wounded

MAHANAIM & PENIEL
Genesis 32 - the crisis

"when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him . . . he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me . . . as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed."

So, are there addicts who get "cured" - they are no longer tempted?

are there incurable addicts
who MUST depend on God? !!!

"there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure."

"The wound keeps you in the blessing and the blessing is the wound".

HALLELUJAH !!!


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Poor

"Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble."


My dad always spoke about the danger of "Education without godly foundation".

Poverty - Facts
http://bit.ly/2c2HK7A

Poverty - History
http://bit.ly/2bw5D4U

Poverty - Effects
http://bit.ly/2bw6h2c

Poverty - Causes?
http://bit.ly/2c2Je1H

In many families today, children cannot say they expect to be better off than their parents.

This is perhaps the greatest challenge now facing our society.

Forty years ago, public officials took a stand against economic deprivation. For a short period of time we made huge strides in reducing economic insecurity.

America is again facing this serious challenge. Once again we can make a difference if we choose to look this issue in the eye and invest in people and communities. - MIT Study on Poverty in America

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stay

DID YOU FIND IT ?
"narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

I cannot be on the narrow way without restrictions. The narrow way is narrow because it is restricted.

JESUS SAID:
STAY, DONT LEAVE, ABIDE !!!

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing."

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stop

How to
• S • T • O • P •

Shabbat is primarily a day of rest and spiritual enrichment. The word "Shabbat" comes from the root Shin-Beit-Tav, meaning to cease, to end, or to rest.

A CURE ?
FOR:
Stress
Anxiety
Weariness
Exhaustion and
"Morbid wakefulness"
http://bit.ly/2aXXggu

"in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."

"We are commanded to remember Shabbat; but remembering means much more than merely not forgetting to observe Shabbat. It also means to remember the significance of Shabbat, both as a commemoration of creation and as a commemoration of our freedom from slavery". http://bit.ly/2aXUEiw

THE BIBLICAL IDEA OF REST
"the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: when they saw it, they removed, and stood afar off."

ORDER & HUMAN ENERGY
http://wbur.fm/2aXZ2OA

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speak

ARE WE 'DIFFERENT'?

"Sanctify them through
thy truth: thy word is truth."

••• SCRIPTURE = PURE WORDS •••

"the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them" •••

•• CONTINUE ••
SPEACH TEST TODAY ?

••• Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle?

••• who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
••• He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and
••• speaketh the truth in his heart.
••• He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
••• I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief.
••• My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit

••• SPEAKING & LIVING "the word"? not 'comfortable'?

••• "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world"
••• WILL I SPEAK GOD'S WORD TO SOMEONE TODAY?

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lack

JESUS SAID:
"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

MONEY
POWER
POSITION
POSSESSIONS

IS POVERTY THE PROBLEM?
"great grace was upon them all
Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold"

IS POVERTY A SYMPTOM?
"the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common."

LITTLE with THE LORD or
TREASURE with TROUBLE?

Proverbs 15:16 Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith.

Ownership
Stewardship
Accountability
Possession

DOES GREED PRODUCE NEED?
Acts 2:44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common

And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

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DATA

"this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light"

If the highest level of conscious reality is Truth then what is knowledge or fact or data?

We now know that a terabyte of data may yield little or no (relevant) facts. Our perception of reality is never just a composite of facts.

Not 'everything' is empirically verifiable or mathematically provable. Thus it is that the idea of truth goes beyond the realm of mere knowledge and fact.

Just because one does not have access to "hard data" or facts does not always mean that one is less than truthful.

The confusion in the human mind regarding the elusive nature of truth is totally clarified by the single statement of Jesus Christ: "I am the truth". [ saved.com ]

The mind will not get beyond the "darkness" of human reason without making the "leap of faith" to accept THE TRUTH.

"this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light"

In the current presidential election cycle many will succumb to the magical illusion of a miriad polling 'tricks' and data 'games'. Things will be made to appear and disappear in a flurry of confused fact and fiction.

The bible speaks of "signs and lying wonders". I believe we see them often on the nightly news as pundits spin and weave tangled webs of data driven deception; bereft of the essential element for 'reality-testing': TRUTH.

So, yes, we do live in a mad world if truth is indispensable to sanity. If there is such a thing as the NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH QUOTIENT, it may be at an all time low.

IS THERE HOPE?
The bible describes this situation:
"Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand."

ARE YOU AMONG "THE WISE"?

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true

IDOLATRY?
GOLD STAR or BLACK STAR

A controversy is now unfolding over the alleged criticism of a "gold-star" family by a presidential candidate. A close friend of mine explained to me that "it is always wrong to criticize a war hero".

There was something subconsciously unsettling to me about this taboo. The more I thought about it the more uneasy I became.

I started to think about my 25 year old son who recently 'separated' from the "armed forces".

WHO ARE HEROES?



I say to him:
~ If you had courage enough to
put yourself in harms way,
You are a hero. Just because
you didn't go "down line" to
face enemy fire makes no
difference. Life goes on and
we learn from our mistakes.
Your 'service' will count.

It counts that you saw the
"system" from the inside.

Just as you were getting that
'close look', you were also being
'examined'. If you found the system
wanting and if the system found you
wanting, time will make allowance for 'repair'.

It counts that you achieved an academic goal. The time spent in pursuit of knowledge was rewarded with documented academic credit.

As life-long learners we always acknowledge progress. So, limited progress must be acknowledged as progress and be the basis for further progress. IMHO, a 72 month commitment to service truncated to 46 months should be immediately reinstated. What about the Peace Corp or the Salvation Army? Just a thought !

As we continue to reach for 'the fruit' in life we must not be driven by raw ambition. Our only motivation must be TRUTH.

Our life is worthwhile
only as we are "true".
(to ourselves and others)

If integrity is harmony
of my words and deeds
then that authenticity or trueness
will give me credibility. I will be believable; TRUE.

It was a hard sell for a carpenter from Nazareth who claimed to know God on such a personal level as to call Him Father. His believability was constantly called into question. Was He the victim of mental health issues or overly 'ambitious'?

He said:
••"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me"••

••"I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"••

The bible consistently contrasts idolatry with knowledge of and belief in THE ONE TRUE GOD and
we are constantly cautioned against the perils of idolatry.

I CAN ONLY BE TRUE
WHEN I KNOW TRUTH . . .

Otherwise I'm just another idolator !

TRUTH ?
• Reason
• Logic
• Fact
• Belief

Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.

Likewise THE ONE TRUE GOD OF THE BIBLE finds "no fault" in us if we accept HIS TRUTH.

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. - John 17:3


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