Info

This is a very popular verse from the old testament of the bible, and one of the most misunderstood. “Be still and know that I am God.” So many people think it means to just relax because who God is and have no worries. God’s people are always safe no matter what earthly turmoil they might be going through. This is one meaning for sure, but if you want to really learn a deeper meaning to this bible scripture and gain the knowledge that God wants you to have to become one with the power and glory of the lord, then let’s take a more holistic and esoteric study of the meaning for this word of God. A look at Psalm 46 in its entirety needs to be looked at first to get an accurate meaning: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah  Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah” It’s very important to note that starting at verse 10 it changes from God in the 3rd person to God in the 1st person.  God is giving us a direct command with verse 10.  So its important to understand. There are some great commentaries by the likes of John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, and other modern day scholars and evangelists. They generally say that the meaning is to bow to His ways (46:10). He is God. The command to cease striving is God speaking to the nations who are fighting against His people and His purpose. ‘You won’t win, so quit while you can!’ But we can also apply it to ourselves. When trouble hits, don’t strive against God. Know that He is the sovereign God, even over your crisis. As God, He will be exalted and glorified in the earth. He wants you to exalt Him by submitting joyfully to Him through your trouble. The chief end of man is not to live a happy, trouble-free life. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We glorify Him when we defer to Him as our ruler in times of trouble.”   OK. You get that so far. But let us look further. “Be still” is the same thing that Jesus says to the wind and the waves in Mark 4:39. “When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. The wind and the sea completely died down in silence, in awe and worship of the Creator. The call to all is to be still before our holy, awesome, and glorious God.” This whole story of the Jesus sleeping in the bow of the ship while a horrendous storm brews with huge waves is a lesson to learn from Psalm 46:10. And when is it that they go and wake up Jesus? It is when they get to the point that they think the ship will capsize and they will die. You see the metaphor here. We all do the same thing. Only in a dire crisis, like cancer, divorce, etc. this is when we go and wake up Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit. The scripture is telling us to be still and know that I am God. How do we do that? How do we be still? You see, if we can do that then the turmoil/crisis in our life will die down, just like the sea did in Mark 4. If Christ is already within you, and you want to experience Christ, stop. Get still. Be still. And abide in that stillness, that silence. I always look to the bible for answers. God’s own word; our guide book. Psalm 119:15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. Joshua 1:8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Luke 5:16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. It is in the new testament, several times, when Jesus would go, all by himself, to the woods, on a mountain, anywhere secluded and just pray. When Jesus prayed what was he doing. He was communicating/praying and creating his intimacy with God. So Jesus went, like most people like to go shopping, Jesus liked to go to secluded places and communicate (prayed – meditated) with God. Why secluded places? The answer is “TO BE STILL/SILENCE.”  It right there so many times in the bible. Jesus is teaching it to us, yet so many are still so blind. GO AWAY FROM THE WORLD AND BE WITH THE FATHER. This must become part of your everyday life. Learn from Jesus. BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. It is everywhere in the Gospels; an important theme. It is how Jesus dealt with demands, grief, made decisions. It is how he prepared for his death. This is an inner revelation of your mind, which comes through disciplined practice of regaining control of the mind over the lower emotions, which culminates

Prayer for Healing – am i able to receive healing from God? Maybe you’re visaged with a illness or terminal unwellness and you’re trying to find a prayer for healing. You want to call out to God for healing! It’s typically our despair that compels us to hunt a supernatural way to alleviate our serious sickness or illness. For most, it’s a pattern of self-direction, medical technology, and ultimately a cry out for God to heal us miraculously. God heals as a result of that’s His pattern for revealing His nature through His Son. Compassionately, Jesus selected to touch the festering sores of the leper (Matthew 8:3). He showed mercy as He touched the crustlike lids of unsighted eyes (Matthew 9:29). In receiving healing from God, we should seriously want to touch Him like we read in the bible. “People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and every one who touched him were healed” (Matthew 14:35–36). Prayer for Healing – am i able to receive healing from God if my religion is nice enough? Each individual has the power (see How to Become Like Christ), through healing prayers, to express their faith — the idea within the truth, value, or trustiness of someone, idea, or thing. You have faith in the mechanic that fixes your brakes, faith in the designer that designs your public buildings, and faith in intangibles like heat of the sun, solar gravity, or a promise. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Biblically faith is assessed by the reliance upon God rather than man and by the confidence in the unseen power of God. Exercising our religion within the category of healing might involve unconventional behavior. The Bible tells of a lady that had been hemorrhaging for twelve years (Mark 5:25–34). She knew that her condition would cause Jesus of Nazareth to be unclean under Judaic law if she touched Him. Nonetheless she reached out in faith and was cured instantly as “Jesus noticed that power had gone out from him” (Mark 5:30). Real faith needs action. However, faith isn’t something we should “conjure up” enough of in hopes that God can heal us. Ultimately, it’s God that chooses if or not we are going to be cured. For many individuals facing pain and maybe death dramatically changes their lives. For some, dreams are shattered, relationships broken, and despair consumes their hearts. For others, new dreams are found, relationships becomes stronger, and hope takes over their hearts. A mourning and pleading father fell at the feet of Jesus. Jarius’ 12-year-old girl had recently died. Why trouble Jesus now? Jesus tells her dad to not be afraid . . . to merely believe. compassionately, Jesus takes the dead little girl by the hand and restores her to life (Mark 5:35–43). We should place our faith within the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the source of all hope and His promise of everlasting life. God always knows best. Prayer for Healing – am i able to receive healing from God each time? The correct answer is unquestionably “Yes!” God will heal each illness that results in our final death. However will God opt to heal us each time? No. He might heal us as a results of prayer. He might heal through very easy procedures, through a surgeon’s trained hand, or He might heal us in a method that we can’t justify medically. God’s healing for all of our lives transcends our temporal perspective of pain and death. His will, or divine arrangement, for our lives is for this earthborn tent to be exchanged for endless heavenly lodging that ne’er suffers the effects of sin’s decay (2 Corinthians 5:1–2). For all children of God, there’s final healing. As children of God, construct your healing prayer as follows: 1. Start with your act of faith and praise the Lord (“I Bless you Lord”). Praise is so powerful and a must. keeping praising until you know the lord is with you; the anointing. 2. Next, ask the Lord to remove the pain and/or sickness form their body, and of course ask it in Jesus name. Then ask to heal the cause of the sickness and/or pain. 3. After that, make Satan powerless in that persons body by asking , in the name of Jesus, to “loose him and let him go.” If you ask this in the name of Jesus Satan will have no choice. 4. Ask the demon to come out of that person (their name) in the name of Jesus Christ. Demand that they come out and leave with all their physical destruction that they caused. 5. If they have pain, ask, in Jesus name, for the pain to leave their body as well. 6. Then, declare the sickness to dry up and leave as well. 7. Finally, pray for the healing to come to their body. “In the name of Jesus, I declare and establish healing in your body from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet. In the name of Jesus, be healed! In Jesus’ name be healed!” Take a look at “5 Powerful Prayers for Healing and Strength” on crosswalk.com If you like this article please PIN it! Please follow and like us:

It’s very clear that many of Jesus’s sayings were esoteric (to be understood by only those that have found  true salvation, higher consciousness, enlightenment, etc. in conjunction with wisdom)  Jesus said in Matthew 6:22, “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” This cannot be taken literally and for sure it is clear that Jesus was using some esoteric wisdom here beyond the traditional religious wisdom we find in todays religious dogma.  I have heard this explained and taught by saying that To be “single eyed” means to realize that God is all there is and takes up all space.”  MMMM!  Or another teaching is that the “single eye” is referring to the human heart or spirit.  And it goes on and on what natural man may try to teach you as to what Jesus meant. Some believe that Jesus was referring to the “single eye” to be the “third eye” otherwise known as the inner eye of enlightenment (Eye of Horus).  Ok.  These sound good but they are not what Jesus wanted us to learn from this saying. So, what is Jesus saying here.  To get to the real interpretation we have to use some esoteric wisdom.  You see, this a very important teaching here by Jesus that is so misunderstood by so many, including those that have the duty of teaching God’s word to others.  I want to make it clear here what Jesus is saying so that the revelation of the truth be known and spread. Lets take another look at the word “single” colored red in the verse above. It has also been translated in other versions as “clear, healthy, and perfect.”  This is important because to be concise one must not get lost in translation, which is what happens so many times when trying to explain the word of God.  It ends up wrong because the translation of the original word of God is not translated quite correctly.  So, it doesn’t matter which word you use here, it is clear that Jesus is saying only the singular form of eye (not the plural which would be eyes).  A single eye, or just one eye that is single, clear, healthy, or perfect.  The fact of the matter is that we as humans physically have two eyes and not one.  So it easy to deduce that Jesus is using a metaphor here when he says “thine eye be single…”  Sooo, what is he referring to? There is a great truth hidden in this verse. It is the key to a life of peace, contempt, and happiness.  Please mark this in your bible and remember this teaching.  I would like for the spirit of what I am showing you to open your EYE to the Kingdom of Heaven, the eternal LIFE within us all. The key to what he means is found in the second part of the verse, “….they whole body shall be full of light.”  Now, a learned person with spiritual wisdom when he reads this verse automatically knows that for a person to have their whole body full of light can only mean one thing, and that is that they have come out of the darkness and live their life in the light (life, joy, peace, wisdom).  They have come into a higher consciousness and found who they truly are and taken on the mind of Christ (True Salvation).  Sooo, again if that’s the case then what is this “single eye?”  Well, it can only be one thing.  Jesus is metaphorically using this term (single eye) to help us as humans to understand.  Physically we know that the eye is the organ of the body in which we physically allow light into by opening our eyelid and allowing light to be conveyed into our whole body.  Close the eyelid and then we have darkness.  Physically it is easy for us to understand how our eye regulates the physical light of the world into our body simply by opening or closing our eyelid. That’s the physical aspect, but Jesus is trying to convey to us a spiritual meaning here.  We must look at our spiritual eyesight.  Our spiritual eyesight is our capacity to see and understand spiritual things.  Do you see what I mean?  That question (Do you see what I mean?) is not referring that do you physically see with your physical eye what I mean, but does your mind, the eye of your mind, perceive what was said.  In a sense we are talking about SPIRITUAL PERCEPTION.  Paul was commissioned by Jesus to “open the eyes of the blind.” Acts 26:17-18 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ For sure most people understand that Jesus wanted Paul to open people’s eyes (higher understanding) spiritually so they could understand the true word of god which leads them to salvation.  But in addition to opening their eyes Jesus says “If thine eye be single…”   here in Matthew 6:22.  Sometimes to understand what Jesus meant, we have to look back at the culture in which Jesus lived and some of the idioms used at that time. All languages include idioms; figures of speech that don’t make sense literally, like “raining cats and dogs.”    Let’s look at some scriptures of Jesus’ time to get an idea of the clear meaning of Jesus’ teaching here. Prov. 28:22 A man with a bad eye hastens after wealth and does not know that want will come upon him Here the bible gives a direct definition of what a “bad eye” means. – hastens after wealth. Testament of Issachar, 3:4, 4:1-2, 5-6; 5:1 The Testament of Issachar is of the body of literature called the “pseudepigrapha”  which is Jewish writings from 200 B.C. to 200 A.D. They are not canonical, but can be used here to show

God’s true purpose and intent is to indwell himself into humanity. God wants a priesthood; one who carries his authority and bares his image.  It’s the true GLORY OF GOD (you when you are as him). He wants us all to be the likeness to The Lord Jesus Christ. This is why you are on this earth, to experience his life living through you. Did you know that YOU are a spiritual being created in the image of God before you ever descended to this world. Matthew 5:48 “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” The biggest lie of the devil (your carnal mind) is that it is impossible for you to be Christ like.  Your experiences have shown you that you can’t be like your “heavenly Father is perfect.”  You’ve tried it.  You must understand that your experiences do not nullify the Word of God. You must seek for God and find him within yourself. And if you do find him then you will realize the reality of living a godly life and you will see yourself being transformed into His image. How can you be Christ like? You must have an intimate relationship with God on a daily basis.  YOU MUST NOT JUST WORK FOR GOD.  You could work for God every day for the rest of your life doing religious activities (going to church every Sunday or teaching bible class, etc.) and never be filled with Christ.  During Jesus’s time there were so many people that were willing and wanted to work as a disciple of Jesus.  You see, I want to make it clear to you so you don’t fall into the devil’s trap and never receive your true salvation, if that be the case. Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” These “many” were ones that did all kinds of work in the name of the Lord yet he said that “I never knew you.” You must stop and take the time to know him, love him, be filled with him and in that way the flowing of God will change your life. 2 Corintians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Almost everything we have learned from Christianity has really deterred the filling of God in our lives. When people think they have to do all these religious works to be in God’s favor, they are falling into the trap of the devil and missing the real Gospel.  No one will ever experience Christ in THEM if they are doing only all these religious activities to try to win with GOD.  You must sit quiet and meditate in His presence and learn to enjoy the Lord almighty. Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God” When you enjoy being with God the essence of His life will grow within you resulting in the fruits of the spirit – joy and happiness. You will never lose by spending and investing quality time with God. You can go out and work for God and still be a disappointment for your entire life. It must be God in us that takes every necessary step. If you were to get filled with God and become anointed and become a true disciple, at that point wherever you go you are ensured to be a great success. You can never lose if you become full of God. When you are filled with Christ people see the love of God shining in your life and they are attracted to you. To be a minister today is life changing. You spread the Spirit of God wherever you go. Out of your deepest being stream love, light and life. That is the genuine significance of serving God. It is the greatest of all experiences in Man’s life. The main way that the church (all those who are truly saved) will become a place of God in spirit and be built up a spiritual house, is that we must daily ingest “the Bread of Life” into our self. Meditate on these things and restore our minds so that we begin to put on the mind of Christ. When we have the mind of Christ our own minds are renewed and we begin to live from that renewed mind. In Galatians Paul writes that Christ is called the seed. “The seed is Christ” (Gal. 3:16). We all have this Christ seed in us. As this seed starts to grow in us we, at that point, start to live as Jesus did while he was on earth. No measure of instructing, or spiritual Gifts will ever make you a vessel of God in the spirit. Huge numbers of God’s people are tricked into believing that since a pastor has spiritual gifts he is “God in Spirit” and are led by him.   So many are misdirected when they start working in spiritual Gifts believing that that makes them to some degree developed in the things of God. You may work with spiritual gifts and still be living in the carnal mind of man.  It certainly is special to have spiritual gifts but you must not settle for just having them. Someone who is like Christ will have spiritual gifts but they will use them only in such a way as to not bring attention and/or fame to themselves.  You will find in the Bible where Jesus would tell those whom he healed to keep quiet about it. When we become a vessel of Christ, when his spirit

Psalm 92:12 “The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree: he shall grow like the cedar in Lebanon.  Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.  They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.” The Bible is always telling Christian people to go forwards—to grow—to become wiser and stronger, better and better day by day; that they ought to become better, and better, because they can, if they choose, improve.  This text tells us so; it says that we shall bring forth more fruit in our old age.  Another text tells us that “those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;” another tells us that we “shall go from strength to strength.”  Not one of St. Paul’s Epistles but talks of growing in grace and in the knowledge of God, of being filled with God’s Spirit, of having our eyes more and more open to understand God’s truth.  Not one of St. Paul’s Epistles but contains prayers of St. Paul that the men to whom he writes may become holier and wiser.  And St. Paul says that he himself needed to go forward—that he wanted fresh strength—that he had to forget what was past, and consider all he had done and felt as nothing, and press forward to the prize of his high calling; that he needed to be daily conquering himself more and more, keeping down his bad feelings, hunting out one bad habit after another, lest, by any means, when he had preached to others, he himself should become a castaway.  Therefore, I said rightly, that the Bible is always bidding us go forwards.  You cannot read your Bibles without seeing this.  What else was the use of St. Paul’s Epistles?  They were written to Christian men, redeemed men, converted men, most of them better I fear than ever we shall be; and for what? to tell them not be content to remain as they were, to tell them to go forwards, to improve, to be sure that they were only just inside the gate of God’s kingdom, and that if they would go on to perfection, they would find strength, and holiness, and blessing, and honour, and happiness, which they as yet did not dream of.  “Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect,” said our blessed Lord to all men.  “Be ye perfect,” says St. Paul to the Corinthians, and the Ephesians, and all to whom he wrote; and so say I to you now in God’s name, for Christ’s sake, as citizens of God’s kingdom, as heirs of everlasting glory, “Be you perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Now I ask you, is not this reasonable?  It is reasonable, for the Bible always speaks of our souls as living things.  It compares them to limbs of a body, to branches of a tree, often to separate plants—as in our Lord’s parable of the tares and the wheat.  Again, St. Paul tells us that we have been planted in baptism in the likeness of Christ’s death; and again, in the first Psalm, which says that the good man shall be like a tree planted by the waterside; and again, in the text of my sermon, which says “that those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.  They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.” Now what does all this mean?  It means that the life of our souls is in some respects like the life of a plant; and, therefore, that as plants grow, so our souls are to grow.  Why do you plant anything, but in order that it may grow and become larger, stronger, bear flower and fruit?  Be sure God has planted us in His garden, Christ’s Church, for no other reason.  Consider, again—What is life but a continual growing, or a continual decaying?  If a tree does not get larger and stronger, year by year, is not that a sure sign that it is unhealthy, and that decay has begun in it, that it is unsound at heart?  And what happens then?  It begins to become weaker and smaller, and cankered and choked with scurf and moss till it dies.  If a tree is not growing, it is sure in the long run to be dying; and so are our souls.  If they are not growing they are dying; if they are not getting better they are getting worse.  This is why the Bible compares our souls to trees—not out of a mere pretty fancy of poetry, but for a great, awful, deep, world-wide lesson, that every tree in the fields may be a pattern, a warning, to us thoughtless men, that as that tree is meant to grow, so our souls are meant to grow.  As that tree dies unless it grows, so our souls must die unless they grow.  Consider that! But how does a tree grow?  How are our souls to grow?  Now here, again, we shall understand heavenly things best by taking and considering the pattern from among earthly things which the Bible gives us—the tree, I mean.  A tree grows in two ways.  Its roots take up food from the ground, its leaves take up food from the air.  Its roots are its mouth, we may say, and its leaves are its lungs.  Thus the tree draws nourishment from the earth beneath and from the heaven above; and so must our souls, my friends, if they are to live and grow, they must have food both from earth and from heaven.  And this is what I mean—Why has God given us senses, eyes, and ears, and understanding?  That by them we may feed our souls with things which we see and hear, things which are going on in the world round us.  We must

John 11:9-10 “Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.  But if a man walk in the night he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.” This was our blessed Lord’s answer to His disciples when they said to Him, “Master, the Jews of late tried to stone Thee, and goest Thou among them again?”  And “Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If any man walk in the day he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.  But if a man walk in the night he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.” Now, at first sight, one does not see what this has to do with the disciples’ question—it seems no answer at all to it.  But we must remember who it was who gave that answer.  The Son of God, from whom all words come, who came to do good, and only good, every minute of His life.  And, therefore, we may be sure that He never threw away a single word.  And we must remember, too, to whom He spoke—to His disciples, whom He was training to be apostles to the whole world, teaching them in every thing some deep lesson, to fit them for their glorious calling, as preachers of the good news of His coming.  So we may be sure that He would never put off any question of theirs; we may be certain, that whatever they asked Him, He would give them the best possible answer; not, perhaps, just the answer for which they wished, but the answer which would teach them most.  Therefore I say, we must believe that there is some deep, wonderful lesson in this text—that it is the very best and fullest answer which our Lord could have made to His disciples when they asked Him why He was going again to Judea, where He stood in danger of His life. Let us think a little about this text in faith, that is, sure that there is a deep, blessed meaning in it, if we can but find it out.  Let’s take it piece by piece; “Are there not twelve hours in the day?” said our Lord.  We know there are, and we know, too, that if any man walks in the day, and keeps his eyes open, he does not stumble, because he has the light of this world to guide him.  Twelve hours for business, and twelve for food, and sleep, and rest, is our rule for working men, or, indeed, not our rule, but God’s.  He has set the sun for the light of this world, to rule the day, to settle for us how long we are to work.  In this country days vary.  In summer they are more than twelve hours, and then men work early and late; but that is made up to us by winter, when the days are less than twelve hours, and men work short time.  In the very cold countries again, far away in the frozen north, the sun never sets all the summer, and never rises all the winter, and there is six months day and six months night.  Wonderful!  But even there God has fitted the land and men’s lives to that strange climate, and they can gather in enough meat in the summer to keep them all the winter, that they may be able to spend the long six months’ night of winter warm in their houses, sleeping and resting, with plenty of food.  So that even to them there are twelve hours in the day, though their hours are each a fortnight long,—I mean a certain fixed time in which to walk, and do the business which they have to do before the long frozen night comes, wherein no man can work, because the sun, the light of this world, is hid from them below the ice for six whole months.  So that our Lord’s words hold true of all men, even of those people in the icy north.  But in by far the most parts of the world, and especially in the hot countries, where our Lord lived, there are twelve common hours in every day, wherein men may and ought to work. Now what did our Lord mean by reminding His disciples of this, which they all knew already?  He meant this,—that God His Father had appointed Him a certain work to do, and a certain time to do it in; that though His day was short, only thirty-three years in all, while we have, many of us, seventy years given us, yet that there were twelve hours in His day in which He must work—that God would take care that He lived out His appointed time, provided He was ready and earnest in doing God’s work in it—and that He must work in that time which God had given Him, whatever came of it, and do His appointed work before the night of death came in which no man can work. There was a heathen king once, named Philip of Macedon, and a very wise king he was, though he was a heathen, and one of the wisest of his plans was this:—he had a slave, whom he ordered to come in to him every morning of his life, whatever he was doing, and say to him in a loud voice, “Philip, remember that thou must die!” He was a heathen, but a great many who call themselves Christians are not half so wise as he, for they take all possible care, not to remember that they must die, but to forget that they must die; and yet every living man has a servant who, like King Philip’s, puts him in mind, whether he likes it or not, that his day will run out at last, and his twelve hours of life be

Many times we study how to do things faster and better but we skip the essential step of inspiration. When we are inspired by the Holy Spirit we have a wealth of ability with which to work. When we are empowered by Christian inspiration we “can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth us” (Phil. 4:13, KJV). We read in Job: “But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” (Job 32:8, KJV) One of the most important things to remember as we study Christian inspiration is that when we are inspired we must use our inspiration for the glory of God and to do His will. Jesus tells us: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6:33, KJV) We must first seek His righteousness and His will before we will be able to use His inspiration for both His glory and our growth and benefit. There are 4 steps to achieving success through Christian inspiration: 1. Recognize that everything we have is from God and that everything we do should be to glorify the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. God gives us His Spirit and His inspiration to be used for His glory. Job says of God (the Ancient): “With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding. With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.” (Job 12:12-13, KJV) God holds all the wisdom in the earth and only He can dispense of it. 2. Ask God for the inspiration that you need. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matt. 7:7, KJV) Before we can be given the wisdom of God and His inspiration, we must first ask Him for it. James tells us: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (James 1:5, KJV) 3. Purpose to use the wisdom and Christian inspiration He gives you for His glory and His purpose. Once we are given wisdom and inspiration, we have a tremendous responsibility to use it prudently. Jesus Himself tells us: “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” (Lk. 12:48b, KJV). 4. Practice using Christian inspiration. Once you have Christian inspiration, you must practice using it. So often we are given a gift and we do not use it. Just like any skill we might learn, Christian inspiration is most effectively used long-term when we daily accept it. When you are inspired or have an inspired thought about something you have been struggling with, write it down, or immediately put it into action. When you use the Christian inspiration you are given, you likely place yourself in an ideal position to receive future inspiration. Now you have 4 basic steps to Christian inspiration. When you consistently apply these four steps, and spend time with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself on a daily basis, you will be able to tap into a nearly limitless supply of inspiration. Take the time to study the accompanying Bible verses in this article, and meditate on the Word of God daily. Please follow and like us:

NOAH’S FLOOD We’ve all heard the story of Noah’s flood. How everyone mocked the man and called him crazy because he was building an ark so big, that it would house two of every unclean animals and seven of even clean. I know a lot of people miss that, but that is exactly what Noah brought into the ark. Genesis 7 2Of every CLEAN beast thou shalt take to thee by SEVENS, the male and his female: and of beasts that are NOT CLEAN by TWO, the male and his female. Which by the way is an allegory for those with ears to hear. TWO = Duality, a double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Now the SEVEN clean animals, SEVEN is the number of completion. These animals all represent natures inside of mankind. Oh I know, many will say, no, they were LITERAL animals and have NOTHING to do with NATURES in MAN. But you’ll soon see, that scripture is an allegory, and ANIMALS represent natures in man, that God has to deal with. For example have you ever said, “He’s stubborn as a mule”, or “That person is a work horse!”? Let’s look at what scripture says about the animalistic nature of man. Ecclesiastes 3:18 I also thought, “AS FOR MEN, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the ANIMALS. 19 Man’s fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath ; MAN HAS NO ADVANTAGE OVER THE ANIMAL. Now a quick side note as to what and who these “Men” are that we just read about. The men are WHO WE THINK WE ARE, not who we really are. The “MEN” are simply an allegory of the EGO of us all. It is on “evil/foolishness” continually, and within this EGO there is no good thing, but every wicked thing… This is how scripture paints the picture of the ego. But back to my point, scripture is written in a very poetic style. ART, ever since man began to try to declare the higher things of life, has always been used to describe the indescribable. Which is why Jesus states, the Kingdom of Heaven is a MYSTERY and that to those who do not understand this mystery ALL THINGS ARE EXPLAINED IN PARABLE. The story of the Flood is no different. So these animals and creeping things that Noah brought into the arc to save, is actually symbolic of the ideas and natures we pick up from the world and from those around us and allow them to take residence in our heart. Which is why we see the ego of mankind compared to animals, time and time again. Jeremiah 31:27 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will plant the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the offspring of men and of ANIMALS. Ezekiel 39:17 “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. The Son of Man is not Tarzan, calling out to the animals. Many human beings caught up and ruled by their EGO are animals nothing more, beasts, and many of these NATURES in man God wants killed off. These are the UNCLEAN NATURES, like greed, pride, hate, lust, etc. etc… These UNCLEAN natures in man, are represented by the many unclean animals that Noah brought on the ARC two by two. I know you have been presented with the romantic telling of the story, where the animals came in as male and female mates… but as I presented earlier, the UNCLEAN animals were brought in by twos, and the CLEAN animals brought in by sevens. Genesis 7 2Of every CLEAN beast thou shalt take to thee by SEVENS, the male and his female: and of beasts that are NOT CLEAN by TWO, the male and his female. Consider the many instances where we see animals in the great stories of scripture. Why do you believe this is? We even have sayings like, “don’t let the foxes spoil the vine”. In scripture these “foxes” and other animals have a very profound meaning, when the keys of the allegory in scripture are opened up to you. Why is it that we see Daniel trapped with a bunch of Lions, why is it that we see Samson, David and others battling and destroying Lions or Bears? It is because they represent the natures in man that are hardest to destroy. The Devil, which is the title of man’s carnal mind, which is the “father of all lies” is described as a LION. 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: This is the LION’S DEN Daniel was thrown in. The Lion’s den we are all thrown in. Get it? There are other natures in man represented by clean animals, like endurance, love, devotion, etc, that God will not destroy. This is what it means, for ADAM to name all the animals. Adam which means MANKIND AS A WHOLE must recognize the natures within “him”, within the Garden (GOD’S TEMPLE). So what was this ARK that was built? Some people will argue that this is a literal ark that Noah built, however, I am not going to be one to make that ridiculous argument. Look people, just because something is written in the bible doesn’t make it literally true. Especially since God only speaks in allegory and opens his mouth in dark saying. Psalm 78:2 I (God) will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old. Let’s put aside the fact that are literally

I find it utterly fascinating that the same doctrinal confusion of biblical days is still ongoing today, but I believe it all goes back to the human condition. Earthly living is vastly dependent upon the health and vitality of the body. Because the earth is a physical entity, all things physical become an integral part of basic functioning and technical progression, thus, people naturally rely on their bodies for strength, their minds for guidance and maybe or maybe not their hearts for measuring the moral weight of incoming stimuli. But, while those of us on the earth are busy doing worldly work, enjoying worldly pleasures and following inherent carnal thoughts and feelings, the Spirit of God is busy gently prompting us to follow a superior governing system, which although opposes the world’s system, is completely doable for believers who are willing to root their worlds in an entirely foreign, yet vastly superb new system. God; knowing everything there is to know, knew believers would face this challenge, hence, He used the Apostle Paul and others to illustrate this godly principle to help believers comprehend the vital doctrine which teaches us to rely on HIM: His Precepts, His Statutes and, His Laws, and NOT the ways of this world, the secular community, celebrity example, ect…….But this means learning a whole new way to relate to and function successfully in this unforgiving, demanding physical world. There are a plethora of Scripture that capture the essence of Christ’ Doctrine: freedom, salvation and supernatural gifts; promised by God, (****however, these privileges are contingent on spiritual commitment.) The Apostle Paul made it his mission to help his people understand the difference between relying on the self, which leads to legalism and convoluted doctrine AND the freedom in Christ, which breaks the bondage of rules and regulations (works of the flesh) for the New Testament believer. The writer of Hebrews followed a similar writing style, as he too was committed to bringing forth revelation to all those confused over Sound Doctrine, (which was especially challenging for Hebrew Christians.) Hebrews 6:1-3 illustrates this Truth by urging the people to “go unto perfection” and consequently lays out the distinguishing features of the Gospel of Christ. “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3And this will we do, if God permit.” (KJV) The writer would not suggest going “unto perfection” if he were teaching his Church about worldliness. His intention was to teach that, although physical perfection is unattainable, unimportant and spiritually meaningless, spiritual perfection is God’s Desire for His people, it’s not entirely attainable, as no one can ever reach perfection, but God treats the overcomer (one with spiritual hunger) as one who is spiritually perfect: “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1Samuel 16:7, NIV) That means God cares much more about motive than error and even behavior, which helps us see that He looks upon those believers as perfect, because their spirit; their heart, is perfectly motived by pureness of intention. God metaphorically refers to the human spirit as the “heart” and the heart or spirit, is where our motives are inspired. One of the simplest formulas in which to comprehend God’s Way over man’s in this instance, is to first realize that God looks at everything with a spiritual eye. As much as He is The Expert in Everything, He only looks at the spiritual component, not because He is unaware of the physical, but because His Ways are SO above the physical. That being said, when God commands us to work for His Kingdom, He’s talking about the spiritual work and instructions for our individual holy lifestyles, not ordinary work. Simply meditating on this Truth will protect believers from falling into reasoning and blindly following worldly ways. When this skill is mastered, believers can call themselves people of a biblical world view. (This differentiation is key to understanding certain books, like James.) So, when we conduct our lives God’s Way, the Holy Spirit teaches us God’s Law, either by leading us to a certain Scripture or a Sermon; something He decides to use to gently cause awareness of His prompting. Then, the Truth remains within us and we can always reflect, relearn, meditate or recall it whenever we desire/need (and prayer will retrieve it if it doesn’t come readily.) I know of one more helpful way of recalling what it means to go unto perfection. What I like to do when I feel myself drift into mental tortures of any kind, (which can come from any entity that opposes God and that includes Satan & His minions and even our own souls, or the souls of others) is to recall the basic dynamic of the parent/child relationship, with emphasis on the Father/child relationship. We don’t have to follow the law by feeling the weight of the world on our shoulders, but if we love God, we will obey Him. When we are moved to action by the spirit, we do God’s Work. Christ is King, therefore, everything we do in Him, we do in love, joy, charity, and a sincere desire to please our father. Jesus said: “If you love Me, keep My Commands.” (John 14:15, NIV) So, lets say you’re a child around 8 or 10; still very young, but old enough to be aware of others’ feelings and have empathy and you are faced with this scenario: It’s right after dinner, your mom has already gone to your school for your parent/teacher conference, so you and your dad are going solo.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 Amongst the observations most frequently heard in the world, is that made on the undeserved prosperity of the wicked, and the many seemingly uncalled trials and tribulations of the righteous. Experience will indeed tell us, that neither of these opposite conditions is uninterrupted; neither is it all sunshine in the most prosperous worldly lot; nor is it all gloom—far from it—in the Christian’s portion on earth. Experience will also go further, and will abundantly prove the saying of the wise man, that “the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.” Such success has a tendency first to deceive, then to corrupt, and lastly to betray men into utter destruction. But the text will lead us still further; it will teach us, that the trials of the righteous preserve them—yea, work for good; and that “all things,” and, therefore, even the greatest trials, “work together for good to them that love God.” The text represents them as workmen. They work together for good; they are constantly at work for that purpose, whether as instruments in God’s hands, or as in a degree self-moving for that end; they are constructing as it were a building, or they are laying a foundation; and that which they lay—that which all things befalling a Christian are ever laying for him—is a ground for his substantial, necessary, and eternal benefit. “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” This, then, it will be, with God’s blessing, my humble endeavour to show in the following:  first, premising the sense of the word “good,” in all just and reasonable acceptation; next, showing more fully how all things may be thus said to “work for good to them that love God;” finally, pointing out some of the many things which will be found by experience to work in this very manner. The term “good,” it must be said in the first place, is very different, both in the language of the bible and in the estimation of the truly wise, from what it usually represents in the language and opinion of the world. The bible teaches us to view all things in their consequences, and in their real and essential nature. View things in their consequences, in their final end and issue, if you would view them at all justly or wisely. Ease, and health, and worldly wealth, and success may be good, just as the plentiful feast is good, provided a man has temperance and soundness of constitution properly to partake of it; but, if he is likely to indulge to a surfeit, or if every morsel is food to some mortal disorder, and every cup adds strength to a fever that is raging in his veins, no one in reason would call such an entertainment good to such a man. And just so with the good things of this present life: the Christian does not unreasonably deny that prosperity is pleasing, health desirable, friends and relations deeply attaching to us, and the smiles of social endearment or public favor greatly captivating; but neither does he, like the world, consider them to be necessarily all they seem to be, good to all persons, and under all circumstances; he does not forget that earthly and bodily good is just what it becomes in the use of it; that many times the use can hardly be separated from the abuse; that lawful things, when unlawfully or idolatrously used, are just as evil as unlawful ones.  Rather, that for a few comparatively who have perished from a hardened course of forbidden pleasure, multitudes have been for ever lost by allowed indulgences. Till he sees, then, the application made, and the resulting consequences of any worldly boon, he does not call the possessor happy, nor the possession good, nor very eagerly or supremely does he desire it either for himself or others. But, again, the things really and essentially good in their very nature and inseparable qualities are those which, in the estimation of the mere world, are held in no account whatsoever. What the bible chiefly esteems, and the world wholly neglects, are spiritual blessings,—the good things of the soul of man, “the precious things of heaven, even of the everlasting hills.” Those precious things, the goodwill of him who is the great I AM—the peace of God which passes all understanding—the luxury of promoting the good of man and the glory of God;—still more, the pardon of sin, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ—a gradual advancement in true holiness—a growing fitness and longing desire for the future blessedness of the saints, and a final admission and “you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.,” (2 Peter 1:11) the “inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,” 1Peter 1:4 —these are truly to the world but as a dream, a fancy, a cunningly-devised fable; but, to the mind of the Christian, stand for everything truly and substantially good. They are in all his plans first and foremost, and nearest and dearest to his heart. They are as necessary to him in his calculation and account of human happiness, as profit and pleasure are to his neighbours around. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart conceived, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9 But God hath revealed to him by his Spirit, these very things, as his chief good, his measure of all true happiness. Wealth may be good, health still better, kindly affections and attached friends the best of earthly treasures; but the favor of God, the acquisition of his image, the means of grace, and the hope of glory, are to him sovereign and above all. While many ask, amidst the increase of their