Search the Community

Genesis 2: 16The LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." There is a lot I do not understand about this tree of knowledge. Why would God plant a tree with fruit that: "was a delight to the eyes". Then forbid them to eat the fruit from this tree? Genesis 3 6"When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate" Genesis 1:31 31"God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good." IF everything God made was good then where did the evil come from? Why did God plant this tree if it was not good for them? If day means day then why did they not die the day they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Also I wonder about Ezekiel when he talks about the Cedar trees of Lebanon. Ezekiel 31 "9'I made it beautiful with the multitude of its branches, And all the trees of Eden, which were in the garden of God, were jealous of it. If all of the tree of Eden were Jealous of the cedar in Lebanon, does that mean Lebanon was better than Eden back in it's days of purity? Also how can a tree be "Jealous", do they have feeling? Could a tree talk like a snake could talk back in the days of Eden?

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in Heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." - Ephesians 3:14-19 Thank God that the Holy Spirit dwells within us with the fullness of His love so that we are not left with our limitations. As we think on God's love, forgiveness, compassion, and grace we know that there is no way to measure or contain His capacity in these things. Every attribute that God has is eternal and cannot be contained or measured. UNLIKE HUMAN LOVE His love has no beginning and no end; it is eternal in every way. His love was upon us before we were formed and will extend to us throughout eternity. Human love most often depends upon the actions of another, but God's love has no dependency or expectation upon another. He is not capable of withholding love or wavering in His love toward us. Even in the midst of our sin and constant "wavering" affections, His love is immeasurable and unmovable. The same is true with every attribute of God. His forgiveness is eternal in every sense of the word. His grace, mercy, wisdom, power, righteousness, justice and goodness are absolutely measureless and cannot be contained within time or space. Often we misunderstand God's ways with us as being measurable by believing that He is withholding from us (healing, provision, blessings, etc.). Our understanding is limited to our experience or our ability to imagine God's ways, but still everything we know or imagine is contained within the limits of our humanity. We are not able to comprehend that which is not comprehensible. As humans, we live within the boundaries of time and space; God is the only immeasurable thing we know. So how do we do what Ephesians 3:14-19 says? How do we grasp how long, wide, high, or deep is the love of God if it is immeasurable and uncontainable? We can only grasp it by understanding verse 19: "to know this love that surpasses knowledge..." We must grasp the truth that HIS LOVE for us will always SURPASS our knowledge and our limited understanding. ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

Hosea 4:6 - "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." This infers that if God's people had knowledge of who they really are in Christ, of who God is, and of the rights and privileges of their DOMINION -- they wouldn't be destroyed. Jesus walked in union with His Father. We too must do the same with Him. We only have true SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY to the degree that we are abiding in Him. The angels do not respect us and the demons do not obey us because of who we are, but because of who is in us. Affirmation: MY IGNORANCE OF THE WORD OF GOD IS THE ONLY EFFECTIVE WEAPON AN ENEMY CAN USE AGAINST ME. John 15:7 - "If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." Observation: ONCE THE WORD OF GOD BEGINS TO ABIDE IN ME AND IT BECOMES A RHEMA WORD (A WORD FROM GOD SPOKEN TO MY SPIRIT) THEN WHEN I TALK OR SPEAK IT, SITUATIONS WILL CHANGE. Remember that joy is not dependent on your circumstances. Some of the world’s most miserable people are those whose circumstances seem the most enviable. People who reach the top of the ladder career-wise are often surprised to find emptiness awaiting them. True Joy is a by-product of living in His Presence. Therefore you can experience it in palaces, in prisons…anywhere. Do not judge a day as devoid of Joy just because it contains difficulties. Instead, concentrate on staying in communication with Him. Many of the problems that clamor for your attention will resolve themselves. Other matters you must deal with, but He will help you with them. If you make problem-solving secondary to the goal of living close to Him, you can find Joy even in your most difficult days. "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights." - Habakkuk 3:17–19 "Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy in his dwelling place." - 1 Chronicles 16:27 ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

A collection of some of the Proofs of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Bible ? ? ✝️ ? ? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *******Please go to YouTube and search for "Proofs of God, Christ, and the Bible Playlist" to find a playlist of 78 videos and growing of proofs of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Bible!******* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoy the written articles, here! Scientific The scientific evidence against spanking, timeouts, and sleep training http://qz.com/310622/the-scientific-evidence-against-spanking-timeouts-and-sleep-training/ Young Earth Science http://creation.com/age-of-the-earth#20110326 101 evidences for a young age of the Earth and the universe http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/101_evidences_for_a_young_age_of_the_Earth_and_the_universe Ten Reasons Why Sex Should Wait Until Marriage http://www.unification.net/tfv/tenreasons.html Archaeological Biblical Archaeology: Factual Evidence to Support the Historicity of the Bible http://www.equip.org/article/biblical-archaeology-factual-evidence-to-support-the-historicity-of-the-bible/ Ten Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/free-ebooks/ten-top-biblical-archaeology-discoveries/ Archaeology and the Bible http://www.christiananswers.net/archaeology/home.html Does Archaeology Support the Bible? https://answersingenesis.org/archaeology/does-archaeology-support-the-bible/ Archaeology and the Bible http://www.alwaysbeready.com/archaeological-evidence-for-the-bible Archeological Evidence http://www.bibleevidences.com/archeology.htm 50 People in the Bible Confirmed Archaeologically! http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/50-people-in-the-bible-confirmed-archaeologically/ Archaeological proof of the Exodus from Egypt (Not an affiliate) http://www.patternsofevidence.com/ History Institute Creation Research “The Bible has proven to be more historically and archaeologically accurate than any other ancient book. It has been subjected to the minutest scientific textual analysis possible to humanity and has been proven to be authentic in every way.” http://www.icr.org/biblical-record History Of The Bible http://www.allaboutthejourney.org/history-of-the-bible.htm Health Health Benefits of Fasting! (Cleansing not recommended) http://www.santosaphuket.com/fasting-water-vs-dry/ These Identical Twins Prove That Smoking Ages You http://guff.com/these-identical-twins-prove-that-smoking-ages-you/501 Nature / The Universe The Fibonacci Sequence Represented in the Universe, Plants, Animals, the Human Body, and more! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100518867557259&type=1&l=4e3a6843cd Beauty in every grain: For the first time remarkable photographs reveal hidden charms of ordinary SAND http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2011471/Pictures-sand-Close-photographs-reveal-incredible-beauty.html 26 Pictures Will Make You Re-Evaluate Your Entire Existence http://zumfeed.com/space/1222-26-pictures-will-make-you-re-evaluate-your-entire-existence.html Medical Science Proof We Can Think With Our <3 Hearts <3 Like the Bible has Made Clear! http://www.naturalnews.com/028537_organ_transplants_memories.html The Most Powerful Natural Antibiotic Ever – Kills Any Infections in The Body http://www.getholistichealth.com/41297/the-most-powerful-natural-antibiotic-ever-kills-any-infections-in-the-body/ Lemon is allegedly 10,000 stronger than chemotherapy in killing cancer cells! http://www.getholistichealth.com/42611/heres-why-you-should-always-freeze-your-lemons/ New Study Links GMOs To Cancer, Liver/Kidney Damage & Severe Hormonal Disruption http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/07/15/new-study-links-gmos-to-cancer-liverkidney-damage-severe-hormonal-disruption/ How Negative Thoughts and Emotions Harm Your Body http://steptohealth.com/negative-thoughts-emotions-harm-body/ The Dangers of Synthetic Foods http://3harmfulfoods.com/?v15=1&rc=1 Astronomy New Astronomical Proofs for the Existence of God http://www.reasons.org/articles/new-astronomical-proofs-for-the-existence-of-god The Bible and Astronomy http://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/is-the-bible-true/the-bible-and-astronomy

1 Corinthians 8:1 - "Now, the matter about food offered to idols. It is true, of course, that "all of us have knowledge," as they say. Such knowledge, however, puffs a man up with pride; but love builds up." OBSERVATION: "Knowledge puffs up......" Notice Paul didn't say unbiblical knowledge or carnal knowledge. Knowledge, including that whichcomes from scripture, has the potential to make me proud. So how can I protect myself from the pride that comes from knowledge, even when it's from the bible? I must be certain that it takes me to Jesus! Revelation 3:15,16 - "I know what you have done; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were either one or the other! But because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit, you out of my mouth." IN THE MIDST OF WORLDLINESS, LUKEWARMNESS, AND OUTRIGHT DECEPTIONS, THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM IS THE MESSAGE JESUS SAID WOULD BE PROCLAIMED IN THE LAST DAYS. AND IF WE ARE LISTENING TO SOMETHING THAT DOES NOT CENTER US FIRMLY UPON THE PATH INTO GOD'S KINGDOM, IF WE ARE NOT BECOMING LIKE JESUS IN HOLINESS AND POWER, WE ARE BEING MISLED, AND THAT MISLEADING KNOWLEDGE IS AN IDOL. 2 Timothy 3:5 - "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. " Matthew 16:18 - "On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Where precisely are the gates of hell? Where does the devil sit in power? The mind is the gatekeeper of the Kingdom of God. It is the place of access, transition, and power. It follows that the gates of hell are set up in people's minds. Jesus made this clear: Matthew 16:23 - "But He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.'" When you've been given the Spirit of God, you lose the privilege of claiming, "I'm only human." Paul rebukes the church at Corinth for behaving like mere men (1 Corinthians 3:3). The gate of hell is in our minds any time we agree with a man-centered perspective or natural wisdom that does not know God. We empower demonic forces and become a gate to release his power to kill, steal, and destroy our lives. Affirmation: I AM A GATEWAY FOR HEAVEN'S REALITY TO TAKE OVER EVERY PART OF MY LIFE, AND THE LIVES OF PEOPLE WHO I INFLUENCE, NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL THE SPECIFIC SITUATION IS. ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

Ephesians 3:19 - "And to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fulness of God." THERE IS A PLACE GREATER THAN KNOWLEDGE WHERE WE ABIDE IN CHRIST'S LOVE. THIS IS, INDEED, THE STRONGHOLD OF GOD. IT IS A PLACE WHERE OUR KNOWLEDGE OF GOD IS FULFILLED WITH THE SUBSTANCE OF GOD. WE CANNOT TRULY KNOW GOD WITHOUT, IN SOME WAY, ALSO EXPERIENCING HIS PERSON. WE MUST SEEK HIM UNTIL WE PASS THROUGH OUR KNOWLEDGE INTO AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE ALMIGHTY. WE MUST LEARN HOW TO LISTEN TO HIM; AS WE HEAR, OUR CALL IS TO THEN ASCEND HIGHER TO THE DWELLING PLACE OF LOVE THAT FLOODS OUR BEING WITH HIMSELF. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 - "May the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Observation: WHEN THE WORD OF GOD IS ABIDING IN ME AND FUNCTIONING PROPERLY, IT WORKS ON ME FIRST BEFORE IT WORKS ON MY CIRCUMSTANCES, "SEPARATING" MY SPIRIT, MY SOUL (MIND, WILL, AND EMOTIONS), AND MY BODY AND GETTING MY SPIRIT INTO A POSITION WHERE I CAN HEAR GOD WITHOUT THE INFLUENCE OF MY SOUL OR BODY. Ephesians 1:17,19,20 - "That He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the deep and intimate knowledge of Him. And so that you can know and understand what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength. Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places." The Holy Spirit within the believer ministers truth by revelation. In other words, it is revealed, not figured out. God does not talk to our brains! He speaks to the spirit of man. Jesus never said that water would flow out of your head, but that, "Out of your innermost being would flow rivers of living water." John 7:36 This is the ultimate Christianity -- communication and communion with the Holy Spirit, knowing more and more about Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Affirmation: I KNOW THE MIRACLE OF RESURRECTION FOR ME IS -- JESUS IS THE POWER AND THE POWER IS ALWAYS PRESENT -- THAT SAME POWER THAT RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD, ENABLES ME TO RISE OUT OF MY ADVERSE CIRCUMSTANCES AND STEP INTO THE PURPOSES OF GOD FOR MY LIFE. ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

1 Corinthians 2:9 - "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." Observation: CREATIVE ART IS PRODUCED BY THE SOUL (MIND, WILL, AND EMOTIONS) AND CAN ALSO BE CALLED IMAGINATIVE ART. CREATIVE ART CAN CHANGE A PERSON FOR THE SHORT-TERM, BUT IT HAS NO LONG-TERM EFFECT ON ITS VIEWERS. SPIRITUAL ART FLOWS FROM OUR SPIRIT'S COMMUNION WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. THE SPIRIT THEN USES THE SOUL AND BODY TO PRODUCE INCREDIBLE WORK. TOO OFTEN WE HAVE SETTLED FOR CREATING FROM OUR SOUL OR BODY WHEN A HIGHER CALL HAS BEEN TRYING TO REACH US. MAY WE LEARN TO CREATE FROM OUR SPIRIT, SEEING SPIRITUAL FRUIT THAT COMES FROM OUR ENDEAVORS. Ephesians 3:19 - "That you may really come to know through experience for yourselves the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge (without experience): that you may be filled (through your whole being) unto all the fullness of God (may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God himself)." THE ANCIENT GREEKS HAD NO WORD FOR "REALITY." TO THEM, "TRUTH" AND "REALITY," IN ESSENCE, WERE THE SAME. INDEED, THE HOLY SPIRIT'S PURPOSE IS TO LEAD US INTO ALL THE TRUTH, THAT IS, INTO THE FULNESS OF THE REALITY OF GOD. PETER DID NOT SUCCUMB UNDER THE CONVICTING POWER OF "RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE" - HE MET THE REALITY OF JESUS CHRIST! ON THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS, PAUL WAS NOT BLINDED AND DEVASTATED BY A "NEW DOCTRINE" - HE MET THE REALITY OF JESUS CHRIST! WHEN JOHN BEHELD OUR GLORIFIED LORD ON PATMOS, IT WAS NOT A "NEW SPIRITUAL INSIGHT" THAT LEFT HIM SLAIN AS A DEAD MAN -- HE BEHELD JESUS CHRIST! IT IS THIS EXPLOSIVE REVELATION OF CHRIST HIMSELF THAT WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE GRACE OF GOD. "Consider the ROCK from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined." - Isaiah 51:1-2 Our adversary has been busy in an effort to distract us and dull our memory of who we are and Whose we are, where we've come from and where we're going. Religious spirits are experts at getting us to fear things we do not understand, compare ourselves to others, and compete with one another. Even as a child, the enemy tried to subvert or supplant our view of who we are and replace it with a corrupt view of our own self, implanting painful or confusing incidents that changed our perception of ourselves. He brought people into our life who treated us as though we were something we are not. They've released the enemy's poison and venom and seeds of poisonous, corrupt theories of who we are in order to blind us to the reality of who God DESTINED us to be. ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

As sons and daughters of the King, we have been given authority to pray Heaven's blessings to earth. It is God's desire to bless us and for us to witness and "see" His promises manifest. Just as Jeremiah was given the ability to "see" his new season (see Jeremiah 1:4-12), we are present-day Jeremiahs – having our eyes opened to understand and know all that God has formed for us (our future and DESTINY) has been preserved. No enemy will be able to steal our future unless we let him! The devil cannot take away what God has promised you unless you allow him entrance. POSITIONED FOR REVELATION What is His perfect will? It's easy to know because it is all written in His Word. Yet, there are times when we are being positioned for the "revelation" contained within His Word to us. Revelation is the hidden knowledge of God being made known. We are entering a season where many mysteries are being revealed. God has not withheld revelation FROM you; He has withheld revelation FOR you. Revelation occurs as God's wisdom and knowledge are released – as if He lifts a veil that has covered our eyes and we are now able to see. DRAWING NEAR It is His desire that we move closer – reposition ourselves to "draw near." And, in an intimate relationship, He will speak to us concerning mysteries. It is time to"Set your mind of the things above, not on the things that are on the earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:2-3). It is your season to be as Jeremiah and allow God to touch your mouth (Jeremiah 1:9) so that you are empowered to see and confess all that Heaven says about God's PURPOSE for your life, your circumstances, and your future! BATTLE AGAINST UNBELIEF If you recall, Jeremiah could not see his future until God "touched his mouth." The word "touched" is the Greek word naga (Strongs 5060)and implies that God struck the unbelief that had held Jeremiah's faith captive. The word also implies a "violent act." Think about this a moment. God did a violent act against Jeremiah's unbelief. God, Himself, went to battle against Jeremiah's mindsets concerning his abilities to be used by God (see Jeremiah 1:1-12). The finished work at the Cross promises you a new season. Jeremiah was able to "see" an almond branch budding. The almond branch is the first branch to bloom in a new season. SEE your NEW season! ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

Proverbs 20:27 - "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly." As we begin to cry out from a deep engaging of the Spirit of the living God within our spirits, we experience the communion of the Holy Spirit, which is a place of deep to deep fellowship with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit searches out the deep counsel of God for you and reveals it to you. OBSERVATION: If I am sensitive to my spirit, the Lord will tell me what to pray about. He will alert me to those things that need to be addressed in prayer. I become sensitive to my spirit by meditating on spiritual things at all times -- by meditating on the Lord, on His goodness, on His greatness, and on His Word. AFFIRMATIONS: Out of His glorious riches He strengthens me with power through His Spirit in my inner man. (Ephesians 3:16) I receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. (Ephesians 1:17) The same Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead dwells in me. So therefore I walk in His Kingdom power. I walk in the Presence of the Lord, in step with Him. His fire surrounds me and His Glory dwells within me. My speech demonstrates the power of God’s Spirit in my life. (I Corinthians 2:4) "God put His stamp of ownership (seal)on you by giving you the Holy Spirit he had promised...so that your minds may be opened to see His light, so that you will know what is the hope to which he has called you...and how very great is his power at work in us who believe. This power in us is the same as the mighty strength which he used when he raise Christ from death." - Ephesians 1:13,18-20 To be sealed means to be stamped with an image. That means, when we were born again, we were stamped with the likeness of the Anointed One. We were made to look like the Lord Jesus Christ on the inside. OBSERVATION: Shall we stop short of what He says we ought to be -- shall we cease to come into line with the Mind which is always thinking for our best -- shall we cease to humble ourselves before him who took the way of the cross for us -- shall we cease to withhold ourselves from Him. Can a true believer come to God today without a cry to God to make them, as it were, flames of fire? God shall endue you in that you won't be satisfied until you feel the very members of your body on fire with a Spirit-kindled PURPOSE. Song of Solomon 3:10 - "He made the pillars of silver and the couch of gold. the ascent is of purple and the middle of it is decorated with love for the daughters of Jerusalem." THE PILLARS OF THE HUMANITY OF JESUS CHRIST ARE OF SILVER. HIS COUCH, WHICH IS THE DIVINE NATURE OF CHRIST, IS MADE OF GOLD. THE ASCENT, OR THE ENTRY WAY, SPEAKS OF THE JOURNEY OF JESUS CHRIST. THE MIDDLE OF THE ROYAL CHARIOT IS DECORATED WITH GOLD ORNAMENTS; THIS SHOWS THAT LOVE IS THE CROWNING GLORY OF ALL THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. JESUS CHRIST CONTAINS ALL THE TREASURES OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE IN THE FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD. ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

The Subjections taught in the bible is concerned with being subject to the Authorities established by God. The Problems facing us in our day are do to men living (outside)-the Authority of God. True service is initiated by God.,When man serves under Gods authority,he is thereby accepted. Many consider themselves obedient to God while actually knowing nothing of being subject to Gods delegated authority . He who is truly obedient will find Gods authority I every circumstance ,in the home,and in other situations. After we have meet (Gods) authority,we will realize how much ,we have sinned against GOD. Note)-Those who know not God and Christ know neither authority nor obedience . Christ is the principle of obedience. He who accepts Christ accepts the principles of obedience . A person who is filled with Christ must be one who is also filled with obedience. May God be merciful to those who claim they know authority when obedience is yet missing in their lives.....Amen Heb, 5:8)-Christ "learned obedience through what He suffered. Those who are obedient will experience the ubundance of Salvation. Acts 5:32)-And we are witneses of these things,and so is the Holy Spirit ,whom God have givin to them that obey Him. I peter 1:22)- Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth. Acts 22:10)-"What shall I do Lord? He not only believed,he in addition submitted to the LORD .His repentance was caused both by understanding (Grace) and by ( Obedience) by authority .When he was moved by the holy Spirit to see the authority of the gospel ,he addressed JESUS AS LORD God calls us not only to receive HIS LIFE through FAITH ,but also to maintain HIS AUTHORITY through OBEDIENCE. I John 3:1)-We will draw nearer to our Blessed Savior,And Jesus will draw nearer to us and heal us...Amen Blessings,With Gods Grace, 7Dove77

1 Corinthians 2:2 - "For I resolved to know nothing (to be acquainted with nothing, to make a display of the knowledge of nothing, and to be conscious of nothing) among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." The Holy Spirit within the believer ministers truth by revelation. In other words, it is revealed, not figured out. God does not talk to our brains! He speaks to the spirit of man. Jesus never said that water would flow out of your head, but that, "Out of your innermost being would flow rivers of living water." John 7:36 Observation: NOTHING THAT I SEEK CAN BE AS SATISFYING TO MY SOUL, NO OTHER ANSWER AS BENEFICIAL, AS SEEING CHRIST WITH THE EYES AND UNDERSTANDING OF MY INNER MAN. Ephesians 1:17,18 - "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened." Ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten the eyes of your understanding. Ephesians 6:17 - "And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God." Affirmations: I HAVE THE EXACT WORD I NEED FOR EVERY SITUATION - A SPECIFIC, QUICKENED WORD FROM THE SCRIPTURES, PLACED IN MY HEART BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. BECAUSE THIS RHEMA FROM GOD IS IN MY HEART, I HAVE REAL SWORD POWER TO USE AGAINST THE ENEMY! Song of Solomon 1:7 - "Tell me, you who my soul loves, where you feed you feed your flock, where you rest at mid-day." YOU BEG YOUR BELOVED (JESUS) TO SHOW YOU WHERE HE FEEDS HIS FLOCKS; YOU WANT TO EAT THE FOOD THAT HE GIVES THOSE THAT ARE UNDER HIS CARE. YOU DESIRE TO BE LOST IN GOD WITH JESUS WHERE YOU WILL WANT TO REST FOREVER. SIN CANNOT DECEIVE YOU THERE, AND HE WILL KEEP YOU FROM WANDERING AWAY. Psalm 23: 1,2,6 - "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

1 Corinthians 2:16 - "For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ, the Messiah, and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart. " If you feel weary and discouraged, in need of wisdom and direction, simply ask for God's grace and guidance. As we seek His PURPOSE FOR OUR LIFE and not just the benefits of "His hand," we will find that the more we know Abba Father, the more His love and compassion will emanate through us. The light and wisdom we seek from above are not to be found in human programs of education and psychology, or even in our common sense and good intentions, but only, exclusively, in the Person of Christ Jesus. "He has been made unto us wisdom." - 1 Corinthians 1:30. Affirmations: GOD WANTS ME TO BE SO IN TUNE WITH HIS SPIRIT THAT I AM ABLE TO FEEL HIS HEART OF COMPASSION TOWARD THOSE AROUND ME WHO ARE HURTING OR AFFLICTED WITH SICKNESS AND PAIN. SINCE HE IS ONE WITH ME, HE CAN REACH OUT THROUGH MY HANDS AND FULFILL HIS PURPOSES IN THE EARTH. 1 Corinthians 3:3 - "You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?" GOD HAS MORE FOR US THAT MERELY BECOMING BETTER PEOPLE; HE WANTS TO FLOOD OUR LIVES WITH THE SAME POWER THAT RAISED CHRIST FROM THE DEAD! GOD DOES NOT MERELY WANTS US "NORMAL," HE WANTS US CHRISTLIKE! Romans 5:20 - "But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." Observation: GOD USES DARK MOMENTS AS OPPORTUNITIES TO POUR OUT HIS GRACE AND TO SHOW OTHERS WHO HE IS! I CHOOSE TO PUSH AWAY ALL MY FEARS AND TO BELIEVE THAT GOD IS GOING TO DO SOMETHING MIRACULOUS TO SAVE THE DAY! ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

Luke 18:1 - "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." Since He has given humanity authority over the earth, He requires the permission or authorization of mankind in order to act on the earth. This is why, when we stop praying, we allow God's purposes for the word to be hindered. Matthew 16:19 - "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." AFFIRMATIONS: I bind and cast out those things that are unfruitful and I loose the blessings of God in my life through the confession of His word. (Matthew 16:19) Since I live vitally united to Jesus and his words continue to live in my heart, I ask whatever I will, and it shall be done for me. (John 15:7) I continually ask, seek, and knock concerning the things God has prepared for me because Jesus says I will receive, find, and it will be opened for me. (Matthew 7:7,8) 2 Peter 3:14 - "With this to look forward to, do your utmost to be found at peace with Him, unblemished and above reproach in his sight." Observation: WE WANT A PEACE THAT TEMPORARILY COMFORTS AND CODDLES BECAUSE WE DO NOT LIKE TO BE CHALLENGED OR CHANGED. THE PEACE THAT FLOWS INTO US FROM THE LORD SATISFIES THE SOUL WITH FULL ASSURANCE THAT HE IS STILL FOR US, EVEN AS WE ARE BEING TAKEN THROUGH FIRE - IN WHICH WE CAN BE CHANGED INTO HIS LIKENESS. 2 Corinthians 3:18 - "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord." Proverbs 8:10 - "Receive my instruction and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold." Observation: MY IGNORANCE IS THE ONLY WEAPON THE ENEMY CAN USE AGAINST ME. ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

1. What is the primary purpose for developing a righteousness consciousness? Answer: It is so that we will respond to life as much like Jesus as possible. We have been predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." - Romans 12:2 "For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven." - Matthew 5:20 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." - Ephesians 2:10 2. How is Jesus able to do only that which He saw the father do and say what He heard the father say? Answer: Because of His awareness of the presence of God within Him; Jesus walked in holiness; Jesus nurtured His holiness through continual fellowship with His Father. "After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone." - Matthew 14:23 "Truly, truly, I say to you, 'the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing, for whatever the Father does, these things the son also does in like manner. For Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes." - Matthew 5:19,21 "I and the Father are one." - John 10:30 3. What are some of the benefits of personal fellowship with God? Answer: Fellowship will cause us to know God and to think and respond the way He does. Fellowship purges us: causes holiness. "That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me." -John 17:21 "For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust." - 2 Peter 1:4 "Since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh." - Hebrews 10:19,20 4. What is true holiness? Holiness is conduct that is in line with God's standards. "For in Christ there is all of God in a human body; so you have everything when you have Christ, and you are filled with God through your union with Christ." - Colossians 2:9,10 "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." -Romans 8:29 "Leaving your former way of life, you must lay aside that old human nature which, deluded by its lusts, is sinking towards death. You must be made new in mind and spirit, and put on the new nature of God's creating, which shows itself in the just and devout life called for by the truth." - Ephesians 4:22-24 5. List at least two benefits to having a righteousness consciousness? Answers: Will cause us to love others; Will cause us to refuse to participate in anything which serves Satan; Motivates our every action and thought to glorify God. "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him." - John 14:21 "...every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you." -John 15:2,3 INTO ACTION: Affirm and meditate on the indicated scriptures several times daily until the renewing of your mind is made real to your spirit. AFFIRMTIONS: I bring forth much fruit because I abide in Jesus. The fruit I bear is through Christ only. (John 15.5) I am holy since I am in Christ Jesus and Jesus is in God and God is holy.(Leviticus 20:7) I hold fast to the confession of my faith since God is faithful to perform His word. (Hebrews 10:23) ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

Job 2:13 - "So they sat down with Job on the ground for seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief and pain were very great." Job's life helped create the awareness for the need of a savior. Job is the question. Jesus is the answer. If our study of Job (and other Old Testament issues) doesn't lead us to Jesus as the answer, it reveals we never really understood the question. Any understanding we have about the nature of God that can't be seen in the person of Jesus, must be questioned. Ephesians 4:13 - "In the knowledge of the Son of God we shall become like mature men, reaching to the very height of Christ's stature." Notice that coming into maturity is the result of gaining the knowledge of the Son of God. This revelation will completely change the believer, because as we see Him we become like Him. This will enable us to accurately represent Jesus. Ephesians 1:17 - "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him." Prayer: I PRAY TO GOD TO GIVE ME THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND REVELATION IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST SO THAT THE EYES OF MY UNDERSTANDING MIGHT BE ENLIGHTENED AND THAT I MIGHT KNOW WHAT IS THE HOPE OF MY CALLING IN CHRIST. ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

I hope I don't rattle to many cages with this one.

A person doesn’t need to be smart to have the heart of God – even though it is wise to attain the heart of God. Nowhere in God’s Word does it indicate that the sons or children of God are the ones that are smart or have a great knowledge, but His children are the ones that have the same Spirit and nature of God, which is pure love. Knowledge, wisdom, or prophecy can be a gift of God to some of His children for the work of His kingdom, but any godly gifts without the heart of God are worthless and powerless for His kingdom. We are called to know God, but this doesn’t mean for us to have knowledge about God, but to be One in Spirit with Him. To know God or to be One in Spirit with Him is to have the same heart and Spirit as God, which is pure love, which is God’s Truth in action. 1 Cor 8:1-3 - Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God. NIV Watch out for the ones that have not the love of God, but claim they have the knowledge of God. 1 Tim 1:5-7 - The goal of this command is love , which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. NIV God says we will know whose child a person is by their love. To love others like God has loved us is right, but the ones that loves themselves and not others are not right and still of the devil. 1 John 3:10 - This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. NIV 1 John 4:7-9 - Dear friends, let us love one another, for LOVE COMES FROM GOD. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love DOES NOT KNOW God, because God is love. NIV When a person is living by the pure love of God, which is by God’s Holy Spirit, then they will be living the Truth of God and fulfilling the whole law of God. 1 Cor 16:14 - Do everything in love. NIV Rom 13:10 - Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. NIV Through Christ and having faith in Him, which is Truth, we can be fully filled with this pure love of God. The power to overcome all evil in us and around us is the power of God’s love, which He wants to impart into us. Eph 3:17-19 - And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love , may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. NIV To truly have the knowledge of God or know God, a person must be filled with the love of God first, because God is pure Love, and God’s Love is pure Truth. Anyone that is living by God pure love - will be fulfilling God’s Truth as well – even though they might not be able to comprehend and explain God’s Truth with their mouths. A person continuously living by the power of God’s pure love will show the world God’s Truth (Christ), even though they might not be given the gift of prophecy to proclaim God’s Truth with words. Heb 10:24 - And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. NIV

The State of Dull Fascination We are all subject to a strange dull fascination, stuck in the state of dull fascination. Our attention is attached to dull things, transfixed by dull things, enthralled by dull things, glued to dull things. This is pretty much de rigueur. It is what’s required of us – it’s how we’re ‘supposed to be’ and although we may not always be exactly happy to oblige (and might do our share of complaining) oblige we do all the same… We hypnotize ourselves with dull things, obsess over dull things, and completely preoccupy ourselves with dull things to the exclusion of anything else. The result of this therefore is that we end up thinking that we live in a world which is essentially ‘dull and tedious’. And the second result of this state of affairs is that we don’t actually realize that it’s so very dull and tedious because it’s normal to us, because it’s all we know. We think that everything is supposed to be like this – in the same way that Truman Burbank (the hero of the film The Truman Show) thinks that the stage-managed world he lives is ‘how things should be’… This is therefore nothing short of a full-on, no-holds-barred conspiracy – a conspiracy of the tedious against everything that’s not tedious, a conspiracy of the routine against the new, a conspiracy of the standardized against the unique, a conspiracy of wretched pestilential pedantic small-mindedness against the ecstasy of freedom, the ecstasy of illimitable consciousness." There can hardly be any doubt that such a conspiracy is in place – on the one hand poets and mystics testify to the truth that this ecstasy exists, and on the other hand we can readily observe that just about the whole human race is excluded from this oceanic feeling, terminally estranged from the endless depth and astonishing profundity of this uncreated or uncontrived reality. If you did see someone who wasn’t a stranger to this tremendous inner freedom and delight then surely it wouldn’t be hard to see it in them – after all, happiness and joy communicates itself just as surely as misery and pain does! In the end, all we can ever do is communicate our inner state; all we can ever do is communicate to others either our misery or our joy, either our pain or our happiness… So the question is, if this marvellous inner freedom exists then why would we conspire to keep ourselves ignorant of it? Why would we pretend that reality is so much crappier than it actually is? Why has the truth become so taboo, so unmentionable? Why in the name of all that is perverse would we insist so much on enslaving ourselves? We have worked so hard to build a wall of dull, routine nonsense and toxic banality around ourselves (excluding thereby all sight of anything better) but what possible motivation could there be to contrive such a state of affairs? Just what exactly is going on? When we’re socialized at home, when we’re ‘educated’ at school, we are trained to accept a hugely diminished version of reality, an extraordinarily narrowed and stilted version of what is true. In fact it’s so extremely diminished, so fantastically narrowed and stilted that it isn’t ‘a version’ of reality at all – it is a fabrication! It’s an analogue of the real, it’s an arbitrary game we have been compelled to learn and play under the false premise that ‘this is what life is all about’. And those who taught us to play this game were similarly taught (or ‘programmed’) themselves, so that no one really knows what’s happening, nor stands much of chance of breaking free from it all. It’s all pretty much a done deal; it’s all pretty much a foregone conclusion. As Terence McKenna says, ‘Culture is not your friend’ (Quoted at end of article.) But why do things have to be this way? In his book On the Psychology of the Unconscious Carl Jung writes – Where love rules, there is no will to power, and where power predominates, love is lacking. The one is the shadow of the other. This is most observable in families and relationships – where love is absent in that spider’s web of relationships known as ‘the family’ then everything is about manipulation and guilt. As any psychotherapist will tell you – when a parent does not truly love his or her child then they will deny them their freedom to be themselves, and make them into nothing more than extensions of themselves. Similarly, if I am in a relationship with you and I don’t love you, then instead of love comes controlling. I don’t know how to love and I make up for this inability of mine by controlling everything about you. I see you not as a person in your own right but my own property, an extension of myself. The expression of my ‘will to power’ is therefore to determine everything about you, and in the process eradicate anything about you that is truly yours. By having power over you I am annihilating you, and creating a shadow in its place – a shadow which is a reflection of myself. The same principle holds true for the ‘big pattern of relationships’ which is the society, nation, or state – in the absence of love there is nothing but controlling, nothing but the demand for conformity, and the inevitable result of this ‘conformity’ is (as Jung says elsewhere) the extinguishing of the genuine individual. And in place of the genuine individual, what we have left instead is ‘the shadow’ which is no more than the reflection of what the social system thinks we ought to be…. So one way to explain the unhappy state of affairs that we collectively find ourselves in is to say that it is because of the absence of love. As Jung says, we only have ‘the will to power’ (which is the same thing as ‘the need to control’) and in order to have control or power over people it is necessary to trap them, to deny them their freedom. After all, who can control a free person? If power is to be exercised then the first thing to do is make people unfree, make them lacking in something that only you can provide, so that they will become dependent on you, and this is exactly what the social system does to us. Instead of allowing us to be who we really are, it provides us with a false, ‘socially-conditioned’ identity that can only be maintained by what the system has to offer us – which essentially comes down to status and wealth. On the one hand we can offset the unconscious sense of inner impoverishment that comes about as a result of being ‘narrowly identified with the socially-constructed identity’ by buying stuff, which gives us a temporary feeling of gratification, and on the other hand we can compensate for our inner lack of freedom by being granted status in society – and the ability to exercise power over the less ‘successful’ members of society that comes with it! Everyone wants to be on top of the dung heap instead of at the bottom of it, and in this way the dynamics which create the system are put in place. After all, if we don’t join in the competitive struggle to succeed within the established system, then we’re inevitably going to end up at the bottom of the pile and who wants that? The world we are compelled to live in as a result of being snared by the system is however a very restricted and impoverished one. It ‘s a world that is made up – as we have said – entirely of dull things, dull things that we are obliged to fix our attention on if we are to stand any chance at winning at the game. The game itself is frightfully, horrendously dull – the game itself is hollow, pointless, lacking in any genuine content. The game equals ‘the state of dull fascination with two-dimensional external images’ – and this is the state of being we are required to be in, so that the system we have created for ourselves may continue to exist… We have been provided with a world that is made up of hollow promises and empty threats – a false world that is based on restrictions. This world is all we know, all we’re allowed to know, and so seems that we have no choice but to ‘get on with it’. Engaging with this world (and all the dull things it has to offer) renders us empty inside and unable to love, and in the absence of the ability to love all we can do to make ourselves feel better is try our best to exercise control over things and power over other people. Enforcing conformity in each other is how we get to involuntarily communicate our unhappiness, our inner impoverishment, and so in this way the system gets to perpetuate itself… By Nick Williams (Original text emphasis', none added) Source: http://csglobe.com/the-state-of-dull-fascination/ Culture is not your friend “What civilization is, is 7 billion people trying to make themselves happy by standing on each other’s shoulders and kicking each other’s teeth in. It’s not a pleasant situation. And yet, you can stand back and look at this planet and see that we have the money, the power, the medical understanding, the scientific know-how, the love, and the community to produce a kind of human paradise. But we are led by the least among us: the least intelligent, the least noble, the least visionary. We are led by the least among us and we do not fight back against the dehumanizing values that are handed down as control icons. Culture is not your friend. It is not your friend. It insults you. It disempowers you. It uses and abuses you. The culture is a perversion. It fetishizes objects, creates consumer mania, it preaches endless forms of false happiness, endless forms of false understanding in the form of squirrelly religions and silly cults. It invites people to diminish themselves and dehumanize themselves by behaving like machines; meme processors of memes passed down from Madison Avenue and Hollywood.” - Terence McKenna

‘It’s not science’ Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Colossians 2:8 Any Thoughts Or Beliefs On Science And Philosophical And Theological Assumptions And Such?

I'm trying to get a better understanding of Middle Knowledge ..... I've read several articles on both sides of the issue, and wondering if Middle Knowledge is really Biblical ... Does anyone have a good grasp of this issue, and whether or not there are serious problems with Middle Knowledge?