stonedcoldsoberbytheblood

"A miracle is an event beyond the power of any known physical law to produce; it is a spiritual occurrence produced by the power of God, a marvel, a wonder." - Billy Graham Q1 Oh my gosh- how do I know my salvation has been confirmed? I thank God for the web space to tell about it- thank You Lord! The mere fact that I am here is a miracle and I believe that each person here is a sign for Jesus Christ and that they reflect His light and His glory through His Word and through their mission He gave them. Jesus said In Matthew: "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Take my yoke, Jesus said and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. Man did I need rest! Did I need teaching! Did I need humility! Did I need a heart! What soul? Jesus also said, "The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. I can surely say I've been choked, I've been immature and I've indulged in some pretty ungodly pleasures of this world. I made choices, I made decisions of this world that only God could have seen me through. From what God and His word teaches and from what He has revealed to me so far, I know for sure that the very devil had had me: lock, stock and barrel! I was naked, afraid and had eaten from the wrong tree. Jesus said, "BUT as they go on their way" and I chose my way. When I was in sin, my life began to spiral. I eventually fell into a snake pit. I fell so deep and so low. I was obsessed, oppressed and depressed. I was dirty, flirty and unworthy. I was confused, diffused and refused. I was barely hanging on and life became hopeless and dark. It wasn't until I was broken, badly broken and lost it all that I knew what salvation truly was. I chose my way until I went blind. I could have cared less what you needed or how I treated you. Love was something that I filled in--just because. Sort of like a crossword puzzle. And through frustration, as long as it fit and it looked good--I would try it. And when it didn't match up, I threw it down and tried something else. I had reached a place in my life that I was untrustworthy. I had nothing left. I had no dignity, no pride, no reputation, no material things to be greedy with, no spirit, no hope, no job, no meat, no money, no car, and all was lost. Truth was my only option. I was stripped naked of all the 'things' a person in the flesh thought they needed to survive. I was then alone. Just God and me. But Halleluiah! Jesus truth was revealed to me while I was walking the streets broken. He showed me people who had nowhere to go. He sat me down next to people on the city bus who needed wheelchair lifts to get them on. He put blind people on the bus. He put strangers in my sight that slept on cardboard boxes. He showed me people out there who were dazed and confused and lost. He provided food to me when I had nothing to eat. He gave me more then I needed so I could anonymously leave it on the street corner for the homeless man who had death in his eyes. He gave me money when I didnt have a job and showed me which homeless man to give it to on Christmas Eve night. He revealed church signs with sayings for when I wondered through town alone, weary and feeling hopeless so they could touch me when I needed touching. He provided rent money from complete strangers and he wired Christmas money from someone Ive never met to buy my son a gift when I didnt have a permanent job or a gift. He brought to my side a Vietnam Veteran while I sat at the bus terminal alone. He made the man talk about his past to me and He put words in my mouth to say to his hurting, lost soul. He used those words to speak to the lady who heard our conversation and HE touched her, since she had lost her entire family to a fire. The rest of the truths Jesus has revealed to me would take too much server space and He will reveal to me where else to use it. But it was then that I knew He was my Teacher, My Ruler and He taught me truth through my brokenness. He showed me what truths to look for from Him. I dont ever know how I shall escape if I ignore such a great salvation! I do know that my salvation is a spiritual occurrence and wonder. And I know that others who know me know. I believe that when we live with Christ in us, it is a miracle, it is a sign and the lost will wonder. I know since I was born to not drink from His cup--He had to reveal it to me. Q2 For a sinner, yes, signs and wonders would help Christ's ministry, if Christ was flamboyant. And even if my paternal father asked me two weeks ago: "If Jesus walked on water then, how come he doesn't do it now?" I' cant say that that would even cause him to repent if He saw Jesus doing it. But for Pete's sake and a small wonder, God gave us green grass to provide food for cows and look what man does with it. He manicures it, waters it, mows it, fertilizes it and drills small holes in it to putt balls into! Q3 When Jesus speaks to me through the Holy Spirit is where I get value but my opinion doesn't count anymore.

We are not immune to drifting since we have natural senses and we have brains! What we do with those senses gives birth to where we will drift, ie: what we touch, what we watch, what we speak, where we study, where we work, who or what we worship, the strength we have, the weaknesses we have, the bitterness we have, the unforgiveness we harbor, the love we protect, the hate we dock, the disobedience we follow, the dirty laundry we carry, the things we buy, the people we pass, the clock we turned off, the vacation we took...etc. Could it be We are not immune to drifting from the gospel because we are so surrounded in we! From my spirit, resisting drifting or the author saying we must pay more careful attention to what we have heard, has to be referring to something that was already spoken. Perhaps it is the greatest commandment of all and the second one. Jesus describes the seed sewer in a very visual and simple way, but also in a way that as long as the there is life on earth, His Word can be sewn. Pretty awesome!

When the author describes the Son in Hebrews 1:2-3 as exact representation of God-- meaning not approximate, but precise, and heir of all things, not some things--through whom he made the universe, this conveys all attributes of divine and this also points out that the Son surpasses excellence and that no other deity, no other prophet, no other gods, is in perfect unison with God then The Son. The Son's role according to verse 2 and 3 is to: * Teach this powerful word ( Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Matthew 8:20) * Share in Gods glory (Now if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:17 ) * Lead us to the Kingdom Of God ( "I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." Matthew 26:29)

Romans 12:3, "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you" Hi and Welcome dochi's friend and all other net-mates! Praise the Lord for the freedom for the two cancer free participants here! Praise the Lord for this Pastors dedication of spreading the gospel and all the people showing up to get a better understanding! Praise the Lord for forgiveness! Praise the Lord for sobriety in judgment and sobriety from addiction! Praise God for revealing the truth - one day at a time! Praise God that we are all healed by the blood of the Lamb! Im truly thankful for being cancer free as well. I live in one of the highest cancer ranking states in the country- Louisiana. Last I heard, over 50% of St Judes hospital's children are from this state. Although Ive never had it, I rebuke it frequently from ever entering these bones, in the name of Jesus. I thank God all the time for freeing me from it and all other illnesses. He is our healer - halleluiah! As with any sickness or problem that tries to rob me, I always revert to the persistant woman who pushed her way through the crowd. Scripture reads that no one could heal her! But when she got close enough, when she reached out, when she had the faith to take to those steps, she touched Jesus. I mean really! Scripture says that the crowds almost crushed Jesus! Cant you imagine today, pressing through a crowd? Im sure it took courage, im sure it took boldness, and it takes faith. And it was that faith that gave her the will to overcome. Luke 8:40-47 Peace to you today and the will to overcome. Thank you all for your posts on the lesson. It is a renewing of the mind to read God work through you.

In Chapter 1, I understand the writer of Hebrews to be outlining a description and comparison of Jesus with the Father to his own spirit, in order to tell us how powerful the Son truly is. He begins with the past, upholding prophets and angels; but about the Son he says 'therefore God, YOUR GOD, has set you above your companions..." stipulating they belong together. Again, at the end of the chapter and being that the writer asked: 'Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?', one could sense some doubt with this question. It appears that he cannot compare himself to the Son of God. Only as a ministering spirit. How would a Son's words have more weight then a prophet? Exodus 33:18 reads: Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory." 19 And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." Since the author asks 'To which of the angels did God ever say, 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?' and since sitting on the right hand of the Father is clearly weighty and glorious, the writer evidently reminds us that no other being was ever asked that question or rather, given that honor. So, from lesson 1, If God's glory is sacrosanct and no man is to take it, I think the writer is using the word Son as a supreme being with God. Neither metaphor or biological. There is no comparison. And this explains why at chapter 2, he gives us a warning to pay attention.

Anything final means its over with. Done deal! Completed! That can mean fright or that can mean comfort, excitement and joy. Depending on the level of confidence, investment involved, promises made, commitments, study findings and so on. There is urgency to anything final. Think about it: an exam, a wedding, a real estate purchase, locking the seat belt on the airplane, and all the rest of lifes situations. Final always seems to be based on time. We tend to need to move quicker in order to wrap things up. To finish that exam, to say our vows, to fly off to a new country, etc. But, for these decisions, there is no reflecting. Its a sealed deal! You either 1) feel confident and know that you made the right decision or 2) didn't make the right decision. And if you didn't, its too dog gone late! You reap the repercussions, maybe immediately. May be in time. With final judgment, your time is up. Death comes crawling out the wood-works! Hopefully, anyone resisting death or final judgment is a declaration that they need to get things in order. Right now, right here, TODAY! Isn't that what all this warning is about anyway? Inadvertently, a definition of finale is- the temporal end; the concluding time. Quite frankly, people resist the idea because they are still living-dead here on earth. I say that because Ive lived here dead already. My decisions lead me nowhere. It wasn't until I commissioned my life to being a disciple of Jesus that I got anywhere, with confidence that is. Or even joy. I still find death in my life, almost daily. It isn't going to depart, until that day. But being crucified in Christ and with instructions (for living) from the Word, I am not at all frightened about judgment. In fact, it should be a peaceful event all Christians look forward to. It is plain and simple: it comes with instructions, it leads & guides and it prophesies--JUDGMENT DAY! Two words never penetrated as much depth as these. I may be a babe in Christ and absent-minded on quoting scripture but these two words are packed with all I need to bring in sheep. I can see how it would scare the hell-out-of-the-lake of someone else. I can see how the lost would be frightened. There is no skimming on this. If earth and sky fled from it, it's surely the most powerful future event of our lifetime. Consequently, what would the Holy Word of God mean without judgment day? Resisting the idea of that final day is derived from decisions we make/made in the natural. Fright means our decisions are not in line with God. Isn't it time to wrap things up?

There is a huge difference in bringing someone back through prayer or physically finding him and bringing him back. The heading of this chapter is 'The Prayer of Faith' Someone earlier gave an analogy of a small child at the end of the driveway, a truly wonderful visual of bringing him back to safety. However, when adults meander, they aren't as transparent as a child. And physically bringing them back is tough. Unless of course, prayers are constant When he/she returns, then we rejoice as a church and a body with Christ in unity again! Then we thank, praise and glorify God for answered prayers. Prayers, prayer and prayers is the key role for 'turning' sinning sheep back. As James writes: the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. He writes about sickness, or being in trouble and saving someone from death. This is a role about constantly being in prayer for the hurting world and church. Action prayer, active faith. From my own drifting experience, it was necessary that I become desperate and broken in an extreme way in order to come back to the truth. I believe prayers from others helped save my life. But physically 'finding' me would have been tough. To begin with, I didn't know where I was! Crawling back on my knees was necessary. I had to first turn from my way. Then I had to bring myself. Then I had to bring back myself. Then I had to turn myself back to bringing myself back. Then I had to bring myself back to God. Then I prayed. 'Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death' to me means praying, not carrying. (**A praying role- please pray for James & Diane, John, Rob and Paul who have wondered from the truth. Thank you.)

**A praying role- please pray for James & Diane, John, Rob and Paul who have wondered from the truth. Thank you

James speaks about action prayer as active faith. A praying role.

My assurance is that God knew me while I was in the womb. He knows who I am right now. He knows my weaknesses and fears. He knows that I am His child. He knew that I would be in this forum today. He knows that I have confessed and drawn nigh to Him. He knows that I repent on a daily basis -- for holiness, to be like Him. He knows that with all my heart and soul (and my weaknesses) that I love Him. He knows that I love others (with or without struggling) and he knows what my sacrifices are in order to accomplish that. He knows that I want and continue to go to battle to do better at loving the world and spreading the gospel, even if I am strapped down and can't cross an ocean! Fear of not being included in The Lambs Book Of Life are just weapons the enemy uses to intimidate me. As long as I boldly confess to the world, to the devil, and to myself: "I am who He says I am" I am in there! Fear of being imperfect is not Blessed assurance and fear of not being included is just what it is. Fear, and not from God. For all the things God knows about me, the question I ask is, do I believe my name is there? Yes, I do.

From the love of another Christian, Ive joined this Bible study from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Thanks Karon! I need more material to cut out, pin and sew into my life. One day at a time. I am a person who needs daily scripture to direct and guide me. I forget what I read and in the past 5 years I have commited to our Lord Jesus; worshipping Him and trying to study His Word. I just completed a 30 week session at my church but the devil wants to block from my memory, the Lords instructions for living. It's ok, he is a thief and IM BACK, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW...getting the WORD. It truly takes the Holy Spirit speaking to me before I learn anything. I have to live it in order to stick to it! So, I am looking forward to these lessons to get filled, anointed, sanctified and ressurected--on a daily basis! I am also looking forward to this forum's discussions on Hebrews. In His Dimension, Signed, stonedcoldsoberbytheblood