Podcasts about his blood

Friends of the Rosary,Today, November 1, is the Solemnity of All Saints. The Catholic Church celebrates the multitude of saints in heaven — canonized and uncanonized — enjoying the beatific view.We all have this "universal call to holiness," to join the company of the saints in heaven. To achieve this, we follow in Christ's footsteps and conform ourselves to His image, seeking the will of the Father in all things. We devote ourselves to the glory of God and the service of our neighbor.And what's heaven?The Catechism defines it as “the perfect life with the communion of life and love with the Most Holy Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed.”Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness.”During the year, the Church celebrates one by one the feasts of the saints. Today, it recalls the vision "of all nations and tribes standing before the throne and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, proclaiming Him who redeemed them in His Blood."We pray for the Faithful Departed from November 1 to the 8th.Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• November 1, 2025, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

(Rm.8:26-30;   Ps.13:4-6;   Lk.13:22-30)   "Lord, are they few in number who are to be saved?"   We question.  We wonder.  With the man who spoke to the Lord as He made His way toward Jerusalem, as He approached His own death, we question Jesus, "Who will be saved?" particularly as we face our own imminent death.  Jesus answers the man, and so He responds to us, too.  His answer is simple: "Come in through the narrow door."  His answer is wise, and comes with, and itself is, a warning to us not to take for granted the salvation by our God but to be diligent about our striving toward His kingdom, to be purposeful about our dying for Him.  Those who walked with Him may have thought that this alone would be sufficient to ensure their entrance into heaven.  But simply knowing Him, seeing Him, and even eating with Him will not do: He must know us.  He must see us about His work as we see Him about the Father's work – He must come in and eat with us, nourishing our souls with His daily bread of labor in His Name, of life in His Word. Brothers and sisters, we may come to His table every day.  We may eat of His Body and drink of His Blood and hear His Word proclaimed to our ears; we may be members of His Church, sitting here in these pews; we may have since birth been graced with the blessings of the sacraments and teaching of our Catholic faith – but this alone does not assure our entering into heaven.  We must live that faith.  We must put flesh and blood to our belief.  There is no other way we can be saved, because this is our life and our life is required of us by God.  It will not magically occur at the moment of death if we have not spent our lives for Him. O brothers and sisters, we must cry out with David, "Give light to my eyes that I may not sleep in death."  We must sing to the Lord with him, "Let my heart rejoice in your salvation."  We must seek Him, seek His life, with all our hearts, that the prophetic words of Paul might become our own, that our predestination "to share the image of His Son" the Father might accomplish in us.  For the Lord does call us, and we must respond.  As we respond, we shall be justified – He shall enter in and cleanse us of our sin.  And remaining on this path of justification we shall soon find glory with God in His eternal kingdom. Brothers and sisters, let the will of the Lord be accomplished in us.  In our moments of doubt, when we have no words with which to come to God, let us turn to the Spirit who "intercedes for the saints as God Himself wills," "with groanings which cannot be expressed in speech."  He truly is our help in weakness.  He truly is our guard on this perilous journey.  Only remaining with Him and in His Church do we find comfort in the knowledge that we are to be saved. ******* O LORD, call us unto your kingdom that with your Son we might be glorified –  let us embrace the Cross as we make our way to you.  YHWH, send your Spirit to help us in our weakness; hear us as we cry out to you.  In our lives let your will be accomplished, that with your Son we might be glorified.  You lead us forth in your goodness – may we be obedient to the promptings of our heart. Within us you place your Spirit, LORD; to our ears come the teachings of your Son.  Through the narrow door let us pass, by the groanings you inspire in us.  What can we do but call upon your NAME?  Let us not cry out in vain. Our enemies surround us, LORD, and seek our downfall.  How they wish to see us sleep in death.  They would bar the door to your House that we might not enter – in your loving kindness defeat their plans.  Let us be made in the image of your Son that on the last day we might join your saints in the kingdom.

Isaiah 43:1-7 is a message of comfort and hope from God to His people, assuring them they are created, redeemed, and protected. God calls them by name, promising His presence through hardship and affirming their value and identity as His. The passage assures them that He will be with them through trials and will bring them back from captivity and disaster.  Ephesians 2:11-13 We are no longer separated from God because of our sin; Jesus Christ has paid the debt by His Blood that we can be in relationship with Our Father. Do you realise what the Blood has done for us? Do you know the freedom and liberty you have in Christ?

Have you ever faced a situation that caught you completely off guard—and later realized God was teaching you something powerful through it? In this episode of The Integrated Life Podcast, host Diana Romero shares a story from one of her early morning walks with her dog, Moko, that turned into a divine lesson about spiritual authority and the commands God gives us to stand firm against the enemy. Join us as we explore how God's Word, Jesus' Name, and His Blood equip us to overcome every attack and walk in victory. You'll also be encouraged to pause and ask, “Lord, what are You trying to show me through this?”—because as Diana say's "when it's odd, it's God."

The symbolism of the Passover pointed to Him.

All Temples give God's blueprint for us as His ultimate Temples. Man fell into sin & lost God's Presence, but He's restoring us to be His Temples – He'll dwell within us & shine out of us forever. All the different Temples encode different aspects of His ultimate Temple, each providing a piece of the puzzle. We get the whole picture by putting together the revelation from them all. (1) Our SPIRIT = HOLY of HOLIES, (2) our SOUL = HOLY PLACE, (3) our BODY = OUTER COURT. We're made with His THRONE in our SPIRIT to live under His authority. When we receive Christ & He's enthroned within us, we discover our true identity, ability & personality, for His Spirit of grace flows from His throne to fill & transform our souls & empower us to do His will & be fruitful. Christ is the perfect human Temple; God was enthroned in His spirit and His Spirit filled His soul & flowed out of Him. But we were born spiritually dead, so His Spirit did not indwell us. Christ came to make us into true Temples, like Him. So, He died as our SIN OFFERING to take away our sins, and as our BURNT OFFERING to give us His perfect righteousness. Mercy Seat = ‘Place of Propitiation' where God's righteous judgment is fully satisfied by the Blood. He sees the Blood & declares us forgiven, so He's now free to bless us. Once the blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat & accepted by God, Israel came under mercy for another year. But she had to repeat this ritual every year signifying man's sin wasn't yet put away (Heb 10:1-4). Christ accomplished this (Heb 10:5-10). So, Tabernacle rituals pictured what Christ would accomplish in establishing the New Covenant in His Blood in the Heavenly Temple, and activating it in His redeemed human Temples (Heb 9:7-12). As the High Priest, He offered Himself as the final Sacrifice and took His Blood into the heavenly Holy of Holies, and sprinkled it on God's Throne, the Mercy Seat, as full payment for our sin & every blessing of grace (Heb 4:16). His Blood in Heaven ever speaks on our behalf, and is the basis for the everlasting New Covenant (Heb 12:22-24). Having done this, He sat down to signify His finished work, and entered into His work as Mediator of the New Covenant for His people (Heb 1:3, 10:11-12, 9:23-26). The Heavenly Temple is an image of God's ultimate Temple (Man), so when we receive Christ, He also sprinkles us with His Blood & sanctifies us to Himself (1Pet 1:2, Heb 9:13-14). By His Spirit, He entered our holy of holies, and applied His Blood to our spirit, cleansing it from all sin & sanctifying it to Himself, making it a perfect new creation, and then sits enthroned there by His indwelling Spirit, to mediate the new covenant in our lives. This happened at our New Birth. He activated the New Covenant in us, so we're now under grace. We became a functioning Temple. Having sprinkled & cleansed us with His Blood (Heb 9:13-14), He now brings us into our inheritance (v15). It's a Throne of Grace, for the Lamb's Blood has been accepted by God on our behalf, and He sits at God's right hand dispensing His River of Grace to us (Rev 22:1-2). This also pictures us as Temples, with Christ enthroned as Lord in our spirit, releasing His river of grace from His throne in our spirit, flowing down into our heart & life. The trees = thoughts & emotions in our soul. As we trust in Christ who lives in us, and submit to His Lordship, we receive His river of blessing into our hearts. When God entered the Tabernacle, He sat in His glory, enthroned on the Mercy Seat above the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies, and there He met with Moses & spoke with him (Ex 25:21-22). Likewise, He sits on the throne in our spirit, His base of operation in us. 3 items in the HOLY PLACE (Heb 9:1-4) = our SOUL: *(1) MENORAH = our MIND, illuminated by the oil of His Spirit. *(2) TABLE of SHOWBREAD (‘the Bread of the Presence') = our EMOTIONS, kept ever fresh from God's Presence, shining from the Holy of Holies. *(3) The ALTAR of INCENSE next to the Holy of Holies = our HEART or WILL, at the deepest part of our soul, called the Golden Censer (‘the Place of Incense') in Heb 9:4, where it's described as belonging to the holy of holies. Thus, our HEART is the junction & connection between our SPIRIT & SOUL, receiving God's life from the spirit, so that it flows into our soul (Heb 4:12, John 7:38). By God's design, the heart should be under the spirit's control, so a worshipping heart is necessary to receive God's grace into our souls. As we submit our hearts into God's Hand (the Holy Spirit), He can guide & empower us (Prov 21:1). To reign in life, put our heart into His Hand (His Spirit), who manifests in us as rivers of living water. In the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant containing 3 items, hidden under the Throne (under His control) = 3 aspects of God's grace, He wants to release into our soul by His Spirit: (1) the Tablets of the Covenant, (2) Aaron's Almond Rod that budded, and (3) the Golden Pot of Manna (Heb 9:3-5)

All Temples give God's blueprint for us as His ultimate Temples. Man fell into sin & lost God's Presence, but He's restoring us to be His Temples – He'll dwell within us & shine out of us forever. All the different Temples encode different aspects of His ultimate Temple, each providing a piece of the puzzle. We get the whole picture by putting together the revelation from them all. (1) Our SPIRIT = HOLY of HOLIES, (2) our SOUL = HOLY PLACE, (3) our BODY = OUTER COURT. We're made with His THRONE in our SPIRIT to live under His authority. When we receive Christ & He's enthroned within us, we discover our true identity, ability & personality, for His Spirit of grace flows from His throne to fill & transform our souls & empower us to do His will & be fruitful. Christ is the perfect human Temple; God was enthroned in His spirit and His Spirit filled His soul & flowed out of Him. But we were born spiritually dead, so His Spirit did not indwell us. Christ came to make us into true Temples, like Him. So, He died as our SIN OFFERING to take away our sins, and as our BURNT OFFERING to give us His perfect righteousness. Mercy Seat = ‘Place of Propitiation' where God's righteous judgment is fully satisfied by the Blood. He sees the Blood & declares us forgiven, so He's now free to bless us. Once the blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat & accepted by God, Israel came under mercy for another year. But she had to repeat this ritual every year signifying man's sin wasn't yet put away (Heb 10:1-4). Christ accomplished this (Heb 10:5-10). So, Tabernacle rituals pictured what Christ would accomplish in establishing the New Covenant in His Blood in the Heavenly Temple, and activating it in His redeemed human Temples (Heb 9:7-12). As the High Priest, He offered Himself as the final Sacrifice and took His Blood into the heavenly Holy of Holies, and sprinkled it on God's Throne, the Mercy Seat, as full payment for our sin & every blessing of grace (Heb 4:16). His Blood in Heaven ever speaks on our behalf, and is the basis for the everlasting New Covenant (Heb 12:22-24). Having done this, He sat down to signify His finished work, and entered into His work as Mediator of the New Covenant for His people (Heb 1:3, 10:11-12, 9:23-26). The Heavenly Temple is an image of God's ultimate Temple (Man), so when we receive Christ, He also sprinkles us with His Blood & sanctifies us to Himself (1Pet 1:2, Heb 9:13-14). By His Spirit, He entered our holy of holies, and applied His Blood to our spirit, cleansing it from all sin & sanctifying it to Himself, making it a perfect new creation, and then sits enthroned there by His indwelling Spirit, to mediate the new covenant in our lives. This happened at our New Birth. He activated the New Covenant in us, so we're now under grace. We became a functioning Temple. Having sprinkled & cleansed us with His Blood (Heb 9:13-14), He now brings us into our inheritance (v15). It's a Throne of Grace, for the Lamb's Blood has been accepted by God on our behalf, and He sits at God's right hand dispensing His River of Grace to us (Rev 22:1-2). This also pictures us as Temples, with Christ enthroned as Lord in our spirit, releasing His river of grace from His throne in our spirit, flowing down into our heart & life. The trees = thoughts & emotions in our soul. As we trust in Christ who lives in us, and submit to His Lordship, we receive His river of blessing into our hearts. When God entered the Tabernacle, He sat in His glory, enthroned on the Mercy Seat above the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies, and there He met with Moses & spoke with him (Ex 25:21-22). Likewise, He sits on the throne in our spirit, His base of operation in us. 3 items in the HOLY PLACE (Heb 9:1-4) = our SOUL: *(1) MENORAH = our MIND, illuminated by the oil of His Spirit. *(2) TABLE of SHOWBREAD (‘the Bread of the Presence') = our EMOTIONS, kept ever fresh from God's Presence, shining from the Holy of Holies. *(3) The ALTAR of INCENSE next to the Holy of Holies = our HEART or WILL, at the deepest part of our soul, called the Golden Censer (‘the Place of Incense') in Heb 9:4, where it's described as belonging to the holy of holies. Thus, our HEART is the junction & connection between our SPIRIT & SOUL, receiving God's life from the spirit, so that it flows into our soul (Heb 4:12, John 7:38). By God's design, the heart should be under the spirit's control, so a worshipping heart is necessary to receive God's grace into our souls. As we submit our hearts into God's Hand (the Holy Spirit), He can guide & empower us (Prov 21:1). To reign in life, put our heart into His Hand (His Spirit), who manifests in us as rivers of living water. In the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant containing 3 items, hidden under the Throne (under His control) = 3 aspects of God's grace, He wants to release into our soul by His Spirit: (1) the Tablets of the Covenant, (2) Aaron's Almond Rod that budded, and (3) the Golden Pot of Manna (Heb 9:3-5)

Topics: Biblical Backsliding, You're Not a Backslider If You Don't "Fully Commit" to God, You're Not a Backslider If You're Sinning, The Word Backslide Is Not in the New Testament for a Reason, The Law Was Brought in so That Sin Would Increase (Romans 5:20), The Law is a Ministry of Death and Condemnation (2 Corinthians 3), You Are Now the Temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:11), You Are Now the House of God (Hebrews 3 and Hebrews 10), You Search the Scriptures because You Think that in Them You Have Life (John 5), The Law is Not of Faith (Galatians 3), Even when We are Faithless He Remains Faithful (2 Timothy 2:13), A Fearful Exception for the Unbelievers Who Insult Grace (Hebrews 10), It Is Good for Your Heart to Be Strengthened by Grace, Jesus is Grace, Jesus Is Grace, The Law Was Meant to Increase Sin, The Old Covenant is Now Obsolete (Hebrews 8), The New Covenant Is a New and Living Way, You Are Not Under the Law but Under Grace (Romans 6:14), If It's Based on Works It Cannot Be Based on Grace (Romans 11:6), If You Are Led by the Spirit You Are Not Under the Law (Galatians 5:18), God Found Fault with Israel, The New Covenant Is Based on Better Promises, The New Covenant Came through the Blood of Jesus, You Are a Beneficiary to the New Covenant, The Old Testament Uses the Word Backslide, The Context of Backsliding Was the Hebrews Sliding Away from Faith in the Old Covenant, Jesus Is the Gospel of Grace (Acts 20:24), Your Sins Are Not More Powerful than What He's Done, The Promises Made at the Cross Keeps This from Being Undone, Confession and Repentance Don't Maintain Your Salvation, You Are One Spirit with the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:17), Our Perfection Comes by Way of Trusting in What Jesus Has Done with His Blood, God Was Still Married to the "Backslider" in the Old TestamentSupport the showSign up for Matt's free daily devotional! https://mattmcmillen.com/newsletter

Romans 3:21-23Romans 3:24-25Romans 3:26-27Romans 3:28-311. For All Who BelieveRomans 3:21-23Luke 18:9-14Romans 3:21-232. And Are JustifiedRomans 3:24-253. A Propitiation by His BloodRomans 3:24-25Propitiation: "Appeasement, placation, conciliation, expiation, and atonement. The word refers to the act of gaining favor or goodwill by overcoming distrust and hostility, often by making amends or a sacrifice, especially to a deity. “Hebrews 10:4Romans 3:24-25Romans 3:26Romans 3:274. God is OneRomans 3:28-31Romans 3:22-25a

The text for today's study is Luke 22:19-20 READ  CLICK to Read Transcripts The post His Broken Body, His Blood appeared first on Living in God's Presence.

A new MP3 sermon from Bethel Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Jesus Bought Us with His Blood Subtitle: Devotionals Speaker: Jay Smith Broadcaster: Bethel Baptist Church Event: Devotional Date: 9/7/2025 Bible: Revelation 5:6-10 Length: 6 min.

1Thes.2:9-13;   Ps.139:1,7-12;   Mt.23:27-32)   "Make your lives worthy of the God who calls you to His kingship and glory."   God is our Father, and those who preach "God's good tidings" love us "as a father does his children," for their message is "not as the word of men" but truly "the word of God at work within [those] who believe."  Come to the Lord's table.  Eat of His Body, drink of His Blood.  Become as He is by His holy Word. Children of light we are called to be, and what is that light but the one which shines in all places at all times and which is inescapable.  "Where can I go from your spirit?" David wonders in our psalm.  Whether we fly to the heavens or "sink to the netherworld," He is there.  For Him "darkness itself is not dark, and night shines as the day" because He Himself is light, and where He is, light shines – and He is everywhere. How can we become children of such an awesome God?  How can we enter "His kingship and glory" as Paul exhorts us in our first reading?  The only way is by Jesus and the only way is to follow those who bring Jesus to us, whose conduct is "upright, just, and irreproachable" as is Paul's – our means of salvation is the Church, its prophets and martyrs, its teaching and sacraments… its grace which comes to us through Jesus Christ to lead us to the Father of all.  On the apostles and their message of the Gospel our faith is set. In our gospel Jesus again chastises the Pharisees, those who have not been loving and faithful fathers for the people, those from whom care of the kingdom will be taken for the "hypocrisy and evil" within them.  For though they present "a holy exterior," it is but the bones of the saints they hold within their whitewashed tombs and not their blessed spirit.  Indeed, they shall show themselves murderous as their forefathers, who shed the prophet's blood – and whom they ascribe to themselves by name – in their giving up the fulfillment of the prophets to crucifixion.  "Full of filth" inside and lovers of the tomb's darkness, they are not worthy to be called fathers of the Lord's children.  And Jesus proves that God's light shines in even the darkest places by exposing their corruption in our gospel today. Brothers and sisters, beware of following false leaders whose motives are not pure, who do not lay down their lives for the flock.  Remain within the walls of the Church, where the Spirit dwells and where the Father nourishes His people on their way to His kingdom and glory.   ******* O LORD, take all falsehood from our souls and let us toil only for you. YHWH, how shall we become true servants of your Word, free of all hypocrisy and evil, not seeking our own gain but the salvation of others?  Purge us of the filth within us and make our conduct irreproachable, that you may be known and all your children follow in your way. Surround us, O LORD, with your presence this day; let your Word be at work within us.  Let us not whitewash our sin but acknowledge it before your all-seeing eye, and in repentance find our freedom.  Guide us in all things, even in the darkest night, that we may come to know you are ever with us. For you let us work, LORD, and not for the burying of your light.  Let us toil on this earth only to bring your truth to all souls.  From the tomb let us be raised to dwell in your holy presence.

August 14, 2025Today's Reading: Catechism: What is the Sacrament of the Altar?Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 1:1-27; 1 Corinthians 7:25-40It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself for us Christians to eat and to drink. (Catechism: What is the Sacrament of the Altar?) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Simple, plain, boring language. It's the best. There is nothing to worry about or misunderstand. It is the Body. It is the Blood. It is given by Jesus. It is for us. This is amazing! This is a miracle, given to us every week. And yet, why do we so often disparage it? Why do we complicate it or get it mixed up? The short answer? Sin. Sin breaks the beautifully simple and makes it jaggedly complicated. Do Jesus' words really mean what He said? Should the wine be red in color? Does the bread have to be a certain shape? Or worse - ‘oh man, it's Communion…church is going to be soooo long.' More hymns? More prayers? Lord, have mercy. We sinners have a tendency to take what is simple and make it complicated. We tend to make it about us instead of Jesus. And yet the Truth is that Jesus gives us His Body and His Blood in the Lord's Supper. He delivers forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation in, with, and under the Bread and Wine. He has done the work; we get to joyfully receive. In fact, in your Baptism, you are given the Holy Spirit Who creates the faith that clings to these Gifts from Jesus. This is so wonderfully simple—God saves you, washes you, claims you, forgives you, and continues to strengthen and sustain you in Him. When you are tempted to make The Lord's Supper complicated, or about you, repent. When you are tempted to despise the preaching of the Gospel and the giving of God's Gifts, repent. Allow God's amazingly simple Gift of Jesus' Death and Resurrection to be exactly as God has declared it: for you. It is done. It is finished. In the faith you have been given, you get to rejoice that these words and God's promises mean exactly as He has said them. The Truth is simple: Jesus for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Draw near and take the body of the Lord, And drink the holy blood for you outpoured; Offered was He for greatest and for least, Himself the victim and Himself the priest. (LSB 637:1)Deac. Sarah Longmire, Bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.Study the early Church Fathers, Scripture, and Christian history alongside FLAME's conversational voice to see for yourself why their teachings from Scripture are important to study, and live out, today.

O reformer of the Church and leader of her priests and people, calling all to live the Gospel, to give their hearts in the service of Christ, who alone can save men's souls – pray that your love for the Lord and His holy Church will be known in all the members of His Body, and so that apostles will be sent forth to preach and to heal even this day. Pray we shall be one with Him who made us, eating His Body and drinking His Blood and living according to the Word He speaks to our souls through MotherChurch and all her faithful servants. It is the Lord alone who must be our concern; pray we, too, shall walk in His footsteps.

(Nm.11:4-15;   Ps.81:2,12-17;   Mt.14:13-21)  "Israel I would feed with the best of wheat." But the best of wheat they despise, and seek to satiate their appetite with meat.  The blessed food from heaven, come from the hand of God, the Israelites soon grow tired of as they travel through the desert.  Their stomachs cry out for earthly flesh.  As our psalm tells us, the people "heard not" the voice of God but preferred "their own counsels," so He "gave them up to the hardness of their hearts."  He will give them the meat they desire, and it will bring plague upon them for their lusts against God. Yet the Lord ever continues to call His people, and in the presence of Jesus that call is fulfilled.  In our gospel we see Jesus taking it upon Himself to feed the hungry masses, caring for their needs, and though some will seek to follow Him just to feed their bellies, others will recognize in His feeding of the five thousand the blessing of God's providence and His loving care for His children; and their hearts will be open to partake of the spiritual food, the Body and Blood of Christ, which shall be offered forth at the table of the Lord after His death and resurrection.  The sacrificial love of Jesus Christ will thus become their own as they unite with Him in flesh and blood, in word and deed – in partaking of the best of wheat.  He is the food that sustains us. The fragments left us in the twelve baskets come down to us this day through His twelve apostles and the Church founded by them in His Name.  The fragments we find upon our altar today as our priest prays the blessing over them.  And we are fed.  And we have life.  And we are kept from grumbling against the Lord for all that is not ours in this world, and all the vain things our hearts would otherwise desire… and we endure any suffering that comes to us on our pilgrimage to His Promised Land by the grace of the food offered forth through His holy sacrifice.  And we thus become like Him. If there were no food upon our table, if this sacrifice upon our altars were not the Body and Blood of Christ – if His presence were not real in this best of wheat, this holy manna – we would faint in the desert of this world and be consumed by our own lusts.  But as it is the Lord provides the nourishment we need, and body and soul are kept alive even unto paradise. Eat His Body and drink His Blood, brothers and sisters, and you shall live in His paradise. ******* O LORD, let us not complain against your providence; may we never harden our hearts but come to your table and eat. YHWH, how can we complain against you and your providence?  Do we not see the food you give us to eat and the blessing it is for our lives?  Why do we so easily harden our hearts? And what does such rebelliousness do but cause us to be separated from you?  What does it bring but our own death?  To us you give even the flesh of your Son to eat, and yet we turn away from this finest of wheat.  O LORD, what hope is there for souls as blind as we? Your Son takes pity on our plight.  He looks on us with healing grace.  No need of ours would He leave unmet; yet will we come to His table to eat?  O LORD, in His hands let us find our home!  Let us trust in His blessing of our lives.  Let us not be a burden to Him or His apostles, but join them in carrying your Bread to the world.

(Lv.23:1,4-11,15-16,27,34-37;   Ps.81:2-6,10-11;   Mt.13:54-58)   "Offer as an oblation to the Lord holocausts and cereal offerings, sacrifices and libations, as prescribed for each day."   Our first reading and our psalm speak and sing of the honor due our God.  The Lord outlines for Moses "the festivals of the Lord" which must be celebrated "at the proper time with a sacred assembly," and our psalmist exhorts us to "blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our solemn feast" in honor of the one true God.  We should worship no god but Him and "hold a sacred assembly and do no sort of work" on His sabbaths and on the days He sets aside for celebrating His Name.  Due honor and praise must be given our God. But when Jesus comes into the midst of His people, due honor is withheld.  Though they cannot deny His teaching, the wisdom and grace He imparts, yet they are blind to His presence before them.  They do not know whence He comes.  They cannot see that He is of God.  And so because of their limited vision, their "lack of faith," He cannot touch them or heal them as He passes by.  Here He stands in their synagogues, but the shout of joy does not go up from their midst because their hearts are shut tight to the divine presence of the Lord.  The due praise they are moved to is thus denied, and they break the Law of God. It is sad when justice is not done to our God.  We are the ones who would benefit most from offering due sacrifice and oblation – He has no need of our holocausts – yet we commit this kind of suicide by reserving the honor due Him, resisting thus truly entering His marvelous presence and becoming one with the One who created us and saved us.  He invites us to the feast, to the glorious celebration, but we turn down His invitation to join Him at the table of His Body and His Blood.  Each day it is prescribed for us to give our souls to Him; in every place the cup of salvation is raised unto the glory of God: here the festival of the Lord is fulfilled in our midst.  But how many say they see but bread and wine, they hear but empty phrases.  Their hearts are not set on His coming. We are Jesus' brothers and sisters; we are His mother.  We are those who recognize His presence and give glory to His Name.  The world cannot see Him; the world does not know Him.  But we know Him.  Let us "take up a melody, and sound the timbrel, the pleasant harp and the lyre," and with all the music our lives can produce give Him glory in our celebration… with all the work we do and all the rest we take each day in Him.  Now is the acceptable time.  Today is the day of salvation.  Here the feast begins.  Let us come into His presence singing for joy.   ******* O LORD, let us believe in you and worship you, and we shall be blessed. YHWH, let us worship you as is due; let us give praise to your NAME and each day celebrate your glory in our midst.  Every day a sacred assembly we may now hold, now that Jesus has walked among us, now that He is present to us upon your holy altar; and so, let us welcome Him into our house and sing praise for the blessing He is to this place. To the teaching of your Son let us listen, LORD; He has come in the flesh with your wisdom and power.  Let us not question His origin but know He is from you, as He shows with all He says and does.  Why do our corrupted souls condemn the Man who comes only to save?  Why do we not see that God is here with us? Remove our weakness, LORD, the blindness of our human eyes, that we might with all our hearts keep your festival at the proper time, for the day of atonement is upon us.

(Ex.34:29-35;   Ps.99:5-7,9;   Mt.13:44-46)   "The skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord."   His face shining like the pearl of great price, with whom he speaks, Moses comes down from the mountain carrying the Ten Commandments.  Here is a great treasure in His hands, which he has given up all to find.  But, of course, the greater treasure is the Word of God from which it takes its meaning and of which Moses converses with the Lord; and the greatest treasure is certainly God Himself, who makes us shine as stars in the night that is this world.  "Holy is the Lord, our God." And so, of course, the greatest treasure we can find here on earth, hidden in this ground from which our bodies are formed, is our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the very image of God, God Himself, the WORD made flesh in our presence.  And thus as the Israelites had the Ten Commandments as the heart of their covenant, so we have a surpassing covenant founded in the Body and Blood of our Lord, in which His presence truly abides.  Still we have His words of Truth, still they illumine our faces.  But now they are spoken by the incarnate mouth of God; now the veil has been removed from the face of the One who inspires all souls, and our hearts burn with the pure light of His wisdom – and now we have that flesh and blood which make the words so real at our fingertips and upon our lips… and so, one we become with His holiness. Radiant is the splendor of God.  He alone is worthy of our praise.  It is He alone we should strive to possess in this life.  He is buried here in our hearts; He is waiting deep within our souls for us to uncover our faces, to uncover our minds from the veil which conceals His light.  Indeed, He is waiting for us to shine as the pearl of great price, to give light to the world as He does, that all might come to converse with Him with unveiled faces.  But we must give up all else to find such grace: this pearl must remain unmixed with baser matter.  As Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights, neither eating nor drinking, so we must come to Him so utterly, leaving all of this world behind, to find the riches which await us in the heavenly kingdom.  Jesus is the way to that kingdom.  In his Word, His Body and His Blood, we find the pearl of great price.  And so shall our faces shine radiantly white as we converse with the Lord in His presence for all eternity.  Praise Him, brothers and sisters, for His grace at work in your life.   ******* O LORD, holy are you, and holy are those who seek your face. YHWH, holy are you, and we are called to be holy as you are holy, to have our faces shine as radiantly as Moses' – to come into your presence.  O let us converse with you, dear LORD!  For now we have Jesus who speaks with us, who tells us clearly of the glory of your kingdom and how we are called to give up all to enter there.  How the pearl of great price is made evident in His flesh!  To Him let us come and we shall be one with you, and we shall be holy. Before us on the altar shines the pearl of great price, the Body of Christ given to us that we might see and know your holiness, O LORD, that we might become as His Body in the world.  Let us worship Him in the Sacrament, here on your holy mountain. In the field that is your Church we find hidden in this Bread all we need for the salvation of our souls, for discovering holiness in your presence, LORD.

Ex.16:1-5,9-15;   Ps.78:18-19,23-28;   Mt.13:1-9)   "I will now rain down bread from heaven for you."   He gives us bread to eat; He gives us wine to drink.  All our food comes from His hand.  He provides for our every need.  It is not by our own strength we are fed.  It is not by our own strength we produce fruit to feed others.  All our grain is from His hand and grows only with His blessing. The Israelites find themselves in a barren desert and begin to fear for their empty bellies.  "Can God spread a table in the desert?" they ask in doubt, and begin to dissemble before the Lord.  But it is God's will to teach them a lesson, to show them from whom their sustenance comes, for even when in Egypt their "fleshpots" were provided by Him.  But they are a blind and ignorant race, and so He must show them the power of His grace, of His providence.  He thus gives them a food they have never seen before, whose very name, "manna", reveals its mystery.  And so they partake of this food of the angels; "even a surfeit of provisions He sent them," though their flesh shall not be long satisfied with this heavenly food. And we, do we realize all our food comes from the Lord?  Do we see His hand at work in all things?  Or do we go blindly along through this desert as well, listening too carefully to our grumbling stomachs while ignoring His Word in our hearts and presence in our midst?  Do we, too, forget all He has done for us?  Or do we turn faithfully to Him for His heavenly provisions and find ourselves satisfied with the food from His hands?  And thus, do we ourselves yield grain from the good soil He sets us on, increasing "a hundred- or sixty- or thirty-fold" His word in our hearts, that others might be fed too by our God?  Jesus sits before us today and calls us to such fruitfulness in His name.  Let us not be choked by the cares of this world or fail to have depth of faith within our souls, but let us take the blessed food He provides in His Word and in His Body and His Blood and so be nourished well to provide for others. The desert in which we find ourselves, by which the Lord tests our faith, can seem to overwhelm us at times.  May it never cause us to act as the Israelites, who "tempted God in their hearts by demanding the food they craved."  Let us remember that only the "heavenly bread" rained upon us by Him will save us from the temptations and emptiness of this life.  I pray He fill you with His bread of eternal life.   ******* O LORD, you give us bread to eat; yes, you provide holy seed – and we must produce fruit unto Heaven. YHWH, our trust in you increase this day; let us know it is by your hand we are fed.  And what food is ours by your grace!  Even the Body and Blood of your Son. Bread from Heaven you give us, LORD, feeding us with the flesh of Christ.  As once you gave the Israelites bread in the desert, so now you open the doors of Heaven and provide for us our daily food. Plant your Word in our souls, dear God, that it might grow and nourish us well, that we might bear fruit a hundredfold in the Name of Jesus.  Our ears open to hear His voice, let us be faithful to His call. All the distractions of this world take from us; save us from the rumblings of our belly.  Let us understand that you care for all our needs if we but trust in the Word you send us.

July 5, 2025 Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 4 - Psalm 19:2, 4-6; antiphon: Psalm 19:1Daily Lectionary: Joshua 23:1-16; Acts 12:1-25“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When Jesus, the bridegroom, comes for His bride, the church, the heavens, and creation itself will not hold back praise. On that day, all will be restored, and creation will dwell with its Creator again forever. What a vivid scene. Come, Lord Jesus! While the psalmist writes, our minds read, and our hearts declare, “How long?” Indeed, how long will it be until that glorious day when the Bridegroom comes to take His Bride to the wedding feast and celebrate that glorious consummation of the age that will never end?While waiting is depressing and this life can feel meaningless, we run our course with joy. Christ has come and will come again. Until then, He has given us every promise and blessing, including the assurance that we will stand with Him on that Last Day. How can I be so sure? I am baptized, and you, the baptized, will be with your Jesus, the one whose Name you were baptized into.Though this course is long, and we grow tired and weak, we are strengthened by the wedding feast of the Lamb, given by the Lamb Himself for us, His bride, to eat and to drink. Jesus gives His Body for the feast and His Blood for you to drink to strengthen and sustain you until He comes to dwell with us fully.On that day, we will be with Him in glory, with the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, hearing the heavens declare the glory of God and the sky proclaim His handiwork. What a glorious day that will be, as we continue to pray with the psalmist, the saints of old, and saints to come, “Come, Lord Jesus.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.All creation joins to praise You; Earth and sky Your works display. Art and music, gifts You lend us, We return to You today. Alleluia! Alleluia! God, Creator, source of life! (LSB 795:2)- Justin Chester is a seminary student at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Clarifying the Great Commission, Rev. Daniel Christian Voth identifies common omissions from our collective understanding of Jesus' farewell discourse—omissions that turn Christ's promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation into a legalistic command. Come and discover a richer understanding of The Great Commission.

Leviticus 17:10-12 Without the Virgin Birth, we have no forgiveness of sin. Jesus lived His entire lifetime without sin. There was no sin in His flesh, and there was no sin in His Blood, because His Blood came from His Father, God Almighty in Heaven, not from any earthly father. When they drove those spikes into the hands and feet of Jesus and the Blood came forth, it was not just anybody's blood. It was not the blood of a mere mortal man; it was the very Blood of God and it made possible salvation and deliverance for all who will receive it.

Friends of the Rosary,July is a month that falls within the season of Ordinary Time, represented by the liturgical color green, which symbolizes hope.It's also the month associated with the Precious Blood of Our Lord, shed for us on Calvary and reassumed at His risen, glorified, and living body at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.The early Fathers say that the Church was born from the pierced side of Christ, and that the sacraments were brought forth through His Blood.It's the Precious Blood made present in Mass by the words of Consecration. It washes our souls and sheds sanctifying grace, inaugurating the beginning of our eternal life.These are the principal feasts for July this year:1. Junípero Serra (USA), Opt. Mem.3. Thomas, Apostle, Feast4. Independence Day (USA), Opt. Mem.5. Anthony Mary Zaccaria; Elizabeth of Portugal, Queen (USA), Opt. Mem.6. FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, Sunday9. Augustine Zhao Rong & companions, Opt. Mem.11. Benedict, Memorial13. FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, Sunday14. Kateri Tekakwitha (USA), Memorial15. Bonaventure, Memorial16. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Opt. Mem.18. Camillus de Lellis (USA), Opt. Mem.20. SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, Sunday21. Lawrence of Brindisi, Opt. Mem.22. Mary Magdalene, Feast23. Bridget, Opt. Mem.24. Sharbel (Charbel) Makhloof, Opt. Mem.25. James, Apostle, Feast26. Joachim and Anne, Memorial27. SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, Sunday29. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, Memorial30. Peter Chrysologus; Solanus Casey, Opt. Mem.31. Ignatius of Loyola, MemorialAve Maria!Jesus, I Trust In You!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• ⁠July 2, 2025, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

What is faith? Faith is applying the blood of Jesus to the doorposts of your heart and life! The Bible tells us that by faith Moses instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of blood. Today, we observe Christ our Passover and apply His Blood, by faith, to our lives!If you got saved watching the broadcast today, need prayer, would like to connect with us, or you would like to give into this ministry please visit here:https://www.gospeltabernaclechurch.com/connect/

Read Online“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood is true drink.” John 6:53–55On a philosophical level, it's useful to consider various things that appear to be “competing forces.” Good appears to be the opposite of evil. Light the opposite of dark. Heat the opposite of cold. And life the opposite of death. But are they truly opposites in the sense of being competing forces? When considered carefully, it is clear that good and evil, light and dark, heat and cold, and life and death are not actually “competing forces;” rather, evil is simply the absence of good, darkness the absence of light, cold the absence of heat, and death the loss of life. And though this philosophical distinction may not seem that interesting to some, and confusing to others, it is a helpful truth to ponder in light of today's Gospel.Today's Gospel tells us that failure to “eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood” results in death. Death is the loss of life, and the Eucharist is the source of life. Jesus says that if you fail to eat His Flesh and drink His Blood, “you do not have life within you.”This bold teaching of Jesus should cause us to stop and examine our approach to the Most Holy Eucharist. Sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking that going to Mass and receiving Communion is something we do as a “favor” to our Lord. But in truth, it's God's most profound favor to us, because the Eucharist is the gateway to eternal life. And without it, we have no life within us. Our spirits die because we lose the presence of God.Looking at the negative effect of not receiving the Most Holy Eucharist can be very useful. Sometimes we need to consider the consequences of our actions as a way of motivating us to greater fidelity. For that reason, considering the fact that failure to eat the Flesh of the Son of God results in death should be very motivating. It should fill us with a holy fear of the loss of the life-giving presence of God within us. This “holy fear” is a true gift from God and is, in fact, one of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.Reflect, today, upon your interior attitude toward the Most Holy Eucharist. Do you see your participation in the Holy Mass more as a favor you offer to our Lord? Or do you see it as it is: the life-giving source of eternal life? Reflect upon how important this precious gift truly is and recommit yourself to a faithful and devout participation in this most holy Gift.My Eucharistic Lord, Your Flesh and Blood are truly the source of eternal life for all who receive You in faith. I thank You, dear Lord, for this most precious Gift of the Most Holy Eucharist, and I pray that I will be filled with a deep hunger and thirst for You always. Jesus, I trust in You.Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro) 1400-1455. Florence. Le sermon sur la montagne by jean louis mazieres, license Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Part 12. Prayers of Mary the Magnificat We don't find prayer easy, but prayer is the vital element in our life as God intended. David Pawson says that Christian prayer is unique and at its heart is conversation with God. Our Father loves us to express our need to Him. David Pawson discusses the privilege of prayer, which he says is practising the presence of God. Jesus is the centre of prayer – His teaching and example, His Blood and His intercession for us and our prayer in His Name. Who and what should we pray for? What was Jesus' pattern and discipline in prayer? The Spirit shows us how to pray and He prays with us. We can pray with the mind and also at a level deeper than the mind. David Pawson illustrates praying with tears, sighs and using other languages. He concludes by showing how we can receive the gift of praying in another language. A really practical guide to praying, for every Christian.

Part 11. Prayers of Nehemiah We don't find prayer easy, but prayer is the vital element in our life as God intended. David Pawson says that Christian prayer is unique and at its heart is conversation with God. Our Father loves us to express our need to Him. David Pawson discusses the privilege of prayer, which he says is practising the presence of God. Jesus is the centre of prayer – His teaching and example, His Blood and His intercession for us and our prayer in His Name. Who and what should we pray for? What was Jesus' pattern and discipline in prayer? The Spirit shows us how to pray and He prays with us. We can pray with the mind and also at a level deeper than the mind. David Pawson illustrates praying with tears, sighs and using other languages. He concludes by showing how we can receive the gift of praying in another language. A really practical guide to praying, for every Christian.

Message Title: A New CovenantToday we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we will take a look at this New Covenant established in His Blood!Send us a text Support the show

Part 10. Prayers of Samuel and Hannah We don't find prayer easy, but prayer is the vital element in our life as God intended. David Pawson says that Christian prayer is unique and at its heart is conversation with God. Our Father loves us to express our need to Him. David Pawson discusses the privilege of prayer, which he says is practising the presence of God. Jesus is the centre of prayer – His teaching and example, His Blood and His intercession for us and our prayer in His Name. Who and what should we pray for? What was Jesus' pattern and discipline in prayer? The Spirit shows us how to pray and He prays with us. We can pray with the mind and also at a level deeper than the mind. David Pawson illustrates praying with tears, sighs and using other languages. He concludes by showing how we can receive the gift of praying in another language. A really practical guide to praying, for every Christian.

Part 9. Prayers of Moses We don't find prayer easy, but prayer is the vital element in our life as God intended. David Pawson says that Christian prayer is unique and at its heart is conversation with God. Our Father loves us to express our need to Him. David Pawson discusses the privilege of prayer, which he says is practising the presence of God. Jesus is the centre of prayer – His teaching and example, His Blood and His intercession for us and our prayer in His Name. Who and what should we pray for? What was Jesus' pattern and discipline in prayer? The Spirit shows us how to pray and He prays with us. We can pray with the mind and also at a level deeper than the mind. David Pawson illustrates praying with tears, sighs and using other languages. He concludes by showing how we can receive the gift of praying in another language. A really practical guide to praying, for every Christian.

That, says the scriptures, THE CROSS is an:OFFENSE.The meaning, the thought, the application of the cross is indeed an offense to the NATURAL MAN. That is, the man or woman who has no belief in Christianity. This natural person, man or woman, is offended by the notion of the cross. In fact, this anti-Christian person is offended by anything about the cross, including the blood of Jesus Christ.For Christians, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, was the act of the son of God who laid down his life for mankind, for the sins of man and woman, and without, says the scriptures, this shedding of blood there is:NO REMISSION FOR SIN.None at all.But the concept of sin generally and the need of humankind to accept that propitiation for sin is offensive, even mythological. Some critics, atheistic, even go so far as to call the crucifixion and the shedding of blood:BARBARIC.They go back to the Old Testament, to the very book of Genesis, where there was a sacrifice of an animal, the shedding of that animal's blood as atonement, remission for sins, declaring that to be barbaric as well. But, again, for Christians, without the shedding of blood, the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, there is no remission for sins, none at all. Sin and blood, and of course crucifixion, say the natural man and woman, is ridiculous mythology and stokes the passions of these anti-Christians in this day and age, perhaps as never before.But sin, the coming short of the glory of God is indeed a reality. In fact, it is everywhere in deed and in heart. Evil is a reality, and there really is no cure for it, except ONE! And that is the saving grace of our Lord clearly manifested to us at Calvary, Golgotha, THE CROSS. Thank God for the cross and Christ!Jesus of Nazareth was tried before Pilate, and the verdict was:I FIND NO FAULT IN HIM!But the mob cried out:CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM!Pilate, politician that he was, honored the tradition of the time, to release a prisoner to them and Pilate chose Barrabus over Jesus, so much for justice.To Calvary, he went. Weakened as he was, Simon of Cyrene was conscripted by the Romans to carry the cross of Christ and the Golgotha drama began. Nails were driven into his hands and feet, and there he hung, suffering, parched with a terrible thirst, the crown of thorns on His head causing his blood to drip and his spirit to yearn for the end. He felt all alone, even abandoned by His Father, as he took upon himself the sins of the world, of you and me. In that lonely state, he cried out:MY GOD, MY GOD WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?But then, mercifully, it was over. And his parting words were:IT IS FINISHED!That ultimate act of redemption was accomplished once and for all, for all mankind, for you and for me. There were those at the time who saw the event, witnessed the horrible act of Roman crucifixion, and watched the innocent Jesus of Nazareth suffer. They witnessed his body taken down from that cross, and the man Joseph, wrapping it in fine linen and laying the precious body of Jesus Christ in that very own and special tomb.That was Friday, but then came Sunday. On the third day, this son of the living God, with the power of God, rose from the dead, and accomplished the greatest event in human history:THE RESURRECTION.Up from the grave he arose, with a mighty triumph o'er his foes. He arose the victor from the dark domain, and he lives forever with his saints to reign. Blessed are we, by the millions and millions, who have never seen but who believe, nonetheless.BLESSED ARE WE!And we are indeed, for Gentile and Jew, anyone for that matter, all humankind, can have the incredible benefits of the crucifixion and the resurrection, a life of reconciliation here and life eternal there. Death is destroyed, for there now is no more death. We who believe will live eternally with Him so that the life we now live is redeemed, cleansed, and forgiven by His BLOOD. And we will be raised like HIM in our very own resurrection morning to know HIM and to live eternally with HIM.Thank God for that third day. Life here and now is one of joy, unspeakable rejoicing, praise, worship, and thanksgiving because of this great offense, the cross of Jesus Christ, the crucifixion, and the resurrection.So, my fellow Christians, on Easter Sunday and every other day, may we praise God for Jesus of Nazareth, and:THANK GOD FOR HIS UNSPEAKABLE GIFT!

Why did Jesus Christ have to die on the Cross and shed His Blood for our redemption. Many have made salvation about being good or mixing their salvation with a combination of good works and religion with a little of the blood of Jesus added for good measure.   In this episode we unravel the significance of the blood sacrifice, tracing it back to Cain and Abel, and addresses the persistent struggle between human efforts and good works and the grace of God. Religious traditions and works have clouded the simplicity of salvation that is activated through our faith in accepting the death of Jesus on the Cross. In His Sacrifice, we see the depth of God's love and the misunderstandings surrounding the path to redemption. Check out God On Trial and start listening today! Get your copy of "Spiritual Warfare and How Deliverance Can Change Your Life" on Amazon, and explore Marjorie's other books. "Because There Is A War For Your Soul"  liferecovery.com

Part 8. Prayer without hindrance We don't find prayer easy, but prayer is the vital element in our life as God intended. David Pawson says that Christian prayer is unique and at its heart is conversation with God. Our Father loves us to express our need to Him. David Pawson discusses the privilege of prayer, which he says is practising the presence of God. Jesus is the centre of prayer – His teaching and example, His Blood and His intercession for us and our prayer in His Name. Who and what should we pray for? What was Jesus' pattern and discipline in prayer? The Spirit shows us how to pray and He prays with us. We can pray with the mind and also at a level deeper than the mind. David Pawson illustrates praying with tears, sighs and using other languages. He concludes by showing how we can receive the gift of praying in another language. A really practical guide to praying, for every Christian.

Your faith in His Blood opens the door to being filled with the Holy Spirit—they are inseparable!

Part 7. Prayer for others We don't find prayer easy, but prayer is the vital element in our life as God intended. David Pawson says that Christian prayer is unique and at its heart is conversation with God. Our Father loves us to express our need to Him. David Pawson discusses the privilege of prayer, which he says is practising the presence of God. Jesus is the centre of prayer – His teaching and example, His Blood and His intercession for us and our prayer in His Name. Who and what should we pray for? What was Jesus' pattern and discipline in prayer? The Spirit shows us how to pray and He prays with us. We can pray with the mind and also at a level deeper than the mind. David Pawson illustrates praying with tears, sighs and using other languages. He concludes by showing how we can receive the gift of praying in another language. A really practical guide to praying, for every Christian.

Part 6. Prayer in the Spirit We don't find prayer easy, but prayer is the vital element in our life as God intended. David Pawson says that Christian prayer is unique and at its heart is conversation with God. Our Father loves us to express our need to Him. David Pawson discusses the privilege of prayer, which he says is practising the presence of God. Jesus is the centre of prayer – His teaching and example, His Blood and His intercession for us and our prayer in His Name. Who and what should we pray for? What was Jesus' pattern and discipline in prayer? The Spirit shows us how to pray and He prays with us. We can pray with the mind and also at a level deeper than the mind. David Pawson illustrates praying with tears, sighs and using other languages. He concludes by showing how we can receive the gift of praying in another language. A really practical guide to praying, for every Christian.

Part 5. Prayer by myself We don't find prayer easy, but prayer is the vital element in our life as God intended. David Pawson says that Christian prayer is unique and at its heart is conversation with God. Our Father loves us to express our need to Him. David Pawson discusses the privilege of prayer, which he says is practising the presence of God. Jesus is the centre of prayer – His teaching and example, His Blood and His intercession for us and our prayer in His Name. Who and what should we pray for? What was Jesus' pattern and discipline in prayer? The Spirit shows us how to pray and He prays with us. We can pray with the mind and also at a level deeper than the mind. David Pawson illustrates praying with tears, sighs and using other languages. He concludes by showing how we can receive the gift of praying in another language. A really practical guide to praying, for every Christian.

Part 4. Prayer with the saints We don't find prayer easy, but prayer is the vital element in our life as God intended. David Pawson says that Christian prayer is unique and at its heart is conversation with God. Our Father loves us to express our need to Him. David Pawson discusses the privilege of prayer, which he says is practising the presence of God. Jesus is the centre of prayer – His teaching and example, His Blood and His intercession for us and our prayer in His Name. Who and what should we pray for? What was Jesus' pattern and discipline in prayer? The Spirit shows us how to pray and He prays with us. We can pray with the mind and also at a level deeper than the mind. David Pawson illustrates praying with tears, sighs and using other languages. He concludes by showing how we can receive the gift of praying in another language. A really practical guide to praying, for every Christian.

Part 3. Prayer against the Devil We don't find prayer easy, but prayer is the vital element in our life as God intended. David Pawson says that Christian prayer is unique and at its heart is conversation with God. Our Father loves us to express our need to Him. David Pawson discusses the privilege of prayer, which he says is practising the presence of God. Jesus is the centre of prayer – His teaching and example, His Blood and His intercession for us and our prayer in His Name. Who and what should we pray for? What was Jesus' pattern and discipline in prayer? The Spirit shows us how to pray and He prays with us. We can pray with the mind and also at a level deeper than the mind. David Pawson illustrates praying with tears, sighs and using other languages. He concludes by showing how we can receive the gift of praying in another language. A really practical guide to praying, for every Christian.

Part 2. Prayer through the Son We don't find prayer easy, but prayer is the vital element in our life as God intended. David Pawson says that Christian prayer is unique and at its heart is conversation with God. Our Father loves us to express our need to Him. David Pawson discusses the privilege of prayer, which he says is practising the presence of God. Jesus is the centre of prayer – His teaching and example, His Blood and His intercession for us and our prayer in His Name. Who and what should we pray for? What was Jesus' pattern and discipline in prayer? The Spirit shows us how to pray and He prays with us. We can pray with the mind and also at a level deeper than the mind. David Pawson illustrates praying with tears, sighs and using other languages. He concludes by showing how we can receive the gift of praying in another language. A really practical guide to praying, for every Christian.

Part 1. Prayer to the Father We don't find prayer easy, but prayer is the vital element in our life as God intended. David Pawson says that Christian prayer is unique and at its heart is conversation with God. Our Father loves us to express our need to Him. David Pawson discusses the privilege of prayer, which he says is practising the presence of God. Jesus is the centre of prayer – His teaching and example, His Blood and His intercession for us and our prayer in His Name. Who and what should we pray for? What was Jesus' pattern and discipline in prayer? The Spirit shows us how to pray and He prays with us. We can pray with the mind and also at a level deeper than the mind. David Pawson illustrates praying with tears, sighs and using other languages. He concludes by showing how we can receive the gift of praying in another language. A really practical guide to praying, for every Christian.

We must make much about the Blood. There's wonder working power in His Blood and this power has not waned in more than 2,000 years! In the Passover ceremony, Israel was instructed to apply the blood of a sacrificed lamb on the doorposts for protection and life, and this serves as a wonderful pattern for us. There's more power in one drop of Christ's Blood than there is in the whole kingdom of satan!

We must make much about the Blood. There's wonder working power in His Blood and this power has not waned in more than 2,000 years! In the Passover ceremony, Israel was instructed to apply the blood of a sacrificed lamb on the doorposts for protection and life, and this serves as a wonderful pattern for us. There's more power in one drop of Christ's Blood than there is in the whole kingdom of satan!

After his initial prayer (v1-7), he moves into a meditation on God's attributes & acts, to fuel his prayers (v8-10): “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore, He teaches sinners in the WAY (of holiness)” (v8). In His goodness, He works to save us all from destruction, but only the humble receive His instruction, for they know their need of guidance and are willing to submit to God's will. The proud go their own way, thinking they don't need God. “The HUMBLE He guides in justice (righteousness), and the humble He teaches His WAY” (v9). The key to guidance is humility, asking God to show us His way. “All the PATHS of the Lord are MERCY and TRUTH (faithfulness), to such as keep (are loyal to) His covenant and His testimonies” (v10). We're in a covenant grace relationship with God, but to enjoy His presence & blessing, we must be loyal to God and keep His Covenant, walking in love & truth. If we don't, we can't have His Presence. Based on this meditation, he makes this PRAYER: “For Your NAME's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great” (v11). God's Name is His revealed character (v8-10). He asks God to pardon his great iniquity according to His Name (His faithfulness to forgive those who repent). Also, He pardons us for His Name's sake, for His glory, as He is glorified by our salvation. As Absalom's rebellion brought his past sins back to mind, he had to deal with condemning thoughts, so makes sure he has fully repented and received full forgiveness. Then he meditates on the BENEFITS of the FEAR of the Lord (v12-14): “Who is the man that FEARS the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses” (v12). The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge & wisdom (Prov 1:7, 9:10). “He himself shall dwell in prosperity (lit: goodness), and his descendants shall inherit the earth (possess the land)” (v13). “The SECRET (or friendship) of the Lord is with those who FEAR Him, and He will SHOW (reveal & manifest to) them His covenant.” Fearing God brings us into His intimate circle, to whom He shares His secrets, as with Abraham (2Chr 20:7, Isa 41:8, Jas 2:23). The closer we come to Him, the more He reveals & manifests Himself to us. We can't comprehend spiritual things apart from the Spirit; we need His Presence in our soul to perceive & receive spiritual things (1Cor 2:12-15). Without Him we're like a blind & deaf man. To explain His secrets to those without the Spirit is like describing colours to a blind man. It's by submission to (fear of) God we receive the Spirit into our soul (Is 11:2,3). Thus, it is the beginning of wisdom & knowledge. This meditation (v12-14) built his faith, resulting in a DECLARATION of FAITH: “My eyes are ever toward the Lord (looking to God in expectation), for He shall pluck (lit: bring out) my feet out of the net” (v15). As David speaks, his enemies have already set a net for him, for Absalom's armies were closing in on him, but he trusts God for victory. His final PRAYER (v16-22): “TURN Yourself to me, and have MERCY on me” (v16a). He says: "I am looking to You (v15), please look at me and smile on me, and release Your radiant Presence on me, flood me with your grace." “for I am desolate (lonely) and afflicted” (v16b). He reminds God how much he needs Him for most Israel had turned against him. “The troubles of my heart have enlarged; bring me out of my distresses! Look on my affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins” (v17-18). Again, he admits his sins are behind many of his problems, so asks for mercy to overcome the effects and forgiveness for any unknown sins. “Consider my enemies, for they are many; and they hate me with cruel (violent) hatred. Keep my soul, and deliver me; let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You” (v19-20, cf. v2). “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me (this is his own integrity) for I wait for You” (v21, cf. v1). He knew his need to walk before God with integrity (a whole heart), to stay in His Presence to be protected & delivered. He knows it's God's Presence that preserves Him, but we need to walk with God to abide under His Presence. He's not trusting in his own integrity (“for I wait for You”), but in God. The acrostic ends at v21, then in v22 his prayer expands to Israel as a whole. It was not just the future of David on the line, but all God's people: “REDEEM (ransom) Israel, O God, out of all their troubles!” (v22). He understood all blessings for which he'd prayed, are only available on the basis of the payment of a price. This is a prayer for the coming of the Redeemer, who would redeem Israel & all God's people by His Blood. Christ alone can bring the full forgiveness & restoration desired in this prayer by His (1) Blood (1st Coming) and (2) Power (2nd Coming). He prayed Ps 25 in his time of trouble and God answered him, but v22 expands it to all of Israel's troubles, including her final & full restoration, so we can also pray it with confidence.

After his initial prayer (v1-7), he moves into a meditation on God's attributes & acts, to fuel his prayers (v8-10): “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore, He teaches sinners in the WAY (of holiness)” (v8). In His goodness, He works to save us all from destruction, but only the humble receive His instruction, for they know their need of guidance and are willing to submit to God's will. The proud go their own way, thinking they don't need God. “The HUMBLE He guides in justice (righteousness), and the humble He teaches His WAY” (v9). The key to guidance is humility, asking God to show us His way. “All the PATHS of the Lord are MERCY and TRUTH (faithfulness), to such as keep (are loyal to) His covenant and His testimonies” (v10). We're in a covenant grace relationship with God, but to enjoy His presence & blessing, we must be loyal to God and keep His Covenant, walking in love & truth. If we don't, we can't have His Presence. Based on this meditation, he makes this PRAYER: “For Your NAME's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great” (v11). God's Name is His revealed character (v8-10). He asks God to pardon his great iniquity according to His Name (His faithfulness to forgive those who repent). Also, He pardons us for His Name's sake, for His glory, as He is glorified by our salvation. As Absalom's rebellion brought his past sins back to mind, he had to deal with condemning thoughts, so makes sure he has fully repented and received full forgiveness. Then he meditates on the BENEFITS of the FEAR of the Lord (v12-14): “Who is the man that FEARS the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses” (v12). The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge & wisdom (Prov 1:7, 9:10). “He himself shall dwell in prosperity (lit: goodness), and his descendants shall inherit the earth (possess the land)” (v13). “The SECRET (or friendship) of the Lord is with those who FEAR Him, and He will SHOW (reveal & manifest to) them His covenant.” Fearing God brings us into His intimate circle, to whom He shares His secrets, as with Abraham (2Chr 20:7, Isa 41:8, Jas 2:23). The closer we come to Him, the more He reveals & manifests Himself to us. We can't comprehend spiritual things apart from the Spirit; we need His Presence in our soul to perceive & receive spiritual things (1Cor 2:12-15). Without Him we're like a blind & deaf man. To explain His secrets to those without the Spirit is like describing colours to a blind man. It's by submission to (fear of) God we receive the Spirit into our soul (Is 11:2,3). Thus, it is the beginning of wisdom & knowledge. This meditation (v12-14) built his faith, resulting in a DECLARATION of FAITH: “My eyes are ever toward the Lord (looking to God in expectation), for He shall pluck (lit: bring out) my feet out of the net” (v15). As David speaks, his enemies have already set a net for him, for Absalom's armies were closing in on him, but he trusts God for victory. His final PRAYER (v16-22): “TURN Yourself to me, and have MERCY on me” (v16a). He says: "I am looking to You (v15), please look at me and smile on me, and release Your radiant Presence on me, flood me with your grace." “for I am desolate (lonely) and afflicted” (v16b). He reminds God how much he needs Him for most Israel had turned against him. “The troubles of my heart have enlarged; bring me out of my distresses! Look on my affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins” (v17-18). Again, he admits his sins are behind many of his problems, so asks for mercy to overcome the effects and forgiveness for any unknown sins. “Consider my enemies, for they are many; and they hate me with cruel (violent) hatred. Keep my soul, and deliver me; let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You” (v19-20, cf. v2). “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me (this is his own integrity) for I wait for You” (v21, cf. v1). He knew his need to walk before God with integrity (a whole heart), to stay in His Presence to be protected & delivered. He knows it's God's Presence that preserves Him, but we need to walk with God to abide under His Presence. He's not trusting in his own integrity (“for I wait for You”), but in God. The acrostic ends at v21, then in v22 his prayer expands to Israel as a whole. It was not just the future of David on the line, but all God's people: “REDEEM (ransom) Israel, O God, out of all their troubles!” (v22). He understood all blessings for which he'd prayed, are only available on the basis of the payment of a price. This is a prayer for the coming of the Redeemer, who would redeem Israel & all God's people by His Blood. Christ alone can bring the full forgiveness & restoration desired in this prayer by His (1) Blood (1st Coming) and (2) Power (2nd Coming). He prayed Ps 25 in his time of trouble and God answered him, but v22 expands it to all of Israel's troubles, including her final & full restoration, so we can also pray it with confidence.

The dramatic words of v7-10 were spoken at the Gates of Jerusalem, when David brought the Ark of the Covenant to God's earthly holy Hill in a procession (2Sam 6, 1Chr 15). This was the ascension of the Lord Himself, enthroned on the Ark (Ps 132:5-8) to His chosen resting place in the city of the great King (Ps 48:2, Matt 5:35). Thus, it's a type of Christ's Ascension to His throne in the New Jerusalem, God's heavenly holy Hill, as well as His ascension to sit on David's throne at His 2nd Coming. It's a Messianic Psalm ultimately fulfilled in His Ascension. v3-6 poses & starts to answer a big question: “Who may ASCEND into the Hill of the LORD or STAND in His Holy Place?” (v3). God's requirement to ascend & stand in His Presence is perfection (v4), so it's impossible for us, but God provides salvation by grace (v5-6). In v7-10, He answers the big question, revealing the unique perfect Man, Christ, who ascended to Heaven, the King of Glory, mighty in battle who defeated all foes & accomplished our salvation. It reveals that with Him many will ascend, showing how God provides us salvation by grace (v5). We can't climb to God, but He came down to us, so we could rise with Him (Heb 2:10). He fulfilled the conditions of v4; then ascended to Heaven (v7-10), to make a way for us to rise with Him. Before this no man ascended to Heaven (John 3:13). He alone fulfils God's standards. The scene describes this glorified Man ascending to Heaven & coming to its Gates to request access. v7-10: “Lift up your heads, O you Gates! and be lifted up, you everlasting Doors! and the KING of GLORY shall come in. Who is this KING of GLORY? (God does not seek entrance to Heaven, so this refers to Christ, His anointed human King). The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle (He's the Lord God, who became a man, fought the battle & won the victory for us). Lift up your heads, O you Gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this KING of GLORY? The LORD of HOSTS (armies), He is the KING of GLORY. Selah.” v3 asked: 'Who can ascend?' Here is the answer. He lived a perfect life, defeated all foes & ascended, but not on His own. He's the Lord of armies. When He enters thru the Gates, His army of saints enter with Him, united to Him by faith. He gained access to Heaven for all under His command. Thus Ps 24 deals with the issue of salvation, asking & answering: “Who may ascend?” (v3). To enter requires moral perfection (v4). When we receive Him, we receive His righteousness, so in Him we ascend into God's Presence & receive His blessing (v5). He's the Head and we, His Body, rise with Him. He rose as our representative, so we ascend in Him. Thus Christ, the Righteous One, is the Way to God (John 14:6,12). Moses' Tabernacle teaches our access to the Holy Place (v3) is only by His Blood. Ps 24:7-10 also reveals His future earthly ascension to David's throne. He humbly offered Himself to Israel as her King with salvation, but the leaders didn't receive Him. He said He'd only return when they repent & receive Him as King (Matt 23:37-39). They'll do this at Armageddon & then He'll return as King of Glory to Zion, save them from their enemies & establish His Kingdom (Zech 14:3-4). When Israel receives Him as King, He'll manifest His glory to, thru & for her. Notice, He didn't force Himself into Heaven, or force His reign on Israel, and He doesn't force Himself on us. We must receive Him as our King, and then He'll manifest His glory in & thru us. He reveals & offers Himself to us to be our Lord & Saviour. When we open the gates of our heart to Him, He comes in with His glory, 1st into our spirit, then into different parts of our soul. So v7-10 can be applied personally. He fulfilled it by ascending into the Heavenly Temple, but we're also God's Temple & He has the right to enter our holy of holies & be enthroned there. The Gospel declares v7 (Rev 3:20). By these words, He seeks access to our Temple, and we must open our gates & let Him in. When we do, He enters our spirit & imparts His glory (manifested nature) to us, as a free gift, making our spirit righteous, holy, full of His life & light, enabling us to ascend into God's Presence in Him. Since He's already ascended, as soon as He enters into us, we automatically ascend in our spirit to the Father thru our union to Him, by His power & righteousness in us. He comes in as the Lord, delivering us from the power of darkness & translating us into His Kingdom. Then His glory (love) works in our souls from within, changing us from glory to glory, so we increasingly fulfil His righteous requirements (v4). As we increase in holiness, the more we can ascend into His Presence to commune with Him (v3). He continues to ask for more access to every part of our soul, with the words of v7, so as we open our doors, inviting Him in to reign, He manifests Himself in us as the King of Glory, the Lord strong & mighty in battle, releasing His power & victory in us.

We have heard the story of Jesus dying on the cross. We sing songs about power in the blood, that nothing can wash away our sins but the blood. But why did Jesus have to shed His Blood? What is the purpose? And what does it do for you? In this Faith for My Generation Podcast Episode, we answer the question why Jesus shed His blood. If you prayed the prayer of Salvation please fill out this form so that we can mail you a free gift! https://gospeltabernacle.breezechms.com/form/salvation www.faithformygeneration.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/faithformygeneration/support

God has given us weapons of His Spirit, His Word, His Blood and His Name to tear down strongholds.

Friends of the Rosary, Today, November 1, is the Solemnity of All Saints, a feast that inspires tremendous hope. From November 1 to the 8th, we pray for the Faithful Departed.  The Catholic Church celebrates all the saints, canonized or beatified, and the multitude of those in heaven enjoying the beatific vision. We all have a universal call to holiness to join the company of the saints in heaven. To achieve this, we must devote ourselves with all our being to God's glory and our neighbor's service. “In this way, the holiness of the People of God will grow into an abundant harvest of good, as is admirably shown by the life of so many saints in Church history,” states Lumen Gentium. The Catechism (CCC 1024) says, “This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity—this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels, and all the blessed—is called “heaven.” Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness.” On All Saints Day, the Church recalls the magnificent vision of “all nations and tribes standing before the throne and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, proclaiming Him who redeemed them in His Blood.” All saints lived lives like our own on earth. They were baptized, marked with the sign of faith, faithful to Christ's teaching, and they have gone before us to the heavenly home whence they call on us to follow them. It is worth remembering that visiting a cemetery and praying for the faithful from November 1 through November 8 will earn you a plenary indulgence that can be applied only to souls in Purgatory. Today, we pray and chant the Litany of the Saints. This litany is considered the model of all other litanies. Ave Maria!Jesus, I Trust In You! Come, Holy Spirit, come! To Jesus through Mary! + Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

The Bible talks a lot about blood. From the prohibition of eating blood to sacrifices of blood. Why? And why does Jesus talk about the New Covenant in His Blood? Take a listen and find out.-Feel free to email us with any questions at info@servingbb.org or for more information check out our website at https://servingbeyondborders.org-Follow us on:Instagram - @servingbeyondbordersYouTube - Serving Beyond BordersFacebook - Serving Beyond Borders-"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve. . ." Mark 10:45-TUNE IN: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-radical-christian-life-with-doug-and-paula/id1562355832#podcast #podcasting #podcasts #spotify #applepodcast #podcaster #interview #newpodcast #spotifypodcast #missions #jesus #god #love #bible #faith #jesuschrist #christian #church #christ #gospel #holyspirit #prayer #christianity #pray #theradicalchristianlife

Revelation, Session Three Christ the Savior, Anderson SC Fr. Anthony Perkins We also went over: https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/orthodoxy/articles/tremors_of_doub Sources: The translation of the Apocalypse is from the Orthodox Study Bible. Lawrence R. Farley, The Apocalypse of St. John: A Revelation of Love and Power, The Orthodox Bible Study Companion (Chesterton, IN: Ancient Faith Publishing, 2011), Bishop Averky, The Epistles and the Apocalypse (Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, Volume III. (Holy Trinity Seminary Press, 2018). Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on the Apocalypse, ed. David G. Hunter, trans. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou, vol. 123, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2011). Jack Norman Sparks, The Orthodox Study Bible: Notes (Thomas Nelson, 2008), 1712. Venerable Bede, The Explanation of the Apocalypse, trans. Edward Marshall (Oxford: James Parker and Co., 1878). William C. Weinrich, ed., Revelation, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005). Correction from Last Week Revelation was removed from active use because it was being used to support the Marcionists, not the Gnostics [or Montanism as I said in the class!].  Lord have mercy, my brain is too small! Review of Last Week 1:1-3. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John.  Who bore witness to the Word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.  Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.   New Stuff 1:4 - 6.  (4) John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, (5) and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.  To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, (6) and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever.  Amen. (OSB) Orthodox Study Bible Notes 1:4 Church tradition maintains St. John dwelt and was bishop in Ephesus, in an area where the seven churches were located along a major roadway. The number seven signifies fullness, suggesting the entire Church is also in view. The doxology is Trinitarian, involving the Father (vv. 4, 6), the Spirit (v. 4), and the Son (vv. 5, 6). This initial greeting (lit., “the Existing, the Was, and the Coming”) may express the Father, the one who is (Ex 3:14); the Son, who was (Jn 1:1); and the Holy Spirit, who is to come (Acts 2) at Pentecost and shall always be present. Or it may denote the character of the Holy One, who is eternally present and exercises lordship throughout history (see Heb 13:8 – Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow). God reveals the meaning of the present in light of the past and the age to come. This title may be a paraphrase of the Tetragrammaton, YHWH (“I Am”), of Ex 3:14. Seven is the number of fullness or completion. The seven Spirits of God most likely refers to the Holy Spirit and His several gifts, as this phrase is included in the blessing with the Father and the Son. Alternately the term could refer to the seven archangels who, according to Jewish tradition, stand before the throne of God (Tb 12:15; see also 1En 20:1–8; 90:21, 22; TLev 8:2; “I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One.”). 1:5 Jesus Christ is presented as the Risen Savior, Lord of all (see Zec 12:10), giving hope to the early Christians that the Church will not always be dominated by a cruel state. Instead of washed, many Greek texts read “freed.” The term witness (Gr. martys), used only here and in 3:14 in the entire NT, refers to Christ, the authentic witness of all divine revelation; all that God has revealed is summed up in His life, witness, Passion, Resurrection, and exaltation. He has inaugurated the new age, for He is firstborn from the dead in His humanity and has achieved a universal sovereignty by His death, Resurrection, and revelation of His Kingdom for the world's salvation. 1:6 Those joined to the body of Christ in baptism comprise the messianic royal priesthood promised of old (see Ex 19:5, 6; Is 61:6; 1Pt 2:9; and the Anaphora of the Liturgy of St. Basil). This priestly ministry is to offer the world back to God in a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving—eucharistically—as in the Orthodox Church's Divine Liturgy. The universe itself thus becomes hallowed, transfigured, and sacramental. Amen is Semitic. It signifies ratification: an acknowledgment of something trustworthy. From Fr. Lawrence Farley John sends this message to the seven churches in Asia who were under his pastoral care. By choosing but seven of these churches, John widens the intended audience, for seven is also the number symbolic of perfection. Thus the Revelation is intended not only to the seven churches of Asia, but also for the perfect totality of all God's churches. In calling God Him who is and was and who is coming, John describes God the Father as the One who is sovereign over time and history and therefore over all the historical events that touch us. God sits enthroned as Lord of the present, the past, and the future, and therefore there is nothing in the past, present, or future that can ever hurt us. God is the Lord of time and of all our days. The message not only comes from the hand of God, it also comes from the entire heavenly court. All in heaven offer the Church on earth this word of encouragement and triumph. The seven spirits before His throne are the seven archangels (see 5:6, “the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth,” and 8:2, the “seven angels who stand before God”). (In chapter 20 of the Book of Enoch, these angels are listed as Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Saraqael, Gabriel, and Remiel.) Once again, the number seven is symbolic, an image for all the archangels who stand closest to God's throne and hear His counsel. In saying that this message comes from the seven spirits before His throne, John means that this message comes directly from the Throne itself, with secrets not given to the world at large. Later liturgical usage, in which reference to the Father and the Son was always followed by reference to the Holy Spirit, has misled some interpreters into seeing this reference to the seven spirits as a reference to the Holy Spirit. But when the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the Book of Revelation, He is referred to simply as “the Spirit” (e.g. 2:7; 14:13; 22:17), always in the singular and never as “seven spirits” or as a “sevenfold” Spirit. These seven spirits stand before God's throne; that is, they are portrayed as waiting upon God as a part of His heavenly court. It is inconceivable that the Divine Spirit, co-eternal and consubstantial with the Father and the Son, could be portrayed as such a servant. Indeed, the other references to the Spirit in the Apocalypse carry the suggestion of His sovereignty and authority. The message also comes from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness (Gr. martus; compare our English “martyr”). Christ bore faithful witness before Pilate to the Truth, even at the cost of His Life (1 Tim. 6:13); John stresses this so that we may imitate His faithfulness. The Lord does not call us to walk in any place where He has not gone before. Jesus is further described as the firstborn of the dead. In using this Jewish concept of the firstborn (in which the firstborn son is the main heir), John shows that Jesus Christ is the heir of the whole age to come; the entire coming Kingdom belongs to Him. His faithfulness unto death resulted in His victory and His inheriting all the world. Our faithfulness unto death will result in our sharing that victory. Death has no terrors for Jesus Christ, and so it need have none for us. Thus Christ is also the ruler of the kings of the earth. Caesar may think he has no superior or master, but Jesus, the humble carpenter crucified under the governor Pontius Pilate, is the true Master of the Roman Empire and indeed of the whole cosmos. The Christians of St. John's day, haunted by a sense of their own powerlessness and humility, were thus made to see their true dignity and power. The Church is described as those whom the Lord loves and therefore continues to protect and care for (the present tense is used to denote Christ's ongoing care), and as those who were loosed from their sins by His Blood. This is an important theme in the Apocalypse. The Cross of Christ was seen by secular Rome as His defeat and proof of how pathetic and deluded the Christians were—that they would worship a crucified man. But for John, the Cross is proof of the power of God that defeats all other powers. The Lord Himself said of the Cross, “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). For St. John, our faith in Christ and His Cross also “overcomes the world” (1 John 5:5). Thus the Apocalypse speaks not only of us “making our robes white” in His Blood (7:14) but also of us overcoming Satan “by the Blood of the Lamb” (12:11). The Christians are not to be ashamed of Christ's Cross, for through His Blood they overcome death, Satan, and the whole world. In describing the Christians as a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, John asserts the privileges of the Christians in the face of the pride of Rome. The Roman powers may think the Christians are but poor, uneducated, and powerless, to be utterly disdained. John knows them to be God's own Kingdom, one destined to outlast all the kingdoms of the earth, and to be priests to God Himself, with access to His awe-inspiring Presence. Priests had status and honor in the Roman secular world, and St. John says this is the true status of the Christians before God. Bishop Averky 1:4.  The number seven is usually taken as an expression of fullness.  St John addresses here only the seven churches with which he, as one who lived in Ephesus, was in especially close and frequent contact.  But in these seven he addresses, at the same time, the Christian Church as a whole. Grace to you and peace from the Tri-Hypostatical Divinity.  The phrase ‘which is' signifies the Father, Who said to Moses: I am He that Is (Exod 3:14).  The expression ‘which was' signifies the Word, Who was in the beginning with God (John 1:2).  The phrase ‘which is to come' indicates the Comforter, Who always descends upon the Church's children in holy baptism and in all fullness is to descend in the future age (Acts 2). (St. Andrew of Caeserea, Commentary on the Apocalypse, chapter 1). By these “seven Spirits,” it is most natural to understand the seven chief angels who are spoken of in Tobit 12:15.  St Andrew of Caesarea, however, understands them to be the angels who govern the seven churches.  Other commentaries, on the other hand, understand by by this expression the Holy Spirit Himself, Who manifests Himself in seven chief gifts: the spirit of the fear of God, the spirit of knowledge, the spirit of might, the spirit of light, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of the Lord or the spirit of piety, and inspiration in the highest degree (compare Isa 11: 1-3; “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;.”) 1:5. The Lord Jesus Christ is called here “the faithful witness” in the sense that He has witnessed His Divinity and the truth of His teaching before men by His death on the Cross. “As Life and Resurrection, He is the first-born from the dead (Col 1:18, I Cor 15:20), and those over whom He rules will not see death, as did those who died and rose before, but will live eternally.  He is ‘prince of kings,' and Lord of lords (1 Tim 6:15), equal in might to the Father and one in Essence with Him” (St Andrew, chapter 1). 1:5-6.  “Kings and priest” are to be understood here not in the strict meaning, of course, but in the sense in which God has promised this to His chosen people through the prophets (Exod 19:6); that is, He has made us, true believers, to be the best, the holiest people, which is the same thing that a priest and king are with relation to the rest of mankind. Venerable Bede. 4. seven. By these seven churches he writes to every church, for universality is wont to be denoted by the number seven, in that all the time of this age is evolved from seven days. Grace. Grace he desires for us, and peace from God, the eternal Father, and from the sevenfold Spirit, and from Jesus Christ, Who gave testimony to the Father in His Incarnation. He names the Son in the third place, as he was to speak further of Him. He names Him also the last in order, as He is the first and the last; for He had already named Him in the Father by saying, “Who was to come.” 5. the first-begotten. This is the same that the Apostle says, “We have seen Jesus Christ for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour.” And in another place, in setting forth the reproach of the cross, he added, “Wherefore also God highly exalted Him, and gave Him the Name which is above every name.” 6. priests. Because the King of kings and heavenly Priest united us unto His own body by offering Himself for us, there is not one of the saints who has not spiritually the office of priesthood, in that he is a member of the eternal Priest 7. cometh. He Who was concealed, when at the first He came to be judged, will be manifested at the time when He shall come to judge. He mentions this, that the Church which is now oppressed by enemies, but is then to reign with Christ, may be strengthened for the endurance of sufferings. pierced. When they see Him as a Judge with power, in the same form in which they pierced Him as the least of all, they will mourn for themselves with a repentance that is too late. Amen. By interposing an Amen, he confirms that without doubt that will happen, which, by the revelation of God, he knows most surely is to come to pass. Gregory of Caesarea. 1:4. John, to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from the One who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne. Due to the existence of many churches in many places, he sent to only seven, mystically meaning by this number the churches everywhere, also corresponding to the present-day life, in which the seventh period of days is taking place. For this reason also he mentions seven angels and seven churches, to whom he says, Grace to you and peace from the Tri-hypostatic Divinity. For by the who is the Father is signified, who said to Moses, “I am He who is,” and by the who was the Logos, “who was in the beginning with God,” and by the who is to come the Paraclete, who always enlightens the children of the Church through holy Baptism, more completely and more strongly in the future. It is possible to understand the seven spirits as the seven angels who were appointed to govern the churches, not counting them equal to the most divine and royal Trinity, but mentioned along with it as servants, just as the divine Apostle said, “I call upon you in the presence of God and the chosen angels.” By the same token, this may be understood differently: the One who is, and who was, and who is to come, meaning the Father, who contains in himself the beginning, middle, and end of all that exists, and the seven spirits the activities of the Life-giving Spirit, following Christ God, who became man for our sake. For in many places each divine Person is indifferently placed and arranged by the Apostle. For this he says here: 1:5a. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. He is the one who witnessed to Pontius Pilate, faithful to his words in all things, the firstborn of the dead as life and resurrection, for those whom he governs will no more see death, like those who were dead before and rose, but will live eternally. Ruler of the kings, as “King of kings and Lord of lords,” equal in power with the Father and consubstantial. Elsewhere, ruler of the kings of the earth is also said earthly desires. If, according to the Blessed [15] Gregory, this usage of he who is, who was, and who is to come, the ruler of all refers to Christ, then it is not unreasonable that words similar to those which will be said shortly after refer to him, to which also the ruler of all is attached and without the repetition or introduction of another person. For here the addition of and from Jesus Christ appears to confirm the understanding we have presented. For it would be unnecessary if he were talking about the only Logos of God and the person of the Son to add immediately and from Jesus Christ in order to show him as distinct from the other one, the expressions that befit God equally honor and are appropriate to each of the divine Persons, and are common to the three, except for their distinctive properties, that is to say, the relationships , as said by Gregory the Theologian, and except for the Incarnation of the Logos. also clear from the things from which we learn, that in the Gospel the thrice-holy hymn of the Seraphim16 is said about the Son, in the speech of Paul in the Acts about the Holy Spirit, and then about the Father, in the offering of the awesome mysteries, to whom we are accustomed to say this prayer,19 as the blessed Epiphanios says in his homily On the Holy Spirit. these things to show that our own understanding does not contradict the patristic voices, and also, with God's help, we continue. 1:5b–6. To the One who loved us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us kings and priests to God and his Father. Glory and dominion to him to the ages of ages. Amen. The glory belongs to him, it says, who freed us through love from the bondage of death, and washed the stains of sin through the outpouring of his life-giving blood and water. And he has made us “a royal priesthood” so that we may offer, instead of irrational sacrifices, “rational worship”22 as a living sacrifice to the Father.    

Today's Topics: 1, 2) Jesse and Paul discuss how extremely important a father's role is in a child's life 3, 4) Saint Alphonsus Liguori warns: God sees scandalous priests as a bear sees threats to her cubs; the bad example of priests "robs Jesus Christ of souls redeemed by His Blood" https://www.ncregister.com/blog/st-alphonsus-liguori-stark-warning-to-scandalous-priests