Hey bloggers,
Thanks for the expressions of faith and the feedback from today's service (currently 25 comments)...
I'm writing this in my office a few minutes before the beginning of the Sunday night sacrament service, and I am still meditating on a Scripture that I referred to this morning:
Now faith is an assumption of what is being expected, a conviction concerning matters which are not being observed; for in this the elders were testified to. By faith we are apprehending the eons to adjust to a declaration of God, so that what is being observed has not come out of what is appearing.
(Hebrews 11:1-3 - CLNT)
Man, I love that! Faith is as ASSUMPTION of what is being EXPECTED!
What are you expecting? Are you living as though you are assuming that it's going to happen? Remember...love HOPES ALL THINGS!
The word of God is alive!
Gotta go...service is about to start...
Later.
29 comments:
Here's assuming you have no words now....no need for them now anyway...whatever you need to say or He needs to say thru you will be said in a few hours.....
can't wait to be ITB
Teezy
o-o o, o, o-o o, o
The clouds make me think of a mighty crown, glory shining through.
Crown Him with many!!!
The picture and word inspired these verses in me:
Pro 4:18 TNIV The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
Pro 4:18 AMP But the path of the [uncompromisingly] just and righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines more and more (brighter and clearer) until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day [to be prepared]. [II Sam. 23:4; Matt. 5:14; Phil. 2:15.]
2Sa 23:4 AMP He dawns on them like the morning light when the sun rises on a cloudless morning, when the tender grass springs out of the earth through clear shining after rain.
Mat 5:14 TNIV "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Php 2:12-15 TNIV Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, (13) for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (14) Do everything without grumbling or arguing, (15) so that you may become blameless and pure, "children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation." Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky
Peace,
Dennis
No matter how deep the water is..or you feel like you are being tossed back & forth...there is always a light at the end... the SON is shining & will carry you thru... The dawning of a new day..
Thank you H.S. for your Love & Mercy...
See you all ITB...it's standing room only!
Here to Worship & Serve
Real world - God, Peace, Love, Mortgages, Jobs, Kids, Bills, Life --
Something that has been in my heart for awhile, and sparked again by the GOP convention. It seems the GOP has consistently been perceived as the party including God and faith in their message, and that money and guns are a big part of their platform.
That has always confused me. We have the pollyanic dream of money and the guns as our savior - the natural and economic weapons we have to ‘ensure security & peace’. I understand God in re to security and peace, and that guns and money can, with much less permanency, impact our peace and security.
However it seems, our primary focus is on guns and money, which President or party can keep our guns working and grow the money in our arsenal. Of course we live our fantasy life, finding trillions for using our guns, and reductions for our schools, medical, food, infrastructure.
I want a party that expands the power that never fades . The power in love, forgiveness, asking for forgiveness, blessing our enemies, looking first to our own inhibitors (beams in eye) before others’ (specks).
Planning for carpet bombing blessings on our adversaries. Tactical nuclear use of forgiveness, and ballistic acts of love with multiple warheads armed with prayer and agreement for those who oppose (look for us to swell up and die) , agree for the best of their desires for what they see as peace, and the Holy Spirit within them. Spend billions to create weapons of power – clarity, edification, nuclear fusion of super human capabilities to love others as ourselves, and focus as little on the poor natural weapons of guns and money as we do now on these super quality weapons.
This Utopia, these clanging cymbals of guns and money is La La land. We have to be realistic now, with Peace through the strength of reality - love, repentance, grace, Samaratism, forgiveness, Spirit, unalienable infusion with God each person is, we have the record and scars to stop the fairy tale that guns and money are our god.. Time to get Real, wake up and smell the Eden coffee, get a grip, shake off that gun and money vapor. Grab hold of the love in our face. For heaven’s sake, this whole guns, money, goods worship is nice for kids and philosophers.
We live in the real world, with bills to pay, kids to raise, jobs, mortgages , gas prices ; God, families and friends , ourselves and others, to love; people to forgive, people we need to ask forgiveness from, beams sticking out of our eyes- you know, the real world. The real world in which we see the indescribable and indefinable beauty of God in every person we contact in any way. Snap into reality.
That fear based guns and money worship dreamy Shangra La is something we just don’t have time for right now. Maybe someday when we have nothing else to do, but not today.
Today we have real things to do with the Jesus who fills each one in the universe.
One of my favorite things that I have been doing in this past year is to watch the sun rise very frequently. It is one of life's simple things that is still free. It blesses my soul to know that this day is new. This day is unique and the sunset is different than yesterday's and I have a fresh load of new mercies. It gives me a chance to say thank you, first before the problems arise and the phone calls start and it absolutely allows me to see again how great our God is!
Even when there is no sunrise, I know there is a sun because otherwise I would have frozen in a matter of seconds. So, thank you Bishop for posting God's beautiful painting as only He can do.
Our God reigns,
Water walker!
A new day
A new beginning
A new chance
A new change
A new desire
A new hope
A new faith
A new love
A new start
A new relation
A new baby
A new discovery
A new Church In The Now
A new look
A new outlook
A new me
A new you
A new peace
A new revelation
A new miracle
A new salvation
A new Sunday
A new profile
A new...
NTL
Simply some of the best posts I've ever read on here. From both yesterdays and todays comments. To many to even mention. Obviously God is doing a work in us. I can feel the ship turning. A new direction in the Spirit.
Col 1:12-23
Therefore we also, from the day on which we hear, do not cease praying for you and requesting that you may be filled full with the realization of His will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, you to walk worthily of the Lord for all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and growing in the realization of God; being endued with all power, in accord with the might of His glory, for all endurance and patience with joy; at the same time giving thanks to the Father, Who makes you competent for a part of the allotment of the saints, in light, Who rescues us out of the jurisdiction of Darkness, and transports us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
in Whom we are having deliverance, the pardon of sins, Who is the Image of the invisible God, Firstborn of every creature, for in Him is all created, that in the heavens and that on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or sovereignties, or authorities, all is created through Him and for Him,
and He is before all, and all has its cohesion in Him. And He is the Head of the body, the ecclesia, Who is Sovereign, Firstborn from among the dead, that in all He may be becoming first, for in Him the entire complement delights to dwell, and through Him to reconcile all to Him (making peace through the blood of His cross), through Him, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens. And you, being once estranged and enemies in comprehension, by wicked acts, yet now He reconciles by His body of flesh, through His death, to present you holy and flawless and unimpeachable in His sight, since surely you are persisting in the faith, grounded and settled and are not being removed from the expectation of the evangel which you hear which is being heralded in the entire creation which is under heaven of which I, Paul, became the dispenser.
The Loss of Self continued….
It is clear that the author is not advocating self-annihilation; nor is he denying the ontological existence of the self. Rather is he saying that there is an awareness of self that brings joy and gratitude; and there is awareness of self that brings agony. What awareness of self causes this great sorrow?
It seems to me that Christian mysticism can be understood only in the light of the resurrection, just as Buddhist mysticism can be understood only in the light of nirvana. Until the resurrection, man’s personality, his true self, is incomplete. This holds even for Christ, of whom Paul says that “he was constituted Son of God by a glorious act in that he rose from the dead” (Rom. 1:4). In other words it was through the resurrection that Christ was perfected, finding his true self and ultimate identity. Until this final stage, man is inevitably separated from his end. And not only man but the whole universe, which is groaning in expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.
Good Morning Every-1!! YES, it is a NEW DAY that the LORD has made; Let us ALL REJOICE and be GLAD!!
I am open to ALL things!!
~Ready to hear my shephards VOICE~
Life Is What You Make It
Make It Great
Today Is A New Day
One night I was woke up by the Spirit and He asked me a question.
Why do you ask things of Me that you can handle? I stopped and thought. What does that mean? He said I gave you the keys of the kingdom. Use them if you believe.
How much do we really believe?
How do we use the kingdom keys.
I know most will say prayer but is there more to it than just praying and believing?
Riding the current without a care.
The RIVER is calling.
Are you there?
Good Morning Bish,
We are thinking about being ITB again today, but since we are physically so far away in Philly, it will be by the spirit that we attend. We know it will be a full meal this morning. We Love you and will see you soon.
Col 3:12 :)
Love Mrs M and Ray
Encouraging Word
Sunday 9/7/2008
I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as Lord.
~ Hosea 2:20, NLT
Psalm 77:11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.
13-Your ways, O God are holy. What god is so great as our God?
Lead us through this new day Lord...In Jesus name AMEN
Heading to Church but wanted to share a reflection last night or more accurately - a revelation from God.
Love God with all your heart and soul.
Love yourself.
Love Others as you love yourself.
It is a complete circle of love that requires all three element to flow in unity. If you love God and hate your brother, the circle is broken. If you love God but hate yourself the circle is broken. All three parts work together as one, like God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit.. It all goes back to more of love for God to have more love and appreciation for self and more love and appreciate for others. Love begets love...and to love God is to love love.
Just some food for thought.
I clearly laid out my expectations for today's service and not all of them were clearly met.
The reason for that is because I had forgotten that you said Pastor Jimmie would not be there today.
But everyone can rest assured, the job did get did!!!
And Bishop I cannot tell you what I have been going through on the inside lately, or at least I won't tell it here, but you certainly said what needed to be said.
Just a quick note to let all of you know your loved and appreciated greatly!
I JUST FEEL LIKE SOMETHING GOOD IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN...
HELLO???? Recap of the service...please! (for those of you that don't know, husband is the pastor, doesn't like it when i stay home to stream :) ahahh
Drawn from the deep recesses of the mind through the wisdom of a moment of inner listening to the Voice of God, is an experience A Course In Miracles calls a “Holy Instant”. It lies past the doctrinal debates of established religion, beyond the conceptual controversy, at the core of every scientific discovery, at the heart of every theology. It is simply a purity of spiritual experience that is the essence of all religion.
In this experience lies the intimacy of true communication, the healing essence of love, the creativity of the mind, the converting nature of unifying thought, and the recognition of the Oneness of Creation. It is this experience of the singularity of peace for which humanity yearns. It extends beyond all religious boundaries and yet is derived from an action of stillness that enlightened teachers have always taught.
The peace of enlightened mind is discovered through the wisdom of listening to the Voice of God in a personal necessity to see differently and through our individual urgent desire for freedom from conflict. The acceptance of our personal responsibility for what we see empowers our commitment to view our neighbor in a new light of shared forgiveness. For peace is union, if it be of God.
A Course In Miracles is a revolutionary curriculum designed to catalyze a paradigm shift in human consciousness through the individual discovery of the Peace of God realized through active listening to the ’Holy Instant’. The path to peace lies within and will be found only through a commitment to listening anew in the quiet of the heart and mind. He wants you to hear His Voice. He gave It to you to be heard. It is the world you see and experience that prevents you from hearing.
This course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence, which is your natural inheritance. The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite.
This course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way:
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
The sole purpose of A Course In Miracles is to bring the peace of enlightenment through the transformation of mind.
September 21, is the day declared by the United Nations General Assembly, as the International Day of Peace, a day devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples. Join us in extending your light to all the world.
Please support International Day of Peace by helping us raise awareness of the event. Share this message with everyone you know. You are responsible for the world you see, change your mind and the world will be transformed.
A Course In Miracles International is in accord with the goal of International Day of Peace. Our Mission is: “To advance a vision for all people on earth of our Divine Purpose to be united in peace and love with all humanity in the recognition of our oneness and equality in the sight of God.”
Until now, we have been content with band-aid solutions. (the proverbial rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic) We have sought for worldly ‘solutions’, both political and personal that have led to either more problems or merely a change in the form of the problem. Neither of which answered the underlying cause of the problem.
"Peace is the bridge that everyone will cross, to leave this world behind.
But peace begins within the world perceived as different, and leading from this fresh perception to the gate of Heaven and the way beyond."
(ACIM ~ Lesson 200)
God only gives. A universal theology is impossible but a universal experience is not only possible but necessary. No matter your path our purpose is to join and share our light with the world.
(From themiracletimes.com web site - felt led to share this here)
A side note - my word ver for what I posted yesterday was "ppppp".
I guess Bishop's fondness for alliteration even affects the word ver.
The presence of the Lord was so fresh and real and strong today during praise and worship! Holy Spirit flowed in such a way that it really did seem today was and is a NEW DAY!
Amen, anon@4:02
Hello Leesa, highlights just for you--(smile)!
Title: The House That Love Built
1Cor13-Love never fails, and it doesn't because Love Bears, Believes, Hopes and Endures ALL things.
Bishop painted a picture of the house built by love [and when its not] at CITN. When "we" can't do it, it is the God Love in us that will.
Forgoing, Covering: not bares the sins of others but builds a deck, to protect
Believing: assuming that what is prayed is expected, God is adjusting everything according to your assumption [pos or neg]. And, Love can build a house where all beliefs are honored.
Expecting, Hoping: optimistic to the point of being gullible. Just can't seem to lean to my own understanding, something in me HOPES the next thing is gonna work.
Enduring: we've all gotten way too soft and whiney. selah.
GET THE DVD!! You'll be glad you did.
Bish,
I loved what you said about the grape vine having to go through strenuous conditions to produce the grapes that produce the best wine.
It's amazing how that statement has put a differfnt light on a whole lot of situations that I have gone through in my life.
NTL
When Spiritual Knowledge and Wisdom is understood and shared, then it becomes the central hub of all causes in every individual and like the principles of mathematics is harmony and unity accomplished and the differences become dissolved. In this state can very great things be accomplished because of mutual awareness and understanding.
The Mind must never be allowed to stop advancing on the ascending scale of Life. If the Mind stops advancing, it will be subject to entropy or the process of decay.
When you can view, a flower, a tree, a human, an animal, a mineral, as a unique and sacred manifestation of LIFE, then, you are seeing SPIRIT, the common denominator of all LIFE with the understanding of your Mind. Your Mind is capable of seeing a reality that eyes cannot see. When you see this non-material realm, you can't help but stand in stupefied awe at the composition and function of the Universe. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see GOD" (sermon on the mount).
Anonymous, I too am involved in A Course In Miracles. My mother passed on over 10 years ago and I found a set of cassette tape in some of the few things I have of her's. Turned out to be A Course In Miracles.
Thank You, Holy Ghost! Thank You, Bishop! Thank You, CITN! I LOVE living in the House That LOVE Built!
Today was another that was TOO AWESOME for Words! Just like you prophesied Teezy! You go, Dude!
See y'all 2nite!
Blessings Blog Fam!
Church In The Now
Where Life sustains life.
NTL
It's a new day! A new day where we walk in love. Where we do not wear our emotions on our sleeves. That we realize that people are going through many things and most times they do not realize that they may have said something in a rude manner. It's a new day that we listen in the spirit and not in the flesh.
We get so upset about the smallest of things. I thank God that I'm learning to hear beyond what is being said.... and hear the need or the pain.
Someone took offense to a statement that I made today, the person just walked away in anger. For a moment, the flesh showed up, but the Holy Spirit knocked the flesh back and said go to that person. When I did, I just hugged her and just prayed with her. She confessed that it was not me, but that she was dealing with something in her spirit. That situation could have ended a different way. We both could have quenched the Holy Spirit today and not recieved the praise and worhip or the word, and that would have been awful.
What bishop preached today, "Love never fails". But in this new day we have to be willing to walk in it....No matter what it looks like in the flesh!
You know Bishop, thinking about what you said in church today (sermon was great by the way) gave us all something to think about when it comes to love and how we love the people in our lives. There's a cute scene in the movie "enchanted" where the princess asks the main male character-in a musical sequence of course-how does his g/f know he loves her, what does she do to show it. And I think today's sermon gave a good litmus test on what type of love it is and the depth. Eros or Agape? A little bit of both?
Do you bear all things?: Are you protective of them, praying for their needs as much-if not more-as your own?
Do you believe all things: Do you believe in them even when no one else does? Can you "come and reason together" on things you may noy see eye to eye on?
Do you Hope all things? Do you want the best for them, encorage them, give them hope whey have no more of their own?
Do you endure all things? Are you willing to go the distance? I asked a friend of mine after a trial in our relationship why he still kept me around and he told me "the risk was worth the stretch". Wasn't all that sure what he meant until today.
If these are there, then love is there, and love never fails (I'm almost there with "enduring all things". Right now I'm at "enduring most things but parental disapproval", the other stuff I'm good on)
GR8 message today! Such a beautiful, timely word!
So happy to have been in communion tonight as well.
Very enthused about the coming BLAST!
.... can ya feel the LOVE, blog fam?!
ttfn
Oh my goodness! What an awesome, inspiring, right on time message today Bishop!!! Thanky so much! Thank the Holy Spirit too!! Paradigm realignment and shift~muchly needed! I find incredible strength and inspiration here!
BLESSINGS & LOVE to all!!! Have a happy, wonderful week everyone!
Expecting/believing the best!
PeACE & greatnight! Crown Jewel
What a great day it was.
Great morning service.
Great three hour nap.
Great evening service.
Great day today, just getting us ready for a great day tomorrow.
Peace to all.
NTL
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