A Rugged Realist?

Don't you think the Father Most High is a rugged realist? It's like He is saying to mankind you can't do such and such.. For it leads to death. So why would you do it? In the day that you do it, it will lead to death.

Don't, do it.

Of course all of us humans have been born into it! We're just naturally born imperfect. God is both life and perfection. That makes imperfection the opposite of life. We're not all evil, but the potential's there.. It's a veritable bottomless pit. History my dear proves that, over, and, over. Once a creature walks out of God's will and presence, they become imperfect. An irreparable state.

Irreparable for us, imperfect cannot make itself perfect. But not for Him. Because, of course, He did it. "Reconciled us to Himself while we were still yet sinners!" In the cosmic bank of what we owe, a sort of karma if you will, or just natural consequences and results, Jesus paid it all, including our death. Jesus on the cross. [For "death could not hold Him".]

"If I be lifted up from the Earth" Jesus said, "I will draw all to me". .."The mystery that's been hid for ages, Christ in you." .."Born again.." .."Behold I will make all things new".. "The lion will eat straw like the ox, the bear will graze with the cow." .."Eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, or heart imagined, all that He has prepared.."

Ragged Soul

An ode to lost loved ones..

In a piece of my heart,
There is a hole.

Too many friends and loved ones
Have left the fold.

They've passed away.
My spirit's cold.

But I have listened..
On the wind it's been told,
The first gene pool,
It shaped us all..
A shining perfection,
   .....A silent call.

Perfect makes no mistakes,
Loses nothing at all.

"The lion will eat straw like the ox,
The bear, will be seen grazing with the cow."

My heart is at peace.

But I miss them anyhow.

[Verse is Isaiah 11:7]

One Body One Faith

“..And to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed; not `And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, `And to thy seed,' which is Christ ...There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
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...That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel...to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.. ..Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
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...For his body's sake, which is the church.. ..There is one body and one Spirit...  one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
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...For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body... Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
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Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready and there was given to her that she may be arrayed with fine linen, pure and shining, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.'

(Individually, we are Christ's brethren. But collectively, now betrothed or engaged to Him, later union at the marriage supper of the Lamb.)
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For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

And lo, I tell you a secret; we indeed shall not all sleep, and we all shall be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, in the last trumpet, for it shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we, we shall be changed: for it behoveth this corruptible to put on incorruption, and this mortal to put on immortality; and when this corruptible may have put on incorruption, and this mortal may have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the word that hath been written, `Death was swallowed up by victory; where, O Death, where is thy sting? where, O Hades, thy victory?' and the sting of death [is] sin ...thanks, to Him who is giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ; so that, my brethren beloved, become ye stedfast, unmovable, abounding in the work of the Lord at all times, knowing that your labour is not vain in the Lord.
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And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”
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And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Gal 3:16,28,29 --- Eph 3:6,19-21 --- Col 1:24; Eph 4:4-5 --- from Eph  5:23-32 --- Rev  19:7,8 --- 1 Thess 4:16-17 & 1 Cor 15:51-58 --- Rev 22:17 --- Eph 1:22-23

The Prophesied Spirit Of Elijah

It's not only that without God we die, cease to be, but on the way is depravity. All things move. There is constant motion and the motion toward extinction of life - without God's intercession - has got to become darker and darker, as that's the course one's on.


And so we all were, in all the different human degrees, but it was the same road all were on, when "Christ died for us" (in our place) ..and so the world is.

My alternate title for these thoughts was "worst case scenario". Anywhere, where there has been a worst case scenario possible, somewhere in the world and time, that scenario has played out.

I'm not trying to be negative. I'm a very optimistic person, even in the worst of times, God always has something, some blessings up His sleeve. It's just that we humans, I think, do not recognize the gravity of the situation. My daughter was talking about two teenage girls she knows, and her words reminded me of what sort of world some teenage girls are stepping off into.

Do you remember Jessica Lundsford? That's one story I'll never forget. It was so dark. It was so evil. So totally depraved. It represents it all to me, the sex slave trade, the wars, bags of tiny body parts in landfills.. So many would like to ignore the times, "let me live my life" they say (subconsciously?) ..Those folks acting up in the Middle East, they're deceived.. Sure! They're deceived, but they're also doing what they do because they want to.

If God's breath is a consuming fire, I think this world has been on borrowed time for some time now. And yet, although things are so messed up, they're perfect. All is perfect - God is letting things run their course, and using it to thoroughly prove what it is He is proving. (To “all in heaven and on earth.” Eph 1:10; Col 1:20)

And we.. ..are above it all! For we are “seated in heavenly places” because “He is in us and we are in Him” and He “sits at the right hand of the Father”. (Ephesians 2:6; Romans 8:2,10/Galatians 4:19; Hebrews 1:3)

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things God has prepared..” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

“The wolf and the lamb shall pasture together, the bear will graze with the cow.. the lion will eat straw like the ox” (Isaiah 11:6,7) “Everyone will live under their own vine and fig tree..” (Micah 4:4) ...are just glimpses.

“Of the increase of His government and peace, there shall be no end..” (Isaiah 9:7)

Spiritual Armor

We are seated above all principalities and powers. Also we are seated above all goings on, here on planet Earth. This is because we are "in Jesus" (Romans 8:1). And Jesus, "is sitting at the right hand of God" (Colossians 3:1). So we are seated above all these things, for we are seated with Him, what with being "part of the body of which He is the head" (Ephesians 4:15,16).


Ephesians 6:10-18 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

10. As to the rest, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might;
11. put on the whole armour of God, for your being able to stand against the wiles of the devil,
12. because we have not the wrestling with blood and flesh, but with the principalities, with the authorities, with the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, with the spiritual things of the evil in the heavenly places;
13. because of this take ye up the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to resist in the day of the evil, and all things having done -- to stand.
14. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about in truth, and having put on the breastplate of the righteousness,
15. and having the feet shod in the preparation of the good-news of the peace;
16. above all, having taken up the shield of the faith, in which ye shall be able all the fiery darts of the evil one to quench,
17. and the helmet of the salvation receive, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the saying of God,
18. through all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the Spirit, and in regard to this same, watching in all perseverance and supplication for all believers --

By The Sea

Mark 4:1
"And he began again to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea."

Later..

From John 21:1,6,8-9,12

"After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias... `Cast the net on the right side of the boat` ...the disciples ..dragged in the net full of fish.. and they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.  And Jesus said to them.. `Come and eat`.."

John 21:17,19 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

"He saith to him the third time, `Simon, [son] of Jonas, dost thou dearly love me?' ...`Feed my sheep`.. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, `Follow Me`.."

Beginning A Slow Paced Bible Prophecy Study

Here - http://bibleprophecy4today.blogspot.com/

[ Bible Prophecy For Today ]

They Missed The Boat

Luke 7:27-30

27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, which shall prepare the way before you.
28 For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
29 And when all the people heard Him,even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.
30 But the Pharisees and scribes rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

So there they were, the religious leaders who had surely read the prophecies of - "a voice crying from the wilderness! Prepare the way of the LORD!" - when the wild figure of John the Baptist came in from the wilderness preaching a message of repentance by baptism, followed by the humble person of Jesus healing the lame and the blind - also prophesied (by Isaiah the prophet).

Romans 9:18

18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
Or as another version put it:
18 Everything depends on what God decides to do, and he can either have pity on people or make them stubborn.

Morning Meditation