Gemstone777

16 hours ago, wingnut- said:

Glad you're feeling somewhat better, continued prayers.

Thank you Nut!  Did you ever get on your desired sleep schedule?  I'm currently on morning people hours!  I have discipleship tonight!  Maybe I'll catch you in chat later!  Appreciate you friend! (((Hugs)))

13 hours ago, Abby-Joy said:

The flare up of costochondritis could be from excessive coughing(?). Several years back I was diagnosed with Tietze's Syndrome which is very similar. The ER doc said my symptoms were equivalent to someone having been slammed against a steering wheel in a car accident. (My symptoms were/are injury related.) It can feel like a heart attack. My heart goes out to you! I know our Lord wants all of His children well!!

Thank you Abby for your kindness and understanding!  The ER could have misdiagnosed me with costochondritis, anything is possible.  It's very painful when it's flared up, and can take some time to heal.  I've not had any recent injuries/accidents.  I appreciate you praying for me and taking the time to share your story with me!  (((Hugs)))  I hope that you are doing well.  Love in Christ always, Gem 

42 minutes ago, BK1110 said:

Praying for you!

Thank you BK1110!  You're much appreciated!

1 hour ago, NOONE7 said:

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Still praying!!!

Thank you Noone7! 

7 hours ago, Skyward Believer said:

I hope you will feel better soon with our prayers concerning your health problems my dear sister in the Lord. Praying for you in the name of Jesus... Amen! 

God Bless... Gemstone777

Thank you Skyward!  I appreciate just knowing that my brothers and sisters in the Lord would take time out of their day to lift me up, and encourage me through praying!  I did have a better day today, some of the congestion and inflammation seems to be gone.  Praise the Lord!  Love in Christ, Gem  

Thank you all for praying and your caring hearts!  I appreciate you! 

13 hours ago, Omegaman 3.0 said:

Don't like reading instructions, do you? LOL, In the post about the puzzle, it said:

Lol, I'm easily distracted, lol!  But thank you for the info! 

6 hours ago, Amanda7 said:

Proverbs 4 & 5.  Sometimes we are to speak sometimes not.  We need discernment to know when to talk and when not to...I know need that.

Yes, I need that too!  Thanks for sharing your thoughts Amanda.  I appreciate hearing others' insights.   

                                                                                                                             Matthew 12: 1-21

·         Matthew 12:2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”  This reminds me that the Pharisees often accuse without knowing the purpose, heart of a man, or the reason that things are done.  They are just looking to find fault with others, or look superior over people.  This is a great reminder of how we ought not to be.  Another good reference of this type of behavior is in Luke 18:9-14.  It says, To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' " I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

·         Matthew 12:7  If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’^[a] you would not have condemned the innocent.  God wants us to be obedient, but He wants us to be merciful with others because He’s been merciful with us.  How we show Him love is obedience and how we show others love is by our treatment of them, which should be kind. 

·         Matthew 12:13-14 Then he (Jesus) said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.  But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.  The thing that stood out to me the most is that Jesus does good, restores, and heals a man, and right after that good work the Pharisees look to harm, destroy, and even kill Jesus.  We too are told that for following Jesus we will be hated in this way.  Matthew 10:22, "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”  I think sometimes right after we do good, the enemy attacks, so we need to be on guard and not surprised when this happens. 

                                                                                                     LEVITICUS 14

·         Just a general thought of this passage.  When I read about the very specific details in just one aspect of following the law, I realize how hard it would be to live up to every aspect of the law.  On the flip side, I think it would be nice to know that when you do the process of cleansing that molds and skin diseases (including sores) would be gone. 

·         Leviticus 14:33-34 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “………..I put a spreading mold in a house in that land…..”.  I find it interesting that the Lord is the one that put the mold in the house.  Why would He do such a thing?  Was it to create obedience in that individual’s life, was it punishment for sin, or something else?  There is definitely a purpose/reason to all that God does, but sometimes from a human perspective, it’s hard to understand.

                                                                                                             PROVERBS 26

·         Proverbs 26:2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.    I get why a curse would be fluttering (constant) source of sorrow or difficulty, but does anyone know why it’s undeserved? 

·         Proverbs 26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.  I think this is a good reminder not to engage in debate with someone that is just trying to fight, unwilling to learn, and unwise in their beliefs.  I think if we do, we can get sucked in to their drama, arguing, and it is not profitable at all, and we become like them which we don’t want to be like.

5 hours ago, Omegaman 3.0 said:

. . .  but you could not be botthered to vote in the poll?

I thought I did!  Sorry Omega, you know I'm tech challenged, lol!    I did it now!  I picked the easy one solely for time invested.  Actually, I think it'd be neat if we could have all 3 levels, then depending on our time we could do any of the 3.  However, I do realize the time involved in that, and I'm just thankful to have puzzles to put together.  There's my 2 cents, or 3 or 4! 

I like difficulty in the puzzles, but ease in use of putting them together. 

24:16 was my time.  I figured out how to rotate pieces too! 

On ‎1‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 8:56 PM, Omegaman 3.0 said:

Super Easy version of this puzzle  - 48 pieces

I did this one in 5:26 minutes.  Is that good for my first one?  I like the ones that you don't have to turn the pieces around.  Is there a way to see the pic while you are doing the puzzle?  Forgive me, I'm tech challenged, lol.

I'm enjoying it!  I like the discussion with others, as it helps me to learn and grow, and reinforces my beliefs.  I find that if I do it before entering chat, that I don't get distracted/then too tired to complete it for the day.  I like how you said you read the week's worth all at once.  I find that sometimes I am more in a reading mood.  It's kind of like with writing, if I try to write when not inspired I don't get much, but when inspired I can do far more in a shorter amount of time.  I love reading the Word of God, but it stimulates my mind, so I am thinking earlier in the day may be best.  Just my thoughts.  Thanks for asking/accountability!  Have a blessed day!  ~ Gem

On ‎11‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 12:50 AM, Steve_S said:

I believe this is a good comparison between the insnigificance of man and the omnipotent power of God. We are walking, talking dust. Had God not breathed life into man, there would be no man. This is, perhaps, one of the most offensive things of all to nonbelievers, but worthy of rejoicing for a believer, as God did take the time to create us and was further willing to endure torture and death to bring us into fellowship with Him. How awesome is that?

It's AWESOME!    I think it's not only amazing that He took the time to create us, but He created us in His image, (Genesis 1:27.)  He says we are fearfully and wonderfully made in Psalm 139:14.  He calls us his children in 1 John 3:1 (See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!) Only our God could turn dust into that!  Psalm 8 is a great summary of these thoughts, especially verses 4-6 (What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?  You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.  You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet.)  

On ‎11‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 12:50 AM, Steve_S said:

Quote

Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"—

Early revelation of God's nature that wouldn't be expounded upon for 4000 years. I do wonder if Adam had a more complete understanding of the Trinity than we do?

This verse has been misunderstood by some to mean there are many gods, but I like you believe it's referring to the Trinity.  I definitely think Adam had a better understanding of who God is because he walked with Him, saw Him, and was in His physical presence.  Adam and Eve were born not knowing sin until they ate of the tree of life.  We however are born with a sin nature, a desire to do evil.  In Psalm 51:5 David confirms this, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me."  He reiterates that again in Psalm 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as they are born, speaking lies.  Paul confirms this in the New Testament in Romans 3:10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no not one."   

Sorry I took so long to respond!  I've been trying to catch up, and now I've finally read all of the comments in this section.  I hope you and your family have a blessed New Year!  

On ‎11‎/‎26‎/‎2017 at 3:52 AM, ayin jade said:

I cant seem to just read this anymore without singing to it. I thought I would share a nice rendition of this psalm in song. 

https://messianicradio.com/?song=songs/577#/

Thanks for sharing Jade!  I really enjoyed listening to this!   

On ‎11‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 11:08 PM, Omegaman 3.0 said:

Evidently, it was Sarai's beauty that made her valuable, not the fact that she was human. So, the priorities of those Egyptians, were more messed up than the society of even my culture is, when it comes to the value of physical beauty.

What the world values as beautiful and what God values as beautiful are two different things.  A person can have a beautiful physical appearance by the world's standards but have an ugly heart, and vice versa.  God values spiritual things...humble spirit, kindness, joyful heart, patience, etc.  I always found it interesting that Jesus was not considered physically attractive by the world's standards, and that he grew up poor.  Two things the world pursues is beauty and riches.   Isaiah 53:2-3 ...He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.  He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.  Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.   I don't think God wants us to have a poor self image or lack confidence, but He also wants us to be humble and not arrogant.  Balance is very important in all things.  I wonder if Jesus was not physically attractive for it to not be a distraction to him, or so that those who struggle with body image, are despised, and undesired can relate to Him.  This I do know, the ways of God are not the ways of man.

On ‎11‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 11:08 PM, Omegaman 3.0 said:

However, I cannot help but wonder about the faith of a man, who takes some risks to go on an adventure into the unknown, but then, thinks that God won't protect him enough as Sarai's husband that he conspires to lie and deceive strangers. Seems not only to be a bit shaky in his faith at that point, but perhaps even a bit cowardly, but I suppose he knew better than I, what the Egyptians might do, so I won't judge him too harshly there.

I think this is a great reminder that even godly men are imperfect.  Abraham had to have faith to move somewhere new without having a plan because of God's leading, and also great faith later when he was willing to sacrifice Isaac, his only son.  But then he became fearful for his life, and took matters into his own hands instructing his wife to lie/deceiving the Egyptians, which God hates a lying tongue.  Another crazy thing to me that not only was he initially blessed with cattle for selling his wife off as his sister, but then he gets further blessed by the king for the king's fear of judgement by Abraham's God.  Also, I think we can have moments of where we honor God greatly, and moments when we fail.  Sometimes, like with King David, our failures are not when we are young but when we are older.  I think these things are included in the Bible not so that we will judge harshly other people, but to warn us to avoid falling in these ways, and to see these saints before us as imperfect beings so that we don't worship them.   

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! 

On ‎11‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 2:22 PM, Annette said:

But how soon encouragement comes back to David when he begins praising the Lord. 

When I am down and pour my heart out to the Lord, He always sends encouragement, and usually it's quickly after.  It could be an encouraging word from the Lord in a sermon or devotional, encouragement from a friend, or an unexpected blessing.  Psalm 3:3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.

Something that really stood out to me is that after praising the Lord is when good things come.  The more we trust and praise God, the more we have the things we truly desire including peace.                 

Philippians 4:19 My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.  That verse encourages me cause it didn't say He would meet some of my needs, but ALL!   

Thanks for sharing your heart!  (((Hugs))) 

There are so many life lessons in these passages today you could spend a week marinating on the info!  I’ll try to condense my thoughts/questions to a minimum, as this triggers so much in my brain. 

MATTHEW 7

·         One observation is in Matthew 7:1 it starts out by saying, “Do not judge.”  Then however in verses 16 and 21 of the same chapter it says that by their fruit you will recognize them.  You have to be inspecting the fruit or making a judgment of sorts to know if the fruit is good or bad.  Verse 2 says how we judge others is how we will be judged, so I think this is warning us not to judge harshly for if we are unmerciful to others we may not have mercy extended to us. This is where I think looking at the whole Word of God comes in especially handy. 1 Corinthians 5:12  What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  Although their actions may make us sad, I don’t think it’s our place to make harsh judgments on those outside of the body, for God will judge them.  I expect lost people to act lost because they have not pledged their lives to Christ. 

·         Verses 3-5 of Chapter 7 I think is clear that we need to work on ourselves first.  It reminds me of what my dad used to always say to us as kids, “Tend to your own.”  We shouldn’t be concerned about little problems with others if we have big problems of our own.  I also like in verse 5 where is says “first take the plank out of your own eye, and THEN you will see clearly how to remove the speck from your brother’s.”  So first work on ourselves, and then God will be able to better use us to help others. 

·         Verse 8 is a reminder to me that we have to read the context of a Scripture, otherwise we could make it say something it doesn’t mean.  The first part of 7:7 says “Ask and it will be given to you.”  If you took that out of context you could see God as a genie that just grants your wishes.  But, it’s talking about salvation, and those that truly seek Him will not be turned away. 

·         Verse 12 of chapter 7 just reminded me of one of the Golden Rules in secular school growing up.  My teacher would say, “Do unto others as you want done to you,” to our class.  She didn’t quote it as a Scripture and might not have known it was in the Bible, but it is a very biblical principle.  The Word of God is powerful, it’s good, and it can influence people without them even knowing it sometimes. 

·         In Matthew 7: 22 where it says many will call out to the Lord and tell Him what they have done, but He tells them to depart from Him and calls them evildoers.  My question is, do you think they really had deceived themselves into thinking they were going to heaven since they cried out Lord, Lord, or do you think deep down inside they knew they were just pretending to be a Christian? 

·         Just a random thought on verses 24-27 of chapter 7, this reminds me of the 3 Pigs & the Big, Bad Wolf children’s story.  The wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses made of straw and sticks.  He can’t destroy the 3^rd pig’s house because it’s made of bricks.  With Christ as our rock and God on our side we are like the 3^rd house made out of a bricks, a firm foundation.

EXODUS 37 & 38

·         Just wanted to encourage anyone who has not been to the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, KY to visit. It has a full size replica of Noah’s Ark.  There’s lots of exhibits and Scripture throughout showing from creation to Christ’s resurrection.  Ken Ham is the creator of this place, and he is a creationist and apologist, defending the faith. 

Genesis 48:18-19 says, Joseph said to him, "No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head," but his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.” I find it interesting that Jacob/Israel blessed Joseph's 2^nd born (Ephraim,) over his 1^st born (Mannasseh.) It kind of repeated what had happened with Jacob himself, only he stole the blessing from his older brother, Essau , by deceiving his father, Isaac. There's obviously a reason that God put this in here and allowed this to happen that way. In tradition, the 1^st born always received the blessing, inheritance, and a place of respect which made them privileged. Deuteronomy 21:17 says, But he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of strength; to him belongs the right of the firstborn. I wonder if God saw that as an area of pride, and decided to humble mankind, even His people. It was definitely God that allowed the order to be reversed because He's in control of all things, and nothing happens without Him allowing it. Any thoughts on this?

5 hours ago, Steve_S said:

I think the big takeaway here is that the generation that saw all the signs is also the one that (mostly) rejected Christ.

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts Steve!  I really like all that you had to say, and it all makes a lot of sense.  I also like that you use the Bible to back up your thoughts.  The part quoted above really stood out to me because Christ knew that outwardly they were appearing religious, but that their hearts were not right.  He was calling them out in a sense because they were making a mockery of what Jesus was saying by calling for a sign, and not trusting what Jesus said.  I still find it hard to wrap my mind around that they witnessed Christ's miracles, and spent time with Him on the Earth, and still rejected Him.  John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.   

8 hours ago, Omegaman 3.0 said:

but are you sure he does not do it, just to boost his post count?

Omega!!!  Too funny!    We love ya Joe!  <3

2 hours ago, FresnoJoe said:

There's my FresnoJoe heart that I love to see!  Hope you are well today Joe!