Bible Questions & Discussion PAGE 175

Amen and thanks Brother Jesse!

God bless you in all that you do!

(Titus Part 19):

Titus 3:15 - All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

Paul is making reference to people who are the sincere and genuine Christians who function according to faith, not religion, because that's how Paul lived his life, according to faith. Those who love us in the faith, greet them as well.

And then the principle of grace, and I've mentioned this before. The word be is in italics which means it's not in the original writings. It has been placed there by the translators in order to make it a complete English sentence. The problem is that according to the Greek, this is not a wish or a prayer. It's a statement of fact. Grace is with you all. Amen. It's a reminder and a statement to everybody, to all believers, that the grace of God is always with you for everything that God has for your life!

Well, this is all I have for Titus. As you all know, Philemon is very short, so I'm hoping to have something to post very soon.

Blessings to you all in Christ Jesus!

(Titus Part 18):

Titus 3:11 - Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and this word basically means to bring in a disease. And sins, being condemned of himself. He condemns himself by his own beliefs, and his own twisting and misrepresentation of scripture.

Titus 3:13 - Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them.

Bring Zenas the lawyer. It is unsure whether he's a Gentile, or he's a Hebrew. It would make more sense by his name and function that he would be a Gentile. If he's a Hebrew, then he's a lawyer of the law, the Old Testament, the Tanak. If he is a Greek, or Gentile, then he is a lawyer of Roman law. And that's what Paul needs. He needs somebody to help him with Roman law.

Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them. The word wanting means lacking. So, when you send them on their way, make sure that they have everything that they need, food, a means of transportation, and that they are completely taken care of.

(Titus Part 17):

Titus 3:10 - A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;

A man that is a heretic after the first and second admonition, or warning, reject him. This term heretic is the adjective form of the word heresy. And it's interesting that the Greek word for heresy means to choose.

Now here's how it works as far as heresy in the church goes:

If I have a block of scripture, and I tell you what I believe it means, I'm choosing to believe something versus a choice that you might make differently. That's heresy. If someone walks into a church and they read the plaque on the wall that lists their doctrinal statement, and they open their bible and say you've got this scripture listed that's backing up one of your doctrines, but as I read it here, that's not really what it says, if they come back and say yes, but that's what we believe it says, that's heresy!

That's heresy. It's not based on our beliefs. It's based on the establishment and the confirmation of God's word by God's Spirit, not by man. So, a person who's a heretic, someone that teaches false doctrine, basically his opinion is I disagree with that, and this is what I think it means. Okay, where does it say that? "Well, it doesn't. But that's what it means!"

That's heresy. It's very easy to do. Most of our church denominations are built on heresy. It's because somebody said I don't agree with your belief about that. I have my own belief. So, they start their own denomination. And most of the denominational and church differences are over personal belief, choosing what they want to believe about a text, rather than taking the text itself.

So, a man that is a heretic after the first and second warning, you've got to warn him. This is the protection of the new life. In the church, the false teachers, they're called heretics. After you warn him the first and second time, then reject him. That's a command.

(Titus Part 16):

Titus 3:4 - But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

He says but after, and it's literally the word when. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared. Look at who he calls God. He says God our Savior. Six times, mingled in his pastoral letters, he calls God Savior, and he calls Jesus Christ Savior. They're both the same person.

So, when Jesus came, when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man, when he appeared, that's when our salvation came.

Titus 3:8 - This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

He says this is a faithful saying, and as I mentioned before, whenever you find this phrase "faithful saying," this is Paul's way of saying we don't have a New Testament yet, but this saying is passed around in the church as equal to scripture.

This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that you affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

(Titus Part 15):

Titus 3:3 - For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

For we ourselves also were sometimes, number one, foolish. This word means unperceptive. We had no spiritual perception whatsoever. Disobedient, which is a refusal to obey the persuasion of God's Spirit. We were deceived. This is where we get our English word planet from. PLANAE means to wander. We were deceived. We wandered all over the place, trying different things, and going in different directions.

Serving divers lusts and pleasures, and the word serving is literally the word enslaved, being enslaved to various lusts and pleasures. And the word pleasure in the Greek, HEDONEI, is where we get our word hedonism from. This is hedonistic desires. We live in a hedonistic society, where we work and do whatever is necessary, so that in our off time, we can serve and satisfy our pleasures. That's hedonism.

Fifthly, living in malice and envy, and the word malice is the word that means to cause adversity for people, and to be envious of people. The sixth thing is hateful. And the seventh thing is hating one another. There's a lot of hate going around amongst non-believers because it's so empty and frustrating in the world.

So, without perception, disobedient to the things of the Lord, wandering around, having no direction, being enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, living in adversity and envy, hateful disposition, and hating one another. He gives the seven primary characteristics of the new life, and the seven primary characteristics of the old life.

And then in Verses 4 to 7, he presents the process of receiving the new life. This is great material!

Dyanc,

This is a question that comes up quite frequently. It is also a topic that stirs up debate. I can share with you my belief on this. Some might agree, some might not, but I speak for myself. Where a person's soul/spirit goes after they die depends on whether or not that person has been born of Gods Spirit (Salvation). I believe that since I received Christ that His Spirit now dwells in my Spirit. I have been given eternal life. It is not my physical flesh that is eternal, but my soul/spirit.

When I say that I have been given eternal life, in a nutshell, what I am saying is that I have been given Christ, and He is eternal. As long as I have Christ, I have eternal life, and He has promised to never leave me. My physical body is where my soul/spirit dwell and when I received Christ, His Spirit came into my spirit and sealed me.

One day, my physical body will experience death and be put into the grave, but my spirit will be with the Lord. If my soul/spirit remained in the grave, then Christ must also be in the grave which I don't believe is true. So, to answer your question "Where does our soul go after we die," I am convinced that I will immediately be in the presence of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As scripture tells us, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Once that temple dies, His Spirit has to go somewhere, and where He goes, I go!

Again, I speak for myself here. I hope what I just shared might be of some help, but I would encourage you to diligently search the scriptures for the answer to this frequently asked question. May the Lord guide you in your study.

God Bless!!!

An Amen is in order. Couldn't say it any better myself.

I am glad if I am encouraging anyone here. I've certainly learned a lot searching the scriptures online. I'll let you know when I have all the answers. :)

Rich P

Hello Richard

You wrote and it is very true that "In the long run; we all have to come to personal communion with the Lord regularly to learn to seek His face and hear His voice to continue to run the race and endure to the end. If we don't we WILL fail; burn out or some sadly will apostatize."

In the parable of the Sower Jesus is giving us some reasons for which people will never end the race. Generally speaking the reason is when our heart loves something else (whatever this is) more than God. People always follow what their heart loves more. And where our heart is our treasure is also there. And if this is not God then it would be something else. Eventually we will turn left or right or even backwards. So God asks us to love Him more even than our life. This will guarantee that we will never leave Him and the race which is infront of us. God is making a huge effort to make us trust in and love Him. This is something we are learning along the way. And one can not love God if they never get to know Him. And this is not done only by reading His Word and appreciating what He has done for us but also when we feel His presence which is love, joy, peace...We will fall down sometimes along the way but we will stand up and keep going.

As you have also mentioned we must seek His face (I would say) every day. This is how we get the power to keep going. There is no other way. We can never run the race with our own strength and ability. We need God renewing us every single day.

GBU

Thanks for your prompt reply but what you sent me still does not answer, Where does our soul go after we die, until the last judgment?

DSCY222,

I do not know if this forum allows external links. You can check out the name benny thomas and am on Facebook, where my blog links are mentioned. With greetings,

Hi Bennymkje / Jesse.

Please share the website with me so that I can also share the wonderful messages there. God bless you and all your love ones.

Concluding thoughts for now on Christ's perfect character.

I am not sure if continuing the rest of Matthew will bring out a lot of new points of this particular subject but I may do it anyway for general insights. The last posting about Jesus and His statement about who are His mother and brothers in Matthew 12:48

must have been rather stinging in the family's ears. He had demonstrated love and loyalty to His family so they had to know there was no malice in His words. Perhaps we need to remember that when we consider counting the cost ( Luke 14:28).

Here's the lyrics of that old song from David Meece originally out in 1983; I'll focus on the second verse as most pertinent today:

The modern-day disciple

Still has a price to pay

There's a war within, and a war with sin

And he fights it ev'ryday

So be sure and understand

The voice you hear behind the call

You can't come with half a heart

Because He's asking for it all

Kind of smacks you like a V-8 commercial. You don't see 'em lyrics anymO!

Ok; I digress. God uses men to help encourage and rebuke us; and generally motivate us by example and prodding for service in the Kingdom. In the long run; we all have to come to personal communion with the Lord regularly to learn to seek His face and hear His voice to continue to run the race and endure to the end. If we don't we WILL fail; burn out or some sadly will apostatize. The thought is enough to bring tears to my eyes; but it must be godly sorrow as a million tears of human sorrow as to unfaithfulness and disobedience amount to nothing. Today frankly we don't even see much worldly sorrow! Jesus was a man of sorrows; and acquainted with our grief ( Isaiah 53:3). Surely the Apostle's lives weren't exactly a rose garden (except for the thorns I suppose). But they would be rewarded ( Rev. 21:14). He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many.. ( Isaiah 53:11)

Further insights on Christ's perfect character

The extensive use of scriptures in much of the Gospels by Christ were given for several reasons. First explaining the fullness of the law by explanations in His public preaching showed that He was the Lord; even over the Sabbath. It shows fulfillments; and was particularly poignant to the Pharisees who thought they had knowledge but didn't comprehend that Jesus's authority meant that He indeed was the "I am". Their obsession over many man made additions to the law were rebuked by scripture; such as the earlier example in Matthew 12 with David and the shewbread when the law (in this case more ceremonial) was broken due to the necessity of feeding David and His companions fleeing from Saul. It is an interesting sidenote that David also was to become King at a later time much like Christ when He returns and that God had to look after his needs as well.

Jesus saved to the end; including the thief on the cross when He was going through the agony of final moments of the crucifixion. He truly served to the end ( Mark 10:45).

Christ spent most of His life sort of self exiled; being submissive to service to His parents. This would demonstrate the deeper meaning of the age of 30 and Jewish manhood; no doubt. We need to remember that was just as significant as the rest of His life even if we don't see it. Having a perfect worker around is something I can only envy in my own forgetfullness and ineptitude on a daily basis but it must have been a sight to behold. One can only imagine the conversations about the Lord which would have been going on. We also see through the evidence of John being called to live with His mother that Joseph at some time previous to then had died. Therefore He was also living out the mandate that he who doesn't take care of His own family is worth less than an infidel or unbeliever ( 1 Tim. 5:8). Such loyalty makes His statement in Matthew 12:48 more poignant; surely hard to hear.

(Titus Part 14):

Titus 3:2 - To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

Speak evil of no man, do not be brawlers, or fighters, but rather be gentle, lenient is what it means, shewing all meekness unto all men. The word meekness here means to be open. It means openness, receptivity. That's one of the main words that is used in the scriptures for those who are in teaching or pastoral ministries. Meekness doesn't mean that you play the role of a doormat. It means to be open and to be receptive.

One of the hardest things for those in a teaching ministry is to be open and receptive because they don't know all the answers, and if someone is coming up to them to try and prove them wrong, it kind of puts them in a bad position.

So, it's difficult in the human according to pride to be open and receptive to all people, but it's necessary. It is necessary for the person who is up front and is teaching, that they be more open and receptive than anybody else in the whole room. Why?

Because we're all the same, we're all on the same level. We've all learned about the Lord from down here. None of us have come from up there. If you have, I want to meet you!

(Titus Part 13):

Titus 3:1 - Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,

He starts out with a command. He says put them in mind. This is what is called a Present Imperative. And it's the word remembrance. What that means is he's telling and commanding Titus to continually put them in remembrance of these things.

So, this is not a one-time thing just to say we got this letter from Paul, and then they go file it. He says you Titus, you continually put them in remembrance of these things, the seven things or characteristics of the new life.

First, it says to be subject, and the word is submission, to be subject to rulers and authorities. That's the literal translation. That parallels Romans Chapter 13 Verses 1 through 7, where Paul talked about be submissive to your government, to the officials. Submission means to line up with the Lord with other people, to be in submission, or to be in an orderly arrangement.

And then to be ready to every good work, and he's mentioning the word AGATHOS which is a spiritual good. The word for human good is KALOS. Spiritual good is AGATHOS. In fact, this word AGATHOS, its root word is found in Galatians 5:22 as a fruit of God's Spirit.

So, we have to know that when it says be ready to do good works, what kind are we talking about, KALOS or AGATHOS? That's very important. The good here is AGATHOS, the good work of God. Be ready to function with the Lord and be used of the Lord for His work and be in submission to the authorities here on the earth so that you can carry out your life.

(Titus Part 12b):

Titus 2:15 Continued:

Let no one despise you, and the word despise means to think down on you. It's just like he told Timothy, just different words, and under different circumstances. Set the church straight. Set the church in order. And notice that these relationships are listed under doctrine. This is the function of various people in the body of Christ with one another as a family. This is God's way.

We need more of the older women in the body of Christ to teach the younger women. It's a great need. One of my prayers is that the church gets back to focusing on the family. We need to go back to the grass roots, with the young people just getting married, and starting to have children, and be able to teach them how their own home church should be functioning, and how they should represent Christ, and how they should be growing in Christ.

And then how their family should be functioning with all the other families in that fellowship as one family in Christ. We have to go from big to small. We've gone from small to big, and we're kind of lost in the crowd. The things that Paul is telling Timothy and Titus, that's how all the fellowships were run. That's according to God's word, and it's very rare that it's taught today. And that's a shame!

(Titus Part 12a):

Titus 2:15 - These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

These things speak, equivalent to when he told Timothy preach the word, speak these things. And so, Titus would have to go around to all these fellowships or at least get all the leaders together from a city that had these individual little fellowships, and he would have to teach them these things, and tell them you go back and teach your fellowships these things.

This is God's order. This is the way God wants the body of Christ to function. It's definitely not easy for Titus because of the pagan atmosphere that was there. We have the same problem, but our culture makes it easier for our paganism to get into the church. It's still worldly. It's still pagan. And we bring it into the church.

These things speak, and exhort, that is encourage, and rebuke, which is literally the word convict, with all authority, and the word authority is literally the word commandment. So, these things speak, and encourage, and bring conviction with all commandment, meaning command people to do these things. That's why it's translated authority.

(Titus Part 11):

Titus 2:14 - Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

He just talked about our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Here is how I understand this. Jesus Christ gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity. The word redeem means to purchase out of the marketplace. What a person would do if they wanted to purchase a slave, they would go down to the marketplace, and they would have the slaves lined up.

And you could bid on them, or if no one's bidding, you could just come up and pay for one. And you could purchase a slave from out of the marketplace. And that word is applied to us. We're in the world. We're in the marketplace of sin, enslaved to sin. And Christ came and died for us on the cross and purchased us from out of the marketplace.

Some Christians have never heard that term purchased. In 1 Corinthians Chapter 6, Paul says do you not know that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, who you have from God? And you're not your own. You have been bought with a price.

When Jesus saved me, He also purchased me. The human body that I now live in belongs to Him. It is a temple, the temple of the Holy Spirit. So, he gave Himself, that He might redeem me, not just die for my sins, but purchase me. He owns me.

And purify unto Himself a peculiar people, who are zealous of good works. The word good is the word KALOS again (Not AGATHOS), people who are zealous to live right in the human the way God has taught us.

Further insights on Christ's perfect character

Galatians 4:3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

Renewing the theme of Christ's knowledge of upcoming death on the cross; it is hard not to sympathize with the disciples who were "exceedingly sorry" ( Matt. 17:23) or something to that affect. For Christ to be able to even concentrate on anything else is remarkable at least looking at my own pitiful faith and willingness to die for Christ. This may be the best kept secret in the Gospels; we see it later on ( Galatians 2:20); but Christ was in some sense dying to self even though He had no sin; His life demonstrated total dependence on the Spirit. Doing this explains what only saying what the Father tells Him to say ( John 12:49) demonstrates. Jesus wasn't going to operate in His own strength; even though He was sinless it would involve deviating from His call and mission which would have been wrong. These actions would cause Him to be promoted in some ways as a man as the Father gave Him "all authority in heaven and earth" ( Matt. 28:18); along with other promises for His upcoming Millennial reign. As the Creator surely He had all authority in one sense; but in God's Divine plan He would have to come first as the suffering servant in Isaiah 53 before coming back in vengeance and flaming fire ( 2 Thessalonians 1:8). This illustrates how He as the first of the firstfruits came before the rest of the N.T. saints and how we; in turn can gain rewards through obedience; including martyrdom with specific crowns for this and other works of the Spirit in a believer's life and faith walk.

As a general statement we can also say that Christ was never half hearted about anything. Whether it was care for His mother during His crucifixion delegated to John; telling all the woman at the well had done; rebuking the religious establishment for hypocricy; overturning the moneychangers we see righteous love and indignation.

I thought an overview at this point would be good as to some of many characteristics of Christ as the perfect man and Deity.

As I continue studying the Gospels and in the case of these postings Matthew in focus; it is amazing how every short clip has meaning as well as the overall narrative. There are the crowds; the Pharisees; the larger group of Disciples; the 70 sent out and then the 12 disciples who would be the genesis of most of the 12 Apostles minus Judas Iscariot. As a basic rule Jesus would have widespread healings and deliverance as well as provide the feeding of large crowds twice as recorded in Matthew 14 and 15. The Pharisees and occasionally Sadducees and "lawyers" representing the religious teachings by far had the greatest amount of criticism from the mouth of the Lord and were a constant nuisance to Him; undoubtably being Satan's main plan to cause disruption between the time in the wilderness and the betrayal of Judas Iscariot and the following crucifixion. The larger group of disciples or "would be" followers were carefully weeded out through challenging statements of having to give up all their money and give it away; or the fact that Jesus had no place to lay His head. The 12 disciples would be an inner circle; with Peter James and John as the most inner ones in a way; going up to the mountain to view the Transfiguration while the others stayed back.

As we go on we see the unique faith of the Caananite woman in chapter 15 who gets an individual evaluation as the Centurion did of having "great faith". The Lord would relate to the outcasts of society including women; tax collectors and other "low class" individuals. He would deal with the often dull minds of the Disciples in patiently explaining Parables; the meaning of the "leaven" of the Pharisees; and eventually counselling Peter indicating both God's insight and Satan's influence one right after the other ( Matt. 16:17 then see verse 22). He did this knowing death was nigh.

deep issues in this chapter...phhew.. when something is found that was lost,its a emotion of the heart,Joy n Rejoice

with objects doesnt mean what was found,now has greater long term physical value

the physical value of the lost coin didnt increase after it was found.the same with the lamb resale

its about the people who lost something and the emotional reaction to finding it.and at times, the effort to get it back

something labored for is always more appreciated

Jesus here is talking about,2 differant reactions can occur when this scenario happens,issue of personal perspectives

the loyal son wasnt rejoicing when he looked on the party

until the loyal son understands why the Father was so happy. Its a shocker..

when God n the angels rejoice when something lost was found

it doesnt mean the Fathers Love has become less for the others,or the returnee has been long term promoted

he's Joyful because there back safe n sound

as well as other meanings

I may be moving back to Pittsburgh soon. My old full time position is available; quite needed to be filled and my friend has an apartment available in the next month or so; however I need to get permission to sell the home that my dad; who has dementia still has as an asset though he is now in a facility. Pray for wisdom as although I plan to help out briefly in a couple weeks the trip across PA is too much for now as the insurance on my home requires I reside here at least once every 30 days. I am praying for clarity and some time frame when I talk with my parents attorney Friday; if I have to sign a renunciation for myself as they seem to indicate I am going to get advice from the attorney I used to work for before signing it.

The Lord surely opens doors and closes them. In my limited wisdom I have learned to be cautious about making any sudden changes. I also am looking for wisdom as to where to attend church; if I move back to where I used to live in Western PA there are several places I have attended previously. It seems where I am attending now the church is waning; although I have several decent friendships here. I am also praying that i will sense the Spirit guiding me as to where I go and the timing.

Surely the time I will have on this forum will be significantly reduced if I move on. I enjoy writing and sense the Lord has given me some abilities to minister here; admittedly at least some of it has just helped me in scripture knowledge googling verses that follow my course of thought on subjects. I will also be candid that the divorce I had over 10 years ago still has left scars on my soul. My walk generally is pitiful and weak; and the last thing I want to do is puff myself up by merely adding up words; or concepts to prove a point or concept.

1 Peter 1:24-25 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower fadeth; But the word of the Lord endureth forever."...

This is a good question "Dyance". I suggest we take a look in the Bible. We know that the blood is our soul, here Genesis 1:9:4-5 and to 7.

May God in Jesus name give us understanding. Amen!

1 John 5:6-9

Jesse,

Thanks for visiting my blog. I was separated from my birth as it now seems clearer for my ministry. Whatever was loss was a gain for me. I am an artist and sold my works and are in private collections. In my 4+ year I spoke what God was and my Sunday school teacher after 40 years coming across my father still remembered it. I remember then of telling God was angry with bad people so He would drop stones from heaven. A childish prattle but on reading fall of Babylon Rev.18.21 I am convinced the truth of Ps.8 'out of mouthes of the babes'. Be that as it may my love for the word of God was one single continuous thread against which my life has rearranged. God gave me gifts and after I closed my practice as an architect I began my word ministry. I stopped with secular literature and writing books God blessed me to live happily in all aspects and never I asked for hand-out in my ministry. In two months I shall be 82 and by .God's grace I have served the Lord and I hope by God's grace to serve Him.

GiGi,

Amen, a wonderful God indeed!

Thanks Benny,

I read a little bit about you on your (very well put together) website. You have a huge archive going back 15 years. I bookmarked your website for visiting later on as the Lord leads and time permits. You mentioned you were a Dutch citizen, but I was just curious as to whereabout. I removed my inquiry because I was not sure if I was getting too personal or if that was information you wished to share. Anyway, thanks for responding.

God Bless!!!

amen and GBU

2 Pet.3.7 "The fire"

"But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."

'Against judgment and perdition of ungodly men' has been determined before the foundation of the world. The night visions of Daniel made this clear.

The previous verse in the epistle referred to the great flood and this fire likewise shall purge the earth of all ungodliness. Gospel of salvation refers to water and fire by the same word of God. Thus baptism by water and outpouring of the Holy Spirit cloven tongues of fire are established by the Word which was God. In the everlasting Covenant the blessed were invited to enter into the God's Rest. Those who stopped short can expect them the wrath of God of man for the reason their body soul and the spirit is 666. The Ancient of days as figurative embodiment of the Law set seven days for anyone who trusts in the Word become flesh to enter therein. Wisdom of heaven tells Jesus Christ of God has become 'wisdom' and yet it is not taken. By literal interpretation to what depths has Satan led man and heresy has been stalking the early church what with Gnosticism and false brethren within the church. "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy./And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace."(Jas.3.16-18) Confusion was whether to support Trump or not; evil work was in the great many abuses and predators allowed to run on; devil was in the bling-bling culture. What do they mean with liberation day on 2 April?"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you./Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten/Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire."(Jas.5.1-3)

Agreed Benhymkje,

Sometimes people chase after many "gifts" and "ministries" to find where they fit into the working of God through the church. As an adult I have always known my calling to be a mother to my children as being primary and a teacher of children as my secondary calling. I also have served in church ministry and truly love serving others in any capacity where there is a need.

I think that also a person's call to serve others changes at different times in one's life. As we age and our children were approaching adulthood, I have found God leading me to focus on ministry in the church arena, leading a prayer ministry, youth ministry, and other areas of need. Now that I am retired, my focus is on our home life more than anything else right now, building up the fellowship between our family members now that all are over 35 and wish to spend more time together as family. This is a real blessing to me. I am enjoying growing vegetables to preserve for the year. I call that "dirt work" and I truly love it!

So, no matter where one is in life's journey, being sensitive and flexible to the drawing of the Holy Spirit leading us in how we are to serve Christ and His body is key. May we all have our hearts softened with eagerness and readiness to step into every work God has already prepared for us since before the foundations of the earth. It truly is amazing to consider the height, breadth, depth, and all-encompassing extent of His knowledge of all things that will ever come to pass in history. How vast is His wisdom and goodness!