From one of the school counselors:
I gave out some gift cards last week to a mom who has a special needs child and could not afford diapers.
Through your donations, we are able to meet the direct needs of kids and their families who are in serious need. Thank You!
Peter wrote by The Holy Spirit in 1st Peter chapter 1:
14 [Live] as obedient children [of God]; do not be conformed to the evil desires which governed you in your ignorance [before you knew the requirements and transforming power of the Good News regarding salvation].
15 But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your conduct [be set apart from the world by your Godly character and moral courage];
Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in Hebrews chapter 12:
14 Pursue peace with all people, and Holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
And Jesus spoke in John chapter 14:
21 The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] Loves Me; and whoever [really] Loves Me will be Loved by My Father, and I [too] will Love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.] AMPC
There are two types of Holiness: One is positional (legal) and the other is relationship-based.
How are we to pursue Holiness?
James wrote by The Holy Spirit in his epistle, chapter 1:
21 So this is why we abandon everything morally impure and all forms of wicked conduct. Instead, with a sensitive spirit we absorb God’s Word, which has been implanted within our nature, for the Word of Life has power to continually deliver us. TPT
22 Don’t just listen to the Word of Truth and not respond to It, for that is the essence of self-deception. So always let His Word become like poetry written and fulfilled by your life!
We are to be a doer of The Word, not a hearer only! We are commanded to abandon or put away everything that is morally impure as well as wicked conduct.
Television programming has subtly added immoral conduct to its various series. They are attempting to push the world’s values on those who watch their shows. Other media are following suit. The adversary is promoting moral decay at all levels of society, especially the kids. If we are to pursue Holiness, we must separate ourselves from such immorality.
James continues:
1True spirituality that is pure in the Eyes of Our Father God is to make a difference in the lives of the orphans, and widows in their troubles, and to refuse to be corrupted by the world’s values.
Each of us decides what we allow ourselves to be exposed to in our daily lives.
James is addressing his brothers and sisters in Christ in chapter 4:
4 You have become spiritual adulterers who are having an affair, an unholy relationship with the world. Don’t you know that flirting with the world’s values places you at odds with God? Whoever chooses to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy!
5 Does the Scripture mean nothing to you that says, “The Spirit that God breathed into our hearts is a jealous Lover Who intensely desires to have more and more of us”?
6 But HE continues to pour out more and more grace upon us. For it says, “God resists you when you are proud but continually pours out grace when you are humble.”
7 So then, surrender to God. Stand up to the devil and resist him and he will flee in agony.
8 Move your heart closer and closer to God, and he will come even closer to you. But make sure you cleanse your life, you sinners, and keep your heart pure and stop doubting.
9 Feel the pain of your sin, be sorrowful and weep! Let your joking around be turned into mourning and your joy into deep humiliation.
10 Be willing to be made low before the Lord and HE will exalt you!
James provides us with steps to take toward Holiness. As we move closer to Our Heavenly Father, HE will move closer to us in an intimate relationship!
How to establish daily priorities!
David recorded by THE SPIRIT in Psalm chapter 5:
1 Listen, YAHWEH, to my passionate prayer! Can’t you hear my groaning?
2 Don’t you hear how I’m crying out to you? My King and my God, consider my every word, for I am calling out to you.
3 At each and every sunrise You will hear my voice as I prepare my sacrifice of prayer to you. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on the altar and wait for Your Fire to fall upon my heart.
And it is recorded by THE SPIRIT in Isaiah chapter 33:
1 Woe to you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed. Woe to you, traitor, you who have not been betrayed. When you have finished your work of destroying, you will be destroyed, and when you have completed your betrayal, you will be betrayed.
2 YAHWEH, be gracious to us, for we wait for You. Be our strength every morning and rescue us when troubles come.
3 The nations retreat at the sound of Your Roaring Voice. The nations scatter as you arise in your majesty.
4 Their spoil will be harvested, carried away like locusts that strip a field bare. And like leaping locusts, men will leap upon the spoils.
5 YAHWEH is high and lifted up; HE dwells on high! He lavished His justice and righteousness on Zion!
6 HE will be your constant source of stability in changing times, and out of His abundant Love He gives you the riches of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. Yes, the Fear of The Lord is the key to this treasure!
Each person’s true priorities are easily identified by daily activities and where his or her money is directed. We are in the midst of challenging times and this year looks to be a pivotal year for mankind. What is the best use of time? I choose to spend the first hours of the day in prayer and study of The Word. This has been a priority since 1990.
A group of businessmen in the office building where I worked, assembled and prayed one hour before their daily business activities. I was invited to participate. In order to do so, it meant that I would have to get up at 5:00 AM each morning. That was too early for me, but I told FATHER that if HE wanted to get me up, HE would need to intervene. I would set the alarm for 5 AM, but every morning I was awakened at 4:55 AM. I got the message!
Initially it was out of duty but then became my desire. This was an indication of my maturing process. I found peace every morning as I sought THE LORD and listened to HIM.
David sought THE LORD every morning and it established the Fear of The Lord in his life. If it was good enough for David, it is good enough for me.
This time in the morning prepares me for whatever transpires throughout the day. I find that I am less moved by unexpected events because I have placed my trust in THE LORD.
FATHER gave Abram four commandments to follow!
Moses recorded by THE SPIRIT in Genesis chapter 12:
1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
In other Words, “Leave it all behind—your native land, your people, your father’s household, and go to the land that I will show you.”
#1 Leave your country
#2 Leave your people
#3 Leave your father
#4 Go to a country I will show you
4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.
Abram failed commandment #2 when he took Lot and the other people.
We find in the “descendants of Haran” in Genesis chapter 11:
31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they all departed together from the Chaldean city of Ur to go into the land of Canaan. But when they journeyed as far as Haran, they settled there.
32 Terah lived two hundred and five years and died in Haran.
Abram failed commandment #3 when he took his father to the land of Canaan. He was successful in commandments #1 and #4. Abram was partially obedient, two out of four.
His partial obedience did not disqualify him from his calling… thankfully! Abraham departed Ur in a massive caravan rather than just Sarai and himself.
What happened next?
10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.
Abraham departed Canaan and went to Egypt by necessity. Why? He had brought a sizable group of people to feed. In Egypt, he lied about Sarai to Pharaoh telling him that Sarai was his sister.
After he and his caravan returned to Canaan, Lot went to live in Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham had to deliver him. Had Lot remained in Ur, Abraham would have had a simpler life.
In Genesis chapter 16:
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.
Where did Hagar come from? She was added to the caravan when Abraham took them to Egypt. Abraham continued to complicate matters as he walked in partial disobedience to his calling. Abraham messed things up and we are still dealing with his decision to go to Egypt. Hagar and Ishmael’s descendants are still fighting Isaac’s descendants today.
If Abraham was fully obedient, FATHER said, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.”
It is estimated that Abraham’s partial obedience cost him mor than ten years and much heartache before the fullness of blessings began to flow.
FATHER is a BLESSER and HE wanted to bless Abraham and make him a blessing to others. Partial obedience causes delay and restricts blessings!
It is written by THE SPIRIT in Isaiah chapter 1:
19 If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the best of the land.
The works of the devil are no longer hidden from our sight!
Jesus spoke in John chapter 10:
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill (Gr. Thuo), and to destroy (Gr. Apollymi). I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. NKJV
In other Words:
10 A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow! TPT
The Greek word thuo means to sacrifice or slaughter.
The Greek word apollymi means: to destroy; to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to ruin; render useless; to kill; to declare that one must be put to death. To be ruined.
The devil employs actors in each generation willing to carry out his plan to steal, kill, and destroy. This generation is no different.
In the financial arena, wealth of the populus is being stolen by the current financial structure. They create money out of thin air then loan it to us with interest. What a deal! At the fundamental level, major banks act as agents to manipulate various financial markets for their own gain, at the expense of the public.
Politicians are paid off or threatened in some manner. Big Tech companies are suppressing Truth by deplatforming Truth tellers. Big Pharma is poisoning the masses in the quest for greater profits.
The world is being swallowed up by the darkness of moral relativism. Without the presence of absolutes, mankind is doomed to follow the same course as the pre-flood occupants of the planet that perished because they lost contact with the God that created them and wanted to guide them. In doing so, they chose death over life.
This is a pivotal year in history. Will the true church rise up or will it be lukewarm? The answer lies in pursuing the Spiritual Truth in all areas.
The following provides us with a perspective of what is at hand:
Our calling is FATHER GOD-appointed!
Our assignment on earth is given to us by FATHER HIMSELF when HE formed us in the womb. Because of HIS Love for us, we can choose to accept or decline our assignment.
Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in Hebrews chapter 5:
1 For every High Priest was chosen from among the people and appointed to represent them before God by presenting their gifts to God and offering sacrifices on their behalf.
2 Since the High Priest is also one who is clothed in weakness, he humbles himself by showing compassion to those who are ignorant of God’s ways and stray from them.
3 And for this reason, he has to not only present the sin offerings of others, but also to bring a sin offering for himself.
4 And no one takes this honor upon himself by being self-appointed, but God is the one who calls each one, just as Aaron was called.
The soul would select an assignment based on prestige, power, money, or other self-serving reasons. In contrast, the spirit-led person will simply say, “Not my will, but Your Will be done FATHER!”
5 So also, Christ was not self-appointed and did not glorify Himself by becoming a high priest, but God called and glorified Him! For the Father said to Him, “You are my favored Son. Today I have fathered You.”
6 And in another Scripture He says about this new priestly order, “You are a Priest like Melchizedek, a King-Priest forever!”
7 During Christ’s days on earth He pleaded with God, praying with passion and with tearful agony that God would spare Him from death. And because of His perfect devotion His prayer was answered and He was delivered.
8 But even though He was a wonderful Son, He learned to listen and obey through all His sufferings.
We are perfected by persevering and in complete obedience to FATHER and HIS Word. Purification by The Word and The Holy Spirit, brings forth a mature son or daughter of Our Heavenly Father.
9 And after being proven perfect in this way He has now become the Source of Eternal Salvation to all those who listen to Him and obey.
10 For God has designated Him as the King-Priest who is over the priestly order of Melchizedek.
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, David, and others were all chosen for their assignments in the Old Testament. Aaron was called to the priesthood, David was called to be king. However, Jesus holds the office of both king and priest, the order of Melchizedek, the calling without end. We too are called to this same order.
14 But solid food is for the mature, whose spiritual senses perceive Heavenly matters. And they have been adequately trained by what they’ve experienced to emerge with understanding of the difference between what is truly excellent and what is evil and harmful.
Moses recorded by THE SPIRIT in Genesis chapter 14:
18 And Melchizedek, who was both a priest of the Most High God and the king of Salem, brought out to Abram bread and wine.
19 He spoke over him a special blessing, saying, “Blessed is Abram by God Most High, Creator of Heaven and earth.
20 And blessed be God Most High, whose power delivered your enemies into your hands!” Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all he possessed.
This is the first mention of Communion. This Communion was to establish the covenant between OUR GOD MOST HIGH and Abraham. This covenant was initiated by THE GREATER to the lesser and was and continues to be enforced by THE GREATER. Each time we take Communion, let us be reminded of our Covenant perfected by Jesus Christ, THE GREATER. The acknowledgement and acceptance by the lesser were to tithe to THE GREATER. This still applies today.
Don’t trust in your comfort zone!
Our soul and body will pursue a comfort zone which is typically passive and less challenging in nature. Each of us has an anointing, calling, and an assignment.
Wisdom wrote in Proverbs chapter 16:
1 Go ahead and make all the plans you want, but it’s the Lord Who will ultimately direct your steps.
Submitting to FATHER’S Divine plan for your life will challenge both your soul and your body. When HE directs your steps, doors open and when you are off the intended path, doors close and resistance results.
2 We are all in love with our own opinions, convinced they’re correct. But the Lord is in the midst of us, testing and probing our every motive.
Is there a need for an opinion apart from hearing The Holy Spirit concerning an issue? Your mindset will develop opinions based on partial knowledge whereas The Holy Spirit instructs you from complete knowledge, understanding, and Wisdom encapsulated in Truth.
3 Before you do anything, put your trust totally in God and not in yourself. Then every plan you make will succeed.
Do you want total success? If requires total trust in FATHER!
4 The Lord works everything together to accomplish his purpose. Even the wicked are included in HISs plans—he sets them aside for the day of disaster.
FATHER uses every situation and every person in some aspect to fulfill HIS Will. The adversary cannot outmaneuver FATHER… never has, never will.
5 YAHWEH detests all the proud of heart, for pride attracts his punishment—and you can count on that!
Pride goeth before a fall.
6 You can avoid evil through surrendered worship and the Fear of God, for the power of his faithful lLve removes sin’s guilt and grip over you.
Never allow yourself to forget the Fear of GOD in your consciousness.
7 When the Lord is pleased with the decisions you’ve made, HE activates grace to turn enemies into friends.
As you purpose to walk in the footsteps HE established for you, you will turn enemies into friends. Consider Saul who became Paul.
8 It is better to have little with a heart that Loves justice than to be rich and not have God on your side.
Riches among the immature are a recipe for disaster.
9 Within your heart you can make plans for your future, but the Lord chooses the steps you take to get there.
My initial plan as a young man who had a low draft number in the Vietnam era, was to fly Navy for six years, then become a commercial airline pilot. I was accepted in the Naval Aviation program, was then baptized in The Holy Spirit, met my wife to be, and ultimately left the Navy with an honorable discharge, never to become a pilot. Instead, FATHER began directing me to the various jobs I was to hold throughout the last 52 years. So much for my plan. He told me that I was not to be a man of war.
Each of us has a unique path and no comparison to others is necessary. Each of us needs to pursue our assignment based on our anointing and calling.
Terry Feix provides us with the historical background of The Holy Scriptures versus the Quran.
My wife and I attend church service at the Bethany Children’s Health Center (https://www.bethanychildrens.org/) on Sunday Mornings. In the conference room, we participate in an online service from Crossings Community Church in OKC. Afterward, we pray for those kids who come down from their hospital room, as well as their parents. This is Love in action. We are seeing beneficial results to the kids’ recovery process.
The following is a teaching by the church which provides an excellent, affirming historical perspective:
Terry works directly with the Green Family of Hobby Lobby, who established and funded The Museum of The Bible in Washington, D.C. Notice the importance of Communion!
Let us not misinterpret GOD’S Will for us!
Even though Paul wrote roughly two-thirds of the New Testament, he misinterpreted GOD’S Will for him. If it can happen to him, it can also happen to us. It is vital that we stay in our lane when FATHER reveals our calling to us.
Paul’s priority was to minister to the Gentiles, yet he continually went to the Synagogues as his first priority early in his ministry.
Luke recorded by The Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 14:
1 When Paul and Barnabas arrived at Iconium, the same thing happened there. They went, as they always did, to the synagogue and preached to the people with such power that a large crowd of both Jews and non-Jews believed.
2 Some of the Jews refused to believe, and they began to poison the minds of the non-Jews to discredit the believers.
3 Yet Paul and Barnabas stayed there for a long time, preaching boldly and fearlessly about the Lord. Many trusted in the Lord, for he backed up his message of grace with miracles, signs, and wonders performed by the apostles.
4 The people of the city were split over the issue. Some sided with the apostles, and others with the Jews who refused to believe.
5 Eventually, all the opposition factions came together, with their leaders devising a plot to harm Paul and Barnabas and stone them to death.
Paul did preach under the anointing and produced good fruit. However, he got ahead of himself in the priorities Jesus had given him. First, the Gentiles, then kings, and finally the Jews.
What were the repercussions of Paul teaching the Jews? We see in Acts chapter 19:
8 In Lystra, Paul and Barnabas encountered a man who from birth had never walked, for he was crippled in his feet.
9 He listened carefully to Paul as he preached. All of a sudden, Paul discerned that this man had faith in his heart to be healed.
10 So he shouted, “You! In the name of our Lord Jesus, stand up on your feet!” The man instantly jumped to his feet, stood for the first time in his life, and walked!
11 When the crowds saw the miracle Paul had done, they shouted in their own language, “The gods have come down to us as men!”
12 They addressed Barnabas as “Zeus” and Paul as “Hermes,” because he was the spokesman.
19 Some of the Jews who had opposed Paul and Barnabas in Antioch and Iconium arrived and stirred up the crowd against them. They stoned Paul and dragged his body outside the city and left him for dead (Gr 2348).
20 When the believers encircled Paul’s body, he miraculously stood up! Paul stood and immediately went back into the city. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
The Greek word thnēskō means: to die, to be dead. Paul died but was raised from the dead supernaturally. His body was restored, and he IMMEDIATELY went back into the city.
Paul recounts this stoning in 2nd Corinthians chapter 11:
22 Are these “super-apostles” of yours Hebrews? I am too. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? Me too!
23 Are they servants of the Anointed One? I’m beside myself when I speak this way, but I am much more of a servant than they. I have worked much harder for God, taken more beatings, and been dragged to more prisons than they. I’ve been flogged excessively, multiple times, even to the point of death.
24 Five times I’ve received thirty-nine lashes from the Jewish leaders.
25 Three times I experienced being beaten with rods. Once they stoned me. Three times I’ve been shipwrecked; for an entire night and a day I was adrift in the open sea.
Let us not be impatient when we receive the details of our calling. We should not attempt to insert an expansion of our calling beyond the scope given to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ. I have been guilty of this in the past and suffered the consequences of it. Let us learn by Paul’s own experience.
