I was sad to hear of the loss of John Travolta's son Jett. I can't imagine loosing my son or daughter, my heart would break. I feel for Mr. Travolta and pray that he has a lot of support around him right now. My daughter Emily was working with me on the set of The Taking of Pelham 123 in the summer and our car was parked adjacent to Mr. Travolta's trailer. We were filming on the Manhatten Bridge that day and we were working 8 dogs. Anyway I asked all of my friends if they could work with me as it was short notice. No one wanted to go to the city with me that Saturday morning so I asked Emily who is 12 and she said sure. I knew it was going to be a long day and I knew she would be bored in no time but I needed help. We arrive on location at 6AM and started walking the dogs. As always we were ask to wait so while sitting in the car with all the dogs Emily says,"I wonder what it's like to be in that big trailer." I of course said, "It must be nicer than being crammed in this car." So the day begins and were going up to the bridge and back again, well things began to slow for lunch and Em said she had to use the restroom. I had to stay on set so I held the dogs while she ran to the restroom. When she gets back on set she says, "I met that man John, John, Tra, Tra..." I cut in with, "You met John Travolta?" "Ya that's it, who's he?" I almost died, "Em the actor in Wild Hogs?" "Oh ya that was him." I ask, "What did he say?" and she says, "Well I was on my way to the restroom and he said, aren't you the dog girl?" She said, "Yes." And he asked her what she thought of working on a movie." She shrugged her shoulders and said, "It's ok, well bye." He said bye and off she went. The reason I bring up this story is like us movie stars are people who are just as down to earth as we are. It said a lot to me about Mr. Travolta that day, he was kind to my daughter and he must like kids cause why would he strike up a conversation if he didn't. I didn't get to meet him myself but he went by and slowed enough to say hi to all of us which he didn't have to do, I'd be willing to bet he was a good Dad. Which brings me back to the passing of his son, I'm sorry Mr. Travolta has such pain to deal with and I pray that he remembers the happy times and keeps those memories close to his heart.
I just need to get this off my chest. Recently I have been looking at the ads posted in the pets section. I see all of these postings begging for help. Even some from shelters, overstuffed with animals who need homes. I am sympathetic, I truly am. What I don't understand is the re-homing/ adoption fees that some of the posters/shelters are charging in order for people like me to help give a pet a forever home. If you are in need of money please be honest and say so, but don't use a pet and a sad story in order to get that money. I have a wonderful home that any pet would feel like it was in heaven. Our animals are family members and are treated as such. And please don't insult people like us and say that if we were serious about adopting/rescuing an animal and providing proper life long care, we would have the money to pay to adopt/rehome them. Not true. I don't have the money to pay you. But you would be missing out on the chance to give your pet/rescue a really wonderful, loving forever family to love. A specific note to shelters and rescue groups, I have worked with some of you, so I do know what goes on. Please I am begging you, stop being so finatical/anal about these pets. You and your outrageous fees and your contracts and your endless rules and regulations are keeping these wonderful gifts from God, in their cages. In your attempts to keep animal abusers away, you have gone too far. We are out here, the good people who would and have, done anything for our pets. We know how you feel about them!!! For those of you who need, for whatever reason to place your pet in another home, don't look to make money when you are offered help with what you need. If you put out money for this pet, that was your choice. Now you "NEED" to find a new home for this pet, again, your choice. We are out here to help you, don't ask for money to make up for your choices. Please, I beg you! I don't know that this will make any difference in the world, but I had to write it. Thank You for reading and God Bless!
All animals are gifts from God. He put them here to feed us, to entertain us, to love us, to give us someone to love, to show us beauty, to show us evil, to show us compassion, but most of all to show us the gift of love and he charges us nothing in return.
If I misspelled anything please forgive me, sometimes when we are typing with passion we forget about spelling.
I starting wearing Locs about 2 years ago. It took me 3 years to decide to wear Locs. Locs are not just a hairstyle but a way of life, a cultural experience.
I will leave you with this little taste of my experince wearing Locs and hope that some questions or other Loc experienses are posted.
Just when I got used to writing "2008" on forms and checks and other dudads, 2009 is upon us! This happens to me every year! But, it's not a bad thing necessarily because it gives me a chance to wish for what's to come in 2009. Well, we can't predict, or write the future, but here's what I hope for in the coming year.
First....of course, I hope the economy will recover from the recent recession.
Second....with Obama now in office, let's hope everything will change for the better.
Third....let's hope the papaRATZi leaves people alone. And I say "people" instead of "celebrities" because first and foremost, celebrities are PEOPLE!!!
I hope the Digital TV revolution works out for the best.
Basically.....I just want things to turn around in 2009. I know I sound serious rather than slapstick, but...I'm pretty serious when it comes to these things.
Well, here's to all my Fox friends and all the people of the world...have a safe and Happy New Year!! :)
I wanted to take a moment and wish everyone a peaceful, joyous New Year and most important, HOPE for the hard times that are here to end!!!
God bless, Angie
Fulfillment in the New Year
Here’s to the outgoing year, 2008: May the good times live on in
our memories, and may we learn lessons from the troubling times that will make us stronger and better than ever.
Here’s to 2009: For each and every one of you, may it be filled
with significant steps toward the fulfillment of your fondest wishes.
In this coming new year, let us focus on our goals and work toward our dreams, and
yet (smile) let’s all try to go with the flow a little more and stress a little less.
And most important, (wave glass around to encompass the whole group) here’s
to all of you. Appreciate yourselves and each other in the new year as I appreciate all of you now. Let’s focus
on each other’s good points and choose to overlook minor annoyances to create mutual happiness and contentment
in 2009.
God is blessing and has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus in heavenly places in Himself Ephesians 1:3. What have we received that we have done. zero. zilch. Nada. If God gave it (and He could very well take it away) why not give thanks and say, "thank you God" because we're not only living in today, tomorrow is not promised. If we have accepted Christ as personal Lord and Savior, let's go on to perfection of Zoe (God's vitality) and God's salvation and not meager lives.
Through Christ the Son God made the sky, the earth and its fullness belongs to Him. In Him all things hold together. He intricately formed our inward being even while in our Mother's womb. Care for the unborn.
Through Christ the Son we have a relationship on a personal level with the Creator. God has allowed us appointments to win salvations to Him and environment around us and we who have the Holy Spirit need to let our light shine that men may see our good works (in Christ) & glorify our Father which is in heaven! Thats's in Matthew 5:16.
Make His praise glorious! Happy Blessed New Year! Christ is coming soon! Maranatha! God truly loves us! Re: Giving thanks, Let this blessed thought control, that Christ hath regarded my helpless estate and hath shed His own Blood for my soul. It is well with my soul. Go forth into the fields and sow, weeping, and you shall doubtless come again rejoicing, reaping, bearing your sheaves with you.
Christ by highest heaven adored, Christ the Sun of Righteousness.. Risen! Raised! In My life! Are you living or just existing? Are you living worthy of the blessing? Jesus is the only way to God. Believe you this? It is a rhetorical question(s).
With christmas around the corner and new years not to far behind, I simply want to say to everyone, "Merry x-mas and have a very merry and happy new year". I want every one to get their wants and needs in this declining economic times. And I hope the upcoming new year is 10 times better then this past one. May every ones wishes come true!!
Political ethics is a silly phrase to start with but business eithics are required just to keep the economy moving forward. Now, based I think on the low standard set by our elected leaders and their outrageous campaigns, business ethics seem to be disappearing all around us. I found a website that has an interesting approach to solving the problem - www.christianexecutive.com; it's worth a look.
In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. (NIV) John 1:4 & 9
During Christmas time in America the lights are on. Decorations dot the landscape that are ablaze with light. As we approach our fourth week of advent, we anticipate the arrival of the Light of the World. And yet how many people are truly "a-light" with Jesus Christ?
Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. Whoever follows Him "will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. (John 3:19-20)
Jesus said: "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." (John 12:46)
Jesus said: "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (John 9:5)
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; (John 11:25)
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life." (John 6:47)
There is no greater love than the love we see in God sending His Son to become man. . . and to lay down His life for His friends, for us. In Jesus is life, and that life is the light of men. As Christmas approaches share that Light today with someone who is in the darkness.
seems like now a days everything IS BAD.........Christmas is Holiday; God is banned from our Schools; Everything we do is bad and discriminatory......Well..........
I want to give a big thank you to all OUR SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN EITHER SERVING BY AIR, LAND OR SEA................TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
To all bloggers it is with deepest warm wishes FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS SENDING THIS MESSAGE TO KEEP YOU WARM IN YOUR HEARTS. Have a Merry Christmas and a HAPPY, PROSPEROUS AND SAFE NEW YEARS. I wont be around too much this month, I will be in prayers of my lost LOVED ONES AND SICK FAMILY MEMBERS and before I forget....I thought I would share this thought:
There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas? For that reason, I never cared for it, but now I will reconsider! From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.
-The Partridge in a Pear tree was Jesus Christ. -
Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments. -
Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
-The eight maids a-milking were the Eight Beatitudes.
-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments. -
The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.
This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol... Jesus is the reason for the season! Merry (Twelve Days of) Christmas Everyone.....
I never knew that...LOL>>>
FOR MY BEAUTIFUL FRIEND..FOREVER IN MY HEART..YOUR FAMILY WILL BE IN MY PRAYERS THROUGHTOUT THIS SEASON AND MANY TO COME................I LOVE YOU ROBIN .
GOD BLESS YOUR FAMILIES AND KEEP THEM SAFE. GOD BLESS YOU ALL OUT THERE STRUGLING WITH EVERYDAY LIFE.......BUT REMEMBER.....NEVER LOSE FAITH. GOD SOMETIMES DOES THINGS FOR A REASON UNKNOWN TO US AND NO MATTER HOW MUCH PAIN, BURDEN AND TROUBLE..............KEEPING IN FAITH WILL LEAD TO YOUR DESTINY WITH OUR LORD. GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU...TIS THE SEASON TO BE GREATFUL NO MATTER HOW DIFFICULT A SITUATION. GOD HAS A PLAN.............
Turn to Paul's writings in the Book of Romans Chapter 4 and we'll review just a little. When I speak of the writings of Paul, I am not elevating the man. Don't forget, he was merely a human instrument that God used and spoke through as He wrote. It was the same way with the other writers of Scripture. I read famous men who will make a statement like this. "Well you know Luke must have been a tremendous researcher. Luke must have been a tremendous note taker," They insinuate that these men wrote on the basis of information they were able to collect. But no Word of Scripture came to pass that way; every writer of this Book wrote as he was moved by the Holy Spirit. So when I speak of the writings of Paul, I'm not talking about the man and his intellect, but rather I'm talking about the man God used to put these things in print. I was looking at a verse last night in II Corinthians Chapter 10 and it was so applicable where they said his speech was contemptible.
II Corinthians 10:10
"For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible."
We know Paul was not a very handsome orator, but his letters were weighty. Even though the Apostle Paul addressed many many people face to face, what he says here on the printed page is different than what he probably said verbally, because this is The Word of God. Paul may have been able to preach and teach these basic things, but it still didn't have the weight and impact of his written letters, because these have become The Word of God. And I'm quite sure even as Paul was writing these various letters to the various Churches that he did not know that one day these would become part of the written Word. But God knew better. So always remember these writers, when they wrote, were moved by the Holy Spirit to pen The Word, and did not have to rely on 1st or second hand information from someone else.
We begin our review here in the Book of Romans. And the first thing the writer does here is take us back to Abraham. Now that's Old Testament isn't it? So it would behoove us to go back to Genesis Chapter 12 and review a little bit about this great man Abraham who is referred to quite often in Paul's epistles, and certainly has been established as a great man of faith all through Scripture. Why does Paul, by inspiration, refer back to Abraham when he is teaching a lesson on justification by faith and faith alone? Let's begin with verse 1.
Genesis 12:1-3
"NOW the LORD had said (back in Chapter 11 how they left Ur of the Chaldees) unto Abram, `Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee (future tense, a promise): And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing; And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee (and in this next statement is the very epitome of this whole Covenant promise), and in thee (through the man Abraham) shall all families of the earth be blessed.'"
Not just Israel, but the human family would benefit from the promises and Covenants that God is making with this man. Look for a moment at the timeline we use occasionally. In our mind's eye, flash all the way back to Adam, and we know that about half- way between Adam and the Cross we have the appearance of this man Abram who later of course becomes Abraham. Now we know that 400 years before Abraham came on the scene we had the flood. And about half-way between the flood and Abraham we have the Tower of Babel. And so we saw that for the first 2000 years there was complete failure on the part of the human race.
Then God in so many words said, "I'm going to do something totally different." God had given the opportunity for Salvation to the whole human race, all they had to do was be prompted by conscience that they had sinned, and they rebelled against the laws of conscience that God had placed there. Then all they had to do was bring a blood sacrifice, confess their sin, and God would accept them; it was that simple. But what did they do with that plan? They rejected it totally, until finally it had gotten so bad that God had to destroy the generations with the flood, and started over with Noah and his three sons. And then within two hundred years the offspring of those three sons are again in total rebellion, they were in total ignorance of God's offer of Salvation, and tried to make their own way. They tried to approach heaven through their own false worship leading to the Tower of Babel.
Try to put yourself in God's position, and I know that's an extreme statement. Here He has offered a restoration and reconciliation. If they would just do what He had asked them to do by bringing a blood sacrifice, He would accept them. And we have that typified with Abel. Remember Abel was accepted because he did what God had told him to do. Cain of course rejected those instructions; he rationalized and thought he could go his own way, but nevertheless after 2000 years of God dealing patiently with those early people, He finally came to the point where we will see Him do something completely different with the man Abraham. He took that one man in whom He found a particle of faith, who would be obedient to what God told him. So in so many words God said, "I will make him a whole group of promises in Covenants, and out of him I'm going to bring a special race of people who will be different than all the other nations on the planet, and I'm going to work a plan of Salvation through that race of people."
Now just as soon as God revealed even the embryonic part of that plan of redemption you can rest assured that the Devil kicked into high gear. I've had people ask me over the years, "Why have the Jews suffered so much." Well that's the basic reason. Just as soon as God revealed that this special nation of people would bring about the plan of redemption, the Devil turned everything loose on them. And if you'll read your Old Testament you will see the evidence of how Satan has tried to thwart God's plan of redemption by destroying the people through whom the Redeemer must come. Don't forget that, if Satan could some how disrupt the plan of God for the Nation of Israel, then he would disrupt God's whole plan of Salvation, and so they have been under constant attack.
Now of course they didn't keep Israel from producing The Messiah, so now you see Satan has yet another goal and that is to interrupt God's prophetic program. Think for a moment. If the Nation of Israel should suddenly disappear from view then prophecy would be left hanging on a string, and The Book would be a lie. Do you see that? So the whole Satanic thrust against the Nation of Israel is to destroy them, wipe them off the scene so God's prophetic Word cannot be fulfilled. Then all of a sudden you can see why a man like Hitler would turn against them. Why do the nations of the world even today constantly bombard that little nation with all their accusations. Now on the other hand I always try to make people aware of the fact that that doesn't make Israel's government perfect. The Jew today is not perfect; he is just as much the son of Adam as the rest of us. Their government is just as corrupt as any other government. I still get the Jerusalem Post and constantly they are rooting out corrupt individuals in their government. That part isn't any different. But in the big picture we have to understand that everything that is going to happen prophetically to this planet is centered on that little nation of Israel. And so Satan is still trying to disrupt God's total program by getting rid of that little nation.
Now a most sinister thing I think is happening and if it weren't that I know the Scriptures has guaranteed this nation will never fade off the scene I would have to wonder if this nation will survive, because I read recently in the Jerusalem Post that 52% of all Jewish marriages are now mixed marriages. They are marrying Gentiles. Let's go for a moment to the Book of Matthew Chapter 24, and I'm still talking about the man Abraham. Here in this chapter The Lord Jesus made a graphic statement. Lets start in verse 32.
Matthew 24:32-34
"Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh (in other words it's a prophetic picture): So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it (the second coming of Christ) is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, `This generation (now that doesn't mean a generation in time like 40 or 50 years, but rather the Greek word here is `genea' which means the race, the breed of the Nation of Israel) shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.'"
Now that's a promise from the Creator Himself, and if it weren't for that I think we would have reason to think that, yes, the Nation of Israel will yet disappear. Remember the whole world is against them, and they are intermarrying at an alarming rate. How long would it take for them to lose their identity if they keep on intermarrying at the rate of over 52%? Not long. I feel this is just another sign that points to the fact we are so close to the end, because in spite of everything that is going against this little Nation of Israel, we know they will not disappear until everything is fulfilled.
Now coming back to Genesis Chapter 12, we find God has promised this man Abraham a nation of people that would bring about the Redeemer and King, and the nation, and their geographical area and through it all God's purposes would be fulfilled. Now when we teach about Abraham, I always like to point out that all the things concerning Abraham and his earthly people the Nation of Israel are always "earthly." There is nothing heavenly connected to this little nation. But when we get to the New Testament and we come to the Body of Christ, the Church, there everything that is promised is "heavenly." This is why, Paul by inspiration, uses Abraham as an example of faith, and it is still appropriate for you and I as New Testament believers, even though Abraham is part of the Old Testament program. We have no problem with Abraham being the father of the Jewish people, we know that came about genetically through Isaac, Jacob, and the 12 Sons. But we get a curve thrown at us when we as believers of the Church Age, are connected to Abraham to the place where the Scriptures say that we are children of Abraham. I hope I can show you. Now after the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12 where God promises him a nation of people in a geographical area of land, and one day they will have a government and a King. Turn to Chapter 13 where God enlarges on this Covenant promise of Chapter 12.
Genesis 13:16
"And I will make thy seed (or offspring) as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered."
In other words, there would be a great offspring of Abraham through Isaac, Jacob, and the Nation of Israel. You want to remember that we are dealing now with over 4000 years of time. Even though they have been a small nation, yet there have been tremendous numbers of people that have come out of this Covenant promise. But now as you turn to Chapter 15, God does something totally different. He gives this man a promise that ties him to us in the Church age today, and we find that in verse 5.
Genesis 15:5
"And he brought him forth..."
I think the Lord dealt with Abraham on a face to face, eyeball to eyeball basis. I think God came down and took on human form like He did at the calling out of Ur, because the word in the Greek in Acts Chapter 7 is `optomai' which deals with the sight and Stephen rehearsed that The Lord appeared `optomai' to the man Abram, and of course the word also appeared back in the Hebrew, so I'm sure that's how God dealt with the man. And of course it's very evident in Genesis Chapter 18. So I believe that God and Abraham are standing there on the mountains of Central Israel, looking out in all four directions. Now let's finish the verse.
Genesis 15:5
"And he brought him forth abroad, and said, `Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars (not the particles of the dust as we saw in Chapter 13), if thou be able to number them:' and he said unto him, `So shall thy seed be.'" What's He talking about? A spiritual relationship of people. Abraham is not only getting the view of the earthly promises that are going to come through the Nation of Israel, but he is also getting a view of the heavenly people that will also be part and parcel of His promises. Remember the last part of Chapter 12 and verse 3:
Genesis 12:3
"...and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Not just the Jews, but all the families of the earth would be blessed.Now let's come back to Romans Chapter 4. I want you to keep what we just looked at in your mind for at least the next two or three lessons. We are going to be looking at Chapter 4 which is constantly referring back to Abraham in detail. I'm not going to rush through this because I think these are things that very few believers comprehend, and hopefully we can open some eyes. Let's read.
Romans 4:1,2
"WHAT shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God." If Abraham could have merited favor with God by his works then what would he have naturally done? He would have gotten puffed up and proud. And he would have been able to tell his people around him, "Look what I have done to inherit eternal life." But you see he couldn't because he did not work for his Salvation. He did nothing but believe God. Now verse 3:
Romans 4:3
"For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."
Abraham didn't repent, he didn't get baptized, he didn't join something, he just simply believed God. That's what The Book says. Now Abraham wasn't any better morally than anyone else. It wasn't that he was such a holy man, he was very ordinary, because we saw that in later chapters where he had his failures like everyone else. But yet this whole premise of faith - remember Hebrews 11:6 says:
Hebrews 11:6
"But without faith it is impossible to please him:..."
And by that faith then Abraham so pleased God that God called him a righteous man. It was just that simple. What's the lesson? That's also exactly where we are. That when we believe what God has said, and stand on it by faith, then God does the same for us. He declares us righteous. He declares us justified from all things.
Romans 4:4
"Now to him that worketh (that's 99% of Christendom, they think they've got to do something, they can't just rest on what God has said; they've got to do something, but that's human nature) is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
We were in Colorado last week holding a seminar, and while there we had a chance to do some trout fishing, and for the first time in all of our trips there we literally got skunked. But something compensated for that, as there was a gentleman just down a little ways from us and we had been tossing comments back and forth for a little while, and finally we got close enough together to introduce ourselves, and he looked at me again and said, "You're the guy on television." Anyway, he was a pastor of a small Church there in the Denver area. He said, "I appreciate your teaching because you get so down to earth and to the truth of it all." He said that people were missing it. He went on to say that he had a lady come to him in his ministry recently. Previously, she had been in two other organizations, had been baptized, and had joined three churches of his denomination. Then she came and wanted to join his church. When he asked her if she had ever had a Salvation experience, and had she ever believed The Gospel (Ref: I Corinthians 15:1-4), she looked at him with a blank look and said, "I don't know what you're talking about." He asked her about all the other places she had joined, and she said that none of them had ever asked her. Well, this is exactly where the Church is in trouble. They are not pointing these people to the fact that there has to be a personal Salvation. So when he led her through the plan of Salvation she was gloriously saved and he said she went away a happy woman. Here again it's not what we do, or who we join up with, but rather what do we do with The Gospel. Now looking at verse 4 again.
Romans 4:4
"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt." That person can never have grace if they have worked for their Salvation, because now they've earned it. But we will never put God in debt for a dime. He will never find Himself in debt to any human being. So the whole admonition is this. "We have to come God's way, and that way is by God's Grace through faith + nothing."
Or just my stubborn inability to die. As I tapped the very first letter to this post the "Ode To Joy" begins to play on the radio. So I'll give this to God for now, because I did mention in my intro "About Me" God does like hanging out with me, and I did sustain a lung infection post September 11, 2001, as in September 23, 2002, twelve days after returning to my office at ground zero On Trinity Place after year of unemployment, when the last building, a two story Italian Restaurant started to fall, but didn't, and was taken down by contruction workers in a controllable fashion, as it started to buckle, was sharing the same wall to my office, and had kicked up dust from, well you know, and began a life struggling event for the next six years. to make a long story longer, The Veterans Administration Hospital had saved me from suffocating to death, numerous times, with nebulization, an arsonal of inhalants, till I was finally stable. I have accidently poison myself, prior to this, cause I didn't know what was going on, except that the doctors of the VA Hospital had nebulized me, so after a few emergencies I bought one those machines, but didn't have prescription of whatever went in this machine, except for the solution Ipratropium, that my neighbor's widow gave me, fact is, he didn't know it was out dated, by using a prescription of a lady who live downstairs that died of the very same diagnosis. I almost joined her. So because of my stubborn disposition, continued like this for months, without telling anyone, and waking to a dying moment evey morning, and thought I was saving myself with bad meds, when infact it was causing the attacks, and decided to see a doctor for real meds which I used to this day, Combivent (ipratropium and albuteral sulfate), aerobid(flunisolide), and foradil an inhalant powder. Still, in this last year with all this medication, keeping the attacks at bay, I was still having five to six attacks a day. When my caretaker went on vacation, and my prescriptions refills, ran out, and couldn't get refiils until my doctor came back from vacation, or go to the emergency room and start a whole new case, it was brutal. I was breathing like an owl in heat. Always breathing heavy, and remembered getting a portable nebulizer, but wouldn't use it, because the battery wouldn't last long. Bottom line, I was too dopey, to figure out how to charge the battery, but figured it out, because I had no meds to take, and decided to try this without the solution, and the battery would last and last. The result of using this without the solution, was miraculous, just breathing the air it was pumping electrically, was alleviating all ailments, till I was able to get my refills. Funny thing, while using this machine, there weren't any reoccurrences at all, until I restarted intake of the regular inhalants, and death was back at my door literally. I just thought it was the norm, and back to feeling safe, then suffocating, and repeat. I started to realize, this wasn't happening when just taking in air from the nebulizer, and was even feeling a lot better. Just last Friday, with multiple thoughts of how I may be able to ride my bike, run, and do whatever excersize to get my self sweaty and exhilarated, and the image of not embarrassing someone I love with the constant heavy breathing from the attacks, cause I swore I would find some way to rid this chapter from my life, as it was killing my confidence, ruining my image to who I really was, literally, So I left the nebulizer home to recharge, and went food shopping, armed with my new prescription of meds confidently. I walked a half mile there, when the breathing thing started, didn't think much of it , cause I was heading into an air conditioned store. After being done with that task, headed home, with about twenty five pounds of food on my back in my messenger bag, began the journey, when a slight clue of an attack was taking place, and the strap of my bag was crushing my chest, and all I could say to myself , was "man up" it won't be long, after finally getting home, well; with two flights of steps left to the journey, and trying to decide should I go for the inhalant and then proceed, or just go for it. and went for it, while headed up the stairs, breath is getting heavier, as is the bag. I reached the top of the second flight of stairs, and release the strap dropping the bag not caring if anything broke or crushed, dragged the bag to the door as life was being squeezed out of me had to decide to open the door, and get to the nebulizer, or stop and find and inhalant . I did the latter and scurried to find an inhaler, and did but seem to make things worse, as you can only use these things as prescribed, any more, it works in reverse, shutting down, constricting instead of dialating my bronchials, now I have three locks I have to open before getting in, and the race begins as I struggle to breath,find the right keys, with the thought I'm gonna drop dead in front of my door with a life saver only a few feet away, and say, "no I'm not, I don't die"! as I got to last lock, kicked the door open, and ran for the nebulizer, that is in pieces, now panic strikes, and have to find the mask, the hose to the mask, now the nebulizer itself, find the battery, and voila! it doesn't work. and oh, turn on the battery, and almost dead, taking what was almost my last breath, as I fall to my knees, life is being pumped back into my almost dying body. while revivng I realized the damn inhaler almost killed me. And the machine that just pumps air, was working so well without the solvent, had proven there was no reoccurrence of anything. For the last five days had no use for any inhalers, there weren't any attacks, I am breathing normal, no more struggles for oxygen every morning. What happened ? Did I disappoint death? I always do. I just simply took in some pure oxygen for an hour, every twelve hours, and I'm fine. Well I still have, what were my broken bones to tend to, that occurred during my career as a New York City Bike Messenger. Question remains; How many people have died as a result of over dosing on these inhalants? That are pretty expensive in the private sector, or people who don't have medical insurance. When the real cure is simply pure oxygen from a forty dollar home base nebulizer, or a one hundred fifty dollar portable nebulizer, and becomes a great relief to those who love you. Or, am I just Very Lucky? As I told this episode to some one close to my heart; Concluded, I think God would miss me. Who knew pure oxygen would cure a pulmonary infection ?
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my heart is falling apart
why must God do this to me?
i don't think i deserve this. i really to care for this person and even love them. but, i feel like i'm being punished for loving them. maybe it is time to move on.
God please give me a sign show me someone who actually cares and loves me back. i dont' want to be hurt anymore. can you fix me?
please fix me... i don't ask for much. i just want to be happy again. but, is it this punishment for who i love?
please show me the light. show me what i am doing is right. at this point i don't know what i am doing. i need to be shown the way....
maybe now would be a good time to go back to church. though when i step foot in church i feel like a bad catholic. will you still care about me God if i go back to church?
show me the light help me see what i am not. help me be happy again.
God, i am sorry i have disobeyed you for so long. i just need to be happy again....
Christmas is almost near and I wanted to wish you and your families a wonderful, joyous, peaceful day and may the New Year bring everyone, love, good health, wealth, happiness and most important "HOPE" for the times that is so difficult today.
CHRISTMAS PRAYER
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Loving Father, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and worship of the wise men.
Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.
May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children, and Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake. Amen.
Life is a miracle don't let it slip away,
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See the beauty in everyone regardless of where they've been,
Some have a difficult journey and really need a friend.
Share your gifts and talents listen with your heart.
Do the things you dream about but don't have time to start.
Pick a bouquet of flowers show someone that you care,
Be gracious and forgiving life is never fair.
Hold on to your courage you may need it down the road,
We all have a cross to bear it could be a heavy load.
If you practice all these things no matter where you roam,
You may find both sun and rain but you'll never feel alone!
Now to return to our study in the Book of Romans, and that would be in Romans Chapter 4. We have been talking about Abraham of course who had been steeped in idolatry as a young man in the city of Ur, and where upon God reached down in Grace, and told him to leave the city, his family, and go to place that He would show him. And Abraham believed God! Now we'll look at verse 5 again, where Paul again is building his case that Abraham was declared righteous only because he believed God. Now we're going to carry that a little further in these succeeding verses.
Romans 4:5
"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
So when you believe on the one that can justify ungodly people, then that faith or that kind of believing is counted. Now that wordcounted here comes from a Greek word that was a bookkeeping term, and is used in many other places in Romans as imputed or put to the account. In fact let me show you the same word in a setting that will be easy to understand. Let's come back to the Book of Philemon and it's the same identical word, and yet here it is used in a way that we can readily understand the setting. Now if you remember Onesimus had been a slave and had run away from his owner Philemon, and while he was away Onesimus had come across Paul's Gospel and had become a believer. And now Paul says to be an obedient believer that he should go back to his master Philemon, but he doesn't want Philemon to come down hard on Onesimus as a disobedient slave, and so Paul is pleading with Philemon to accept the man back as a Christian brother without any punishment. Now as we come into verse 18, we will find this such a beautiful illustration of the word `imputed' as we see it in the Book of Romans. But let's begin with verse 15:
Philemon 1:15-18
"For perhaps he (Onesimus) therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever; Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord (now Philemon now has a real servant in Onesimus, not only for his physical need but Onesimus is now a believer, and that would give him a fellowship)? If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself (Paul is saying to Philemon, when Onesimus comes back to you open the door to him like you would if it were me). If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;"
Now what's Paul talking about? Impute it to me. Paul says if Onesimus owes you anything of monetary value then don't take it from him because after all he was still just a common slave, but rather Paul says, "Put it to my account and I'll pay it when I come." Now it's the same Greek word that we see back here in the Book of Romans as counted in verse 5. In other words here as an unbeliever we have this long list of debts that there is no way we can pay. It's just a burden, and there is no way we could ever pay it off. But by virtue of our believing the Gospel for our Salvation, what has God done with that debt? Canceled it! And on the other side of the ledger God puts the whole bank roll of heaven to our account. Now again that's beyond our comprehension. But that's what Salvation does. It cancels our sin debt and never again will God confront any believer with his sins.
I remember years ago I was asked to call on a couple who had been going through some trying times, and the husband had a debilitating disease, and I didn't know them that well. I had never met them but I stopped by at the insistence of some of their friends just to encourage them a little bit. And as the lady of the house escorted me to the door as I was leaving she said, "Les isn't this all because of some horrible sin in our past?" I said, "Now wait a minute. Are you believers, do you know the Lord as your Savior?" She said "Oh, yeah." I said, "Then don't you know what the Scripture teaches that all your sins have been forgiven?"
Colossians 2:13
"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses (past, present, and future):"
It's been wiped off the slate and never will you be confronted with sin when we stand before God. If The Lord should come this very moment and you and I had done something this day before noon that was wrong, and we hadn't had time to confess it, do you think we are going to come up in The Lord's presence and have Him say, "Now wait a minute that Wednesday before noon you sinned and haven't taken care of it." Why of course not. We're forgiven the moment we sin, and that's so hard for people to comprehend. They say, well, then that's license. No it isn't. That's just simply the Grace of God that says that God will never come back at us and accuse of still having sin on our ledger. It's been wiped completely clean, and the whole bank roll of Heaven has been put to our account. And what am I talking about? God's righteousness! All of God's righteousness has been imputed to our account, and that's what it said concerning Abraham. Now let's read on.
Romans 4:6a
"Even as David..."
Now the Old Testament economy, when it comes to forgiveness and Salvation as I have said so often, is hard to put your thumb on it. It's hard to reckon some of these things. They had Salvation, no doubt about it. But it wasn't as delineated as we see it now in Paul's teachings. For us, I mean the whole thing is just laid out so beautifully. It's explained and we can understand it. But nevertheless there was still a Salvation in the Old Testament that Paul could go back and relate to, and he even uses David, and we don't ordinarily think of David as the man of faith that Abraham was, but here's what it says.
Romans 4:6
"Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth (puts to the account) righteousness without works,"
God imputes righteousness without our doing a thing. Now let's not confuse that with Christian good works. Turn with me for a moment to the Book of Ephesians, Chapter 2.
Ephesians 2:8
"For by grace (the unmerited favor of God) are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves (there isn't anything you and I can do for Salvation except believe): it is the gift of God:" Just ask yourself this question, Do you work for a gift? Do you merit a gift? Never! If so then it would no longer be a gift.
Ephesians 2:9
"Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Now look at verse 10. As a result of our faith in the finished work of Christ being accomplished on our behalf, and it is now appropriated by our faith, God has imputed His righteousness to our account, but what does He expect?
Ephesians 2:10a
"For we are his workmanship,..."
In other words when God saves us He doesn't leave us like a wreck, but rather He makes us a new person. He gives us a whole new personality, we're not the old person we used to be, so we are a new creation. Now I stand to be corrected but I believe the word "workmanship" has the same Greek connection as our word "symphony." And I like that. There are a lot of people who don't care for symphony music, but I still like a beautiful symphony orchestra. I think it just has sounds that are unbelievable. Now in that symphonic music are all these various types of instruments, and they all melt together for that beautiful sound. Now what brought all that together? The composer. As he sat and was able to put all the scores of all these various instruments together and when they all play the song, out comes this beautiful music. Now that takes something. All right, now that's where we are, when God transforms us and makes us His child we become a symphonic work of art. We become a thing of beauty. That's what we should be, we're His workmanship. We are the result of the work of the eternal God because we believe.
Ephesians 2:10
"For we are his workmanship, created (what does that imply? Just as big a miracle as when God created the universe, and I want people to know that. that when God saves a son of Adam and makes him a new person, it's as great a work of creation as when He created the universe in the first place. That's what people need to comprehend, that as a believer we are a unique creation of the only Creator in the universe, and that's God Himself) in Christ Jesus unto good works (absolutely!),...."
God expects the believer to perform the good works, but not for Salvation. Good works are a result of Salvation. Remember when we were studying in the Book of Matthew, Chapter 25 at the end of the Tribulation. Christ will bring all the survivors before Him in Jerusalem. There won't be many of them, but the ones that survive He is going to separate them. The believers from the unbelievers, sheep and goats, and He's going to say to the sheep the following:
Matthew 25:31-34
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels (that's us as believers) with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, `Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:'"
It wasn't their good works that performed their Salvation, but rather their Salvation that caused them to perform the works. And then when He comes to the goats, the unbelievers He said:
Matthew 25:41-45
"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, `Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked. and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison and ye visited me not.' Then shall they also answer him, saying, `Lord, when saw we thee an hungred or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?' Then shall he answer them saying, `Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me:'"
What's Christ saying? You didn't receive, and believe their message of Salvation, but on the contrary you rejected it and you had no concern for their physical needs. So Depart: Well what was their problem? They didn't believe. And why had the ones on the right, the sheep, met their need? Because they were believers. Their good works followed their Salvation. And it's the same way here in this verse in Ephesians. I think anyone can understand that our society today would not be in the mess that it's in, our welfare system wouldn't be the gross mismanaged mess that it is if the Christian community would have done their good works from day one. But we failed. See, in reality all these welfare programs should have been carried on by the believing element. But you see, too many Christian good works have gone by the board, as well as everything else, but here the Scripture says:
Ephesians 2:10
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained (what does that mean? This is the way He set it up, and this is the way He planned it that the Christian community should be the practitioner of good works) that we should walk in them."
Now go to I Corinthians Chapter 3. We've touched on these things before, but we need to repeat some of these things from time to time. Now here Paul is dealing with this other side of our Christian experience. He's not dealing with the Salvation end of it, but rather the works/reward part of it. And let's look what he says:
I Corinthians 3:9-11
"For we are laborers together with God (we can't do anything alone): ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder (Paul says), I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man (believer) take heed (be careful) how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay that that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
In other words, He's the foundation of our Salvation experience. He's the foundation of our Christian life, and by virtue of our Christian life and works we become builders. We are building onto this building that we are constructing with God, and God gives us six materials to build with. Three of these materials will withstand the heat and fire, and three of them will go up in a puff of smoke. Now let's look what the Scriptures say:
I Corinthians 3:12,13
"Now if any man build upon this foundation (as believers) gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's (believers only) works shall be made manifest (put in the spotlight): for the day shall declare it (the day when we come before the righteous Judge in Heaven), because it shall be revealed by fire;..." This is not hell fire. One of the descriptions of Christ is that He has eyes of fire as we find in Revelation Chapter 19.
Revelation 19:12
"His (Christ) eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns: and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself."
So as we come up before Him, and I think it will be at the judgment seat of Christ in II Corinthians Chapter 5, it will not be for Salvation, never to answer for sin, but we'll have to answer for rewards. What, as a believer, have we done to further the Kingdom. And so those fiery eyes will penetrate our whole Christian record. What did we build with? Was it
God bless,
Angie --> -->