Marilyn C

Hi VA, A very relevant and important topic. I have called on the name of the Lord throughout my life. I believe it means that you call on the Lord with a sincere heart. And as we grow in knowing the Lord the relationship deepens as we find the Lord so faithful, caring, kind, merciful and compassionate.

Hi VA, Yes, the highest calling in Christ Jesus. However, there are other groups that receive from Christ - the Old Testament saints, Israel and the Nations. Each have a part to play in God`s great kingdom over all. To accomplish that the Father had to raise His Son to the highest. `the Father of glory....raised Him (Jesus) from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come, and put all things under His feet...` (Eph. 1: 20 - 22) May I suggest we put the Lord first before we focus on ourselves. Yes, the called-out ones are the many sons to glory, however, God`s purposes are much greater than that. Jesus, the glorified Son of Man and Son of God is the first human to be in the higher realms. He is the Worthy one, the One to be adored, worshipped and crowned sovereign ruler over all the Father`s estates. Then we can speak of who will be in God`s great kingdom because of His great sacrifice.

Very good question there Ed. The incense was comprised of 4 elements - Stacte: an aromatic gum obtained from a shrub which grew in the mountains of Gilead. Stacte means to `drop of distil.` And this gum flowed without piercing. It seems to speak of a spontaneous attitude necessary to produce worship. Onycha: it was a shellfish found in the Red Sea which used to feed on the stems of fragrant plants at the water's edge and thus became saturated with perfume. The shell was finely ground to make a fragrant spice. A life which feeds on Jesus will have the necessary fragrance to adequately worship the Lord. The crushing work of humility is a further indispensable requirement for the ministry of worship. Galbanum: it was collected from a large shrub which grew in the mountains of Syria. It was said to have insecticidal properties. This gum flowed whenever the plant was broken. This seems to speak to us of the necessity of a broken and contrite attitude to maintain true worship. This will keep at bay the spiritual insects of pride and self-sufficiency and complacency. Frankincense: it was obtained by making an incision in the bark of a rare Arabian tree at evening. Overnight the precious gum oozed out. In the morning the hard white substance was collected and beaten into a useable form to balance the other ingredients or worship. It seems to suggest the lonely vigil of total devotion to God, of waiting on Him, of taking time to have His life purpose worked out in us is necessary. The value of these spices to God is seen in the names applied to the incense - sweet, pure, holy and perpetual. (Ez. 30: 34 - 38)

Ha, ha. It was taking it off topic. See you later. Sleep well.

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`The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.` (Rev. 19: 10) We need to read of Jesus not people`s imaginations.

And I think it is good to remember that God has appointed times for His judgment upon the nations, starting with the (far) northern Federation and his pals. (Zech. 6: 8 Ez. 38 Joel 2)

Thank you SD, that is so good. Love the background music too. Well done, again.

Morning VA, Very good post. I certainly agree. Now I would just say, that `What a situation FALLEN man is in now.` You would agree I know that WE are not a part of God`s judgments coming on man`s world system and those who adhere to it. As to the UN it was only created as a `cover` to give the impression the world is working together. You see the UN`s Security Council consists of the permanent Big Five. - USA, UK, France, Russia and China. Each permanent member has power to veto, enabling them to prevent the adoption of any `substantive` draft Council resolution, regardless of the level of international support of the draft. However, the UN does have a very significant role in the Global Government - religious. GLOBAL MOTIVATION A Global Government needs the hearts and minds of the people to agree with it. Thus there is needed the motivating force of religion to drive people towards a Global Government. It is the unifying reason that people will give allegiance to. Thus we see that the United Nations has become the International Institution to promote the New Age one-world religion spirituality. THE UNITED NATIONS (UN) The UN has issued a Global Charter called `The Earth Charter.` This is promoted as the `new scripture.` It stresses that man is his own saviour. By saving `mother earth,` they say, that we will once again return to an idyllic garden of Eden. All aspects of society are being involved - religions, business, education, health, entertainment, sport and civil society. Everyone is to work towards the same goals, with the same moral values. These goals are called the `Sustainable Development Goals,` (SDG) officially known as `Transforming our World,` and popularly known as `The Future We Want.` To achieve these Sustainable Development Goals the United Nations uses the Common Values of the `Earth Charter.` The document makes a declaration for a just, sustainable, peaceful global society and its mission is to promote - `A Global society founded on a shared ethical framework.` Global Moral Values & their meaning. These are – respect, responsibility, justice, trustworthiness, civic virtue & citizenship, etc RESPECT – like tolerance & inclusive – means appreciation for people & lifestyles (pagan & promiscuous, different sexual preferences……) RESPONSIBILITY – refers to the `common good` of the community, where individuals must yield to the collective interests. (Socialism) CIVIC VIRTUE & CITIZENSHIP – are also open ended. Compliant citizens must be ready to conform to changing rules & evolving duties. People are made to think that they are to blame for all the world`s ills, diseases, poverty, crime, inequality and thus to get rid of these guilt feelings people give over their personal responsibility to the UN`s plans and goals. The Global Charter was drafted in coordination with a hard law treaty designed to provide an integrated legal framework for all environment development law and policy. It is called the `International Covenant on Environment and Development.` Governments are required to adhere to its ever-increasing requirements. Thus, we can see that the United Nations, the arm of the G20, is bringing together all areas of society to believe in this new religion of `Mother Earth.`

I so appreciate Oswald Chamber`s writings. Though I think his wife put many together after he passed away quite young. Anyway, that is a big hurdle we all need to get over. So easy to criticize when really we have our areas we need to work on too. I am trying with the Lord to address this. Yes, we are concerned for someone but to let that just stay as an emotion then we are not giving the person over to the Lord. I`m finding that those in our group are dealing with this too. So, good post to bring this to our attention.

A good job for the False Prophet as he has two responsibilities - religion and economics. (Rev. 13: 11 - 17)

It is their aligning together, I believe. However, the first united appearance will be - `Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains, a people come, great and strong, the like of whom has never been; nor will there ever be any such after them, even for successive many generations.` (Joel 2: 2) So we will see this massive build up before they attack Israel in the Golan Heights.

Hi SD, That is so, so good. Well done. Quite a lot of work there and much thought. I bet you had fun with your friends. Keep up the good work. Marilyn.

Yes, VA, AdHoc and I do seem to knock heads quite often and get a topic off line. Sorry. Will try to be more careful in the future.

God`s image is - mind, will and emotions. However, as to a moral character that needs to develop by choices. eg, to be faithful requires time, and other attributes need time to develop. However, Adam`s moral character became damaged and focused on self instead of God. Thus, the human race has this `bias.`

Hi IS, I guess you would have to go throughout the whole world and ask every Christian that question. Personally, I believe that the Head of His Body is well able to bring us to maturity in Him believing the truth in His Word. (Eph. 4: 11 - 16) Be encouraged the Lord knows what He is doing and has many more believers than you have assessed in man`s organizations.

Hi unworthyservant, Good topic, and of course we must not leave out what Jesus continued to teach when He ascended to the father. Those teachings are from Acts to revelation.

Thank you for clearing that up.

Hi Gerda, Very sorry what happened to your child. Now I was a teacher of that age for many years. I realized after a while that girls tend to sit quietly while young boy`s bodies are made to move and do things. Thus, I made lessons short and we did physical things in between the sitting times. May I suggest your child will learn more about God from you than sitting in a building with many others while the adults try to get them to perform. Go play ball, get outside and talk of God`s creation and love. He certainly did not learn of God`s love isolated in that room.

So, so good and true. Well said.

Hi Adhoc, This is your quote. Note you wrote SOMEBODY,` I don`t have to misquote as it`s all there. The conditions of the earth in Genesis 1:2, covered with water and darkness, are consistently signs of God's judgment. Somebody did something so the earth "became a chaos" (Gen.1:2 lit.). As to the ole serpent, the dragon, the devil and Satan, they are ALL descriptions of his strategies which the Lord has overcome in His 4 ministries. Ole Serpent - deludes. (Gen. 3: 1 - 5) Dragon - devours. (Rev. 12: 4) Devil - destroys. (John 10: 10) Satan - accusers. (12: 10)

Hi VA, Another great post. I certainly agree. Now I have been thinking lately that all the media through mobiles, computers, TV etc that people are watching, and mostly for hours, can make the emotions unsettled. We, as believers need to make sure we spend quality time in quiet, waiting on the Lord - reading His word, praying, interceding, just being quiet. The world would have us adrenalized constantly wanting the next `fix of worldly humor, gossip, bad news etc etc. We are to make sure we don`t get on the merry-go-round. And it is not `merry.` The battle is for our minds and emotions to steer us away from getting fed in our spirits, and to pander to our flesh. Can we go for very long without looking at the scroll on our phones? Do we feel we are missing out on what is happening in the world if we don`t keep up. Well, God`s Word is way ahead of the game. God`s Word tells us everything that is important for us to know about what is coming on the world. `Therefore let us not sleep, (mind on the world), as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.` (night - the world in darkness of evil) (1 Thess. 5: 6 & 7)

All nonsense bro. You were the one who brought up `somebody` before the beginning. You are confusing the tabernacles - heaven, (God`s throne) earth, man-made. Sad that you make fun of God`s word - dust does not make any thing bigger.

`And ALL the tribes of the earth will MOURN because of Him.` (Rev. 1: 7) I can tell you that I won`t be part of that. The Body of Christ does not mourn because we will have gone to glory well before all that.