Job 23:11-12 says, "My foot has held His steps, His way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of His lips; I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food" The Message Bible says, "I've followed Him closely, my feet in His footprints, not once swerving from His way. I've obeyed every word He's spoken, and not just obeyed His advice---I've treasured it" This concept of 'esteeming' God's word or 'treasuring' it, is placi

SAFE HARBOR Not only clubs and condos, but in addition, certain events require access, or a pass designating that you have the privilege to enjoy everything that the association has to offer, because you are a member, or have been given, by your relationship to another, entrance into all that is available, the swimming pool, hot tub, water slide, steam room, games room, golf simulator; everything the complex or event has to offer. ACCESS: HISTORICAL USE In Hellenistic Greek,

Certain communities are gated or only allow members access to their club or to their group, and if you are not a member, or part of the community, you have to come with someone who already is, whether it is to a gated community, a club, or golf course, and without membership, or going with someone who already has membership, you cannot gain access. Ephesians 2:18 states that we have access in the Holy Spirit, to the Father, or into the presence of the Father. The word for 'ac

The Proof is in the Pudding The old English expression is derived from an even older proverb that states, 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating'. In other words, whether something has value, or is good, is based on the results experienced by the person or persons tasting or experiencing it. You can tell whether the pudding tastes good or not, by trying it, and no matter what anyone says about it, the quality, or lack thereof, is in how it actually, literally tastes. Intr

Paul's Prayers There are 3 parallel prayers repeated in the Pauline Epistles: Ephesians 1:15-23 Colossians 1: 3-4, 9-12 Philemon 1: 4-6 Motivation Each begins with a declaration as to the motivation, or reason for the prayer: "Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints..." (Eph.1:15). "...since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love to all the saints..." (Col.1:4). "...hearing of thy love and faith, which you

Creating Culture John Wimber: The Vineyard Movement Years ago, John Wimber launched the Vineyard movement, which had a strong emphasis on praying for the sick and seeing supernatural manifestations. However, when they first 'discovered' healing in the scriptures, and began to teach and practice, praying for the sick, they saw no results; in fact, as John Wimber recounted, even the people praying for the sick, would often get sick themselves. They continued in blind obedience,

Impossible Possible Breaking the 4 minute mile was considered to be scientifically, an impossible feat that the human body was incapable of achieving. Roger Bannister, a British medical student, on May 6, 1954, broke the physical and mental barrier of achieving a record time, of running the mile in under 4 minutes. Since that momentous occasion, at least 1,755 athletes have run the mile, in under 4 minutes. What was deemed impossible became not only probable, but has been tot

Often companies send delegates or representatives to various functions or, to purchase products, for example, for the company, and those representatives have authority, within limits, to carry out what is deemed the will or directive of the company, to buy what is necessary, for the company, to market and to promote their business. In addition, governments have delegates or representatives, that promote their interests, on the world stage, both for trade and to come into vari

Bad Behavior Growing up, my older brother had a neighborhood friend that he went to school with, that would come over to our home, and sometimes enter, without even being invited, or even knocking; and without asking, and when our parents weren't aware, the 'friend' would just go to the fridge, and help himself to whatever was in there that he found desirable. I just vaguely remember my mother catching him taking his liberty, without asking, going into our fridge, and she con

Fate I remember the story of a man who was making a product by hand, and though it was crafted to perfection, he could have put the same design on a lathe and produced hundreds of these items per day rather than the few that he carved through hours of labor. His religious philosophy was that if he was supposed to be more successful, or productive, it would just 'happen', if that was his 'fate'. If it wasn't his 'fate', then even if he did do something to be more of a producer

Natural Man There is the common proverbial expression that, "People are Down On what they're not Up On". The scriptures say that, "the natural man doesn't receive the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, neither can he know (them), because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:14). Natural Mind Basically, our natural mind does not understand spiritual reality, and when confronted with the things of God, we reject them, not because they aren't true

People that are scholars or those with a highly selective vocabulary, or especially those dealing in matters of law, or writing a legal document, are careful and precise in the selection of words that they use to convey the exact factual information they want to express. There are 26 letters in the English alphabet, with the potential of over a million words that can be composed, in a language that is constantly evolving and changing, with slang, and borrowed nuances from oth

Everyone has preconceived ideas, even ideologies, which shape their thinking and perception of the world around them and their relationships with people, however, the scripture states succinctly to not be conformed to this world's way of thinking, and the patterns of behavior that they produce, but to think the way God thinks and to embrace His thoughts to produce real positive change, not only in our own lives, but in the lives of all those we interact with (Rm. 12:1-2). Thi

Everyone has entered a room where only moments before, sharp contention, disagreement, harsh words, and vile speech has been dominant, and the very atmosphere is thick with the pungent "aroma" of those hateful, killing words. It is most uncomfortable, and the natural reaction is to retreat and withdraw from the reach of the destructive, distasteful, presence of the evil spiritual condition, thick with its repulsive nature, that has been created. By contrast, entering the pres

Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof" This would seem to be a very ominous, but powerful statement, which, if true, means that what you say, your words, [where 'the tongue' is emblematic, of speech in general], determines your future, and whether your words are producing life, or death to you. The word 'power' actually means 'control', where some translations have "in the hand" of the tongue, or

COMMUNICATION Communication is a big deal; not just what you say, but how you say it. I remember listening to a prominent psychologist speaking about coming home from the office and his wife was all dressed up and ready to go because she thought he had indicated, earlier in the day, that they were going out for supper; which was news to him. He mentioned that you can say things that have similar "literal" meanings, but the "actual" meanings and intentions are almost in total

EXPECTATIONS The story is told of the new frontier family arriving at a small town in their covered wagon, and asking the old timer rocking on the porch, what type of people lived in the community. The elderly gentleman asked them, "Well, what type of people were there where you came from?". The head of the family spoke up and said, " the merchants were dishonest, there was a growing crime concern, you couldn't trust your neighbors, and generally, it wasn't a pleasant place t

Proverbs 4:20 - 27 says: (20) My son, attend to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. (21) Let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart. (22) For they are life to those that find them, and health to all their flesh. (23) Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (24) Put away from you a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from you. (25) Let your eyes look right on, and let your eyelids look straight before y

Everyone has a legal right to vote, but not everyone exercises that right. In fact, whether regional or national, in a lot of elections, even getting 60% of eligible persons out to vote, to exercise their legal right, is a 'miracle'! PROVISIONAL Similarly, the provision of being made, "...a new creation [that never existed before]; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17), is available to all, and the Lord is "...not willing that any should

2 Corinthians 8:9 contains these two contrasting characterizations: 1) Extreme Wealth 2) Extreme Poverty "Do you remember the generosity of Jesus Christ, the Lord of us all? He was rich beyond our telling, yet He became poor for your sakes so that His poverty might make you rich" (Phillips). The only moment in time where the Lord Jesus Christ "became poor", was on the cross, where He divested Himself of all wealth and riches, and literally, became poverty, became destitute, t