost of following Jesus is EVERYTHING – our whole lives. It's an absolute surrender… complete and utter submission. But… in losing yourself, you GAIN Christ! Philippians 3:7-8 – the great paradox of the Christian life.For the disciples, the cross meant suffering, torture, death. It was how the Roman government at that time carried out executions… the condemned person would literally take up their cross and carry it on their back to the place of execution.  We tend to use this phrase very lightly, “that's just my cross to bear,” usually referencing something unpleasant or inconvenient. But that's such a misrepresentation of the cross! It's a death of self!9:2-3: Can you imagine being an eyewitness to Jesus' transfiguration… getting a glimpse of Him in all His holiness, immersed in the brightest light imaginable… No wonder Peter, John, and James were terrified (and confused!). Jesus just revealed to them that he must suffer many things, that he would be rejected and afflicted, and ultimately die on a cross… so what a beautiful contrast of the future hope. This vision gave the disciples a sneak peek into the glory that awaits Him. And this was such an impactful event that they referenced it later in their ministries as evidence that Jesus is who he says he is. (2 Peter 1:17-19).9:4: It's important that Elijah and Moses appear with the transfigured Jesus. Elijah represents the prophets, and Moses represents the law.  So together, they represent all that Jesus came to fulfill. They also each received visions of the Glory of God on top of a mountain. But both those cases were mere reflections of God's Glory, whereas what the disciples were seeing here was God's actual glory. Jesus doesn't REFLECT the brightness of God's glory… He IS God's glory. They may have spoken FROM God, but Jesus speaks AS God.9:7: This is the second time in Mark's gospel we hear God's audible voice. The first time was during Jesus' baptism when he spoke directly to His Son saying, “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." This time, God is speaking to the disciples, “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him!”  What a command! 9:18-19: In the next story, we learn the disciples are unable to heal the boy with the unclean spirit.  Jesus' words suggest that this is due to their lack of faith.  They weren't prayerful! They were relying on their own power and strength rather than the Lord's. (Convicting!)9:22-24: In contrast, the boy's father knows that Jesus is his only hope.  He knows faith comes only from the Lord, that only Jesus can create faith in his doubting heart. And he called out that doubt, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!” And what's ironic, is that this confession of unbelief is actually an example of belief… belief in prayer, faith in Jesus. We would do well do model this prayer!Attached is the painting I shared by Raphael, called Transfiguration. It ties all of these stories together so well, showing the great contrast between the holiness of the Lord and the brokenness of the world. His power and sovereignty. Our powerlessness and desperate need for Him.Reflection: In what ways have you seen the glory of God manifested in your daily life? Reflection: In what ways have you experienced the Lord helping with your unbelief?

8:31-32: This is the first time in Mark's gospel that Jesus reveals his death and resurrection, and Peter has a hard time with this news. Not only is he still not grasping all that is required of Jesus as Messiah, but he probably doesn't want to believe that his beloved rabbi and friend must suffer, be rejected and killed. 8:33: Jesus recognizes right away the work of Satan present (through the lips of one of his closest friends!). He responds with a rebuke (“Get behind me, Satan!”) and a warning ("For you are not setting your mind on the things of God but on things of man"). Contemplate what this warning implies for us today. When we set our minds on the things of man, we're more vulnerable to Satan's lies & temptations… and our view of Christ is muddied... But when we set our minds on the things of God, we see Jesus more clearly… we see Him for who He truly is.8:34-35: Jesus goes on to tell them: “deny [yourself], take up your cross and follow me.”  This isn't an easy task! We are called to shift our allegiance from SELF to CHRIST. The cost of following Jesus is EVERYTHING – our whole lives. It's an absolute surrender… complete and utter submission. But… in losing yourself, you GAIN Christ! Philippians 3:7-8 – the great paradox of the Christian life.For the disciples, the cross meant suffering, torture, death. It was how the Roman government at that time carried out executions… the condemned person would literally take up their cross and carry it on their back to the place of execution.  We tend to use this phrase very lightly, “that's just my cross to bear,” usually referencing something unpleasant or inconvenient. But that's such a misrepresentation of the cross! It's a death of self!9:2-3: Can you imagine being an eyewitness to Jesus' transfiguration… getting a glimpse of Him in all His holiness, immersed in the brightest light imaginable… No wonder Peter, John, and James were terrified (and confused!). Jesus just revealed to them that he must suffer many things, that he would be rejected and afflicted, and ultimately die on a cross… so what a beautiful contrast of the future hope. This vision gave the disciples a sneak peek into the glory that awaits Him. And this was such an impactful event that they referenced it later in their ministries as evidence that Jesus is who he says he is. (2 Peter 1:17-19).9:4: It's important that Elijah and Moses appear with the transfigured Jesus. Elijah represents the prophets, and Moses represents the law.  So together, they represent all that Jesus came to fulfill. They also each received visions of the Glory of God on top of a mountain. But both those cases were mere reflections of God's Glory, whereas what the disciples were seeing here was God's actual glory. Jesus doesn't REFLECT the brightness of God's glory… He IS God's glory. They may have spoken FROM God, but Jesus speaks AS God.9:7: This is the second time in Mark's gospel we hear God's audible voice. The first time was during Jesus' baptism when he spoke directly to His Son saying, “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." This time, God is speaking to the disciples, “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him!”  What a command! 9:18-19: In the next story, we learn the disciples are unable to heal the boy with the unclean spirit.  Jesus' words suggest that this is due to their lack of faith.  They weren't prayerful! They were relying on their own power and strength rather than the Lord's. (Convicting!)9:22-24: In contrast, the boy's father knows that Jesus is his only hope.  He knows faith comes only from the Lord, that only Jesus can create faith in his doubting heart. And he called out that doubt, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!” And what's ironic, is that this confession of unbelief is actually an example of belief… belief in prayer, faith in Jesus. We would do well do model this prayer!Attached is the painting I shared by Raphael, called Transfiguration. It ties all of these stories together so well, showing the great contrast between the holiness of the Lord and the brokenness of the world. His power and sovereignty. Our powerlessness and desperate need for Him.Reflection: In what ways have you seen the glory of God manifested in your daily life? Reflection: In what ways have you experienced the Lord helping with your unbelief?

Wake the Faith up Slayer… This is Garth Heckman with the David Alliance and you can reach me at TDAgiantslayer@gmail.com    !Garth5150!     Brought to you by wellbuiltbody.com Gym Apparel for men and women that rocks and shocks and ain't for everybody - but just might be for you. wellbuiltbody.com   There are quite a few boys in the gym and by boys I mean ages 17-25 who come up to me and ask me for advice on lifting. One young man in particular is trying hard to stand out, find his place… he suffers tragically with self esteem and awkwardness, but doesn't see it. When he does come to the gym, he kind of works out, he brings a young girl with even less self esteem as him along. He points out how to lift, when to lift, why he isn't so strong that day… etc.. But he will forever come up to me and ask me questions about lifting… he will share with me what new routine he is doing… always from some person on instagram. He will ask me why his deadlift isn't going up, or how to help his lock out on bench. And I will graciously tell him what to do… But I know he won't do it. So I finally  got to a place where I said “look skippy, you don't do what I tell you to do, so just keep lifting and you will figure it out, but Im out of advice”. He just passed it off and said yea ok cool.  Don't you hate when people ask you advice and they don't do it?  You know we often ask God for advice… but here is the problem - he doesn't give advice. He gives truth… pure solid, unapologetic truth. We don't get to choose wether it its the truth or not, wether it is good advice or not… we only get to choose if we will do it or not. If we don't do it, we have simply chosen to live a lie.  he is not a counselor  a consultant An advice column writer He is not a hunch or a magic spell book looking for the verse that best fits our problem and our answer… HE IS GOD.  Lets state the not so obvious… you don't need faith to obey God. WHAT? Oh we need faith o please God, we need faith in his word and faith in who he says he is, and we need faith to move mountains… but to simply obey him???? no faith required. WE see the ten commandments needed no faith to obey, When Christ gave the 2 commandments… love the Lord your god with all your mind body strength, soul spirit… and love your neighbor as yourself… Don't need faith to understand them or obey them. We just need to do them.  I think sometimes I must be that 17 year old kid that walks up to God in the gym and says “hey I uh don't seem to have as much intimacy as i want… whadddya think I should do?” And he rolls his eyes and says “have you thought about rather than listening to music all day long you listen to the bible, and spend a little more time listening to my still small voice. And maybe try to serve your wife more and not complain so much… And I say… oh yea, well right now I am trying harder and just hoping my wife gets a better attitude… blah blah blah… And god just shakes his head and says… whatever… I come up to him again and try to ask him some more advice and he says “look you don't need another faith routine, you don't need another book or seminar routine, you don't need another spiritual revelation, illumination or rationalization… you just need obedience. oh… yea, but that's not fun and its all on me… Yep, its all on you. Read pray and obey, every day… do that and you won't need much advice from God, you will be to busy obeying him. 

    ————   Wake the Faith up Slayer… This is Garth Heckman with the David Alliance and you can reach me at TDAgiantslayer@gmail.com    Brought to you by wellbuiltbody.com Gym Apparel for men and women that rocks and shocks and ain't for everybody - but just might be for you. wellbuiltbody.com   John 14:6 Jesus is the way the truth and the life   If you just look at the evidence of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ it is overwhelming… The evidence is insurmountable pointing to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. HE IS GOD!  There are truly intelligent people who do not believe in Jesus, and there are just as many truly intelligent people who do believe in Jesus. But the question is have you looked intelligently into who Jesus is?   Have you ever had the wrong impression of someone because of what someone else has said about them… or you know someone who is a weirdo and they say I am great friends with Stephanie, so you judge Stephanie according to that person - I mean if this guy is a weirdo, adn he knows Stephanie really well - than my Goodness son, stay the heck away from Stephanie… WE can do that with Christianity.    Christianity is the only belief system that hinges on the fact that Jesus is who he said he was, he would do what he said he would do - Die, Be dead for 3 days, Resurrect and ascend into heaven. Every other religion can have its leader proven a fraud and still stand on its lists of do's and don'ts. But if you take Jesus out of Christianity you lose the whole foundation of what it is.    He is the way the truth and the life… no man comes to the father except through him. He is either the way, the truth and the life… or he is not. He cannot be that for some people, but not for others… that is not logical. That is like saying 9x7 is 63, but only for some people.    The Hebrew understanding of the word truth was not just head knowledge, but heart knowledge… meaning you know it is true because it works - because of your experience. When Jesus says “I am the truth” he is saying you can not only know the truth but you can experience it as such by knowing me.    Again Truth GK alay-thea -the reality, the most certainty, it is verity, the soundness of proof. He is the way - that is truth He is the life - that is truth It is verifiable by proof of outcome… a sound judgement proven as most certain.   He is the way to life - that is the truth. Do you want more life? Zoe? life abundance? Well then the truth is that he is the way to that. Dig in, dig deep, dig long and hard…  he is worth it… truth! 

HE IS GOD!

Jesus IS the light of the world! What does that mean for us today? Join Julie Jenkins as we study John 8:12-30 together. ***** Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders' podcast. I'm your host Julie Jenkins. We have an exciting new offering for you at Women World Leaders! We would love to welcome all ladies, no matter where you live, to join us for our monthly leadership meetings on Zoom. We meet the third Monday of each month at 7pm ET. So, if you are listening to this soon after it is released, our next meeting is Monday, September 19th. You will have to do the math to figure out what time 7pm ET is in your time zone – or, if you're like me, you'll just Google it! We do recognize that some of you may have to stay up late or get up early, and we are sorry about that! All I can say is that in heaven, we will surely all be on the same time zone – that isn't biblical at all – just my hope! At our Leadership meetings, our dear Kimberly Hobbs gives updates on what is going on in the ministry, and we receive a teaching geared toward Christian leaders in today's world. You will also have the opportunity to meet other ladies from around the world who are involved in the ministry and see how you can connect. To get the Zoom link, register at womenworldleaders.com and we will email you the link.  And then set your calendar alarm for the third Monday of every month at 7pm ET. If you are new to the podcast, I want to welcome you – we do offer three different podcasts in one. This is our Wednesday edition, where we take a few minutes to open the Bible together, study the Scripture, and ask God to show us what He wants us to know today. We are currently walking through the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – as we look at Jesus' life in a chronological fashion. Today's teaching comes from John, chapter 8:12-30. I invite you to open your Bible if you are able, but if you driving, walking, or even doing dishes as you listen, we simply ask you to open your hearts. Before we begin, let's pray… Dear Heavenly Father – we do open our hearts to you as we open your Word. God, I ask that you speak through me, I long for you to be pleased with this teaching, so I ask you to take control of my thoughts and my tongue. God, we also pray for each listener – no matter where she is or what she is going through. We trust that you will speak directly to her and that she will receive a revelation of your glory. Thank you in advance. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. If you are a regular listener, you might have noticed that last week we veered off our path a bit. We returned to an earlier teaching where Jesus' gave us the wonderful instruction that we are to be light and salt. That was done purposefully as this week we return to Jesus' teaching in the temple courts after the Festival of the Tabernacles when He tells the people that HE is THE light of the world. Let's begin in John chapter 8, verse 12 from the New Living Translation. 12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” As we look at this statement, let's attempt to transport ourselves back in time. It may be difficult to imagine, in today's world, a time without electricity. We have to think really hard to imagine total darkness. I don't know about you, but in my bedroom with my blackout curtains which prevent the neighbor's floodlight from lighting my room at night, we have multiple sources of light – even in the supposed dark of night. The clock from the bathroom light spills into my room and the blue light from the phone charger on my nightstand glows…not to mention the light from the kitchen that randomly appears under my door as my teenage son decides to raid the cupboard for a midnight snack. In today's day, we are rarely in total darkness. But back in Jesus' day? The darkness was DARK. And remember, the people were at the temple just finishing up their celebration of the feast of tabernacles – remembering the Israelite's trek through the desert! Now, THAT must have been DARK being in the middle of the desert at night. But if you remember the story from the Old Testament, it wasn't dark, because God lit the way by showing His presence in a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud during the day. We often think of these pillars as guiding the Israelites, when the pillar moved, the people moved. When it stopped moving, the people set up camp. But not only was the pillar a visual reminder of God's presence and a practical GPS, but it also offered protection. Remember – they were in a desert, where, in the day, it would reach 140 or 150 degrees, and at night, it could fall below freezing. The Israelites NEEDED the cloud to shade them from the sun, and they NEEDED the fire to give them heat at night. This would have been top of mind for those listening to Jesus' words as they had JUST celebrated the Festival and had golden lamps burning brightly reminding them of God's glorious presence among their ancestors – a presence that they themselves longed for. So, Jesus announces – I AM the light – the One you have been waiting for. If you follow me, I will light your path and lead you to life. Verse 13… 13 The Pharisees replied, “You are making those claims about yourself! Such testimony is not valid.” Remember the mindset of the Pharisees – they had tried everything to get Jesus to be quiet and to get the people to stop listening to Him, but nothing had worked. So they stoop even lower, and begin to ridicule Him. This kind of reminds me of a schoolyard fight, when the bully has nothing credible to attack with, and says something unintelligible, like, “I know you are, but what am I?” – that never made sense to me! Anyway…Jesus responds… … “These claims are valid even though I make them about myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don't know this about me. 15 You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. 16 And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone. The Father[a] who sent me is with me. 17 Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact.[b] 18 I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other.” Jesus and God the Father agreed. That makes a credible consensus. As Christians, we should go to our Father with EVERY decision and step we take. We have such a limited view from our earthly bodies – but God can see it all. And He knows all. Not only should we go to Him with every decision, but we can trust His answer! Let's think about the Israelites in the desert again for a minute. They trusted God's visible presence in the cloud and the fire. When the cloud moved, they moved. When it stayed still, they stayed still. On the surface, we can think – wow…they were REALLY obedient…and they were. But the truth is…they HAD to follow God's leading in ORDER to live. If they didn't follow under the shade of the cloud, it wouldn't be long before the scorching sun killed them. And if the pillar of fire got too far away, they would freeze to death in the desert nights. God WAS their key to them LIVING. And much the same way, JESUS is our key to life. By not following Him, we WILL die. This time, the Pharisees responded with a dirty, nasty question… 19 “Where IS your father?” they asked. This was a dig at Jesus. Nothing more and nothing less. They knew Jesus was the son of Joseph…at the very minimum, this question was reminding Jesus that his father, Joseph, was dead. At the worst, they were reminding Jesus that Joseph was NOT his father and Mary, Jesus' mother, had gotten pregnant out of wedlock. Truly a disgusting dig if it had any merit, but in reality, it was quite a foolish question. Jesus answered, “Since you don't know who I am, you don't know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.” 20 Jesus made these statements while he was teaching in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, because his time[c] had not yet come. God was STILL protecting Jesus…and Jesus kept teaching…verse 21… 21 Later Jesus said to them again, “I am going away. You will search for me but will die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going.” 22 The people[d] asked, “Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean, ‘You cannot come where I am going'?” We can wonder here if the people were trying to understand, but when we look at their question, we uncover their pride. The Jewish people had a firm belief that those who committed suicide would go to hell. Today, we know that Jesus' death and resurrection covers ALL our sins – and that when we give our lives to Christ, NOTHING can separate us from eternity in heaven. But the listeners that day were living under the law – they were trying REALLY HARD to get to God – by following every law and completing every sacrifice to a T. And apparently, they assumed that they were doing a pretty awesome job, because they thought that if they couldn't go where Jesus was going, that must mean that He was going to commit suicide and go to hell, because SURELY, THEY were going to heaven. Seriously – how is Jesus so patient with them? How is he so patient with us?? Verse 23… 23 Jesus continued, “YOU are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. 24 That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I claim to be,[e] you will die in your sins.” 25 “Who are you?” they demanded. Jesus replied, “The one I have always claimed to be.[f] 26 I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won't. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful.” 27 But they still didn't understand that he was talking about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I am he.[g] I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. 29 And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.” 30 Then many who heard him say these things believed in him. Jesus IS the light of the world. He is God with us. He is our guide. And He is our ever-present protection. Beyond that, Jesus is the one who was lifted up, killed on a cross, descended to hell for three days as He paid for OUR sins, and rose again, overcoming death, once for all time. We can trust Jesus – with our daily decisions. We can trust Jesus to lead us where we should go. We can trust Jesus to protect us. And when we give our lives to Him, when we believe in our hearts that He IS God and we profess that with our mouths, we can trust Him with our lives. Because He will lead us to our TRUE promised land – an eternity with God in the heavenly realms. Let's confess together shall we? Dear Jesus – we give our lives and ourselves to you right now! You are LORD and we are honored to serve you and follow you wherever you lead. We know that we are sinners, and without you and your saving grace, we are doomed to live in darkness for eternity, apart from you. Thank you for being our light in the dark, our protection, and most importantly, our Lord and Savior. Thank you for coming to earth to bring us home to you. We love you and we give you our hearts. And all God's people said, Amen! Have a beautiful day!

Bro. Doug Foster presents "He Is God" from Deuteronomy 7, during a worship service at Immanuel Baptist Church, Florence, Ky. Please visit us at 7183 Pleasant Valley Road Florence KY 41042, or call us at (859) 586-6829. Church links: Website: https://www.ibcflorence.com Daily Devotions: https://ibcflorenceky.wordpress.com/follow/ Free App: http://www.ibcflorence.com/ibc-app Our entire list of recent sermons: https://www.ibcflorence.com/recent-sermons Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ibcflorence Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ibcflorenceky Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ibcflorence/ Podcasts: https://soundcloud.com/user-658781358 Live Stream: https://www.youtube.com/ibcflorence/live Instant Message: https://m.me/ibcflorenceky We would love to know how to pray for you! Romans 10:9

Stop rejecting the help God sends just because you don't like his choice of vessel! Stop telling God how to help you. HE IS GOD! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chanika-morris/message

Dont be afraid… STOP, CEASE STRIVING, BE STILL and know HE IS GOD! What does this mean and how do we deal with that in our HUSTLY/HURRY/BUSY/ world?   Listen as we wrestle through this counter-cultural idea in Psalms 46   “Be still, and know that I am God.”   All glory be to Christ our King!   Sermon by: Pastor David Newton   ------------   You are welcome and loved!   ------------   If you need prayer or help in anyway please reach out to us! We are a church that desires to follow Jesus and seek His Kingdom as one body together in Him through loving Him with all we have and loving others.   In all we do we seek to... worship the Lord passionately, connect with each other authentically, grow to know the Lord deeply, and go and share the gospel boldly as One Body in Christ.     Maybe the Lord has brought you to this message for a reason.   "And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." -Matthew 28:18-20  

Lisa shares truths about why God's Word is so important to believers. Psalm 46's theme is God is always there. He provides refuge, strength and help. He grants us peace and He is ever present/ always present. God's power is there to help us in times or trial and trouble. We find peace in knowing the ultimate victory belongs to Him. He is our rescuer. He is a personal God who calls us to trust Him, pause, BE STILL and to remember that HE IS GOD. Listen in today. We hope you will be encouraged to pick up your Bible and get to know the God, the Lord Almighty.

  Questions & Answers We are starting a Question & Answer series. Do you have questions? It is ok to have questions? We should seek answers to our questions. Instead of taking a text and preaching to you, in this “Questions and Answers” series we will be taking your questions and answering them live. Anonymous Text Line We have set up an anonymous text line for you to send in your questions. 214 – 856 – 0550 Please send us your questions and then come join us in-person or online July 10th as we kick off this series.     Awkward Introductions Although awkward, introductions are necessary.   The creation story of Genesis God creates Adam & then Eve. God introduces Adam to Adam by naming him. God introduces Adam to Eve… and Adam cries, “Woah Man” (woman). We never really have an official God introduction where he reaches out a handshake and says, “Hello, I am God, Your Father and creator.” God reveals who He is, through fulfilling a need. Adam & Eve needed a creator, and in fulfilling that need, God introduces Himself.   Adam and Eve had it made in the shade. They had everything they needed in the garden. Everything they needed came from God. God was everything they needed.     It all went wrong when they reached out toward someone else… the serpent. The serpent was not concerned with the needs of Adam & Eve. The serpent was concerned with his own selfish desires.   Instead of God – the serpent.   How would God handle this situation?God loved mankind, but mankind had rejected Him.   How would you handle rejection? Burn it all down? Revenge? Lower your standards? Grovel & beg?   God keeps re-introducing Himself to mankind through our needs and weakness.   What if you had to reintroduce yourself to someone repeatedly? Movies: “50 first dates” or “Groundhog Day”The Bible is the story of God re-introducing Himself to mankind over & over again.   Awkward Introductions In Exodus 3, God awkwardly re-introduces Himself to mankind as Adam and Eve stand nakedly before Him. God speaks to Moses from a burning bush and tells Moses to set the slaves free in Egypt. Moses then asks this question…   Exodus 3:13 (NIV) Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, ‘What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?”   Moses is talking to God from a burning bush and basically asks… What is your name again? EMBARASSING. 2000 years after creating mankind, we need a reintroduction.   14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am' has sent me to you.'”     God re-introduces Himself as “I AM.” What a strange way to introduce yourself.   I AM (Exodus 3:14) I exist, have always existed, and will always exist. Self-existent. I need no help existing. It requires more info…  I AM what?  I AM fill in the blank.   God is the I AM… but it requires more info.   God also introduces Himself as the HE IS.       As early as Genesis 2, God is introduced by the name “HE IS.”   HE IS Yahweh   I AM & HE IS? What is the difference? (1ST and 2nd forms of speech - perspective)  Say, “HE IS YAHWEH.”   Yahweh means HE IS. Used 6,521 in scripture and another 50 times it is us with the shortening “YAH.” (Exodus 15:2 for example) HalleluYAH means highest praise to YAHWEH – HE IS.   Say “HE IS YAHWEH.”   God invites us to call Him Yahweh… but this still requires more info?  HE IS what?   Genesis 2:4 (NIV) This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.   The word Lord is Yahweh. We have translated it LORD because the words “HE IS” would confuse the translation.   The Word God = Elohim   Yahweh Elohim | HE IS God- Genesis 2:4   This is the first compound name of God in scripture. 2 words are put together to reveal God's identity – HE IS GOD.   When Humanity needed a creator God to bring life to the universe, God came up and introduced Himself as YAHWEH ELOHIM – HE IS Go...

Pastor Bo shares more on the importance of worship and honoring God in our daily lives. Our relationship with God grows stronger when we can worship Him simply because HE IS GOD! Enjoy the message today! For more info about us, you can visit www.rlmacon.com or if you would like to support ministry by giving. You can visit www.rlmacon.com/give

Jesus is NOT the chief of demons. He IS God's agent.Jesus is NOT driving people out of the Kingdom of God. He IS offering everyone a place inside it.Jesus is NOT leading you astray. He IS trying to get you to choose to live the life you were created to live.Today we examine the next section of Matthew 12 and see what happens when the religious elite of his day decide it is more important to destroy Jesus than it is to listen to what he has to say.Comments or questions? Post them here or email Captain Roger:roger.mccort@usw.salvationarmy.orgWant to give to support the work of The Salvation Army in Nevada County, CA? Give here:https://bit.ly/donateGVWant to listen to today's message or any of our past Worship in Study times? Our podcast and archive are available on all popular platforms, through your favorite podcasting app, or at this link:http://bit.ly/shieldonlineGrace and peace to you all.

Jerod Baird teaches this week on The Great Commission, and passages that point to it throughout the Old & New Testaments. “Go, Shout it. Go and scream it from the mountains, go and tell the masses, that He IS GOD!”

Focus On Going Forward The Lord is moving his people forward in this hour! Holy Moments are about to spring forth and we have the great privilege of being first-hand witnesses of God's glory about to be revealed in the earth. Refuse the feeling that tells you to shrink back. Instead, embrace the idea of going forward. Why? Because what God is doing and about to do is IN FRONT OF YOU! Consider these thoughts: • Don't let anything take your eyes off of what Jesus is doing. • Do not quit pressing forward toward what God has promised you. • Do not let your eyes remain Focused on the giants around you. • Be willing to press into prayer and battle your way through to victory. • Know that the Lord, HE IS GOD, and the Lord is FOR YOU! • He is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord your Provider. • He is Jehovah Sabaoath, the Lord of Hosts, the Lord of Heaven's Armies! Visit the Remnant online at: https://RemnantWarriorsRise.com The Remnant Warriors Rise Podcast is hosted by Larry Shankle. • • • #ReadyToMove #GodIsAble #RemnantWarriorsRise #RemnantPrayerWarriorsRise #Remnant #RemnantChurch #Prayer #PrayerWarrior #PrayerPodcast #Bible #WordOfGod #Jesus #GloryofGod #IntercessoryPrayer #SeekJesus #watchman #Revival #Harvest #SpiritualWarfare #Amen Follow me on Instagram: @pastorgrandviewchurch.online Follow me on Twitter: @LarryShankle Our YouTube Channel is: Remnant Warriors Rise Podcast

Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, setting Himself up for persecution. But It was all in His plan! The message He shared when He was given the stage is the most important message of all! (John 5:16-30) ********* TRANSCRIPT Dear Most Holy God, we come to you today in awe of who you are. You are the God who sees us and who knows every last detail of our lives – and yet you love us anyway. In fact, Jesus, you loved us enough to die for us. We often glibly say, “I would die for that” – but you said it and meant it. You were persecuted and killed, unjustly and unfairly. You allowed your life to be taken in a painful and inhumane way so that you could take death on for each of us, coming back to life three days later, and conquering death once for all time – that we ALL might have the opportunity to spend eternity with you. God, as we delve into today's scripture, I ask that you be more real to us than ever. Help us see and understand your heart more than we have before. Guide my words and guide our understanding. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. I mentioned at the beginning that this is an important lesson, and I cannot state that strongly enough. It's also deep…so I'm going to ask you to really focus as you listen. Last week, we saw Jesus heal a man who had been ill for 38 years. Jesus asked him if he wanted to get well…and he gave an excuse that getting well was not a possibility. But Jesus healed him anyway. Because Jesus has the power to heal and to choose whom He will heal. Today, as we continue our study into John 5:16-30, we hear Jesus, in His own words, proclaim the sheer magnificence of His healing power and explain where that power comes from. John 5:16 from the New Living Translation begins… 16 So the Jewish leaders began harassing[a] Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules.  Ugh…Jesus!! You knew the Jewish leaders would come after you for healing on the Sabbath! Why couldn't you have healed the man on a different day! I've gotta admit…sometimes I feel like Peter – questioning God! But c'mon…! In a Bible study recently we were exploring the question – would you rather have the resurrected Jesus who has gone to heaven and left the Holy Spirit to dwell in you – as we have now? Or would you rather walk with Jesus in the flesh on this earth – able to touch Him and have a one-on-one conversation with Him? That's a hard question! I like the Holy Spirit…but how cool would it be to take a walk with Jesus? To call Him on the phone when you are having a hard day and ask Him to go for coffee? To be able to say – I'm going to spend the afternoon with Jesus – He always helps me through things. Did Jesus HAVE set the wheels in motion to lead to His death?? He was God…why didn't He stick around for us! Hmmm…we will explore that later… But for right now, I want to recognize that by healing that man on the Sabbath, Jesus knew EXACTLY what He was doing! He WAS opening a can of worms, giving the Pharisees ammunition to take Him to His death. But He was also setting the stage for an incredible teaching opportunity…. Verse 17… 17 But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” With that one statement, Jesus proclaimed HIMSELF equal with God! You see, Jesus didn't say…my Father in Heaven…nor did He use the acceptable formal term “OUR” Father…no – Jesus claimed familiarity with God. One definition of the term ‘my Father' that Jesus used states, “one who has infused his own spirit into others.” So Jesus claimed familiarity with God…And THEN He put Himself on equal footing with God saying…”He is always working, and so am I.” The Pharisees had added strict and ridiculous rules to what constituted prohibited-work on the Sabbath, BUT they also acknowledged that GOD works on the Sabbath – in fact He works constantly. And they reasoned that it was okay for God to work on the Sabbath. Instead of proclaiming that healing and caring for others is beyond the Sabbath rules of work, Jesus stated that since it was ok for GOD to work on the Sabbath, it was ok for Him as well. You can see how this was blaspheme in the eyes of the Pharisees. Jesus was first, proclaiming familiarity with God, and then, He was putting HIMSELF on equal footing with God… Verse 18…  18 So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God. Now that He had their attention, Jesus further explained His own identity…proclaiming that He and God are inseparable, and His power is greater than they could imagine. He continued in verse 19… … “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. Building the tension or the excitement, depending on how you look at it… Jesus reveals that not only is He familiar with God, on equal footing with Him, and the two are inseparable…but He now proclaims Himself as the life-giver…verse 21…  21 For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants. Only God can give life. Jesus agrees and acknowledges this. But in the same breath, He states that He Himself has the power to give life to anyone He wants. This is where we begin to see that Jesus IS God. You see, our God is a Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three in one. A fact that is simply too much for our minds to comprehend – but is truth, nonetheless. For if God is the source of life, yet Jesus is also the life-giver who chooses who He gives life to, not only is Jesus familiar with, on equal footing with, and inseparable from God, Jesus IS God. And Jesus substantiates this fact further… not only is He the life-giver, but Jesus explains that He is also the judge…again…a role reserved for God alone. Verse 22…  22 In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, 23 so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him. Let me repeat that… Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him. To honor God, we MUST honor Jesus … as the Son of God, and as God Himself. We must respect His power and authority…His power and authority that comes from God and IS God's… And Jesus teaches, there are ramifications involved in choosing to honor Jesus as God… Verse 24… 24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. When we choose to honor Jesus, believing that He IS God, even though we sin – which we all inevitably do and will do – we will NOT be condemned – or sentenced to death –  but we will enter into eternal life WITH God. Because Jesus has chosen to give us life. Allow me to simplify this: When we believe in Jesus as God, Jesus, who has the power, will give us eternal life. That's a pretty good deal! All we have to do is believe and honor Jesus as God! Jesus explains this power further…verse 25… 25 “And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it's here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. 26 The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son. 27 And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man.[b] 28 Don't be so surprised! (I love that! I imagine Jesus was responding to the shocked look on their faces…) Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God's Son, 29 and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, But it IS an all-or-nothing proposition. Jesus continues, in verse 29..  and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment. 30 I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will. Whew! Do you see why this is an important teaching? Jesus had set the scene… He had healed a man who didn't even believe He could be healed. Jesus alone made the choice and gifted the man with healing. And He did it on the Sabbath…in front of the Pharisees…whom He knew would question and attack Him. He did it all so that He could share the truth of who He was. Jesus is God's Son. Jesus is God. Jesus is the life-giver who not only offers eternal life, but who offers ABUNDANT eternal life to all those who proclaim Him as Lord. And Jesus is also the judge, who will NOT accept as holy those who do NOT come to Him in obedience and submission. So back to that Bible-study question…would I rather have Jesus beside me in the flesh or have the Holy Spirit always with me. Does it matter? Jesus and the Holy Spirit are both God! Even though Jesus is currently not available in the flesh for a phone call or a cup of coffee, He IS always available, via a whisper or a thought. We CAN have a discussion with Him in prayer and hear His voice as we read scripture. The Holy Spirit also empowers us to reach out to each other on God's behalf – to comfort, guide, teach, and love. One day I WILL hug Jesus…my life-giver, my judge, my friend…my GOD! But until that time, I can hold onto His hands, close my eyes and gaze into His eyes, and listen for His voice, because I HAVE accepted Jesus as my God and He has welcomed me into eternal life. Let's pray… Dear Most Precious Holy God…how can we say thank you enough? God I ask that you open the eyes and hearts of each individual listening so that we all may recognize and claim Jesus as our God, our Lord and Savior, our judge and life-giver. I thank you for this teaching today. I thank you for your life and your resurrection that brings us into your presence. Guide us and lead us as we walk through this day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.  

Do you know who Pastor Mark was just talking about? Today he'll share about the “Angel of the Lord”. Many scholars have studied and come to an interesting conclusion – this angel of the Lord is actually Jesus! You may think Jesus only came on the scene in the New Testament, but He's been there since the beginning! He IS God, after all! This may all be confusing to you, so stay tuned – Pastor Mark will explain this more in his message today. You'll learn about Jesus' involvement throughout the Bible as you continue to read it too – He's found everywhere! And Scripture reminds you now, as it did back then, to honor Jesus and obey Him.

WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. LOL.  "If God Loved Me, He Wouldn't Have Allowed My Car To Be Stolen!" "If God Loved Me, I Wouldn't Have Lost My Job!"  Statements Like These, Point To The Fact That One Doesn't Know God, Or His Character.   GOD LOVES US MORE THAN YOU COULD EVEN IMAGINE! ONCE YOU GRASP A SMIDGEN OF UNDERSTANDING ON HOW MUCH HE LOVES YOU, IT BECOMES VERY VERY HARD NOT TO LOVE HIM BACK. Romans 8:28 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. God Is Sovereign. He Is In Control Of All The Circumstances Of His Creation. God Has His Purposes And They Will Be Fulfilled. He Is God! TUNE IN TO LEARN MORE OF GOD'S NATURE AND WHY WE SOMETIMES GO THROUGH TURMOIL IN OUR LIVES.   --- 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/awakeministries/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/awakeministries/support

We should always strive to acknowledge the greatness of our God and how by his expressed will the worlds and all that are in them are the work of his hands. For there is nothing that has been created that has not been created by him. He is the maintainer of all creation and shall always be worthy of our Reverence, Respect, Worship, and Praise because He IS GOD. 

Scripture For Today:Matthew 26:42“He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”God's Word is God's Will pt 7We've been doing a deep dive on your need to study the Word of God for yourself and not relying only on the teachings of me, your pastor or other ministry leaders your entire life. YOU need to be studying the Word on a daily basis in order for you to survive and thrive in this fallen world on a daily basis. Amen! In yesterday's study session, our subject verse was from Mark 14:35, where we see Jesus asking the Father that, if there was any other way of doing what was about to happen (going to the Cross), he would prefer that. But then, as soon as He said it, He said, basically, “Let your WILL be done.”  In other words, if there is no other way, “let's do it you way.” Today, we read the same account, but from the Book of Matthew. Notice this is now the second time Jesus prayed this to the Father. There MUST have been some doubt and unbelief presenting itself to Jesus while He was praying about what is about to happen. THERE MUST HAVE BEEN! The Bible says Jesus was tempted in all ways, just like we are.  Here, the devil is tempting Him. From the text, we can assume he is whispering in the ears of Jesus, “You don't have to do this. God is capable of doing it in any way He chooses. IF you are the Son of God, don't you think He could swing some other plan into operation? I mean, after all, He IS God – and do anything!  Haven't you been preaching on that? Just ask Him to find some other way because you just do not want to do this thing…” Why do you think Jesus prayed, “Let you will be done?”  He was hoping the Holy Spirit would tell Him there WAS another way… but when there was no immediate response, Jesus KNEW He had His answer. Go with the plan of God that had been predetermined from before the foundation of the world. Amen! We will all have similar opportunities to question God's Will in certain situations. There are Muslim brothers and sisters in Christ who are faced with, basically, the same question on a daily basis.  “Reject your claim the Jesus is Lord and the only way to Heaven – or you will die!” Each and every single day, Christians are being put to death simply for their Faith. Usually, here in America, we look at it as happening “over there” and not “over here.”  But those times have already changed – for the worse – if you are a Christian! Christians are being polarized, demonized, shunned, ridiculed and BLAMED for everything going wrong in America right now!  If we preach the Bible – we are labeled as racist, homophobic, gender phobic, transphobic, and whatever other labels are the “Words of the Day” in hell.  The time has come where Christians, here in the United States, are beginning to see how difficult it is for our Muslim brethren to take their public stands of Faith in Jesus, despite the hardships or consequences.  Christians here in America are basically impotent Christians. Weak, limp, unable to function as designed. Unable to bring joy or pleasure to anyone else's life. Unable to influence another into making the True decisions for salvation in Christ alone. Unable to impact today's society, political processes or culture in positive ways… And when we try, we are demonized, threatened, lose our jobs, jeopardize our health and our families well-being.  And these things are just starting here!  Soon, we WILL be just about like any other Communist nation or Muslim nation – probably a combination of the two. Then, we will long for the days where we could read our own Bibles and attend worship services. Instead, we will be on our own. Churches closed, preaching the Word outlawed or severely limited, etc. So, as we close for today, I want to pray that YOU will take the stand of Faith...

Wednesday Night Service

1 Kings 18:30-40 ESV 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34 And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. 35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water. 36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” 40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there. THE LORD, HE IS GOD. While Baal was silent, God had won the reverence of the people in a highly spectacular fashion. First, Elijah asked them to come closer to him. There are just just acts of God that are too precious to miss. They were so distant to God for having been told to embrace Baal. Like Elijah, let us usher people towards knowing God. Elijah then did repair the destroyed altar of the Lord. An altar neglected over the years had surely worn and broken. Have we neglected our personal worship with God so that we need to restore it? Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,”[v.31] This must be a reminder to all of them that as one covenant people they should worship the only true God. And, Elijah did what was unexpected. What did the people think when he made troughs around the altar and poured water unto the pieces of wood and bullock for three times? He poured water unto the sacrifice before he prayed for the Lord to send the fire. The Lord does not need our help through manipulations, cutting corners and trickeries, does He? Thus, when the people had encountered God firsthand, so close and personal, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” Let God be God. As His servants like Elijah, our role is to obey God, nothing more, nothing less and nothing else. As a leaven to the dough, we should neither intervene nor introduce anything coming from the flesh,no matter how noble is it. God does not need neither our opinions nor suggestions, does He. Thus, in presenting the gospel, Paul had said, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” [1 Cor 2:1-5]

Saints ! Say to your soul, "soul of mine, take courage in your God ! He is the help that you need ! " How often do we allow the circumstances to sway our belief in the goodness of our God ? We should remember all of the times when the situation was difficult, and the Lord saw us through to a blessed end. Does he ever fail to perfect all that concerns us ? It may not appear at the moment that we want it to, but God CANNOT be late ! He IS GOD ! God is not capable of an error of any kind ! So why are you discouraged ? Why are you depressed and sad ? REALLY ???  Don't be upset ! Don't be discouraged ! Don't be depressed !  EXPECT GOD TO ACT ! Colossians 3:15 King James Version (KJV) 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called.... and be ye thankful.  

Praise God because He IS God! The MOG open up with thankfulness in a recent breakthrough...His faithfulness...and the importance of understanding the meaning of Jesus being crucified with two felons. Song by Jus Josef(Gitemjay) "Mars"

Hey Friend. We're almost out of our first month of 2021!

Transcript(the following transcript may contain errors)Episode IntroWhat is the most important question of theology? Surely, it's the question, who is God? Who is the God who has revealed himself in the Bible and in Jesus? Who is he? What is he like? What has he done and what is he doing? Those are the questions of what is often called theology proper. The part of theology that looks at the person of God.Knowing God is the most important thing that we can ever do. Knowing God is not arbitrary or irrelevant. It's not a point of academic interest. We want to know God because he made us and sustains us. We want to know God because God wants us to know him. We want to know God because he loves us. And we want to know God because knowing God helps us to love God, relate to God and enjoy God.In season 1 of Thinking Theology we looked at what theology is and then we looked at the foundation of theology which is the Bible. In season 2 of Thinking Theology we're beginning by going to the very heart of theology which is God himself. In the next few episodes will be examining who God is, what he's like, what he does, and the three persons of the trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.But today we're beginning with the core facts of the God who is.Podcast IntroHi. My name is Karl Deenick. I'm a pastor, theologian, writer, and Bible college lecturer. Welcome to Thinking Theology, a podcast where we think about theology, the Bible and the Christian life, not just for the sake of it, but so we can love God more, with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.The God Who IsAs Don Carson points out in his book, The God Who Is There, one of the most assumptions of the Bible is that God simply is.[1] The Bible begins with the words, “In the beginning God…”. In the beginning, before anything else was made, God simply was.God is what we call, self-existent. Or as Jesus says, God has “life in himself” (John 5:26). He depends on no one else or nothing else to exist. In the beginning, God simply was. He describes himself to Moses as “I am” (Exod 3:14). He just is. He always was and he always will be.But although God just is, everything else that exists has been made and has been made by God. So Paul writes in Colossians of how God the Father created everything that is through God the Son. Paul writes,The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15–17 NIV)Everything, whether we can see it or not, was made by God the Father through the Son, Jesus. Although Jesus is described as the firstborn over all creation, that doesn't mean that the Father created Jesus first. Rather it's about inheritance. Everything that is, belongs to Jesus. He has the inheritance rights for everything as God's eternal Son. “Firstborn” is really another way of saying “heir”.We see too in Isaiah 40 that God is the maker of everything and he rules over everything. It says in verse 25,“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. (Isaiah 40:25–26 NIV)God is not just another part of the creation. He is not simply another thing that was made. God simply is. He existed before everything else and he made everything that we see, hear and touch.That counters a common idea that some people have of God. Some people think that didn't make everything but God is in everything, or, in fact, that everything is God. That idea is called “pantheism”. It's a bit like the force in Star Wars. The force is part of everything. In that view, everything is part of the one divine reality. It's the same idea which undergirds Hinduism.In pantheism, everything is a little bit god. The chair would be a little bit god, your cat would be a little bit god. You and I would be a little bit god.But the God we meet in the pages of the Bible is not like that. God says in Isaiah 40, not that he is part of everything, but that he made everything. And he's distinct from everything. No one can compare to him. No one is like him. No one is equal to him. He's separate. He's exalted above the highest heavens. He doesn't need anything in our world or from us. No, instead, people are like grasshoppers to him, like tiny insects. And he brings the great and powerful rulers of the world to nothing.But if one error is to see God as part of everything, another sort of opposite error is to see God as totally distant and disconnected from the world. That view of God is called “deism”. In deism, God made the world but then left the world to get on with its own business.The classic illustration is of a watchmaker and a watch. The God of deism made the world like a watchmaker makes a watch, and then he sort of wound it up and let it go. So in deism, God is the maker of the world, but having made the world, he then has nothing more to do with the world. In deism, God is for all intents and purposes irrelevant to our daily lives.But again, the God we meet in the Bible is not like that. Again in Isaiah 40:27, it says,Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. (Isaiah 40:27–28 NIV)God says he's not ignorant of what is going on in his world. We might sometimes feel as though God has no idea what's going on in our life.” But God says, “That's not true.” God knows everything and is involved in everything.And not only is God not ignorant of our individual lives and individual circumstances, he is intimately involved in his world and with his people. He gives strength to the weak and comforts the afflicted. So verse 29 of Isaiah 40 continues,He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:29–31 NIV)The Bible is full of accounts of God intervening in the world. He hasn't left the world to run its course. He is guiding and shepherding everything to achieve his appointed purpose. The most obvious example of God's intimate love and care for the world in the incarnation—in God coming into our world in the person of Jesus. In Jesus, God entered the daily grind of our world, to rescue people. God did that because he loves and cares for his world.The God of the Bible, the God who is there, is both high and lifted up, far above everything, in control of everything. But he is also intimately and personally involved in everything as well.He Alone is GodBut God is not only a god. He is not one of many competing gods. The Bible shows us that God is the God. He is the only God.Later in 45:18, God says,“I am the Lord, and there is no other.… Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save.… And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. (Isaiah 45:18b–21 NIV)God says that he is God alone, and there is no other God apart from him.That idea lies at the heart of the first of the Ten Commandments, too:“You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3 NIV)God says there is no other God besides him. There is no other Saviour, no other rescuer.And there is no one else to whom we owe our allegiance. God says in Isaiah 45:22,“Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They  will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength.'” All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But all the descendants of Israel will find deliverance in the Lord and will make their boast in him. (Isaiah 45:22–25 NIV)Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess, eventually, that God is God and there is no other. Everyone will do that either willingly or unwillingly.Because God is God, he will not let his glory or authority be taken by anyone else.Part of the very definition of what it means to be God is that we owe him our allegiance.But the problem is that as human beings we seem to be incurably drawn to putting other things in the place of God.John Calvin famously said that our hearts are idol factories. That is, we constantly invent and seek out things other than God to serve and trust.In Isaiah 45, God talks about people making idols of wood. And people would pray to those bits of timber as if those dead bits of wood could save them. Or people would bow down to those bits of wood and venerate them as gods when they're nothing more than inanimate objects.Of course, we may not be so stupid these days as to pray to and bow down to bits of timber, but we can easily install other things in the place of God. Things we think will save us and so we trust them rather than trust God. Things like money or people. It can also be things that we end up worshipping and giving our lives to. Things like our careers or dreams or aspirations. We worship and serve those rather than God.But no one else deserves our allegiance and nothing else deserves our worship except God alone.God is God, and there is no God but him.He Is God and We Are NotYet perhaps the greatest competitor for the position of God is us. We ourselves are the greatest competitor to God, not in the sense that we give God a run for his money, but in the sense that we are most prone to try and make ourselves god. But that is plainly ridiculous as the Bible points out.We see that in Isaiah 40, in verses 12–14,Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord, or instruct the Lord as his counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding? (Isaiah 40:12–14 NIV)God's point is: who of you can claim to do what I've done? Who can compete with God's power? What human being has measured the water in the sea or the expanse of the universe? Who of us has put the mountains on our kitchen scales to see how much they weighed or counted the grains of sands on the beach, even just on one beach? Or who of us has such insight into the world that we could give God advice on what to do? Who of us has ever helped out God with maths problem or helped him solve a scientific equation? None of us.And yet we so easily put ourselves in the place of God. We trust in our own power rather than God's power. We take our own advice rather than God's advice.We so easily try to assume for ourselves the prerogatives of God; even when we know that it's profoundly stupid to do that. That was the great sin of Adam and Eve which plunged the rest of us into the same misery—they tried to be like God.But God is God and there is no one like him. That, almost by definition, is part of what it means for God to be God.He is Who He is, and Not Who We Want Him to BeThe final thing that we need to understand as we begin to think about God, is that God is who he is, rather than who we want him to be.That might seem like an obvious point, but it's actually crucial to grasp in coming to understand who God is.At the heart of idolatry, often, is not simply putting something in the place of God, but often it can be refashioning God into an image that we like or prefer.We see that in verse 18 of Isaiah 40,With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him? As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. A person too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot; they look for a skilled worker to set up an idol that will not topple. (Isaiah 40:18–20 NIV)Here in these verses the issue is not replacing God, but people looking for some image to which they can compare God. They think that God is like an idol, overlaid with gold. They think that the idol represents and displays what God is like.In the history of God's people, we see that attitude time and again. The most famous example is after God rescued his people from slavery in Egypt. In response, the people gathered up all their gold and turned it into a golden calf. And when they'd done that, the high priest Aaron said to the people “Here is your god who brought you out of Egypt.” He didn't say, “Here is a different god to add to the collection.” But “Here is your god who brought you out of Egypt.” In other words, “Here he is, this is what he looks like.”Aaron wanted the people to think that the golden calf told the people what God was like: who he was, and how they could know him. But it was a complete lie. God isn't an inanimate calf made out of gold. It was a foolish attempt to make God more accessible and maybe even more relatable, but like so often it actually robbed people of the true God who is.And while most people are not be melting down their jewellery to remake God, it's still possible for us to remake god in our minds as how we want him to be rather than as he really is. People re-imagine God as a God who is all love without judgement. Or they imagine God as a God who wants us to have our best like now, rather than the God who calls us to take up our cross and follow Jesus.Others re-imagine God as a god who is happy for us to stay in our sin, rather than being the God who came to rescue us from the grip of sin.People often say, “I could never believe in a God like that.” Which is another way of saying, “God must fit what I think he should be rather than what he actually is.”But the God Who is, isn't a god that we can just make up or refashion according to our latest desire.Of course, the good news is that we don't need to make up who we think God is because he's made himself known to us in the Bible and most especially in the person and work the Son, Jesus, whom we meet in the Bible.So John writes at the beginning of his Gospel:The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.… No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. (John 1:14–18 NIV)God hasn't left us to work out who he is or to invent who he is from our imaginations or from our observations of the world. He has made himself known through the Bible and most especially through Jesus. And he has made himself known so that we can know him and have relationship with him.As Jesus says to his disciples in John 14,“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. (John 14:23 NIV)As we think more about who God is over the next few episodes of Thinking Theology, it's important to remember that the aim is not simply to know about God but to know God through Jesus.OutroWho is God? God just is. He's always been and he always will be. He made everything, he rules over everything and he is intimately involved in everything. He alone is God and we are not, and he has made himself known to us through the Bible and especially through the Son, Jesus, so that we can know him.That's it for this episode of Thinking Theology.Join me next time as we think about the nature of God. That is, what is he like?Please join me then.[1] D. A. Carson, The God Who Is There: Finding Your Place in God's Story (Grand Rapids: Baker,  2010), 18.

Lady V’s Devotional Episode  Isaiah Chapter 30, verses 19-21 states,  “O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries. Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, He will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left.”  Isaiah 30:19-21, NLT  Devotional  It is ultimately impossible to go through life without battle scars from life’s many lessons. And although, some difficulties are great and some small; God’s mercy, grace, and love are interwoven in those ups and downs.  You see, when God allows certain things to happen, there’s a plan in action to make things good in the end. And there’s something to gain from the experience. And even though we don’t see the benefit of our difficulties as we come face to face with them—adversity is a part of our victory.  When you cry out to God in prayer, the tears are heard as they are collected in a special place. And with every prayer, and each tear, there’s a message to God that says—I NEED YOU!   God hears and God sees! You do not go unnoticed nor are you ignored.   Beloved, when you call on Jesus, He hears you. And because JESUS is our Savior, His name has granted us the confidence to receive strength, the confidence to receive peace, and the confidence that when we trust HIM—He is still able to save.   So lay aside your plans of how to fix life’s difficulties, and take a hold of HIS hand as Holy Spirit shows you the way. Not only will you see HIS goodness in the land of the living, but you will be a witness of HIS mercy, HIS grace, and HIS love for you.  So go to God in prayer and take the promises in HIS Word with you. Then—be in expectation for change.  Be still and KNOW that HE IS GOD!  He WILL answer when we call!  Let’s Pray--  Father God, we come to you in the Name of Jesus. We lift up every burden, every challenge, and every difficulty in our lives to YOU. We thank you that your WORD tells us that we can come to you when we are weary, and you will give us rest. We thank you that your Word tells us that your yoke is easy and your burden is light. We thank you that your Word promises that in ALL THINGS, YOU cause EVERY circumstance to work together for the good of those who love YOU; And Abba  Father, we LOVE YOU. So we thank you for the promise that when the righteous cry for help, you hear us and rescue us from all our distress and troubles. So with your Word, let it be so, By the Authority of the name of Jesus, we receive our prayer answered, and whatever it is we can learn from this situation. Let it be according to YOUR WILL which is YOUR Word, In Jesus Name. Amen, Amen, Amen!  [Prayer Scripture References: Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 8:28, Psalms 34:17-20, John 14:13]  Beloved--Have faith in God! And remember--Jesus IS LORD!  LADY V  More devotionals you may like    Set Free for a New Start    JESUS is the Faithful Love   Rest in the Secret Place of GOD   Credits  Intro & Outro Music by Joakim Karud    Devotional Background Music by William Augusto  Check out these links   spreadinghopeeverywheretalks.com   Get Merch with Positive Messaging 

What a glorious section of Scripture we are looking at today as we “kick off” the calendar year 2021. The apostle Paul exhorted the flock of Christ at Philippi to put aside selfish and petty arguments and differences by looking at the others-centered, humble, servant-like example set for them by The Lord Jesus Christ.After this timeless exhortation, Paul launches into one of the most powerful and potent teachings about how The Lord Jesus Christ humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on the cross. That death on the cross was for the atoning of our sins, in order that sinners could be reconciled to fellowship with God by His grace.Even though Jesus is equal with God because He IS God, He emptied Himself with the words, “…not My will, but Thy will be done.” (Luke22:42) Thus we read, “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11, emphasis added)Read those words again slowly and prayerfully. The Name of Jesus is above every other name. At the Name of Jesus every knee will bow and confess Him as Lord to the glory of God The Father. Have you bowed the knee to Jesus Christ as Lord, my dear reader? So in light of the uncertain challenges that the New Year may present us with, my simple announcement to the year 2021 is this: No matter what happens with COVID 19, no matter who is in the White House, the last say in every matter is that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD. Selah

HISTORY'S END IS ETERNITY'S BEGINNING - Time Is Our Bus Stop – Eternity Is Our DestinationHave you ever asked God to let you be half as good as your dog thinks you are?VIEW: TRAILER – NO ROOM IN THE INN THE FIRST - THE LAST – THE GREATEST - FOCUS ON GOD; NOT THE 'I GOT YOU QUESTIONS'I want to be greater than great; in fact, I am leaning toward being the greatest. Our pride is astounding at times.  So concerned with our self-image, what others have, and what we don't. God is not impressed with how your self-esteem is feeling but how bright the Image of Christ reflects in your life.Many things in life are not worth the time invested, questions we entertain have no redeeming qualities, and our positions on earth are fleeting at best. Our eternal posts and crowns must have our complete and undivided attention. For this reason, James tells us to, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." When you think about all the "Got You" questions in life, it's amazing what people come up with, especially concerning God. "Since God is love, why would He send anyone to Hell?" HE DOESN'T!  Those who deny Christ will, by that decision alone, determine their eternal state. Free choice can either be a gift or a curse. Recall the fall in the garden and stay obedient to God's Truth.Here is a ridiculous question asked of me, "If God is so great, can He make a rock too heavy for Him to pick up? WELL YES, HE IS GOD. But then He could reduce the weight and toss the rock across the universe. Silly little "Got You" Questions that only comfort those who would debate and deny God anyway. God doesn't play that game!When David killed Goliath, was he great, his aim greater or the rock greatest? His faith was more significant than the men of war; however, the God he served was the greatest. The Lord's strength was the greatest of David's weapons. He humbled himself before God for such a time as this.FOCUS ON JESUS FOR HE IS COMING BACK FOR HIS BRIDE AND HIS REWARD IS WITH HIM.LOVE OFFERINGS ARE WELCOMED AT PAYPALbradwyrick@cox.net AUDIBLE BOOKS BY BRAD WYRICKAUTHOR PAGE AMAZONBuzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREEInstacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Hey butterflies! Praying you all are staying safe and healthy. Tonight, I talked a bit more from my book, but more so on Exodus 3:11-15. Did you know that I AM is one of the beautiful names of God? When God told Moses that he was going to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses protested and was like, “Who am I to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.” Then Moses stated, “Behold, when I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers (ancestors) has sent me to you,' and they say to me, ‘What is His name?' What shall I say to them? God said, “I AM WHO I AM.” Tell them I AM sent me to you. When God calls you to share the gospel, start your business, write your book, write your song, start your ministry, your YouTube channel, your podcast, non-profit organization, etc., what do you say? “I am scared. I am broke. I am tired. I am not qualified. Who am I?” Notice how you're using God's name, in the negative. When say ‘I AM,' we are literally calling out God's name. God's not sick, not broke, not tired, scared......He's none of those. HE IS GOD. God can't and won't respond to the negative. But, when you start saying, “I AM worthy. I AM victorious. I AM fearless,” you are speaking out the truth about God, His character. You are stating who you actually are. Now, Satan will also come against God's Word with lies. This is why we refute the lies, and take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). Meditate on Exodus 3:11-15, and start speaking I AM over you. Subscribe/Like/Comment to my podcast. --- 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/danielle-c9/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/danielle-c9/support

MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE TO THE LORD, ALL THE EARTH! SERVE THE LORD WITH GLADNESS! COME INTO HIS PRESENCE WITH SINGING! KNOW THAT THE LORD, HE IS GOD! IT IS HE WHO MADE US, AND WE ARE HIS; WE ARE HIS PEOPLE, AND THE SHEEP OF HIS PASTURE. —Psalm 100:1–3 

Grab a beverage (this is not to insinuate alcohol) and now read Deuteronomy 28, the full chapter. I will wait. (tapping fingers but not impatiently. Your eyes will light up) Notice the first two verses. Read them again.1 "Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD, your God, will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 "All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God: Now continue to read to vs. 15.Let's do some observations:1. Notice the conditions? Diligently obey, and careful to do… "all His commandments…" (the Word of God) THEN you are blessed.2. Blessed are you in most areas of your life where you have influence. Can you do God's Will at work, at home, in your personal life? We are called to do just that. We live so short lives here on earth and then are headed to eternity. Does it matter how we live our lives on the earth? Youbetcha! As we say in Wisconsin. We only get one shot at this life. How will we respond to God? I want? Or what He wants?3. Lest people think this is legalism to obey the Bible (His Word), let us remember the words of Christ to His disciples. "If you love me, you will obey my commandments." Let this sink in: IF YOU LOVE ME. YOU WILL OBEY. HMMM. That is a game-changer. "Hey BSC, my church says I am no longer under the law?". How will you know what sin is if you don't know the bible and what the law has to say? How will you know you are offending God? Did you know the law shows us our sin? And it shows us God's righteous character? How will you get to know God personally if you don't know His character? He sent the Holy Spirit to help us. see 1John 2:26-Did you know you cannot keep the law? No one could. But He can help us if we ask. Yeah, let that sink in. Why? Because Grace is the power to change to God's will, in our opinion. Besides, think about this: John 14:15 is one of the verses that show us He is telling His disciples that HE IS GOD (they are His commandments because He wrote them!) And without the Holy Spirit's help, we cannot obey. Now have fun and go read Titus 2:11-12 because this is the definition of grace. Waiting. Grace is Christ coming to save us and then empowering (blessing us) to be taught AWAY from ungodliness. What is ungodliness? What is evil? Evil is anything outside of God's will. Now ask yourself questions about how the Lord may see your life? Ask Him for revelation. This is bible study. Back to Deut 28. The first 15 verses discuss the blessings. I showed this to my daughter, and she looked at me and said, "Dad, the Lord is doing the work!" I said, "I knowwwwww! And I don't think we were designed by Him to live in this world without His help. Do we want to live our lives in our own strength? And that is what much of Christianity is today. Managing our walk with God through our minds and what we think we need to love God. That is not how the Bible says we are to walk. We are to take His word and apply it to our life IN HIS POWER and BY HIS SPIRIT. But please read the curses now, which is the next part of this chapter. He wants us to be fruitful, and the curses section is about people who reject His commandments (His Word), to do their will, and are now on their own. Curses should bring us to the fear of the Lord. As we read the curses how should we respond? How can we ask God to help us to obey? Did you notice that perhaps there was some pushback in your heart to obey His word? That is the war that goes on that Paul spoke of in Romans 7. Go read that too. How can you ask Him to help you? Hint. Read Romans 12. Who was this written to? And why?We can conclude that for us to be blessed, God's purpose is for us to carry out His will which is revealed in His Word. So, it is about Him and His Will. Not about you or what ministry you will have. Just serve Him right where you are. How should we respond to God to live a praiseworthy life? Perhaps we can drop to our knees and ask for His help to obey His will, and His word BEFORE WE ASK FOR HIS HELP FOR OUR NEEDS.To finish our bible study today, here are new testament promises about the blessing from God, which is Matthew 6: "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28 "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' 32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.Notice vs 33. Yep. Seek first the Kingdom of God. Have you lost your first love? The one in revelations? What if it isn't emotionalism but actually that we stop putting the Lord Jesus Christ first in every area of our life? Can we repent and ask for His rulership in all areas of our life?If you are like us and struggled to know how to study the bible to live a praiseworthy life to God, our blog has many resources and tools. Your life will never be the same. https://biblestudycompany.com/blogLove to know your feedback. Share, please.

Right now, especially being in this time of COVID, we are in the midst of waiting. We feel uncertainty and doubt. We want to figure it all out and we start to feel unrest. Today we will be discussing how to find strength when we are waiting.This week’s verse is Psalm 46:10 where it says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” There is so much peace and comfort to be found in this verse. We don’t need to struggle. We don’t need to figure things out. He tells us to be still and to trust Him, knowing that He IS God and He is over it all. When we are in a waiting period it is easy to want to figure it all out now and to not be patient, but through reflecting and meditating on this verse we are able to find strength that can only be found in Him.

This episode looks at I Kings 18:30-39, and the showdown on Mt Carmel. There Elijah built an altar, offered a sacrifice, and prayed to the Lord asking that God would reveal Himself as the one true God. Fire did fall from Heaven, and those who witnessed the miracle proclaimed that the Lord was God. This lesson and passage show that God is God alone and has all power.For those who use Word Aflame Curriculum, the Bible passage focused on in this episode comes from Lesson 3 of The Living Word, Summer 2020, entitled, "The Lord, He Is God" (June 21, 2020). This episode is produced by the Pentecostal Publishing House and is hosted by Jonathan McClintock. Visit us at www.pentecostalpublishing.com

The Lord, He Is God. Pastor William Moore preaching Sunday Morning at First Jesus Name Church of Benndale. June 21, 2020am. For more information about our church or this message please email us at fjncbenndale@icloud.com. Have a wonderful and blessed day.

When a person asks Jesus into his heart, the Holy Spirit comes to live within him. Changes take place and the Spirit begins to move you and guide you. You find yourself stepping further away from the former you and turning into this new creation.Who is the Holy Spirit?Most of us know of the Trinity - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost as it is sometimes called. We know the role of the Father, God and Creator of this universe, the Son, Jesus Christ, who was sent by the Father into this world to free us all from sin and death, but what exactly is the role of the Spirit?In John 14, Jesus called Him the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth. He promised that upon His ascension into heaven, the Father would send this comfort to anyone who loves Him and obeys His teaching.This Spirit would guide us to live more Christlike lives. He is that voice you sometimes hear within yourself. It can be difficult, initially, learning to discern between His voice, your own thoughts, and even thoughts brought into your mind by the adversary. One way is to remember that Jesus Christ called Him the Spirit of truth.....He IS God!As confusing as this tends to be, they are all equal parts of one whole, one God in three persons. This Spirit will never tell you to do something that would go against the Father. When you come to the Father, don't try to hide anything from Him (what could you possibly hide from the one who knows all?) and don't think that you must perfect yourself before you come to him. Just come as you are. Lay it all out before him and ask , not only for forgiveness of your sins, but ask Him also to help you become who you were always intended to be. As you grow closer to Christ and stronger in your faith, this discernment will become easier."Therefore if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone and the new is here." 2 Corinthians 5:17"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the holy spirit." Romans 15:13Read the full devotion at https://devotableapp.com/daily-devotion-2-corinthians-5-17-the-holy-spirit/

In this passage, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob reveals Himself to Moses by name. From this name, we learn that: God is Holy God is covenantal God is the rescuer God is relational God is who He Is God is self-defining God is self-existing God is unchanging God is transcendant God is self-revealing

Powerful message by Pastor Tai Adeshugba: Managing Your Mood (Part 3) Today Pastor Tai kicks off the first Sunday of May, wrapping up the ‘Managing Your Mood’ series. This quarantine has affected us all in various and immeasurable ways and it’s very natural that your state of mind would have taken a hit also. Over the past couple of weeks Pastor Tai has provided us with useful tips that are guaranteed to leave you feeling refreshed, lifted and motivated. Today we are encouraged to be mindful of what we allow into our space, our minds, our bodies, but most importantly to BE THANKFUL. Praise God despite your circumstance, despite your emotions, praise Him because He Is God. To pick up great tips and scriptures that will bless you, your family and friends during this challenging period, click the link in the bio to listen to the whole ‘Managing Your Mood’ series. Be sure to share, and continue to stay in and stay safe. To learn more, please DOWNLOAD NOW. Don’t forget to share!

Sometimes, there are lessons God wants you to learn while in a valley. Rather than making rash decisions while you’re experiencing trauma, often, the best course of action is to be still and know HE IS GOD.Series: Peace of Mind

Sometimes, there are lessons God wants you to learn while in a valley. Rather than making rash decisions while you're experiencing trauma, often, the best course of action is to be still and know HE IS GOD. Series: Peace of Mind Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Sometimes, there are lessons God wants you to learn while in a valley. Rather than making rash decisions while you’re experiencing trauma, often, the best course of action is to be still and know HE IS GOD.Series: Peace of Mind

In the face of fear, I will pray (even if it looks like your world is falling apart).  In the face of fear, I will pause.  I will have a Selah: remember what He’s done and look for what He’s doing.  In the face of fear, I will surrender.  I will reject the temptation to play God and trust in the fact that He IS God.  I will be still.  I will know:  GOD IS FOR US! 

Get up and know He IS God!

The Significance of Yá Allahu’l-Mustaghath I found a very comprehensive blog post about the explanation of Yá Allahu’l-Mustaghath, and decided to include it in full below for reference. Beneath it are additional explanations found elsewhere. “When Ali Kuli Khan served the Cause in the United States, it happened that he frequently met with representatives of Iran in that country. In some of those situations, he had to take instant decisions of diplomatic character. In such situations, although he did his best, he felt that his limited wisdom restricted him from taking the best possible decisions. He therefore, wished he had a prayer he could recite to be guided in such situations. He had this question in His mind and thought of asking the Master about it. When the Master arrived to Washington, Ali Kuli Khan met Him at the station. Ali Kuli Khan had this question in his heart and about halfway back from the station, the Master suddenly told a story to Ali Kuli Khan. `Abdu’l-Bahá told of the time in Bagdad when Bahá’u’lláh had retired to the mountains. His family did not know where He had gone and were extremely worried. `Abdu’l-Bahá was a boy at that time and the absence of His Father was very difficult. One night, `Abdu’l-Bahá recited and supplicated with all his heart saying “Ya Allah el Mustaghas! Ya Allah el Mustaghas!” all night. In the morning after, at the break of dawn, `Abdu’l-Bahá received a message which he understood to be about the return of Bahá’u’lláh. Ali Kuli Khan understood that the invocation of “Ya Allah el Mustaghas!” would be the prayer to utter in moments of need. It seems that `Abdu’l-Bahá used this powerful prayer at different occasions. Mirzieh Gail recounts the following (Arches of the Years, page 312). Shoghi Effendi also had the burden of the believers’ personal griefs. Florence once asked him for a very powerful prayer, and he answered, ‘What could be better than Yá Allahu’l-Mustaghath?’ … It was her understanding that this was the prayer repeated over and over by the Master, as He paced His garden when the Turkish ship was coming to take Him away. The Universal House of Justice clarifies that the phrase “Yá Allahu’l-Mustaghath”, … is an invocation revealed by the Bab. He prescribed it for recitation by His followers in times of trouble and difficulty. Shoghi Effendi has translated the word “Mustaghath” as “He who is invoked for help”. (Universal House of Justice, 25 Nov 1999) In the same letter, The Universal House of Justice clarifies that “In the Writings of the Bab, “Mustaghath” refers to Bahá’u’lláh, and “the time of ‘Mustaghath‘” refers to the time of Bahá’u’lláh’s Dispensation. … Mustaghath literally means “He Who is invoked. It denotes the cycle of every Divine Manifestation, referred to in the writings of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh.” (Universal House of Justice, 25 Nov 1999) It seems that the One being invoked for help is Bahá’u’lláh. Perhaps the following explanation of `Abdu’l-Bahá about the phrase “He is God”, can explain why Bahá’u’lláh is invoked. “Regarding the phrase ‘HE IS GOD!’ written above the Tablets. By this Word is intended that no one hath any access to the Invisible Essence. The way is barred and the road is impassable. In this world all men must turn their faces toward ‘Him-whom-God-shall-Manifest.’ He is the Dawning-place of Divinity and the Manifestation of Deity. He is the Ultimate Goal, the Adored One of all and the Worshipped One of all. Otherwise, whatever flashes through the mind is not that Essence of essences and Reality of realities; nay, rather it is pure imagination woven by man—consequently, it returns finally to the realm of suppositions and conjectures.” (Star of the West, Vol 4, issue 18, page 304) The Universal House of Justice also clarifies that the number of times this phrase is to be repeated is up to the individual. With regard to the number of times these words are to be repeated, the repetition of this invocation is not definitely fixed, and there is a great deal of flexibility concerning the repetition of this and other prayers. While the invocation is prescribed in the Writings of the Báb to be repeated 2098 times during occasions of great need, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in one Tablet states that this verse is to be repeated 95 times and, in another Tablet, 81 times. Letters from the Guardian concerning this invocation, as well as other prayers, indicate that repetition is a matter of individual choice. In a postscript added in his own handwriting to a letter to an individual he stated: “There is no objection to saying “Yá Ilaha‘l-Mustaghath” any time you like and as often as you like.” (Universal House of Justice, 25 Nov 1999) And finally, as to the correct transliteration, we have the following guidance. “This phrase can be correctly transliterated in two ways, as set out below: (elaha’l … ) “Yá Ilaha‘l-Mustaghath”, which has been translated as “O Lord of the time of ‘Mustaghath’ “[or] “Yá Allahu’l-Mustaghath”, which has been translated as “O Thou God Who art invoked” (Universal House of Justice, 25 Nov 1999)” Additional information has been included from the following sources, From Mme. Khan’s Pilgrim’s Notes on Feb 23, 1938: To be prayed or repeated 1000 times between midnight and dawn for 9 or 19 nights (though to use the prayer once daily or even 9 or 19 times is enough). It seems infallible, even marvellous in power. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said it for 3 days just before WW2 ended: Ya Allau’l-Mustagath! O God Our Deliverer, whom we invoke in times of extreme need, danger, or crisis! The Báb used these terms when He addressed the possible opposition of the divines and people of the Bayán to the coming Revelation. You may wish to study other references to “the mystery of the ‘Mustagháth‘” in the Bahá’í Writings, such as The Kitáb-i-Íqán (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1983), pages 229–30, God Passes By (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1987), page 27; and The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl’s Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá’í Revelation (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1974), pages 304–305. (Universal House of Justice, 28 December 2001) According to Star of the West, Sep 1923, Vol. 14, No. 6, p. 166: This prayer is to be used at midnight. followed by the recitation of the Greatest Name 95 times, using "Ya Allah El-Mustagath", which means: "O Thou God from Whom relief and help is sought most urgently." This prayer was revealed by Baha'u'llah for Mirza Abul Fazl when the latter went into exile with the promise that if he would use it any juncture, help would come. Why say Yá Allahu’l-Mustaghath 95 Times? In the references above, the Universal House of Justice has mentions that the phrase Yá Allahu’l-Mustaghath is not fixed and may be repeated 2098, 81, 95 times or up to any number of times. For the purposes of the Bicentenary Meditation Project, the number 95 has been chosen for the following reasons. In the book ‘Gate of the Heart’ by Nader Saiedi, he explains that the significance of the number 95 originates from the Persian Bayán, where the Báb states that ninety-five stands for the numerical value of "for God" (lillāh), symbolizing the recognition of the manifestation of God and obedience to his laws, which are inseparable from each other, as confirmed by Bahá'u'lláh in the opening paragraph of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. 95 Yá Allahu’l-Mustaghath Audio Meditation The 95 Yá Allahu’l-Mustaghath audio meditation is a meditation that includes a repetition of the invocation Yá Allahu’l-Mustaghath, which means ‘He Who is invoked’, 95 times by the Artist Sarah Hosny; an Egyptian Baha’i Musician. She has generously and freely donated her time for the Bicentenary Meditation Project in order to ensure the authenticity of the invocations accent in Arabic. Thank you so much Sarah! If you would like to donate your time or services to the Bicentenary Meditation Project as a meditation content creator, Illustrator or photography, please don’t hesitation to contact us at meditationsofbbobb@gmail.com! We would love to include you as a participant and contributor to the Bicentenary Meditation Project as well

“He Is God” by Gabe Suarez.

El Es Dios means He Is God. This song was released in 2009. Sounds like so long ago but feels like just yesterday. You'll listen to the original version first, arranged by Felix Gonzalez and Jessie Gonzalez. Bass, guitars, piano, and overdubs by Felix Gonzalez. Brass arrangement by Efrain "Junito" Davila. Percussion by Luisito Quintero. Trumpets by Raul Agraz, and Trombones by Pablo Santaella. In 2015 Felix surprised me with a very cool Instrumental Remix of this tune. Enjoy.

May 22 2019  Wednesday  Nothing Is Too Hard For God My Prayers For You   Ephesians 1:15-23 NLT  'Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God's people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.' Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT 'When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.' Jeremiah 32:27  He Is God... Hebrews 13:5  Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you… Matthew 28:20  Jesus is with you always… 1 Peter 5:7   Cast all your cares on Jesus… Philippians 4:19  God Will Supply… 2 Chronicles 7:14  Seek God's Face… Romans 10:9-10 Salvation… Jeremiah 32:27  Nothing is to big that God can not take care of… Numbers 23:19  God is not a liar… Website https://the-prodigalson.com Email the-prodigalson@outlook.com YouVersion Bible App https://my.bible.com iOS App https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/prodigal-son/id1450529518?mt=8 …  Android App https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tv.wizzard.android.prodical 

This is the final sermon in our series The Doors from April 2019. In this sermon Pastor Monte teaches us that Jesus is our only access to GOD, because He Is GOD! Jesus is everything we'll ever need, and He wants to replenish our lives with His Life.Support the show (https://nolachurch.com/give)

This is the final sermon in our series The Doors from April 2019. In this sermon Pastor Monte teaches us that Jesus is our only access to GOD, because He Is GOD! Jesus is everything we'll ever need, and He wants to replenish our lives with His Life.Support the show (https://nolachurch.com/give)

Here are questions 11-15 of the Top 20 toughest questions asked of Christians with the respective answers. 16. SURELY GOD COULD COME UP WITH ANOTHER WAY THAN KILLING HIS SON, HE IS GOD? 17. WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO HAVEN’T HEARD ABOUT YESHUA LIKE IN THE KALAHARI – DO THEY AUTOMATICALLY GO TO HELL? 18. AREN’T ALL RELIGIONS THE SAME – DON’T THEY ALL LEAD TO GOD? 19. DON’T ALL RELIGIONS HAVE THE SAME FUNDAMENTALS OF LOVE? 20. QUESTIONS TO ASK NON-CHRISTIAN FRIENDS IN RETURN. https://www.nakedlife.org/uploads/docs/20_Typical_Questions.pdf

Message Us!“Immanuel,” is a name that most of us are familiar with; we sing about it, we read about it— but we rarely give it much thought. Yet, it is so profound and deserves our attention.In this message, Pastor Chris focuses on the word “God,” found in this phrase, “God with us.”In this one word— used to describe Jesus— we find this reality: This baby, born in a manger, is not just a good person. He is not just a moral teacher. He is not just a prophet. HE IS GOD!Support the show

“Immanuel,” is a name that most of us are familiar with; we sing about it, we read about it— but we rarely give it much thought. Yet, it is so profound and deserves our attention. In this message, Pastor Chris focuses on the word “God,” found in this phrase, “God with us.”
In this one word— used to describe Jesus— we find this reality: This baby, born in a manger, is not just a good person. He is not just a moral teacher. He is not just a prophet. HE IS GOD!

Jesus brings order in a world that is filled with Chaos because He Is God, He Is Unchanging and He Wants What Is Best For You. Sermon Notes at http://bible.com/events/76578

He Is: God is all we will ever need. He is our savior for a dying world. He is help in our time of need. He is everything.

It is not enough just to believe that Jesus existed, nor is it enough just to believe he was a good teacher or prophet, It is critical that we embrace the reality that HE IS GOD, alive and ruling in a place of honor and authority now. As we wrap up the "I Am" series this week, we step into a new way of thinking!

It is not enough just to believe that Jesus existed, nor is it enough just to believe he was a good teacher or prophet, It is critical that we embrace the reality that HE IS GOD, alive and ruling in a place of honor and authority now. As we wrap up the "I Am" series this week, we step into a new way of thinking!

He Is God

This week join us as associate Pastor Ryan Vinson lays out what it means to live a life of worship. We hope you enjoy this message straight from the heart. Worship on Sunday morning… does beyond a time filler or you sounding good… it's deeper.   Define… Praise and worship   I want to present this idea to you that the verbal praise and worship that could come out of your mouth, has the power to change your perspective, your situation, your community, and even your life. (PRAY) (Breakdown Story) Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! 27 The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don't kill yourself! We are all here!”29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:25-30 (NLT) (Breakdown Story) NO matter how dark their situation… no matter how bleak their circumstance… They were going to praise God.  They understood the potential that the praise coming out of them had to change their situation.  And miracles happened… ALL BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T LOSE THEIR VOICE. 3 reasons why you can't lose your voice:    1.        Your Voice has Power   (Talkers vs. non-talkers… me and my wife) The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21 (NIV) What if we really believed Proverbs18:21?  What if “The power of life and death is in the tongue” was more than just a principal on how we should talk to people…but was actually a truth that had the power to transform our perspective on the things we are facing?! This is why we sing… this is why the first 20-30 min of our Sunday morning experience is music and signing… because we understand that if you can exercise your faith verbally DESPITE your circumstances that it will set you up to be transformed by God's Truth for your life!  Worship is not about your ability to sing, personal preference, feeling, or what you are facing… We don't praise Him because life is good… we praise Him because HE IS GOOD!  (Paul and Silas… not emotional, actually logical!) A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! James 3:3-5 (MSG) Your voice has power…to REALIGN you with the truth of who God is and that he is for you! 2.      Your Voice is a Problem   Piggybacking off of point number one… because of the power your voice holds, it can literally be a problem for your problem.    Simply put… YOUR PRAISE can be a problem for your circumstance, your sickness, your doubt, your marriage problems, your addiction, YOUR PRAISE CAN BE A PROBLEM… for YOUR PROBLEM.   (The devil expects you to be silent!!!)   (All through the Psalms…Giving attention BACK to God…  THIS IS WORSHIP) My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? 2 Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief. 3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. Psalm 22:1-3 (NLT) You see… I hope by now we have all realized that we live in a broken world filed with conflict, strife, hurt and pain… This is NOT our final destination.  But what the devil will try to do is get us SO FOCUSED on what we are going through that we forget who God really is!!  (PAUL AND SILAS)   Worship when we come together… “Lift your voice!”    “I've come to worship…”   3.      Your Voice can set People Free   (Our worst Rehearsals…it has nothing to do with music)   (Music IS powerful… even spiritual)  “Free Bird”  Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. Psalm 22:3 (NLT) When we praise… His presence is manifested… that's when lives change… Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!           Acts 16:25-26 (NLT)   It's not our job to understand… just praise him anyway.  It's not your job to heal people, just talk about how He's our healer.  It's not your job to save your friends and family, just be a living response to who HE is and what HE has done.    IT'S NOT OUR JOB TO SAVE OUR CITY… JUST POINT PEOPLE TO HIM! (The chains of others)   We think praise and worship is limited to the 20-30 min on a Sunday morning… no, it's a lifestyle.   “Have you heard?” And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” John 12:32 (NIV) What if your neighbor, co-worker, you kids, your parents, your friends… HEARD you talk about how good your God is… regardless of what you are facing.  How many “prisoners” might be set free because you pointed people to HIM. Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; raise him in his mighty heavens! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! 3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!                 Psalm 150:1-6 (ESV) How do develop a lifestyle of worship?  How do we make sure we don't lose our voice? 1.        Understand how God wired you (you voice has power) 2.      Set aside time daily (God's Word worship music… NOT waiting for a feeling) 3.      Resolve to Praise HIM anyway (HE IS GOD... ALWAYS) Challenge: This morning…maybe you've walked in for the first time.  Maybe this morning… you need your voice back.  Where ever you are…

HEBREWS: A New Testament Study of Grace Through Hebrew Lenses. Introduction to the book and part two: Jesus is Above ALL Angels. In fact, HE IS God

In his last message as Student Pastor at EBC, Kerry White challenges the Church to examine WHY it is that we worship God. If it is because of WHAT He does for us...then we may need to rethink. If it is simply because He IS God that He is worthy of our praise and worship....then we may just be on to something good and right.