Traditionally shyness has been depicted as a ‘female trait’ alongside with compassion, gullibility, moodiness, unpredictability and soft-spokeness. However, since the 21^st century the boundary between female and male shyness has been disappearing. Shyness has become more widely known as a social problem for both sexes, and in this post I will examine how this change came about.

In the 1950’s women were encouraged to be the so-called “good wives” for their husbands. The term “good wives” meant that women had their place in maintaining an orderly house while the men worked hard for creating money. Women were expected to be more modest and shy towards their husbands, and conversely men were expected to be assertive in nature. There was a large distinction between male and female roles which was created by the society they lived in.

By the time the 1980’s came about shyness was considered a failure to develop skills of self-disclosure, and assertiveness. Shyness was stereotyped as a ‘feminine trait’ and was seen as undesirable, especially for men. Therefore shyness was thrust upon women to adopt, while men were pushed away from this trait. Women having to accept the role of being shy created an internal struggle for seeking independence from such societal norms. Over the course of time women fought and were accepted to be considered equal amongst men and the role of women changed completely. *I know there is a whole history there and I have included references for those who wish to look further into the history.

The question that arises is ‘What is the new modern day woman’? The picture of this post is of Angelina Jolie because I believe she embodies what it means to be this modern day women. She is strong, assertive, beautiful, inspiring, and responsible; yet she is also caring, kind, compassionate, and sometimes even shy. Statistics show that there is a greater prevalence of shyness amongst women in the population, but I would argue that women feel more comfortable disclosing that they are shy while men are afraid to. And so the distinction between male and female shyness I believe should be non-existent. Men and women who have shyness share more similarities then differences and there should not be this cultural push to label one sex as ‘more shy’.

References:

McDaniel, P.A. (2001) Shrinking violets and casper milquetoasts: shyness and

heterosexuality from the roles of the fifties to the rules of the nineties, Journal of

Social History, 2001, 34, 3, 547–68.

These five attributes live inside each one of us. It isn’t a matter of developing them or finding them or creating them. It’s simply a matter of uncovering them. Acknowledging them. Accepting them.

We are like a lawn full of dead leaves. The dead leaves are our unwanted thoughts. Our unnecessary feelings. Our unkind expressions. Our unforgiving judgments. Our hurtful actions. Toward ourselves and others. Now, let’s get a rake and rake through the dead leaves of unwanted experiences and find the flowers underneath. Just underneath the surface of our pain there grows a beautiful flower. And another and another. These flowers symbolize within us our truth as creations of God.

They are called …
The Presence of Love
The Energy of Love
The Essence of Love
The Decision for Love
The State of Love

The Presence of Love. Happiness and Joy welling within us when we allow it.

The Energy of Love. Health and Well Being, a natural state of being that is our gift from God.

The Essence of Love. Harmlessness personified by kindness that flows constantly through us.

The Decision for Love. Helping others to find their inner flowers becomes our greatest joy.

The State of Love. Heaven is a state of mind and dwells within us right here, right now.

We may occasionally recognize these attributes in ourselves, but usually we let them pass by with little or no attention. What if we paid attention? What would we see? What would be our experience?

Happiness is every peaceful moment. It can be seen in a sunrise or a playful kitten. It can be seen in the unspoken joy that wells within us for no reason at all. Pay attention when this happens and focus on this feeling. It is the presence of Love.

Health and well being are when we see ourselves as more than a body. When an understanding comes over us that we are okay just as we are. No strings attached. No special conditions imposed. This is the energy of Love.

Harmlessness is when we choose to be kind instead of hurtful to another. No matter how small the act, our willingness to be harmless offers a loving, healing experience for us and for others. This is the essence of Love.

Helpfulness happens whenever we see someone in need and offer a hand, a word, an encouraging smile. Whenever we see someone’s cry for help and then answer it with a prayer or a blessing on their behalf. Whenever we withhold judgment and choose love instead. This is the decision for Love.

Heaven is God’s love that lives in each one of us. It is seen as light and experienced as truth, constant and unchanging and eternally us, one with each other and one with God. This is the State of Love.

Isn’t it a warm and lovely thought to know that underneath the dead leaves of our experience, just out of our awareness lives this amazing world ripe for miracles and quietly waiting for our attention? And when we pay attention it appears in full panoramic view and nothing else exists.

May you walk in peace today knowing you are blessed and a blessing in the world.

Welcome back, brothers and sisters.

It is not often that we hear people talk about humility as a blessing.  Oftentimes, humility is mentioned in a negative way.  For example, I’m sure you’ve heard people talk about the “lesson of humility” in a negative vein, right, as though it was an experience that one would want to avoid?  Interestingly, the truth is that we all need to learn the lesson of humility at least once in our life, and in some cases more than once.  Why?  Beloved, humility brings us closer to the Lord.  Humility is a quality that Satan does not have.  Why?  It’s simple really.  Humility is the polar opposite of pride.

Think about it, brothers and sisters.  Pride results in people puffing themselves up.  Prideful people create an enhanced and unrealistically flattering vision of themselves.  They have to believe that they are better than others so that their elevated view of themselves is maintained.  A person filled with pride is almost impossible to teach, as their pride won’t allow them to admit that they need help to grow.  Someone filled with pride has a tendency to repeat mistakes of the past due to their unwillingness to learn from anyone other than themselves.  Even if 20 other people have made the same mistake, all to their own detriment, the prideful person will think they can do the same thing without the adverse consequences.  Why?  Because they believe that others that may have tried the same thing and failed are somehow inferior to them.  Their superiority complex will rarely allow consideration of the reality that the same limitations that apply to others also applies to them.

Humility, on the other hand, is quite different.  Humility often goes hand in hand with meekness.  A humble person sees themselves as they really are.  They are lowly in heart, not esteeming themselves any better than others.  As a matter of fact, they often esteem themselves even less than they esteem others.  The meekness found in a person that is truly humble is a key quality that results in submission to God’s will rather than their own.  A humble person is a willing student as the enormous barriers that pride throws up never enter into the equation.  A person filled with humility is not nearly as likely to repeat mistakes made previously, as they tend to learn from previous mistakes.  When they err, the humble person will acknowledge their error/shortcoming, and they will be open to understanding what they needed to do differently.

Is it possible to have a strong Christian walk in life while being an incredibly proud person?  No, it is not.  Why is that?  Well, beloved, an extremely prideful person is focused on themselves and on doing what they need to do to maintain or further enlarge the image of themselves that they are trying to project.  They esteem their own will in doing so as a more of a priority than God’s will.  A humble person subjugates their own will to God’s will, opting to seek His will before their own. 

Beloved, their are two great examples that come to mind that clearly demonstrate the difference between pride and humility.  Acting as the eternal poster boy for pride and selfishness is none other than Satan.  Think about it.  Satan always puts his own will first.  He rebelled against fulfilling God’s will due to thinking that doing so would somehow diminish his own greatness while also magnifying the truth that there is One greater than him. 

On the flip side, our champion of humility and meekness is none other than Jesus Christ.  That’s right, beloved, the greatest example of humility and meekness that we have is none other than the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Was Jesus meek?  Yes, He submitted himself to His Father’s will by accepting to suffer the cross in order to fulfill God’s plan.  Jesus is the purest picture of humility that we will ever have.  Consider the following words of Jesus:

“Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” – Matthew 11:28-29 (KJV)

Here is another quote from when Jesus was praying to God the Father in the garden of Gethsemane shortly before Judas betrayed Him to the authorities.  Jesus knew the horrors He would have to suffer if He fell into the hands of the authorities, and the following quotes part of His prayer to the Father that very night:

“And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, ‘Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from Me: nevertheless not My will, but thine, be done.’” – Luke 22:41-42 (KJV)

Beloved, this is the only begotten Son of God!!!  He could have called down legions of angels to deliver himself, but instead He was humble and meek enough to submit to His Father’s will.  Consider what the apostle Paul said in the following:

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” – Philippians 2:5-8 (KJV)

Thank the Lord for humility!!!  Humility is truly a wonderful quality for each of us to have.  How does humility bring us closer to God?  Consider the following:

• How are we to hunger and thirst after righteousness unless we acknowledge that we are not righteous on our own? 
• Those who are meek have needed gentleness themselves.  Humility means willingly acknowledging that need. 
• If you do not recognize your own need for mercy, then how likely are you to be merciful to others?  Humility enables you to admit your sins, repent, and seek the Lord’s forgiveness.  In doing so, we receive His forgiveness and so much more:-)
• It takes humility to admit and own your mistakes.  To be willing and able to admit our own mistakes is a key ingredient to enabling us to be effect peacemakers.
• You cannot have purity of heart if you heart is full of foolish pride.
• How can we grow in our faith and walk with the Lord, unless we are honest about our need for such growth.  Humility is the acknowledgement of that need.
• To stand firm as a Christian means being willing to give all in order to serve Christ.  Christians that live for Christ undergo various forms of persecution (i.e. slander, undue criticism, false imprisonment, physical harm, emotional/mental abuse, etc.).  In order to make such a stand requires the humility of submitting to God’s will and putting Him first, at the expense of a harder existence in this world that we presently live in.

How does God view humility?  While there are many different excerpts in the bible that illustrate God’s view of humility, we will list just a few here.  Consider the following scriptures:

“By humility [and] the fear of the LORD [are] riches, and honour, and life.” – Proverbs 22:4 (KJV)

“[When] pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly [is] wisdom.” – Proverbs 11:2 (KJV)

“[He that is] despised, and hath a servant, [is] better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.” – Proverbs 12:9 (KJV)

“The fear of the LORD [is] the instruction of wisdom; and before honour [is] humility.” – Proverbs 15:33 (KJV)

“Better [it is to be] of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” – Proverbs 16:19 (KJV)

“Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.  Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.  Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.  Blessed [are] the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.  Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God.  Blessed [are] the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.  Blessed [are] they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.” – Matthew 5:3-11 (KJV)

Beloved, the last quote in that list is a quote from Jesus’ sermon on the Mount.  When you look at each of the statements He makes in that quote, you can see the need for humility and meekness as a central underpinning to every group He is speaking of.  I pray that all who read this message are filled with humility and draw closer to the Lord by continually seeking and submitting to His will.

If you have not yet given your life to Christ Jesus, but you would like to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior right now, please join me in praying the following prayer:

“Lord God Almighty, I know that I am a sinner and that I am lost.  I know that I need to be saved from sin, but I also know that I can’t save myself.  Lord Jesus, I know that only You can save me.  I know that you paid for my salvation with your own life and blood on the cross.  I know that when You rose from the grave on the third day, you conquered death and provided everlasting life to all who trust in You.  Right now, I lay down my life and let go of my pride, my vanity and every other sin that has kept me from You.  Lord Jesus, I now completely trust my life to You.  I open my heart to You, Lord.  Please come into my heart.  Please forgive me of all of my sins, and please accept me as Your child.  From this point on, I commit my life to You.  Please guide me and provide me strength as I begin to live the rest of my life for You.  In Your precious and matchless name I pray.  Amen.”

Beloved, if you just sincerely prayed that prayer, then you are now born-again in Jesus ChristJ  Welcome to the family!!!  You will still have many trials/problems to face in this world, but you will never again face them alone.  With the Lord God Almighty on your side, all problems just became manageableJ  I would encourage you to get to know the Lord better by spending a few minutes each day studying His word (bible), communicating with Him frequently through prayer, and by seeking other Christians to have some fellowship with.  All of these things will help you to grow spiritually in your new relationship with the Lord.  Remember, from this point forward your life should reflect who you serve, and you serve Jesus Christ as your Lord and SaviorJ  Praise God!!!

Thank you all for joining us for today’s discussion.  I hope you will be able to join us for Thursday’s message. 

As always, if you have a prayer request you would like us to join you in prayer over, please don’t hesitate to send it to us either through the “Comments” box on this page, or by emailing me directly at jasonthurwanger @ dellmail.com.  We will maintain your privacy.

Remember, if you would like to order the new book “Strapping On the Whole Armor of God – Suiting Up For Spiritual Warfare), please visit my website at http://www.yourbrotherinchrist.com .  If you prefer to order by mail, you will also find the mailing address on that website.  This book is very valuable in helping people understand how to go about securely and effectively putting on the whole armor of God that the apostle Paul refers to in Chapter 6 of Ephesians.  We are praying that many people will receive this book and be blessed in their walk with the Lord by reading it.

Have a wonderful and blessed rest of the day!!!

May the Lord bless you, keep you, guide you, and make His face to shine upon you and your loved ones always.

Your brother in Christ,

Rev Jason Thurwanger

In Acts Chapter 22 the Apostle Paul is telling the story of how he went from being the lost, hell-bound Saul of Tarsus, to being the saved, Heaven-bound man of God. Having been struck blind on the road to the Damascus by the overwhelming glory of Christ Jesus Himself, Paul is taken to a devout Jewish man named Ananias. We pick up the story in Verse 13:

…Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.

Acts 22:13-15 (emphasis added)

In these three verses there are five references to the gift of sight. Saul had received a great gift from the Lord – the ability to see again. However, that gift was not given just for the purpose of being a gift. It was a gift given for a reason. The reason was so that Saul could see the Just One, Jesus Christ, and then tell others about Him, and so that others might see Him, too.

Eyesight is one of the greatest earthly gifts of God there is. However, we have an amazing ability to receive earthly gifts from God, and then make those gifts, rather the Giver of those gifts, the objects of our attention, affection, and even adoration.

The same can be said of spiritual gifts. Have you been given the gift of being able to be forgiving? Then, rejoice! But do not think of yourself as an expert on forgiveness, and revel in pride over how forgiving you can be. Think of forgiveness as a gift given to help you understand how much it cost God, and how much He must have loved you, to forgive you. Forgiveness is a gift that removes a barrier so that you can see God better!

Have you been given the gift of victory over sin to the extent where you are able to live a more pure and holy life? Then, rejoice! But do not think of yourself as an authority on personal purity and holy living. Think of purity and holiness as a gift which allows you into the intimate presence of the Pure and Holy God, so that you may see Him better! (Matthew 5:8)

Have you been given the gift of spiritual insight? Then, rejoice! But do not rejoice that you have become the person that people seek out when they have spiritual questions or problems, and do not expect the praise or compensation of men, when you are able to help them. Instead, think of spiritual insight as a way to better know God!

Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Christian Audio is offering a free download of an abridged version of The Brothers Karamazov during December. Just be sure to type DEC2009 as the coupon code. By the way, abridged is still over nineteen hours of listening pleasure and is well done, according to the reviews. Enjoy! Mine is downloading even as I speak, er, type.

Forgiveness

Two kinds of human beings are able to forgive easily, little children and saints. Do you know why? Neither of them owns anything, so they have no attachments. Therefore nothing sticks to them and they are free.

Only a courageous heart has the strength to forgive others for what they have done and not done. For a courageous heart, your heart must become clean. And the heart becomes clean when you forgive others. Filled with forgiveness, you liberate yourself.

Compassion

Compassion is a noble virtue. To be truly compassionate you must learn to think well of yourself and others. True compassion calls for great wisdom. When the compassion you feel for someone is genuine, you experience the light of Dharma (right living) shining inside your heart.

Compassion is the divine impulse that stirs within you when you come across someone’s ignorance or pain. Compassion is not just a feeling: you become the embodiment of compassion, so that wherever you go, everyone knows they will receive help.

Generosity

Do you want to be happy? Be generous. Give credit to others’ good qualities, others’ virtues, and other’s goodness. Learn to give credit to what others have done. Become totally generous if you want to be happy.

Your greatness lies not in how much you have hoarded for yourself, but in how much you have given to others. A musician gives his melody; a dancer, her movements; a child, its innocence; a tree, its fruit; the ocean, its profundity; the sky, its vastness; the universe, its mystery. Because they give what they are, everyone longs for them. Their nobility lies in their offering themselves in charity.

Selections of talks by Gurumayi

The Gospel that Jesus said to “repent and believe?”  What Gospel?  The Gospel promulgated by the Roman Catholic Church.  The release of The Manhattan Declaration has caused much chatter here in Blogville, so we’ll take a minute to see if the Gospel proclaimed by Rome is the simple Gospel proclaimed by Paul and the New Testament writers.  We have based this post on a chart, explaining salvation in a visual manner, produced and copyrighted by David MacDonald, which you can view here.  Please keep in mind that Mr. MacDonald is Roman Catholic – this is not the effort of a disgruntled Protestant.  Downloading Mr. MacDonald’s chart would be quite useful for your future reference. Per Mr. MacDonald’s chart, this is the way for a person to salvation:

1)  Born with original sin.

2a) Die in unbelief, without being baptized (unless you are an infant who has not been baptized, or are an honest seeker of the truth who is ignorant of God’s mercy.  Those people bypass steps 2-9), which results in eternal punishment in Hell.

2b) You are baptized, which washes away original sin and per Rome, infuses justifying grace and righteousness.

3)  You are confirmed by the Magisterium, Bishops, Priests, Religious Orders or Lay Christians.

4a) You commit mortal (“grave”) sin, which separates you from communion with God.  If not repented, confessed, absolved, reconciled, you go to Hell.

4b)  You commit a venial (“not serious”) sin.  This sin can lead to mortal sin, which then leads us to step 4a.

5)  The repentance required in step 4a involves a “second conversion” – a personal decision for Jesus.  If the repentance did not involve a mortal sin, one may skip the confession, absolution, reconciliation step.

6)  As part of the process involving mortal sin, you have now acquired a debt that even though you are free from “eternal punishment,” you will now have temporal punishment, which you will endure further down the process in Purgatory.

7)  Regardless of which type of sin you committed, you need to perform acts of penance and charity, which include offering indulgences for those who are in Purgatory.

8)  You are then brought back to the Magisterium, etc., where you engage in Eucharistic Communion with Mary, Archangels, Saints, faithful Christians, who are praying and praising, helping those on earth.

9)  If you, at any point, commit 4a or 4b, you back through the steps again.

10) At death, the believer is ushered into Purgatory for temporal punishment in order for purification to take place.  The length of time and the nature of this punishment is not specified.

11)  Upon release from Purgatory, one enters Heaven.

Is that what Paul was so careful to protect in Galatians?  Or was the Gospel so simple that he had to protect its simplicity – as he did in Romans 6?

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:30-31, ESV)  Sounds pretty simple to me………

]]> http://prayerjournal.ca/2009/12/01/forgiveness-in-the-lords-prayer/ Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:40:55 +0000 Jim http://prayerjournal.ca/2009/12/01/forgiveness-in-the-lords-prayer/

In Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus teaches us to pray and gives us what is known as the ‘Lord’s Prayer‘. It is a powerful prayer which is also a table of contents on areas prayer. Volumes have been written about it.

In v. 12 it says:

forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.

Here’s a quick thought on that verse: a significant amount of the sin in our lives is a reaction to those who have sinned against us. It is easy for us to blame others for our own issues and troubles and I in no way am trying to blame our sinful on what others have done to us. However the reality is that some of our sinful behavior is a response to the ways we have been treated by others. It is a wrong response and we must seek forgiveness, but Jesus provides some crucial insight into some of the root causes of our behavior.

As we forgive those who have sinned against us we ourselves find greater freedom to respond in righteousness rather than sin. Rather than go on discussing the theology related to this issue I want to encourage you to simply take a moment right now to pray:

• Ask the Lord to show you any people that you need to forgive in your life today.
• Ask him to bring them to your mind and then choose to forgive them. It is helpful to say out loud that you forgive them.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen you today to respond to them in righteousness.

Daily Read (Micah 4-5)

Scripture:
Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Observation:
The opening of Micah 5 is unique to the rest of the book. Most of the book speaks of the judgment of Israel by God and also their delivery from complete destruction by God. He always keeps a remnant unto Himself, who worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). However, right here in almost the middle of the book, we read of the coming ruler or the Messiah, as known to Jewry, or Christ as known to the Hellenists. He is the Anointed One. God foretells of the coming Messiah, “whose origins are from old, from ancient times” (verse 2). Jesus confirmed these words when He said, “before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58).

Application:
Most people, familiar with Western ideas, would now say that we have entered the Advent season. Advent comes from the Latin “ad-venio” – to come to. We are “coming to” the season where we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Much debate has been given as to the actual time of the birth of Jesus.

Many say it would not have been in winter because of the cold harsh conditions for travel as people went to register for the Roman censuses. Others say it was in spring for various reasons. The most logical approach to the timing of Christ’s birth would have been near the time of the Festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles) in accordance with John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and lived (literally: tabernacled) among us.” The Feast of Sukkot (tabernacles) was fulfilled in the life of Christ, as He went about doing the Father’s work.

The celebration of His birth on the same day as the pagan holiday (or “holy day”) causes grief for many believers and then again doesn’t faze others. The winter solstice, or shortest day of the year, occurs on December 25th annually, and this day has been a day of celebration in pagan traditions for millennia long before the birth of Christ. Many attribute the Christianization of this pagan day to the Catholic Church in its attempts to “Christianize” the pagan world.

The day that anyone celebrates the day of the birth of our Savior is actually a moot point because the apostle Paul told us, “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it” (Rom. 14:5-6). Now I am not saying to abandon the celebration of Christmas altogether because of its past association with pagan traditions nor because of what Paul said. The point is that if you choose to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th; do so and without regret.

It is a great time and opportunity to be witnesses for Jesus to a lost and dying world that might not other come to church other than during the Christmas season. If you were to ask most people when they go to church, you would likely hear what I describe as the “Birthday and holiday plan” or Christmas and Easter. Christmas is both birthday and holiday while Easter is the resurrection (rebirth-day) and holiday. I encourage every believer to go to church on Christmas Sunday and be sure to bring along someone who doesn’t know Christ as Savior and Lord (ruler). They are more inclined to go then than any other time of the year if at all.

Why not spread the cheer (joy – fruit of the Spirit) and show some love during this time of peace? You would be extending kindness to a lost soul through the goodness God has placed in you. Humble yourself enough to invite someone with you. It may be a little nerve racking and trying your faith, but it will work patience within you. It will definitely take some self-control from the Holy Spirit to take that bold step of faith. You never know who will respond to your invitation to meet the Savior of the world.

God promised Him to us and said that He would come from Bethlehem. Isn’t it amazing to us how the Lion of Judah, son of David, was born in the hometown of his great (X) grandfather? God fulfilled the prophecy of Micah when Jesus was born there. He came first as a humble servant wrapped in swaddling clothes to take away the sins of the world. Next time He comes as Righteous King (ruler as Micah put it) to rule and reign upon the throne of David for a 1,000 years and then forever! All hail King Jesus!

Prayer:
Father, You sent Your Son, Jesus, to live among us and brought Him into this world no differently than any other. You humbled Him by allowing Him to give up immortality to become mortal and experience life, as we know it, yet He was faithful to complete the mission You assigned Him. He remained humble and faithful to the end. He went from being born under a tree (manger) to being sacrificed on a tree (cross). As we come to the celebration of Your earthly birth, I want to remember the reason for the season – Jesus came to give His life as a ransom for all. May we keep in mind, Lord, that Your physical birth was necessary for the spiritual re-birth in us. Thank You for loving us enough to die for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

www.blogsurfer.us

On this date 12 years ago people died in the high school I was attending. People were also paralyzed and a few survived their wounds. I think about that at least once a year, usually more. Yes, I knew everyone involved including the shooter who was in my first two classes.

In high school there are always the corny cheers about being “proud to be a Pirate, yes I am…”.
Well at football games I usually wasn’t. We stunk. But 12 years ago tomorrow I was proud to be a Pirate. Some students from the prayer circle which was the target of the shooting made a huge sign and put it on the front of the school which was surrounded by TV vans from CNN, NBC, CBS, etc. The sign read, “Michael, we forgive you.” I don’t think about that part of the story as much. I wish I did. That is awesome maturity from high school students, unfortunately I was too immature to be a part of that at that point in my life.

Heath High School has since put in a memorial garden, which is nice. But I wonder what happened to that sign.

Another memorable moment from that season of my life was the entire school meeting in the lobby for the prayer circle the next day. Hearing the entire school body sing “Amazing Grace” truly was amazing. For a time every time I heard that song being sung by my peers I got chills.

Status Update-

It seems like ages ago when I last posted (probably because it was) but I would like to finish the Forgiveness series.  I ask your forgiveness for not posting sooner but life has a crazy way of messing up your plans.  For those that don’t know I’ll catch you up.

Things are returning to normal now though and I am hoping to get back to my blogging.  My plan is to post twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays.  

 

 

Too refresh your memory on “The Forgiveness Formula” here are the links to read.

 

Part 1 can be found – HERE.

 

Part 2 can be found - HERE.

 

 

---

Did you like this post? Did you hate it? Please share it with your friends and leave a comment below. I would love to read your thoughts and opinions.

 

You can also check out the Other Resources page for Bible Study Helps as well as links to media downloads, all free!

Want to show God’s love in a practical way and let people know where they can go for more info or help? Take a look at the DUO page.

Questions? Don’t forget to visit the Questions??Questions?? page and let me know. I will try to answer it the best I can. No Quantum Physics or Time Travel questions please!

I’m not Einstein!

 

 

 

Sudanese girl flogged for short skirt | World | Telstra BigPon… – William Tell’s MySpace Blog |.

I just had to share this news as much as possible. I’m going to pen my own lines on some of this stuff; not necessarily this article.

This makes my head spin. Can you imagine being at the markets and watching this?

More to come;  maybe same blog time, but same blog channel.

TODAY’S VERSE
“The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.”
Psalms 103:8-13 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
King David had an acute understanding of the love of God. It is as if he could see the very heart of Jehovah Himself. David, who knew sin so well, knew the forgiver of sin better. He who struggled with sinful passions in such profound ways, was also set free by the miraculous compassion and mercy of God. Listen to what he writes. “The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. – He does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. – His unfailing love for us is as high as the heavens. – He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” Finally he writes, “The Lord is like a tender and compassionate father.” Who could write such beautiful words? Who could so eloquently write about God’s forgiveness other than someone who knew first hand, the love of the Father. David knew God. God offers the same experience to us. Today, meditate on God’s mercy, compassion and love. Let the words of the Psalm radiate brightly in your heart and make them your own. And may the realization of your own forgiveness be imprinted deeply on your mind just as it was on David’s.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Jesus, how I thank You for Your compassion. How I praise You for my forgiveness. How I glorify You for Your unfailing love to me. Thank You for not giving me what I deserve but being merciful and removing all my sins from me. In Your precious name I pray.
AMEN

______________________________________________________________

CLICK HERE to send this to a friend

 CLICK HERE to go to our BLOG Walking the Talk, and find out ways to help others.  

 Do You Know What Your Spiritual Gifts Are?
Now You Can. CLICK HERE to Get your FREE Spiritual GIfts Test and Workbook  

Do you want to know how to be a Child of God? CLICK HERE to find out how

Jeremiah 32:17 (NIV) ~ Nothing is too hard for you. 

Jeremiah 32:27 (NIV), “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” The depth of this awesome question reaches far beyond my feeble mind to a place where I turn to God to help me grasp this life-changing truth, to enter into a greater realm of faith where I can believe God for anything. Where my soul cries out, “my ELOHIM ADONAI is my God, He is an all-powerful God and nothing is to hard for Him. When we go back ten verses of Scripture, we can read the answer to the question in Jeremiah 32:17 (NIV), “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” 

Nothing is difficult for God to do! There is no sickness He cannot heal.

There is no obstacle He cannot overcome. There is no stronghold He cannot bring down.

There is no wall He cannot breakthrough. There is no soul He cannot save.

There is no backslider He cannot reach. There is no enemy He cannot defeat.

There is no miracle He cannot do.

For the Bible says in Jeremiah 32:17 (NIV), “Nothing is too hard for you.” 

Kay Chance once penned this faith-filled song with these powerful lyrics: 

Ah Lord God, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power,

Ah Lord God, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thine outstretched arm.

Nothing is too difficult for Thee; nothing is too difficult for Thee,

O great and mighty God, great in counsel and mighty in deed,

Nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing, nothing is too difficult for Thee. 

God asked the question in Genesis 18:14 (NIV), “Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.”

There is no barren womb God cannot open and bless.

There is no Egypt experience that God cannot deliver you from.

There is no mighty work God will not do for you.

There is nothing, absolutely nothing, God cannot do!

In childlike faith we come to Him and sing the old Sunday school song with a heart full of joy, believing in His awesome promise:

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty,

There’s nothing that He cannot do! 

My friend, we have this in God, confidence to approach the throne of grace, to seek His unmerited favour, knowing the blessed truth which is found in our text for today in Jeremiah 32:17 (NIV), “Nothing is too hard for you.” There is no impossible situation He cannot make possible! For our God is an awesome God, who is strong to deliver and mighty to save! With God all things are possible, for there is nothing too hard for Him and nothing He cannot do. 

God bless you my friend, Matthew.

1 For ^aI do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all ^bunder the cloud and all ^cpassed through the sea;

2   and all were ^abaptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

3   and all ^aate the same spiritual food;

4   and all ^adrank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was ¹Christ.

5   Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for ^athey were laid low in the wilderness.

6 Now these things happened as ^aexamples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as ^bthey also craved.

7   Do not be ^aidolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “^bThe people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to ^cplay.”

8   Nor let us act immorally, as ^asome of them ¹did, and ^btwenty-three thousand fell in one day.

9   Nor let us try the Lord, as ^asome of them ¹did, and were destroyed by the serpents.

10   Nor ^agrumble, as some of them ¹did, and ^bwere destroyed by the ^cdestroyer.

11   Now these things happened to them as an ^aexample, and ^bthey were written for our instruction, upon whom ^cthe ends of the ages have come.

12   Therefore let him who ^athinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.

13   No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and ^aGod is faithful, who will not allow you to be ^btempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. ^[1]

Even when God’s blessings were upon Israel in a powerful and mighty way, Israel complained and doubted God while following Moses to the Promised Land. They still found fault with God by ignoring all God did for them. They allowed their sinful nature and selfishness to blot out the blessings God had given them because they were too focused on themselves. They fell back into sin even as they walked behind Moses who was being led by the Lord. These people witnessed God’s work directly, yet they still complained and rebelled bringing down destruction upon them.

God, in His grace, always gives us a means of escape when temptations to sin enter into our heart and mind. The fact is that we are all sinners by nature, and as Christians, we still have our old sinful nature that wars against God. God will perfect us like Himself when we die, but what about the meantime as we struggle with life? God, in His mercy, has not only given us the Holy Spirit to live within us, to convict us of sin, to comfort us, and to give us peace, but He has limited how we can be tempted by sin. When we sin, it is because of our making the wrong decision and not God’s fault. In other words, God has made a way even when we are tempted, and He has made a way for us to endure it. All we must do is go to Him in prayer, and He will give us victory.

In life many trials, temptations, and hardships will come regardless of what we do. Let us always remember to cast all our cares upon Jesus Who never fails. Jesus will carry us even when we cannot see a way out. By seeking God and desiring Him, we will overcome any affliction and trail by His grace and mercy. Our hardships are only temporary, and many times it is during these hardships we grow closer to Jesus and see His grace. Let us draw close to God and put our focus on Him in the good times and the bad. Let us learn from Israel so that we will always be thankful for the Lord’s salvation and mercy He has given us.

^bEx 13:21; Ps 105:39

^cEx 14:22, 29; Neh 9:11; Ps 66:6

^aRom 6:3; 1 Cor 1:13; Gal 3:27

^aEx 16:4, 35; Deut 8:3; Neh 9:15, 20; Ps 78:24f; John 6:31

^aEx 17:6; Num 20:11; Ps 78:15

¹I.e. the Messiah

^aNum 14:29ff, 37; 26:65; Heb 3:17; Jude 5

^a1 Cor 10:11

^bNum 11:4, 34; Ps 106:14

^aEx 32:4; 1 Cor 5:11; 10:14

^bEx 32:6

^cEx 32:19

^aNum 25:1ff

¹Lit acted immorally

^bNum 25:9

^aNum 21:5f

¹Lit made trial

^aNum 16:41; 17:5, 10

¹Lit grumbled

^bNum 16:49

^cEx 12:23; 2 Sam 24:16; 1 Chr 21:15; Heb 11:28

^a1 Cor 10:6

^bRom 4:23

^cRom 13:11

^aRom 11:20; 2 Pet 3:17

^a1 Cor 1:9

^b2 Pet 2:9

^[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (1 Co 10:1-13). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

When I came out as a transsexual woman three years ago, I wasn’t sure what to expect from those closest to me.  After all, I’d done essentially everything possible to keep it hidden from them for 36 years.  As a child, I feared being called a “maricon,” a “joto,” or even “faggot.”  The expectations placed on hispanic males in the 70’s demanded they be a man’s man, a macho vato, and he had to be straight as a nail.   Meanwhile, my young spirit began to decay even then I cried at night that God would turn me into a girl by morning.

Looking back over the last few years, I count my blessings, especially when compared to others, concerning acceptance and support from friends, coworkers, and especially family.  My mother, though initially stricken with her own feelings of guilt as if she’d done something wrong to “cause this,” came through the other side of this accepting me with the same loving spirit she’s always had.  And many other close relatives followed suit.  Transition is never easy on anyone.  Believe me, I knew this was hard for those around me to swallow; it was even harder for me to have to be the one to step out at the precipice and trust that God’s invisible hand would be there after all to catch me when I leaped.

And He did.  His hand, his fingers, were made up of the very fibers of love of those who cared about me.

I’m proud to live authentically and embrace who I am now.  Life is by no means any easier than it was three years ago.  But I have a resilience and strength to face new challenges that I never had before.  Time and time again I feel God’s strength renewing me and lifting me up for another sprint down a never before seen road.

But I feel bumps in the road at this juncture in my life.  Just when you think you’ve upgraded your shocks a jagged rock slams into your tire and you feel the pressure reverberate through the center of your core.

So it is with being T.  I often wonder if some of the people who verbally showered me with love and support were doing so with ulterior motives.  I don’t know their hearts and I don’t think I care to.  But there are times, times when I’m at my most vulnerable and stumble very, very hard, when it seems like I’ve used up The Forgiveness Card.

The Forgiveness Card is a term I’ve made up to represent a point where someone finally grows tired of supporting someone, and looks for and uses the smallest excuse to spew and vent their frustrations upon the person who needed forgiveness.

I need forgiveness, over and over again.  You see I’ve taken many chances, calculated ones in my book, but chances nevertheless to finally get past the internal terror that so few but those like me truly understand.   I was locked into that deep, dark prison cell and needed to risk it all so all could eventually survive.  It really was about remaining alive.

People seemed to eventually understand my need for transition.  They eventually saw the scared little girl inside me after I revealed my heart like an open book for the world to see.  I took a chance.  I needed others by my side.

There came a point, though, where it seems that they grew tired of having to deal with my “issue” for whatever reason.  Maybe I reached out too much.  Maybe I cried one too many times in front of the little lens on my Macbook.  Maybe they just tired of transitioning with me.

Like I said before, I need forgiveness a lot.  I’m only human and I’m prone to making big fucking mistakes.  Especially since I’m relearning how to live my life as a woman.   When I’m called on the carpet for being an asshole, I usually swallow my pride and seek forgiveness from those I hurt.   I’ve known hurt for much too long to have any desire to hurt others around me, especially those who’ve loved me through this storm.

But I now wonder if some people threw down their last Forgiveness Card for me.  Maybe there’s no forgiveness left.

The words of apologies now worthless,

The actions of doing what’s right, meaningless.

The Forgiveness Card has been used up.   “You’re on your own, buddy.”

Thank God my God is a faithful God to whose forgiveness is as far and wide as the east from the west.

Last night was a big night for me, when I say big night, it’s not the usual happy-party thing. The night, where every thing will totally change in me. For the better? or worse? I don’t know yet. Maybe you’re wondring, why is this so? Because last night, I finally let go. 

Let go of my hopes for someone, and for something. But, last night was also the start of this “new” change.  Well, I’ve been battling for this a couple of weeks or so na, and everytime I try to get up, I can’t stand for it, becoming cowardly feeble.  Things have changed, feelings were diminishing….. I guess, it wouldn’t go back to its normal state, anymore.

But you know, I see the positive side of things na lang instead of being a slump. This has a purpose. I may not see it as clearly as I should now, I know, I will in it’s perfect time. I’ll take this one step at a time.

As the saying goes,

“When you come to the edge of all the light that you know, And you are about to step off into the darkness
of the unknown, Faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on
or you will be taught how to fly.”

Faith means living with uncertainties – feeling your way through life, letting your heart guide you like a lantern in the dark. Faith in yourself and to the good things that will come your way.  You must also have love as the core; it takes courage to be willing to constantly tell the truth to each other and risk letting the relationship go. It wouldn’t be easy, yes. But atleast you tried.  Yet, you still have this idea that when you’re passionate about something, you want it to be all it can be. But in the endgame of life, I fundamentally believe the key to happiness is letting go of that idea of perfection. Just being happy about what you had with that someone and not setting standards/rules for your own felicitousness.

Inner peace can be reached only when we practive forgiveness. Forgiving not only your partner, but most importantly, your self. YOU have done what is to be done. You’ve contributed to the welfare of the relationship. Forgive and believe that things are just the way they are, sometimes, far beyond your control. 

In the end, letting go allows us to make room for bigger things that are in store for us. Sometimes, we do things and have to be accountable for them later. Now, I’m back in control. I should strive for progress, not perfection. I should commit to taking care of myself and believe that  I’m worth it. Then one day, I can finally pat myself at the back and tell myself, I am doing great.

I do not know ANYTHING about Islam, but I want to.  My Muslim friend posted this on Facebook today:

DAY OF JUDGEMENT,when there is only a single star left in the sky.at that moment,the path of forgiveness will close.the writing in the Quran will vanish.the sun will lower itself with the earth.prophet muhammad (SAW) said “whoever delivers this news to someone else,i will on the day of judgement make for him a p…lace…… in jannat.  pass to every muslim u know…  :)

And so I’m trying to strike up a conversation with her about it, to find out what she and other Muslims believe about HOW to be forgiven.  Do you have any info?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living^©

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
(Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV))

How easy it is for us to come to quick conclusions about someone or to rashly and harshly form an opinion about someone because they do not conform to what we think someone should act like or dress like. This is simply an act of judgment that we are performing. An act that Jesus has told us is wrong. Remember what Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer.

Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
(Matthew 6:12(NIV))

Could forgiveness and judgment be so tightly bound together that the act of judgment is actually a sin that comes back solely to rest on our shoulders? We, as humans, in our limited understanding, tend to judge those whom we are different from, and, perhaps, those whom we have not forgiven for being different from us.

If we honestly love someone, it is hard to judge them, for we have forgiven the transgressions, both real and imaginary, that they may have committed against us. If we judge, then we are setting ourselves up to be above the person whom we judge. The creation cannot judge the creation. Only the Creator can judge the creation, and God judged His work in Genesis when He saw that it was good. How can we, even though sin has corrupted the creation, pass judgment against something that God has called good?

Instead of judgement, love people with the grace and mercy that God has shown you through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Copyright 1998 – 2009 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery

Voddie Baucham gives us the  the answers to the questions:

Who am I?…Why am I here?…What is wrong with the world?…How can what is wrong, be made right?

***SOME OF THE IMAGES IN THE VIDEO ARE VERY GRAPHIC***

A few weeks ago, I had been fasting for health reasons for about 3 days – not a total fast, but almost.  The morning of the fourth day I had a long vivid dream.  I woke up from it at 4 a.m. and wrote it down because as others I’ve had in the past that were significant, this one impressed me as being important.  I can’t explain the difference between a normal dream and these others I have sometimes.  They are full of symbolism that I don’t “see” and understand until I wake up, and I began having them about three years ago.  I am not going to claim it’s from God.  If He did give it, He will confirm it in others.  If it was just a result of low blood sugar on the brain, and impresses you as such, you are free to file it circularly.   I have no attachment to the outcome of sharing this.

Here is a summarized version – the actual dream is longer and full of details.  As I wrote it all out – the symbolism became clear to me and I wrote out what I believed it meant.  You can test that too, and add your thoughts if you have any insight.

Dream 11-17-09

My husband dropped me off to meet a friend of ours in old trailer park located in a run down part of a big city.  I had no idea why I was there.  Our friend met me and we walked to the back of the park where there was a gate.  We went through the gate and there was some sort of a compound set up.  The first thing I saw to my right was a canopy with tables set up, and against one wall a Ham radio was set up on a table and white boards up on the wall behind it.  Looked like a place for planning and communication, but there was no one there.  We went past it and into a small building we had to step up to get into.  Inside were a group of people having a meeting with a man standing up speaking.  He seemed to be presenting people with a choice.  I sensed no one would be asked to leave, but he began to openly confront people with Jesus Christ – and asking people to share what they believed concerning Him.  Some became visibly irritated – and uneasy.  Two people left.  The man was making it very clear that unless you were completely on board with the truth about Jesus, you would not want to be there.  But no one was told to leave.

From there much activity was taking place – people finding their assigned living spaces in the building.  It seemed like a training program of some kind.  I was given a small area with a bed.  The first thing I realized about the place was that everything that was brought into the building was equally shared among everyone – no exceptions.  One young woman came up to me so excited to be there, and started to explain to me that her pastor had helped her to come there. I began to wonder why I was there, and how.  I looked at a clipboard and the names of my family were written down to be there four weeks.  I asked my friend that had brought me if he knew anything about that, but he wouldn’t say anything.  In fact he never said a word at any time in my dream.  I wanted to know who arranged it – what was the cost??  None of my questions were answered.  All I knew was that  I was supposed to be there.

The place was closed down on the weekends, so I went home and my family returned with me the following Monday. I had brought supplies from home and was suddenly convicted when I put them in my quarters – remembering that they must be put out to be shared equally with everyone else.  I went to the main kitchen/living area and there was a notice that the director and his wife were resigning, which gave me a sense of uneasiness because we had just arrived and didn’t have any idea what to expect anyway.  I didn’t want to be in a situation where there was chaos.  I began to bake a cake.. and after I put the batter in the pan, I was dropping spoonfuls of red and yellow frosting into the batter, to be baked inside of it.  (I think I know what this represents – will explain later).  As I was doing this, a man came in who I knew was the director, but had never met him.  He began to talk about how things were before he came, and how he was afraid problems he had dealt with would return after he left.  He said before he came, everyone there had been striving and competing against one another for position and authority.  No one trusted anyone else.  Then he pointed to a cabinet where the medicines were kept.  He said the door remains open and unlocked (like all supplies remained out in the open for all to see/share).  He explained that before it was kept closed and locked, and people often found ways to steal from it.  Since the door was kept closed, no one realized the theft had taken place until someone opened it up to use something, and by then it was too late to discover who had done it.  With everything out in the open, everyone knew at all times what was supposed to be there and anything missing would be immediately obvious to everyone.

At one point – my family was trying on swimming suits because the facility had a pool – but we never actually saw it.  People would refer to it sometimes in passing, but I have no idea where it was.  My husband and son walked out of our quarters with their bathing suits on and were strongly urged to not be seen wearing them.  No one wanted to talk about “the pool” for some reason.

The last part of the dream, I was outside playing football – yes football.  If you know me – you know I do not exactly think highly of this game, nor am I physically able to engage in any form of this sport.  But in my dream I was having a great time, playing football with teenagers (still at the training center) and fully physically engaged.  I remember the element of the game giving me the greatest satisfaction was the joy of working together as a team.  I was playing with reckless abandon – putting 100% into it mentally and physically – doing things that I can truly, only dream of doing in real life. ha.  When I came inside to get cleaned up, I had pain in my eye and I looked to find 3 small twigs (looked like thin pine needles) lodged in my eye. I pulled them out and it hurt terribly, and began looking for something to treat my eye with to prevent infection.

My conclusions about the overall meaning:

1 – I see it as a dream about being in training for things to come as it concerns the Body of Christ.  Training and  preparation are important.  The training facility was equipped to do more than it was being used for.  The radio was not used, and neither was the pool.  I am currently writing a parable where communication with the Holy Spirit is symbolized by a two-way radio.  I think this is the symbol of the Ham radio, as well as the importance of being connected to other groups of believers in other places – to not be isolated as a body from the wider Body.  Water is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit and there is a very large segment of the the Church that is not willing to fully acknowledge what it means to be “immersed” in it – being scared because of issues that have been blown out of proportion in this area.  I see the silent radio, the elusive pool and cautions to prospective “swimmers” to be a rebuke concerning our relationship with the Holy Spirit.

2 – The central and most urgent purpose that we should be aligned around are the simple truths of Jesus. When He is clearly presented and lifted up, and people confronted to testify for Him, tares will not be content to stay in the body.

3 – In our individualistic, capitalist-minded culture, we recoil at the idea of “commune” – because it looks like communism.  I won’t get into politics, but capitalism practiced by those with fallen human nature is just as evil as the alternatives.  It has made us selfish, and self-reliant.  The church in Acts was “communist” in the sense that they shared all things and no one had need.  In hard times, we as the Body of Christ must be willing for everything we have to be used for God and His family – not counting anything as our own.  When people are suffering there is no place in the Holy Spirit that allows for hoarding, greed, and a lack of compassion for those who are in lack.  This cannot be legislated to unregenerate hearts – but it should be the desire of the children of God.  We must find our purpose in our calling, not in our things.

4 – Striving against one another for position, leadership, influence, etc..  will only tear us down.  Leaders must be respected and we need an attitude of humility toward each other, not arrogance and pride in our own agendas.

5 – Transparency prevents dishonesty, and keeps all problems out in the forefront.  Keeping things locked and hidden away does not allow issues to be dealt with.  No secrets.

6 – Teamwork, finding pleasure in helping one another in our mission – being willing to sacrifice ourselves completely to help each other.

7 – Close contact in teamwork brings offenses and they can happen before we even realize it.  We can have collected grievances we didn’t realize we carried until we find they hurt.  We need to remove them and seek “salve” to prevent infection – the spreading of bitterness.

The meaning of the red and yellow frosting and the cake.  This really made no sense to me and I couldn’t figure out what in the world that was doing in the dream.  Everything else made sense as I was writing it out.  Then it came to me the colors of the communist Chinese flag are red and yellow and I believe the things that I have seen in this dream are the lessons from the persecuted church.  Putting the frosting in the cake to me represents these amazing believers who are the sweetest of all their countrymen – but are forced to be hidden underneath the surface.

A week or so after I had this dream, someone loaned me a book that confirmed so many things I understood this dream to mean.  I felt compelled to share it.

Take it or leave it – as you wish.

Come and celebrate the Christ is born in me today

Every Wednesday at 7 pm in December there is a vesper with Christmas music and every time will there be a special guest appearance. But besides this, the vespers are there for you to celebrate our single purpose.

The Kingdom of Heaven is in me, it is not found somewhere outside ourselves. This evening will be a moment to nurture your Christ child in you.

Thank you Father, I am still as you created me.

I am forever an effect of You and You are forever my Cause.

Nothing can change that.