anthony s. rapaglia

We often have difficulty getting past our anger and bitterness toward those who have mistreaded or abuse us. However,asking God's forgiveness for our personal shortcomings and sins is hypocritical unless we are willing to forgive others. We forfeit forgiveness from God by denying forgiveness to others who causes harm or injury to us.This is not only selfish but also self-destructive. We must forgive,as we hope to be forgiven. Here is a promise If we forgive,your heavenly Father will also forgive us.Those who desire to find mercy with our heavenly Father,must show mercy to our sisters and brothers.Jesus Christ came into the world as the great Peace-maker,not only to reconcile us to God,but one to another (Mt 6:16-18)

We ask for bread,that teaches us the quality of being serious and thoughtful and self-restraint in the face of temptation.We ask only for bread,not for what we do not need.We ask for our bread,that teaches us honesty and industry. We do not ask for bread of others,nor the bread of deceit,the bread of idleness,but the bread honestly gotten. We ask for our daily bread, which teaches us constantly to depend upon Divine Providence. We beg of God to give it us.

We are to acknowledge God in our life and honor his name Our greatest desire shouldbe to see his Kingdom established and his will be done on earth, both in our life and in the world in general. God's daily provision for us is another petition important for recovery.We must ask God for forgiveness our sins and forgive those who have wronged us.

"Hallows"-to have great respect and reverence to God who is holy.Also a true heart to heart communication with God,whether private or public. "Descrate"is damaging God's word, an insulting God by using his name in vainall the time. "Besmirches"-is somebody bringing shame,and discrace to God"s word,and his word and reputation. Your name be honored as holy,be his great name in the world

The Book of Revelation describes what will happen in the future It looks foward to the time of Christ's return, when our new life in Christ will be perfected. It also tells about the hard battle God will fight to restore our world from the destructive consequences of sin.The future coming of Jesus Christ will be desperately painful for those who refuse to believe and follow Him If we pursue recovery by faith in Christ,we can rejoice in the new life his return will bring, (The New Heavens and Earth). It is very healthy u8s to anchor our new life and recovery in the certainty of Christ's return. By trusting Christ with our future,we can better deal with our past and live a more productive present.

In Judges 6:22--24, When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord,he cried out,"Sovereign Lord,I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!" "It is all right" the Lord replied. "Do not be afraid. You will not die." And Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and named it "The Lord Is Peace." When Gideon realize that he saw the Angel of the Lord,he was affraid, and called out to the Sovereign Lord, God assure Gideon will not die.

(SAVE)-a word that means the same,or almost the same, as another word in the same language. (SAVIOR)-One who saves by delivering,preserving,healing,or providing. Jesus Christ gave his life to free us from every kind of sin,to cleanse us,and to make us his very own people,totally committed to doing what is right.(TITUS1:14) Salvation's source is grace from the savior. the means is faith in the savior. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only Savior Jesus is the Savior also because He is God incarnate, fully human and fully divine.

A kinsman is a blood related kin to his relatives to protect them from harm, hurt,rejected,poor,and many more. Jesus paid special attention to the poor, the dispised,the hurt,and the sinful. He rejected no one, he ignored no one.He cares for us no matter what we have done or what we have suffered. Only this kind of love the Kinsman can satisfy our deepest needs and mobilize us to recovery. Jesus Christ gave his life for us an forgave us of our sins.Jesus shows us that God understands and cares.God specializes in demonstrating that kind of power.In recovery,we experince his power at work within us,bringing our soul and body back to life.

Jesus Christ was a perfect picture of God and a perfect teacher of God's truth. Jesus Christ was also the perfect sacrifice---the Lamb of God. The Old Testment sacrifical system required that an unblemished lamb be slain on the altar in place of us, on at least a yearly basis.Throuhg its death, we could be forgiven of our sins and given a fresh start. When Jesus died on the cross, Jesus fulfilled the requirements of that sacrifical system completely and forever. He is the Lamb of God who deals with our sins, our powerlessness,and our shortcomings. He gives each of us a chance for a new start,no matter how terrible our past has been.

Faithfulness is believing firmly in somebody who is consistently trustworthy and loyal,accurate,and true. Throughout the Scriptures,faith is the trustful human response to God's self-revelationvia His words and His actions. God initoates the relationship between Himself and human beings. He provides evidence of His trustworthiness by acting and speaking in the external world to make Himself knowable to people who need Him.Thus,biblical faith is a kind of limited personal knowledge of God. God makes faith possible by providing for us verbal information about Himself and His plans,which this information is connected to His redemptive actions in the world.These words and actions combine to offer an objective basis for the faith,(Exod.4:29-31) God's words interpret and explains His saving acts so that we may recieve from Him the blessings that the acts make available.(Exod.12:21-28)

Moses ask God to hold back the terrible consequences,he even suggested that he would take the punishment uponhimself.The Israelites relized thy were wrong sinning against God and they repented their sins to God. God reassured Israel that he would stand by his covenant commitments. He would give them the Promise Land and protect them through the time of its recovery. We can be assured that God's promises of reconciliation will stand. All the Israelites had to do is go to God openly with their sins, seeking God's help to find a new way of life.

A husband is a leader of his family.When they do wrong,the husband leads them the right way.The husband is always there with the family at all times. God was that husband of Israel.When God choose Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt,God was there guiding Moses with Israel out of slavery into a new life of freedom and responsibility. Israel caused God's jealousy,1)as intolerance of rivalry or unfaithfulness,2)as a disposition suspicious of rivalry or unfaithfulness,and 3)as hostility towards a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage,a sense of envy. God is intolerant of rival gods.God's jealousy for us is God's protection of His people from the enemies. God's jealousy includes avenging His people.

In the prolouge to John's Gospel presents Jesus as the "WORD"who created all things (1:3) and who became flesh and dwelt amoung us(1:4). He is the Life (1:4) and the Light of mankind (1:4); the Glory of God (1:4);and the only begotten God who makes the Father known(1:18). The Gospels record Jesus' own self designation as Son of Man,the title He frequently used to speak of His humiliation,His identification with sinful mankind,His death on behalf of sinners and His Glorius return. While Jesus was the Son of Man in respect to His ministry and passion,He is also the Son of God,the uniquely begotten one sent from God Himself (Mark 1:1;John #;16) Jesus was fully human.he was not partially human nor did He function at times as a human and at times as God nor did He merely appear to be human.He was once both man and God.

This is my idea of the difference of a Earthly Father and a Heavenly Father. Our earthly fathers are either, good or bad,spiritual or not spiritual,listens or don't want to listen,love or not loving,cares or not caring,protects or not protecting,etc,etc. If we read the Bible daily, we can see that Jesus Christ teaches us about, "God Our Father" who is Powerful,Loving,Caring,Proctecting,Listens,Leads us,Guide us,Humble,Gentle.When we seek God,he is there for us forever.Even when we don't seek Him, He is still there waiting.GOD OUR FATHER nevers turn his back on us whenever we fail. When we look into the Bible an understand what Jesus Christ is teaching us,what the true meaning of what "FATHER" really means.

Not many fathers in this world today, do not deserved to be called father,or deserved the respect to be a father. When God created us in His own image,He taught us, love, joy, peace, respect,kindness,patience, goodness,faithfulness,and gentleness.That is why God should be called, "GOD OUR FATHER". God never deserted us like some fathers do.God provide what was good for us,some fathers never did.I am not condeming any fathers,I am telling of what I see in this world today and the past, that God is the only Father who is there when we need Him, whether we deserved it or not. We as fathers have excuses of what we do wrong. GOD OUR FATHER does not need excuses,He is our Creator,and He is there for us,and always will be. The Bible presents God as Sovereign Lord of all,as God of mercy,love,and goodness,God our Father,My Father,and Everlasting Father for ever,and ever.

From the time of 12/23/65 when I arrived in Vietnam,until 02/20/66,when I got shot,I knew God was watching over me.During the time I enter Vietnam up until I got shot,God only knows how many times I escape from being killed.If it was'nt for God watching over me,I would not be here today. In July 2004,I had a four way bypass and I thought I was dead when I met Jesus Christ in the clouds.Him and I met up in the clouds for a few seconds.Jesus held out his hand to me and I to Him. Again, God has watch,and cared for me. Two weeks from the hospital to recover from this by pass surgery,I ended up in the hospital again,this time with Pulmonary Embolism. I had three blood clods,107 degree temperature ,and had a blood transfusion,and was told later that I was not going to make it. Again, God watched,and cared for me. I am now 67 years old,a born again Christian and still praising God,Thanking God,and Worshiping Him for being my "GOOD SHEPHERD"; all through my entire life God is our sheperd,and He watches,and cares over us. As long as we make him our shepherd,he will lead us to places of safety. I do know that God kept me here to witness to others my testimony. "God Is Our Shepherd", he leads us, whatches over us,cares for us, and helps us when we are in pain,suffering,and when we fail.

In John 4,the Samaritan woman put her faith in Jesus, who knew all her faults yet loved and respect her.She responded to God's gracious forgiveness by immediately telling others about Jesus who had given her a new life.As a result, many were blessed with the faith in Jesus Christ. As we experience God's powerful deliverance,it is important the we share the good news to others as the Samaritan woman did.It may be the difference for others who do not know Jesus Christ and his Father God.As we share what God has done for us,we will experience the great joy in victory. Jesus Christ is proclaiming his presence,speaking to us, declaring our own life to us to seeour fault,and offering us the things we long for,the presence of the Living Water,of Faith,and of Grace.We are called to help others to be born into the kingdom by helping them to find their way to the Spring of Living Water,but alsohelp them to grow up as a Christian

Because some of us may feel that there is no power great enough to deliver us from the terrible circumstances we have fallen into.So we try to take it on ourselfs. No matter how hard we try without God's help, we still fail.When we place our faith,trust in God, we can trust him to care for us and help us overcome the things in our life that would destroy us. God is our shepherd,and helper,and he knows what we need even better than we do. God wants us to have what is best for us. As longas we make him our shepherd,and helper, he willlead us to places of safety. He knows how to direct us away from places where we may be tempered to stumble. Even when we fall, God can deliver us from our failure,pain,and suffering. Godwill also help us avoid the places wher we have stumbled in the past and guide as we journey toward recovery

When Isaac was born, was not God's promise of numerous descendants to be fulfilled through this child. Abraham believed that God had his best in mind and Abraham was right. He believed that no matter what God required of him, his obedience to God's plan was most important. Abraham believed,trusted,that God would still make his promises come true,with or without his son isaac. Our faith in God's program may be confronted by similar tests. We must be ready to follow through with obedience. Our time for testing is already here and has been here since birth. If we obey, and allowed God in our life,and anyone who believes in him will have the means for discovering a new life now and through eternity as well

We express our assurance and hope in God's protection day and night.God places us under His unbrella of protection.God guards us against the dangers that threaten to destroy our life and keeps us from evil. He not only made the hills, but heaven and earth as well. We should not trust a lesser power than God himself. But not only is he all-powerful, he also watches over us.Nothing diverts or deters him. We are safe. We never outgrow our need for God's untiring watch over our life.

Victory comes from God alone.God is our Rock and provider.Some enemies are to great for us.Our personal resources or support groups, though helpful, will never be adequate to gain complete victory over our dependencies. We must learn to trust God alone, for He is greater than any of the enemies we might fight. If God is on our side, no enemy is to great. We can always experience victory by depending on God's delivering hand. An important part of spiritual growth is learning to worship God,and,important part of worship is praise. We should take time to praise God for who he is,----glourius,strong,just and fair,perfect,faithful,upright. We also need to take time to rejoice in who God is and praise Him for His greatness. "HE IS THE ROCK". Our foundation for a stable life.His work in our life is perfect. We need to reconize God's ability to help us and allow Him to do His mighty work on our behalf. Whereever we are,whatever circumstances we face,we can turn to God for help.He will hear our prayers and protect us with His divine presence. He is our safety and our refuge. He is our loving proctector, who blesses us and give our life meanings as we fulfill our vows to live for Him daily.

Reading Psalms 3:1-8 we ourselves reconized our promblems in our life that had become unmanageable. When we fail, even our friends sometimes begin to think we are beyond God's help. There is times that we think the same. But, God knows different. He is there,even when we fall,he picks us up,put His Arms around us,give us encouragement,and help us to put on His armor. God comforts us,like he did David,so much that we could sleep in the face of our troubles.What is great about God with His Shield over us,is our worries and anxieties vanished when we focus our thoughts fully on God. We could view life as though all of our problems had been eliminated by placing our problems in God's hand. True deliverance and happiness come when we acknowledge God as our helper and the source of our strenght and shield. "AMEN"

When we discover that we are powerless,we become weak. We feel helpless to proctect ourself,caught in a whirlwind of our own making. we, ourself turn to God our rescuer because there is nowhere else to go. But,it is comforting to know that when we cry for help,God will rescue us and proctect us. Our powerful God, the defender will never fail us if we turn to Him for shelter and safety. Those who ask God to help us to put on the "Armor of God," God will protect us from any evil and temptation from our enemies. Remember,"God is our Fortress and our Procter."

Salvation is one of the key concept of God's revelation to humanity. The biblical idea of salvation involves three notions. 1)is the rescue from danger,harm or even death of an individual,group,or nation. Most specifcally salvation is the rescue from sin and death. 2)is the renewing of the spirit. The scripture explains that humanity fell from the original condition of moral purity into the state of sin. God's salvation always renews the of a person to lead a life that is morally please to Him. 3)is the restoration of a right relationship with God. One of the effects of sin is the seperation from God. The written word of God makes clear that salvation restores one's relationship with God

People who run for office, whether,state local,county and U.S. speak about the promises they have for us when we vote for them. These people we call are,senators,congressman,or congresslady,legeslators and other goverment agency who promises are made to be broken. Our politicians, come and go or revoted to stay another term. Here the President is overall the leader of The United States. He also has the authority as Commander in chief. This country has always been,I quote, "ONE NATION UNDER GOD". God's Son,Jesus Christ is the King of King's,Lord of Lords. He sits on the throne at the right hand of His Father. He watches over us always and forever. His promises is always kept for us to keep. He is watching over us at all times when we need Him. The present kingship of Christ is His royal rule over His people. It is a spiritual realm established in the hearts and lives of belivers He administers His kingdom by spiritual means and the word and the Spirit. Whenever believers follow the lordship of Christ,the Savior is exercising His ruling or kingly function. Christ's kingship is also present today in the natual world. Christ is the one through whom all things came into being and through whom all things are held together.