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16  Theology / General Theology / BLESSED BE EGYPT, MY PEOPLE on: June 07, 2009, 08:01:56 PM
This statement "blessed be Egypt, my people" in Isaiah 19:25, seemed kind of odd. I always got the impression that Egypt was the very personification of evil and they could never be saved. How arrogant that is. John 4:16 says:“For God so loved the world (including the Egyptian people) that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever (you and me and everyone else) believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Yet it seemed I was being taught Egypt was doomed.

Verse 1---“The Lord rides on a swift cloud” into Egypt and all the idols are moved at His coming. The Egyptian hearts shall melt in the middle of it all.” Everything they believed in was destroyed before their very eyes. Then God said He would set the Egyptians against each other. Their spirit shall fail. He would give them over “ into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them.” (verse 4) Sounds like you reap what you sow. As they had treated the Israelites, so God has treated them.

Verses 5-13 tell all that God was going to do to them. Verse 14 “The Lord has mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof…” God even uses evil spirits to humble a once proud nation. They were brought down low. Isaiah 45:7 “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: the Lord does all these things.”

Verse 16: “In that day, shall Egypt be like unto women, and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which He shakes over it.” What is going on? They were never afraid before. They were the ones who did all the shaking . Verse 17 “And the land of Judah shall be a terror to Egypt.”

The story changes from one of fear and destruction to a beautiful future for Egypt just like it is for us. Verse 19 “In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord IN THE MIDST OF THE LAND OF EGYPT”, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord.” God stands right in the middle of sin to rescue those He loves right out of the hands of Satan. Satan has no power over God’s plans. Verse 20 “And it shall be a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they (the Egyptians) shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and HE SHALL SEND THEM A SAVIOR. And a great one, and He shall deliver them.” Does this excite you as it did me when I first read and understood this chapter? No man is exempt from God’s love and mercy.

Verse 20 tells us that the Egyptians shall know the Lord in those days. They shall make sacrifices to God and make vows and do them.

What a merciful God. But He has to break them and us down first before He can rebuild us in His image. Verse 22 “And the Lord shall smite Egypt: He shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and He shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them.”

Let us back track a little. God’s chosen people weren’t any better than the Assyrians or the Egyptians. They too left the only true God and followed after idols. Read Isaiah 10:5-13. The topic for this section is “Assyria, the Instrument of God”. God was angry with His people. Verse 5 “O, Assyrian, the rod of my anger, and the staff in their hand is my indignation.” He used them to bring His people to their knees. Verse 12 “Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the LORD has performed His whole work upon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.”

Why would God punish someone who did the work He commanded him to do? Verse 13 tells us that the king of Assyria took credit for his own strength to bring about what God intended for him to do. God used him like He uses us. When we do His will, we are not doing it under our own power. We have nothing at all that we can boast about. God gives us the gifts necessary to do what God wants done. He can also take them away and give to someone else to accomplish the work if we don’t do it. We are not indispensable.

Now to the gem of the whole chapter. Verses 23-25 “In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptian shall serve with the Assyrian. In that day shall ISRAEL BE THE THIRD WITH EGYPT AND ASSYRIA, even a blessing in the midst of the land: Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt, my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance. Proverbs 4:12 comes to mind: “And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

To sum this up: I get newsletters from Michael Youseff. He is Egyptian. One letter stated that he was going to Egypt to preach. Before he left he asked God to give him a very large number of souls. He was pleased to report that God saved way beyond what he had asked for. God cannot be undone. The Egyptians were eager to hear the WORD. It made it more realistic to them when a brother Egyptian told them about Jesus and the way to salvation.

Great are the wonderful works of the Almighty God. May God bless you.

17  Welcome / About You! / Re: WELCOME BACK! on: June 07, 2009, 07:38:14 PM
Wow! that would be great!  Jesus can come any time.

Had a busy day.  Got some files straightened out.  Found some of the memoirs I had written for my kids several years ago.Some more rewriting to do if I use them plus other items I wrote that would fit in.  I am surprised at all that I did then wrote about.  I'm starting to get on a roll!  I don't think I am ready to write a book.  Could I just put the different stories on my blog?

Might not have a lot of time to do a book!  PTL!

GBU  Your sister in Christ, Joan



18  Theology / Bible Study / Re: MINI-SERMONS INTRO on: June 06, 2009, 05:56:52 PM
 ???Thank you Tom.  I am glad to be back here.

I was only on oxygen 2 months when I was taken off of it.  It was a good thing to happen because I thought I was just lazy wanting to sleep all the time.  I believe God let that happen to get rid of all the junk I had stored in my mind, thinking I had a terrible life.  Now He is restoring my mind and putting new thoughts in it.


The tough times I did have were what made me grow up.

I don't need a lot of sleep but had to get the REM sleep with dreams.  The past 3 days I've been waking up laughing.  Part of the dreams I remembered were kind of silly!   Roll Eyes  But all day I would start laughing.  Felt closer to God than I have for a long time.  Didn't feel worthy of Him.

You will never guess but in a month you have been the 2nd one to tell me I should write a book!  I've thought about it but it seemed such a chore.  I did write on a site where they encouraged you to write for money.  At the time I could care less about writing for money.  It might be time to do it!  I've had different offers to write for other people's books etc . but never took them up on them.


I don't think they would accept my style of writing.  They want precise English and grammar. That's not me.

If it's God's will, He will let me know when and how to go about it.  Gives me something to think about though.  Very unusual things have been happening lately.  He has  been showing me some of the good things in my past that came out of the bad incidents!  I could start jotting down notes of what I want to cover!

Gee I talk a lot.  Used to be backward!   Huh

God bless you richly.  Joan




19  Prayer / General Discussion / Re: What Do You Treasure And Why? on: June 06, 2009, 11:07:50 AM
I understand where you're coming from here. Society today certainly makes people think we have to have a lot of "things".
But really, all these things will someday be nothing but dust.

I don't have much. Never have. That's okay. I figure if/when God wants me to have more, He'll find a way to get me more.

There are very few "things" I treasure. I really like my handmade baby blanket that my great-grandmother crocheted for me, that I still sleep with. I really like our family photographs. Thats about all, as far as material things go.

The real things that I treasure are my relationship with Jesus. My relationships in my family. The fact that my name is written in the Book of Life. The fact that my Saviour will someday say to me, "Well done, good and faithful servant"--the words that I long to hear.

I'm with you Happy Girl.  In time I bought so much stuff that now II am overwhelmed with it all.  I give stuff away but it seems like there is no end to it.  I just had to buy a new computer and printer but it was bought with my stimulus check---cash! cash!  cash!  PTL!  One more big thing---I do have to buy is an air conditioner when I get my rent rebate in July.

Any extra cash I get after that will go toward paying off the credit cards.No more foolish buying.
I learn things teh hard way. 
20  Prayer / General Discussion / Re: FOLLOW UP OF WHAT DO yOU TREASURE AND WHY? on: June 06, 2009, 10:57:06 AM
I am sorry too.  But I found out one thing that when I get caught up in stuff like this, God uses it to warn others to stay out of a seeming blessing. The devil makes these things look good to unsuspecting victims.  No matter what I experience good or bad, I do write about it. 

Although I began to post the Mini-Seermons I will also post other items.  I only wrote about 100 in 3 years!    Roll Eyes
They are easy to post because I just have to copy and paste!
 
One on the awesome side is "ANGELS ALL AROUND ME!".  We can't have all negative stuff to read.  We get enough of that on teh news! Angry  I like to balance that with something to make you smile. Smiley
21  Theology / Bible Study / REASON FOR EXISTENCE----Part 2 on: June 06, 2009, 10:41:44 AM
God put Jesus Christ in as Captain of our soul---the good side or LIFE.  He made Satan captain of the bad side---or DEATH. The Holy Spirit is the referee and also the score keeper.  God, the father, made up all the rules.  We decide for ourselves whether to play fair and square or with cheating and devious tricks. Sometimes it seems like Satan’s side is winning.  Murderers, cheaters and liars are getting all the nice houses and luxuries, while we try to live right but have trouble trying to eke out a decent living.
When the final countdown comes and fouls are counted against the ungodly, Satan’s team will lose every time.  Jesus’ team will win the final victory in Heaven where it counts, if not in this life.  It is a battle worth fighting---the greatest goal of receiving life eternal with God, our Father; never knowing want again.
Like little children, we do have to be taught how to play fair.  No one loves a cheater. Also like little children, if we don’t like the way a game is played, we try to change the rules to suit ourselves.  Remember the devil’s big lie: “You shall be as gods.”  Beep!  WRONG!”  No wonder all the confusion in the world and it’s getting worse. 
An addition to when this was originally written.  I never thought that in 2009 that I would be posting these on the internet which can go all over the world.  English is now able to be translated into many languages all over the world.  I thought it was amazing to have an electric typewriter!  These were written from 1986 to 1997.  I could only give them to about 200 people at the most. There is no restriction as to how many miles they can travel in cyber space. 
Man managed to mess up God’s order of things.  Only God can straighten it out if we let Him.  Trying to do it by himself, only makes things worse. Each group thinks it alone has the only solution.
No one knows which way to turn and blames it on the other guy.  Adam blamed God for giving him the woman Eve who enticed him into eating the forbidden fruit.  Adam had a will of his own.  He didn’t have to listen to her. Eve blamed the serpent.  She liked what he offered or she wouldn’t have listened to him. Neither Adam or Eve admitted they were at fault.  Read Genesis 3:12-13.  EACH PERSON IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS OWN SINS.  WE CAN NOT BLAME ANYONE ELSE FOR MAKING US DO WHAT WE KNOW  WE SHOULD NOT DO!
The devil made me do it.  That’s a lie.  We do it because we WANT to do it!  That leaves only one way to go and that is back to God.  Let Him be in full control again.  He only wants what is best for us.  Why should we settle for anything else?
We can not always depend on man.  His intentions may be good but circumstances may prevent him from keeping his promises.  Or he may change his mind and doesn’t want to do it.
We sometimes back off off from promises we made rashly.  It is better to back off than do something against God’s wishes.  It is better to be careful of the promises we do make.  GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES.  God can not lie (Titus 1:2) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:Cool
We have a team of winners against Satan (the father of lies---John 8:44) and his team of losers.  “Choose for yourself this day whom you will serve (Joshua 24:15. When we prove we can play the game by God’s rules, we will return to our Father in Heaven and be home where we belong for all eternity.   We do not get there by our own righteousness or good works.  Philippians 9:11 “And be found in him, not
Having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”  Works do not get us in God’s Kingdom.
Galatians 2:16a “Knowing that man is Not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.”  All this fussing about worldly things is in vain.  YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD, WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOULD, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
Luke 10:27 & Deuteronomy 6:4-5)  We have to be deprogrammed from the humanistic principles and ideas taught in this secular world and go back to the basic principles of God.  Only then will it have true meaning.  May God bless you in your decision.  It will be the most important one you will make in all your life---a matter of life or death.








22  Theology / Bible Study / MINI-Sermon #1 Part 1 on: June 06, 2009, 10:33:17 AM
MINI-SERMON #1
REASON FOR EXISTENCE 

Way back in March, 1986, I had written my first sermon.  It was inspired by a customer at a restaurant where I worked as a waitress.  One evening when we weren’t busy I was talking to him.  Not knowing how I got started  I began telling him Bible stories for about an hour. I said I would write and try to explain the basics to him. He told me to make it simple. 
Again he came in when we weren’t busy.  Now in 2009 I realize God sent him in!  PTL!  I began with more Bible stories for about a half hour.  When he was leaving, he said: “Thanks for the Mini-Sermons”.  Thus the Mini-Sermons were born.  It was all a miracle and I know this was God’s plans for my life.  I had the holy boldness to pass out 100 copies a week to my customers.  They were eager to get them. I could have been fired for doing this but no one tried to stop me.
Last night when I knew I was to bring them back to life, I heard a preacher talk about how we need a wilderness  or dessert experience before we can go on to greater heights (God’s “go” power.)  In 2000 I began writing again but this time on the computer---not with an electric typewriter.  I wrote steadily for 3 years. 
My wilderness period was sleep apnea and I was in a deep depression, followed by a slight heart attack.  I didn’t want to do anything or see anyone.  I hated that time but I felt unable to do anything.
I know the Mini-Sermons were God’s doing. With more understanding and in God’s plans, I will be rewriting them in the order I first wrote them. They were written for those who didn’t know the Lord yet.  But it doesn’t hurt to read and remember what God has done in your life if you are already living for God.  These are step by step lessons on what salvation is and how to live as you go on.  May God bless you as you as you read. A long time ago God wanted someone to talk with and to love.  He wanted man to be His constant companion with an intimate relationship.  He made man in His own image with a free will to decide whether he wanted to love and serve God.  If man was forced to love God, it wouldn’t be love.
Before He made man out of dust, God created a beautiful new world for man to enjoy and care for.  He would be denied nothing. To prove man’s love and loyalty to his Maker, he had to be tested.  God gave him one simple rule.  “It’s all yours except for the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”  Read Genesis 2:16-17.  Right from the start man showed his greediness and dissatisfaction.  He wanted even more than God was giving him.  So he ate from the forbidden fruit.  It wasn’t the fruit that Adam Eve really wanted.
The devil has always been a liar and a deceiver.  To show who we are dealing with to this day and to the end of Satan’s reign as Prince of this world (but only with God’s permission-a big part of God’s test for us.  Jesus said in John 12:31 “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of the world be cast out.  Satan wasn’t  happy to be just one of God’s created beings like we are.  Isaiah 14:12-16: “How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!  How you are cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations!  For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven.  I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.  I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north.  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.  I will be like the most High.  Yet you shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit”. The devil will be discussed more fully in another issue.. When we know our enemy, we can fight and win more successfully.
The devil comes in many disguises to work his purposes.  And just As God can reign in our hearts as well as in heaven, so can the devil.  We have to choose which one we will follow.  Satan came to Eve in the disguise of a serpent to present his first temptation.  Read 3:1-7.  God gave His first and only command at this time to Adam.  Eve got it from Adam.  She added her version to it when she said: “God has said: You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.”  God didn’t say a word about touching it.”
The devil jumped right in and said: “You shall not surely die: for God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good from evil.”  Did Eve feel inferior because Adam was created first and she was made from his rib?  way?  Think about it; just my question.  Why did God choose to do it that way?  Think about it.
Eve wanted to be wise so she ate the fruit.  Adam didn’t question her but he deliberately ate it anyway when she offered it to him.  He knew he was being disobedient. Men and women have been disobedient ever since.

Because of their disobedience, they were thrown out of paradise and not permitted to return.  There had to be a way to get back to God and be restored to God’s original plan for them.  God, being God, knew what man was going to do so He already had a back-up plan, involving His only begotten Son Jesus Christ.  Even before Jesus was born in the flesh, God had him in mind.  God also had us in mind. He had plans for each of us.  Some obeyed and some went their own way.
Matthew 18:3 “Except you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.”  Children have to depend on others to take care of their needs.  They accept their help with blind faith.  We can only become a child of God in His Kingdom, by accepting Jesus as our savior and Lord of our life, by this same blind faith.  We have to believe God can and will take care of all our needs.  But too soon, the physical child learns the sinful ways of the world and strays from the protective  cover of their parents.  Too soon, the spiritual child of God has to be careful of his walk with God or he too can stray from the path.  There are so many temptations all around him.  More and more every day. He is often weak and gets off the right path.  One good thing is the Holy Spirit will pull him back.  Man can get stubborn and fight it and if he doesn’t become too hard hearted, he will turn to God eventually.  Why do we waste all that precious time?
Since man could not obey one little command, God has to treat us like little children.  He cannot talk with us as man to man like He once did with Adam so he became a Father to us.  He has to teach us His ways by repetition, scolding, chastising and often severe punishment.  Although we often anger Him or run away from Him, He remembers we are only made of dust.  Only through His grace, mercy, unchanging love, patience and understanding of man’s sinful nature, could He be able to remold us into the perfect spiritual being He meant for us to be.  He did not take away our freedom to choose.  We choose which side we want to be on in the game of life or death.
To be continued.
23  Theology / Bible Study / MINI-SERMONS INTRO on: June 05, 2009, 04:23:25 PM
MINI-SERMONS  BETWEEN 3/26/86-01/8/97
Hello my friends,
In the years above I wrote many “Mini-Sermons”  .  I wrote one item faithfully every week until I went into a depression.  This was caused by sleep apnea which I didn’t find out until 2007!  In that time God was teaching me much.

This is the story about how the Mini-Sermons were born.  God has unique ways to show you what He wants you to do.
As I would read the Bible, I began to “see” it in pictures in my mind.  I would jot down what I “saw” by using simple little stick people in different actions.  There was a group called “Learning unlimited” in Pittsburgh.  People dressed like clowns
passed out brochures offering  classes in just about everything you might like to take a stab at.  I took a 4 week course in drawing. It’s amazing because I hated art in school.  I could not draw a straight line!  I had no perception of it.  I could not make things with construction paper---I still can’t.  I was use-less. Amazingly, I didn’t do too badly. 
When God tells you to do something, don’t say “I can’t .  Ask Him to help you!  God is great for asking you to do the impossible!  From there I took a correspondence art course through ICS.  I was taught different media, drawing and painting---animals and people etc.  A little dab will do it.

I happened to mention to a regular customer what I was doing. I was so excited about learning something new.  Then along came Charles.  He was sitting next to her and heard me telling her this.  He asked me what I was doing.   Couple days later he brought me 3 tubes of paint and 2 good brushes. He was an artist and displayed it at the Art Festival and sold some.  When my co-worker saw him talking to me, she was astonished.   She said he had been coming in for about 15 years and not once did he speak to anyone!  Why me?  Well he had to be an angel to get me on the t right track!  He is a great big guy with a baby face and an “other worldly” air about him.  He was also a good listener and soft spoken.  Never said anything out of line and always encouraging. 
He always had something good to say about everyone.  If he was sitting there when I was done working, I went to lunch with him. He didn’t say much about himself and I didn’t ask. 
I began to talk about the Bible.  He said he didn’t understand it.  I won a $25 gift certificate from Kaufmann’s in a safety contest so I bought him a Bible in simple language; through the Bible in a year.  In the meantime he gave me a gift to give to my new grandson. He gave me flowers for my birthday.  I was never treated so well in all my life!
My blood pressure went up.  I couldn’t handle when nice things happened.  I had so many bad things in my life (which now are growing so strangely dim!)  I became immune to it.
Every chance I got I explained some of the stories to him.  One day I told him I would write some of it out. For him so he could understand.  He said “Make it simple”.  It was also what God was telling me to do.  I like to complicate things.  That’s how the Mini-Sermons” got started.
It’s enough for you to digest now.  I will continue another time.

Thanks for listening to my story this far.  God bless you.

p.s.  so timely!   Grin  Haven't thought about Charles for ages until I began wriiting teh sermons again.  Ironically the news man said the Art Festival in Pittsburgh was opening this week.  Charles enters his painting in it!


24  Theology / Bible Study / MINI-SERMONS on: June 05, 2009, 04:11:52 PM
INTRO BETWEEN 3/26/86-01/8/97
Hello my friends,
In the years above I wrote many “Mini-Sermons”  .  I wrote one item faithfully every week until I went into a depression.  This was caused by sleep apnea which I didn’t find out until 2007!  In that time God was teaching me much.

This is the story about how the Mini-Sermons were born.  God has unique ways to show you what He wants you to do.
As I would read the Bible, I began to “see” it in pictures in my mind.  I would jot down what I “saw” by using simple little stick people in different actions.  There was a group called “Learning unlimited” in Pittsburgh.  People dressed like clowns
passed out brochures offering  classes in just about everything you might like to take a stab at.  I took a 4 week course in drawing. It’s amazing because I hated art in school.  I could not draw a straight line!  I had no perception of it.  I could not make things with construction paper---I still can’t.  I was use-less. Amazingly, I didn’t do too badly. 
When God tells you to do something, don’t say “I can’t .  Ask Him to help you!  God is great for asking you to do the impossible!  From there I took a correspondence art course through ICS.  I was taught different media, drawing and painting---animals and people etc.  A little dab will do it.

I happened to mention to a regular customer what I was doing. I was so excited about learning something new.  Then along came Charles.  He was sitting next to her and heard me telling her this.  He asked me what I was doing.   Couple days later he brought me 3 tubes of paint and 2 good brushes. He was an artist and displayed it at the Art Festival and sold some.  When my co-worker saw him talking to me, she was astonished.   She said he had been coming in for about 15 years and not once did he speak to anyone!  Why me?  Well he had to be an angel to get me on the t right track!  He is a great big guy with a baby face and an “other worldly” air about him.  He was also a good listener and soft spoken.  Never said anything out of line and always encouraging. 
He always had something good to say about everyone.  If he was sitting there when I was done working, I went to lunch with him. He didn’t say much about himself and I didn’t ask. 
I began to talk about the Bible.  He said he didn’t understand it.  I won a $25 gift certificate from Kaufmann’s in a safety contest so I bought him a Bible in simple language; through the Bible in a year.  In the meantime he gave me a gift to give to my new grandson. He gave me flowers for my birthday.  I was never treated so well in all my life!
My blood pressure went up.  I couldn’t handle when nice things happened.  I had so many bad things in my life (which now are growing so strangely dim!)  I became immune to it.
Every chance I got I explained some of the stories to him.  One day I told him I would write some of it out. For him so he could understand.  He said “Make it simple”.  It was also what God was telling me to do.  I like to complicate things.  That’s how the Mini-Sermons” got started.
It’s enough for you to digest now.  I will continue another time.

Thanks for listening to my story this far.  God bless you.

25  Welcome / About You! / Re: WELCOME BACK! on: June 05, 2009, 04:07:46 PM
 Grin  Well I came back!  The last thing I just posted  or teh one before  Undecided tells where I have been.

I am  visiting other sites I had  been posting on. I will be doing more.
God led me back to Mini-Sermons I wrote way back before puter---an electric typewriter!  anciient aren't I?   Roll Eyes
THey are   about salvation and follow up.  Grab  your seat belt and hang on.  I have to rewrite them all---No simple copy and post.  I have 3 that i have typed up.

You will get tired of seeing me again.  I do a lot of talking now. Grin
26  Prayer / General Discussion / FOLLOW UP OF WHAT DO yOU TREASURE AND WHY? on: June 05, 2009, 03:38:07 PM
 Angry  i AM SO MAD AT ME!  I never knew how much I got in Credit card debt untilI got a notice in the mail.  It had two rows of Numbers.  Top row was how much of my payment was put on the cards.  Bottom numbers was how much interest they charged.  You guessed it.  The bottom numbers was way ahead!.  At that rate I would never get it paid.

I got caught up in a consolidation company.  Not clever enough to check it out.  Finally I was told to call teh Better Business
Bureau.  It had a bad rep and had the next to the lowest reputation. 

God got me out of a mess.  I mostly talked to the company.  One person was going to send me a form to O.K. it by email.
It never came.  The man called me back and said he would send a form by regular mail to sign.  I never got it!

I then called someone to ask for help.  I told the whole situation and that I never signed anything.  The person I talked to would check everything out.  In the mean time, I got my bank statement.  The company had a large amount taken out of my checking. I told the bank to close down my account and credit card.  Had to get a new account.

Eventually everything got cleared up and my money was put back in my new account.  If God hadn't stepped in I would have been in a real mess.

I am telling you this in case you get into a mess like this or am already in one. 

My bank consolidated 4 cards.  The one payment was much less then what I had been paying on all 4 and never getting anywhere.  My bank got the interest lowered about half.  Said I should have everything paid up in 5 years or sooner if I could pay more.  They will take it out of my checking account.  It could never be late.

And I still have enough left to pay my other bills, buy some groceries and a few odds and ends.

I have to count my pennies and not throw stuff in the cart like I used to.  I don't have a credit card to back me up if I go overboard.

I hope this will help someone who likes to keep buying just because you can!  An addiction really.

God bless you.



27  Theology / Bible Study / Re: VALLEY OF THE DRY BONES on: November 13, 2008, 03:59:22 AM
A new OUTLOOK IN 2008!

When I wrote the above I only understood in part.  I did write under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  Lately it has become clearer to me. I am not a Bible expert.  I may have left some important fact out.  If I am wrong, feel free to prove that I am wrong.

I don’t understand much about the fighting in Iraq and Israel and other countries.
I do know it has to do with Israel.    Rather than trying to explain with what is now going on in Israel, I will just quote what God says.  Let it speak for itself!


The Restoration Of Israel
Israel-The Restoration
In the Book of Ezekiel in the authorized version of The King James Bible, God speaks about the restoration of Israel In the 22th through 28th verse of Ezekiel chapter 36, God said the following.
"Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them, and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of you flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgements, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God"
Thus will the dry bones be brought back to life only under God’s power.)  These will be the Jewish who are returning to Israel from all parts of the world.

God has told Abraham and His descendants,
Gen. 12:2-3 ...I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”


28  Theology / Bible Study / VALLEY OF THE DRY BONES on: November 13, 2008, 03:55:46 AM
This will be an overall picture of what is happening in the world today. In my many years I have seen the changes that have come about. In 2007 I am 76 years older and wiser. God opened my eyes to let me see what is happening in this modern world all around us. In the busyness of merely living everyday lives, the changes kind of crept in and the world followed, including me to an extent. And you, too. It was all so subtle.

When I was young I heard the song about “Them bones, them bones, them dry bones.” I thought it was just a funny song. I didn’t know it came from the Bible. Read Ezekiel 37:1-14 to get the whole story. It is quite an intriguing story. It’s about the people of Israel. I will give you a modern view of it.

The Pilgrims first came to the new land because they wanted religious freedom. All life was based on the Bible, the Word of God. Laws were made according to it. The Ten Commandments were a must to follow. The Bible was a learning tool for reading and writing. Many people believed in the God of the Bible. There were always some who didn’t.

People prayed as a family. They turned to God and the Bible when they needed guidance. It was not a perfect time any more than today is. Each generation had its own problems to contend with. It had its own dangers. I wasn’t there so I can’t pretend to know how it really was. Would I have been a survivor in that wilderness that needed tamed. Would you? Am I a survivor in this modern wilderness?

It is the same as before but with more people in more territory for evil to thrive in. The territory is now even extending to outer space. Since man learned how to clone, there will be more artificial people who are willing to do more evil. What next? Man is striving to be the kind of god they want. Anything goes.

Isaiah 5:20-21 “Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil; that put darkness for light and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.”

A group of people who hated God, decided it was unconstitutional to mix church and state. Then it was a woman’s privilege to decide if she wanted to keep her baby which was conceived in sin or get rid of the hindrance. There argument is that the fetus is not a baby yet; just a piece of matter.

No prayer in school or public places allowed. “Human rights” was invented to take away the rights of those who wished to follow God’s laws. The God-ordained family is breaking down.

Two men or two women can get married and can adopt a child. How far will that child go to call evil good. So many churches are allowing this. They also preach tolerance of other sinful practices.

I think you get the picture. We are in the valley of dry bones. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and your staff , they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4). Before now I was only able to see the surface meaning. I thought it was just for when I was dying that I didn’t have to fear.

We are walking in the valley of the shadow of death as we walk about doing our daily business. Death (of souls) is all around us. It is becoming more and more apparent what with all the killings committed. No where is safe. This is all you hear on the news.

Along with this is an abundance of beauty contests. This includes little girls dressed like older sexy women. They aren’t allowed to be children. They are all held up as idols. There are all kinds of idols walking around. Sports Idols, movie stars and singing idols are all worshiped. Who or what do you worship? If you worship anything or anyone besides God, you are worshiping idols. Your bones are dry.

My bones were dry. I dabbled in all kinds of occult practices---mind over matter, hypnotism, spiritualistic ideas, fortune telling and so on. Nothing satisfied.

In spite of the evil all around us, Jesus can still give us the peace he has promised. He never lets us fight the battles alone, visible and invisible. As proof I lived about a half block where a couple people were killed at different times. I didn’t hear a thing about either one for a couple days.

The valley of the shadow of death is also the valley of the dry bones. With all the spirituality (not God’s) in the world, and people claiming they can float in the air and other occult practices, they wouldn’t be too skeptical about Ezekiel being spirited away. I can imagine though when the bones began to come to life, they might get a bit scared. We would too.

Verse 3 “And He said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God you know” He had no doubts that God could do anything He said He could. In verse 4, he was told to prophesy to the bones, saying “O you dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord.” Wouldn’t we feel silly if we were told to talk to a bunch of old dry bones? Ezekiel thought nothing of it and obeyed God and spoke to them.

If a preacher of today dares to preach God’s Word  as it is given to him, he would be doing the same. He obeys God. Our bodies may be in a church but out spirits can be dried out. The “Valley of the Dry Bones” are the churches that “preach” a dead sermon to a group of dead people.

They only go because it’s the thing to do. It makes them look good while their spirits are totally dead. One church I had been in, the sermon was only about 5 minutes long. The people thought that was too long! The singing and the rituals were tolerated but they didn’t want to be preached to. Nothing important was said. People had no reason to think they had to be saved.

The new thing is you don’t dare speak about sin. You don’t want to offend anybody. They might leave. They need their money to keep the church open and also to feed their own pocket books. Many churches are becoming like a den of thieves.

Matthew 21:13, Jesus in his anger, cast out all who desecrated the house of God. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and always. Is there any reason that he wouldn’t do the same today if he should show up at your church? It’s ripe to be overthrown. How long will God keep His anger?

After Ezekiel prophesied to the bones, telling them to listen to what God had to say. With His own voice God spoke to them saying, “Behold I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Although this related to a back slid Israel’s restoration with God, it can apply to God’s people everywhere. John 3:16 “For God so loved the whole world, that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

God’s breath enters into us when we accept this wonderful promise. We were dead in sin just like those dry bones. With the acceptance, we received everlasting life. The blood of Jesus became our covering.

Verse 7: “So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to bone.” Everything else fell into place as God said. “But there was no breath in them.: Verse 9 “Then said He unto me, “Prophesy unto the wind, thus says the Lord God: come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain that they may live.”

The Holy Spirit is the wind that gives breath. It is a refreshing wind as I have experienced one day. It was a cold day; rain, snow and ice blowing strong in all directions at about 50 miles an hour. Instead of looking for warmth and protection from the wind, I was exhilarated by it. To add to the excitement, I looked toward the river and saw pure white seagulls flying around in all directions; away from and into the wind. It was something I shall never forget.

I got the full force of what the Holy Spirit does in our life. The gulls seemed to be enjoying their “play” and not a bit agitated. When the Holy Spirit blows into our face, he is refreshing us. When he blows behind us, he is helping us to keep going even when we feel we can’t take another step. The wind gives us life all around us.

In verses 11 & 12, the bones (newly constructed house of Israel) say they are dried up and have no hope. People in this world are like that but they don’t even know it. My bones were dry. I dabbled in all kinds of occult practices---mind over matter, hypnotism, spiritualistic ideas, fortune telling and so on. Nothing satisfied.

Ezekiel prophesied again as God told him to do. “Thus says the Lord God; Behold O, my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.”

Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me , because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and of recovering sight to the blind, to set at liberty they that are bruised.”

Although we may think we are alive and well, without Jesus we are already in our graves and only Jesus can get us out. Jesus got me out and I know he can also get you out and you will become a new being. It is all up to you. We may have money but in reality we are the poor who don’t possess the richness of God’s love and mercy.

Why are so many people so unhappy most of the time? They don’t know Jesus. Until Jesus delivers us, we are captives of Satan. We are blind to the truth of God until Jesus restores our sight. At last we are liberated from the bruises received from the evil one. Our dry bones become alive. We become fully dressed in the robes of righteousness. We breathe the fresh air of the Holy Spirit. NO more pollution. The Valley of the Dry Bones is no longer a threat.

Praise the Holy Name of Jesus! God bless you as you drink this all in.

29  Theology / Bible Study / BLESSED BE EGYPT MY PEOPLE on: November 09, 2008, 05:43:11 AM
_______________________________________
This statement "blessed be Egypt, my people" in Isaiah 19:25, seemed kind of odd. I always got the impression that Egypt was the very personification of evil and they could never be saved. How arrogant that is. John 4:16 says:
“For God so loved the world (including the Egyptian people) that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever (you and me and everyone else) believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Yet it seemed I was being taught Egypt was doomed.

Verse 1---“The Lord rides on a swift cloud” into Egypt and all the idols are moved at His coming. The Egyptian hearts shall melt in the middle of it all.” Everything they believed in was destroyed before their very eyes. Then God said He would set the Egyptians against each other. Their spirit shall fail. He would give them over “ into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them.” (verse 4) Sounds like you reap what you sow. As they had treated the Israelites, so God has treated them.

Verses 5-13 tell all that God was going to do to them. Verse 14 “The Lord has mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof…” God even uses evil spirits to humble a once proud nation. They were brought down low. Isaiah 45:7 “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: the Lord does all these things.”

Verse 16: “In that day, shall Egypt be like unto women, and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which He shakes over it.” What is going on? They were never afraid before. They were the ones who did all the shaking . Verse 17 “And the land of Judah shall be a terror to Egypt.”

The story changes from one of fear and destruction to a beautiful future for Egypt just like it is for us. Verse 19 “In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord IN THE MIDST OF THE LAND OF EGYPT”, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord.” God stands right in the middle of sin to rescue those He loves right out of the hands of Satan. Satan has no power over God’s plans. Verse 20 “And it shall be a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they (the Egyptians) shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and HE SHALL SEND THEM A SAVIOR. And a great one, and He shall deliver them.” Does this excite you as it did me when I first read and understood this chapter? No man is exempt from God’s love and mercy.

Verse 20 tells us that the Egyptians shall know the Lord in those days. They shall make sacrifices to God and make vows and do them.

What a merciful God. But He has to break them and us down first before He can rebuild us in His image. Verse 22 “And the Lord shall smite Egypt: He shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and He shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them.”

Let us back track a little. God’s chosen people weren’t any better than the Assyrians or the Egyptians. They too left the only true God and followed after idols. Read Isaiah 10:5-13. The topic for this section is “Assyria, the Instrument of God”. God was angry with His people. Verse 5 “O, Assyrian, the rod of my anger, and the staff in their hand is my indignation.” He used them to bring His people to their knees. Verse 12 “Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the LORD has performed His whole work upon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.”

Why would God punish someone who did the work He commanded him to do? Verse 13 tells us that the king of Assyria took credit for his own strength to bring about what God intended for him to do. God used him like He uses us. When we do His will, we are not doing it under our own power. We have nothing at all that we can boast about. God gives us the gifts necessary to do what God wants done. He can also take them away and give to someone else to accomplish the work if we don’t do it. We are not indispensable.

Now to the gem of the whole chapter. Verses 23-25 “In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptian shall serve with the Assyrian. In that day shall ISRAEL BE THE THIRD WITH EGYPT AND ASSYRIA, even a blessing in the midst of the land: Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt, my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance. Proverbs 4:12 comes to mind: “And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

To sum this up: I get newsletters from Michael Youseff. He is Egyptian. One letter stated that he was going to Egypt to preach. Before he left he asked God to give him a very large number of souls. He was pleased to report that God saved way beyond what he had asked for. God cannot be undone. The Egyptians were eager to hear the WORD. It made it more realistic to them when a brother Egyptian told them about Jesus and the way to salvation.

I really don't know much about what's going on in the world, especially those three countries.  Fill me in if you can!

But teh Egyptians getting saved is a big part of God's prediction!!!  PTL!

Great are the wonderful works of the Almighty God. May God bless you.
30  Theology / Bible Study / WORLD WITHOUT END on: November 09, 2008, 04:52:58 AM
   
________________________________________
  We are studying Revelation at the high rise where I live.  I did glance over Rev 1, 2 & 3.
I read somewhere in one of the studies about the end of the world.

I wrote this some time ago but added new understanding of what I read and wrote before.  The world is changing so fast any more that I can relate to the scriptures better. 


Bear with me as I write this. It is very deep and I only want to write what the Word of God says. The Holy Spirit will have to interpret it for me with the truth only.

I heard a preacher say that the world would not end. Yet I read in Matthew 24:3 (KJV) “Tell is when these things shall be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world.
The word “world” was questioned. Try “age”. Revised Standard Bible says “close of the age.”

The world will not end; Ephesians 3:21(KJV) says “Unto him be the glory in the Church by Jesus Christ throughout ALL ages, world without end. Matthew says “end of the world or close of the age”. Is the world going to end or is it not?

I looked up “world” in the Strong’s Concordance. What is the world? It means many things---an age, mankind, planet earth, worlds in space---any place inhabited in a period of history. Greek word 2889, kosmos, means orderly arrangement. What is more orderly than the world God created for us, from the smallest bug to the brightest star. They each have their part to play and God tells them when.

Earth means this world as distinguished from heaven and earth or the ground. God gave it to man to enjoy and care for. It was planned to be a world without end. Because of man’s disobedience, the perfect world was turned over to Satan. II Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world (evil earth as in the living Bible) has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” I basically write from the KJV. It says “world; the NIV says” age”. Both are right!

The world we know has not been the only world or age. We had the stone age, the age of steel and now the age of technology, etc. II Peter 2:5-7 & 9 “And spared not the old world, but spared Noah the eight person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; and turning Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly, and delivered Lot, vexed with the filthy language of the wicked.” “So also the Lord can rescue us from the temptations that surround us.”---the Living Bible.

Technology brought in more filth and evil. You can’t turn on television without getting your eyes and ears blasted with perverted shows and even commercials. Computers are bombarded with the same. Nations all over the world are adopting the same spirit as those two destroyed cities. It is all around us with gays and lesbians openly demanding their rights. They say that they have come out of the closet and are proud of it. They are even taking over some churches with same sex marriages and being permitted to become ordained ministers and have positions in the work of the church.

I am not personally knocking the people themselves. They are caught up in the same trap as anyone who gets caught in any illegal sex act. They need to be prayed for. God can get them out of the prison and turn them around. God made marriage for one man and one woman to “Be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth.” Genesis 1:28 anything other than that is out to undermine God’s direct plan for our lives.

Read Matthew 11:20-24 Jesus condemns certain cities, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Tyre, Sidon &
Capernaum. Talking to the last name, Jesus said in 23b “for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. God’s mercy is open to all who repent and don’t return to their wickedness.

My nation, U.S.A. has been mightily blessed. It was considered a godly nation. People knew right from wrong and tried to live it. No, we weren’t perfect. No one is. There were always evil people. Slowly but surely, the godly props were pulled out from under us. Prayer in school was done away with. It is not allowed in many public places. That accomplished, the Ten Commandments need to be removed. They might offend someone. It doesn’t matter if Christians are offended. Christian symbols aren’t allowed outside or any public place for Christmas or Easter or any signs of Christianity. How long will God put up with this in our country or any country following the same path? As God was excluded, evil increased.

God got rid of all the evil in the world before the flood. After the flood, evil reigned once more but Jesus came at the end of that age to wash away all sin of those who wanted to be cleansed by belief in him. We will now wait for the new world (or age) where Jesus will reign in his full glory for all eternity. Worlds and ages come and go but the final one is the world that will never end.

There are two facts we must know as stated in I John 2:17 “And the world (age) passes away, and the lust thereof: but He that does the will of God abides forever.” Hebrews 1:10-12 “And you Lord, in the beginning, has laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They shall perish; but you remain. And they shall all wax old as does a garment: and as a vesture (covering) shall you fold them up, and they shall be changed: but you are the same, and the years shall not fail.” I like old clothes. They are so comfortable. After so much wear and tear I finally have to get rid of them. I get new ones. That is what God says He will do with the present earth and heavens. He will discard them and replace them with brand new ones! Revelation 21:1 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”

Isaiah 24:1 “Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty, and makes it waste, and turns it upside down and scatters abroad the inhabitants thereof. Verse 3 “The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord has spoken this word.” Verse 5 “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof. because they have transgressed the laws; changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Verse 6 “Therefore has the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein shall be desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.”

Verse 24:8b: “And it shall come to pass…The windows from on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth do shake.” Does it seem strange we are having so many earthquakes in different places (mark 13:Cool? We even had a couple slight ones in Pennsylvania. That was unusual. Now we are experiencing drastic floods and mudslides; one which caused a bridge to go. One area not far from where I live was badly flooded. People are still without homes for lack of funds to repair. I don’t know what other damage. We see or hear of more hurricanes and tornados than before; volcano eruptions and tsunamis.
 
Verses 19 & 20: “The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall and not rise again.”

Revelation 11:15 “And the seventh angel sounded and there were great voices in heaven saying, The Kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” Revelation 21:1 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there were no more sea.”

Revelation 22:210 “He which testifies these things says: Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus.” Are you ready for this world without end? If not, do what you have to do to be privileged to live in this new world. Believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior and walk in his footsteps. The New Testament holds all you need to know. You don’t want to spend eternity with Satan and his demons. Time is running out. Read and study diligently before it’s too late.

God bless you.

   
Ecclesiastes 3:1 
To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the sun."

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