DESTINY REQUIRES AN ENCOUNTER WITH GOD 5-10-15

 VIDEO CALLING WHO I AM 2       

 Everyone wants to know WHY ARE WE HERE? But really we need to KNOW GOD-then the “WHY is answered”.

Ps 103:6  God makes everything come out right; he puts victims back on their feet.

7 He showed Moses how he went about his work, opened up his plans to all Israel.

8 God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he’s rich in love.

9 He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever.

10 He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.

11 As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is his love to those who fear him. MSG

Jer 29:10 This is God’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home.

11 I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out — plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

12 “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.

13 “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. “Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else,

14 I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree. “I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you” — God’s Decree MSG

Acts 22:14 And he said, The God of our forefathers has destined and appointed you to come progressively to know His will [to perceive, to recognize more strongly and clearly, and to become better and more intimately acquainted with His will], and to see the Righteous One (Jesus Christ, the Messiah), and to hear a voice from His [own] mouth and a message from His [own] lips; AMP

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Acts 22:14 “Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has handpicked you to be briefed on his plan of action. You’ve actually seen the Righteous Innocent and heard him speak. MSG

Isa 41:4 Who has prepared and done this, calling forth and guiding the destinies of the generations [of the nations] from the beginning? I, the Lord–the first [existing before history began] and with the last [an ever-present, unchanging God]–I am He.

APOSTLES THREATED   Acts 4:28 to carry out the plans you long ago set in motion.

29 “And now they’re at it again! Take care of their threats and give your servants fearless confidence in preaching your Message,

30 as you stretch out your hand to us in healings and miracles and wonders done in the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

31 While they were praying, the place where they were meeting trembled and shook. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God’s Word with fearless confidence. MSG

Job 42:2 I know that You can do all things, and that no thought or purpose of Yours can be restrained or thwarted.  AMP

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Job 42:2 “I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything. Nothing and no one can upset your plans. MSG

Ps 103:6  God makes everything come out right; he puts victims back on their feet.

7 He showed Moses how he went about his work, opened up his plans to all Israel.

8 God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he’s rich in love.

9 He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever.

10 He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.

11 As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is his love to those who fear him. MSG

Jer 1:5  “Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations — that’s what I had in mind for you.”   MSG

Acts 4:27 “For in fact they did meet — Herod and Pontius Pilate with nations and peoples, even Israel itself! — met in this very city to plot against your holy Son Jesus, the One you made Messiah,

28 to carry out the plans you long ago set in motion.

29 “And now they’re at it again! Take care of their threats and give your servants fearless confidence in preaching your Message,

30 as you stretch out your hand to us in healings and miracles and wonders done in the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

31 While they were praying, the place where they were meeting trembled and shook. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God’s Word with fearless confidence.  MSG

Eph 1:8  He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need,

9 letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ,

10 a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.

11 It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living,

12 part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

13 It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free — signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit.

14 This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.MSG

1 Peter 5:10 The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ — eternal and glorious plans they are! — will have you put together and on your feet for good. MSG

DESINY-Events that will happen in the future. The way to know the details-hows, whys—only come by knowing and having fellowship with the Father

John 5:17  But Jesus answered them, My Father has worked [even] until now, [He has never ceased working; He is still working] and I, too, must be at [divine] work.

18 This made the Jews more determined than ever to kill Him [to do away with Him]; because He not only was breaking (weakening, violating) the Sabbath, but He actually was speaking of God as being [in a special sense] His own Father, making Himself equal [putting Himself on a level] with God.

19 So Jesus answered them by saying, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, the Son is able to do nothing of Himself (of His own accord); but He is able to do only what He sees the Father doing, for whatever the Father does is what the Son does in the same way [in His turn].  AMP

John 5:30  I am able to do nothing from Myself [independently, of My own accord — but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders]. Even as I hear, I judge [I decide as I am bidden to decide. As the voice comes to Me, so I give a decision], and My judgment is right (just, righteous), because I do not seek or consult My own will [I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, My own aim, My own purpose] but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me.

John 5:36  But I have as My witness something greater (weightier, higher, better) than that of John; for the works that the Father has appointed Me to accomplish and finish, the very same works that I am now doing, are a witness and proof that the Father has sent Me.   AMP

VIDEO LARRY ENOUNTER 1B

FACE TO FACE  Ex 33:11 And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Moses returned to the camp, but his minister Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the [temporary prayer] tent.   AMP

Gen 32:30 Jacob named the place Peniel (God’s Face) because, he said, “I saw God face-to-face and lived to tell the story!”  MSG

Deut 5:1 AND MOSES called all Israel, and said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances which I speak in your hearing this day, that you may learn them and take heed and do them.

2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.

3 The Lord made this covenant not with our fathers, but with us, who are all of us here alive this day.

4 The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mount out of the midst of the fire.   AMP

Ex 24:9  Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up [the mountainside].

10 And they saw the God of Israel [that is, a convincing manifestation of His presence], and under His feet it was like pavement of bright sapphire stone, like the very heavens in clearness.

11 And upon the nobles of the Israelites He laid not His hand [to conceal Himself from them, to rebuke their daring, or to harm them]; but they saw [the manifestation of the presence of] God, and ate and drank.  AMP

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Ex 24:9  Then they climbed the mountain — Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel —

10 and saw the God of Israel. He was standing on a pavement of something like sapphires — pure, clear sky-blue.

11 He didn’t hurt these pillar-leaders of the Israelites: They saw God; and they ate and drank. MSG

Gen 5:24 And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God; and he was not, for God took him [home with Him].    AMP

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Gen 5:24 Enoch walked steadily with God. And then one day he was simply gone: God took him. MSG

Rom 6:10  For by the death He died, He died to sin [ending His relation to it] once for all; and the life that He lives, He is living to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him].

11 Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.  AMP

1 John 1:7  But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations]. AMP

Goal of unbroken fellowship is our destiny. Doing all we should walk in doing what we see the Father doing.

2 Peter 1:18 We were there on the holy mountain with him. We heard the voice out of heaven with our very own ears. MSG

Zech 3:7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in My ways and keep My charge, then also you shall rule My house and have charge of My courts, and I will give you access [to My presence] and places to walk among these who stand here.  AMP

Matt 16:19 “And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.”  MSG

Jn 14:21 The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.]

John 17:6  I have manifested Your Name [I have revealed Your very Self, Your real Self] to the people whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, and You gave them to Me, and they have obeyed and kept Your word.  AMP

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

1 John 5:20 And we [have seen and] know [positively] that the Son of God has [actually] come to this world and has given us understanding and insight [progressively] to perceive (recognize) and come to know better and more clearly Him Who is true; and we are in Him Who is true–in His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah). This [Man] is the true God and Life eternal.  AMP

Hosea 6:6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Luke 8:10 He said to them, To you it has been given to [come progressively to] know (to recognize and understand more strongly and clearly) the mysteries and secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that, [though] looking, they may not see; and hearing, they may not comprehend.  AMP

Eph 3:19 [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your 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]!  AMP

1 John 2:3 And this is how we may discern [daily, by experience] that we are coming to know Him [to perceive, recognize, understand, and become better acquainted with Him]: if we keep (bear in mind, observe, practice) His teachings (precepts, commandments).   AMP

Ex 33:13 Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You [progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, perceiving and recognizing and understanding more strongly and clearly] and that I may find favor in Your sight. And [Lord, do] consider that this nation is Your people.

14 And the Lord said, My Presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.   AMP

Phil 3:10 I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself.

Isa 52:6 Therefore My people shall know what My name is and what it means; therefore they shall know in that day that I am He who speaks; behold, I AM!

 VIDEO LARRY ENOUNTER 1B

OUT OF THE BOX 5-3-15     VIDEO JESUS HATES RELIGION

A way of thinking that exceeds are usual thoughts and shows us creativity. A product must be taken out of the box to become fully operational and useful. Difference in looking forward to something happening and seeing something  right now – Without limitations-boundaries.

Ps 147:5 Great is our Lord and of great power; His understanding is inexhaustible and boundless.  AMP

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Ps 147:5 Our Lord is great, with limitless strength; we’ll never comprehend what he knows and does  MSG

Eph 3:8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints (God’s consecrated people), this grace (favor, privilege) was granted and graciously entrusted: to proclaim to the Gentiles the unending (boundless, fathomless, incalculable, and exhaustless) riches of Christ [wealth which no human being could have searched out],  AMP

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Eph 3:8  When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God’s way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities. And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. MSG

Isa 40:12 The Creator of All You Can See or Imagine Who has scooped up the ocean in his two hands, or measured the sky between his thumb and little finger, Who has put all the earth’s dirt in one of his baskets, weighed each mountain and hill?

Isa 45:8 Let fall in showers, you heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness [the pure, spiritual, heaven-born possibilities that have their foundation in the holy being of God]; let the earth open, and let them [skies and earth] sprout forth salvation, and let righteousness germinate and spring up [as plants do] together; I the Lord have created it.  AMP

JESUS WAS DIFFERENT  Luke 4:18  The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity],

19 To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound.]

20 Then He rolled up the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were gazing [attentively] at Him.

21 And He began to speak to them: Today this Scripture has been fulfilled while you are present and hearing.  AMP

Matt 7:28  When Jesus concluded his address, the crowd burst into applause. They had never heard teaching like this. MSG

Jesus- An out of the box Ministry- at a time when Jews would not say the name of God He calls Him Father.

John 5:16  That is why the Jews were out to get Jesus — because he did this kind of thing on the Sabbath.

17 But Jesus defended himself. “My Father is working straight through, even on the Sabbath. So am I.”

18 That really set them off. The Jews were now not only out to expose him; they were out to kill him. Not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was calling God his own Father, putting himself on a level with God.

19 So Jesus explained himself at length. “I’m telling you this straight. The Son can’t independently do a thing, only what he sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does.

20 The Father loves the Son and includes him in everything he is doing. “But you haven’t seen the half of it yet, MSG

John 10:30  I and the Father are One.

31 Again the Jews brought up stones to stone Him.  AMP

Our divided thoughts-keeps us divided-No neutral ground

Matt 12:22  Next a poor demon-afflicted wretch, both blind and deaf, was set down before him. Jesus healed him, gave him his sight and hearing.

23 The people who saw it were impressed — “This has to be the Son of David!”

24 But the Pharisees, when they heard the report, were cynical. “Black magic,” they said. “Some devil trick he’s pulled from his sleeve.”

25 Jesus confronted their slander. “A judge who gives opposite verdicts on the same person cancels himself out; a family that’s in a constant squabble disintegrates;

26 if Satan banishes Satan, is there any Satan left?

27 If you’re slinging devil mud at me, calling me a devil kicking out devils, doesn’t the same mud stick to your own exorcists?

28 “But if it’s by God’s power that I am sending the evil spirits packing, then God’s kingdom is here for sure.  MSG

Matt 11:17 ‘We wanted to skip rope, and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk, but you were always too busy.’

18 John came fasting and they called him crazy.

19 I came feasting and they called me a lush, a friend of the riff-raff. Opinion polls don’t count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

2 Cor 6:11  Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life.

12 We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way.

13 I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively! MSG

John 3:34  For since He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God [proclaims God’s own message], God does not give Him His Spirit sparingly or by measure, but boundless is the gift God makes of His Spirit!  AMP

Rom 8:6  Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].  AMP

1 Cor 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.  AMP

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1 Cor 2:16  Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit. MSG

Eph 1:17  But I do more than thank. I ask — ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory — to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally,

18 your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for Christians,

19 oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him — endless energy, boundless strength!

20 All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven,

21 in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever.

22 He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church.

23 The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.

Out of the box thinking is the result of a renewed mind-seeing things from God viewpoint.

Rom 12:2  Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. AMP

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Rom 12:2 Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.  MSG

Eph 4:23  And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude],  AMP

Heb 3:10  And so I was provoked (displeased and sorely grieved) with that generation, and said, They always err and are led astray in their hearts, and they have not perceived or recognized My ways and become progressively better and more experimentally and intimately acquainted with them.  AMP

Luke 8:10 He said to them, To you it has been given to [come progressively to] know (to recognize and understand more strongly and clearly) the mysteries and secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that, [though] looking, they may not see; and hearing, they may not comprehend.  AMP

Ex 33:13  Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You [progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, perceiving and recognizing and understanding more strongly and clearly] and that I may find favor in Your sight. And [Lord, do] consider that this nation is Your people.  AMP

Heb 8:11  And it will nevermore be necessary for each one to teach his neighbor and his fellow citizen or each one his brother, saying, Know (perceive, have knowledge of, and get acquainted by experience with) the Lord, for all will know Me, from the smallest to the greatest of them.  AMP

Eph 6:10  In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].  AMP

1 Peter 1:3  Praised (honored, blessed) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)! By His boundless mercy we have been born again to an ever-living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,AMP

Heb 10:16 This is the agreement (testament, covenant) that I will set up and conclude with them after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their hearts, and I will inscribe them on their minds (on their inmost thoughts and understanding),  AMP

2 Cor 5:13  For if we are beside ourselves [mad, as some say], it is for God and concerns Him; if we are in our right mind, it is for your benefit,

14 For the love of Christ controls and urges and impels us, because we are of the opinion and conviction that [if] One died for all, then all died;

15 And He died for all, so that all those who live might live no longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him Who died and was raised again for their sake.

16 Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no one from a [purely] human point of view [in terms of natural standards of value]. [No] even though we once did estimate Christ from a human viewpoint and as a man, yet now [we have such knowledge of Him that] we know Him no longer [in terms of the flesh].

17 Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

18 But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him].  AMP

Phil 3:13 I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

14 I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.

15 So let those [of us] who are spiritually mature and full-grown have this mind and hold these convictions; and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make that clear to you also.

16 Only let us hold true to what we have already attained and walk and order our lives by that.  AMP

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Phil 3:13  Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward — to Jesus.

14 I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

15 So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision — you’ll see it yet!

16 Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.  MSG

VIDEO SPOKEN WORD JESUS VS RELIGION

ONCE DARKNESS NOW LIGHT 4-26-15  

VIDEO THOUGHTS ON SHINNING LIGHT  

DARKNESS- misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness:  night, obscurity.

LIGHT- luminary (in every sense, including lightning, happiness,  the light of prosperity, the light of instruction

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect (free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].  AMP

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James 1:17  Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. MSG

1 John 1:5  And this is the message [the message of promise] which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [no, not in any way].  AMP

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1 John 1:5 This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in him.   MSG

John 3:19  The [basis of the] judgment (indictment, the test by which men are judged, the ground for the sentence) lies in this: the Light has come into the world, and people have loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light, for their works (deeds) were evil.

20 For every wrongdoer hates (loathes, detests) the Light, and will not come out into the Light but shrinks from it, lest his works (his deeds, his activities, his conduct) be exposed and reproved.

21 But he who practices truth [who does what is right] comes out into the Light; so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are — wrought with God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence upon Him].  AMP

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John 3:19  “This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God.

20 Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure.

21 But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.” MSG

Matt 17:2 And His appearance underwent a change in their presence; and His face shone clear and bright like the sun, and His clothing became as white as light.   AMP

Matt 17:5 While he was still speaking, behold, a shining cloud [composed of light] overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is My Son, My Beloved, with Whom I am [and have always been] delighted. Listen to Him!  AMP

Ps 27:1 THE LORD is my Light and my Salvation — whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life — of whom shall I be afraid? AMP

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Ps 27:1 Light, space, zest — that’s God! So, with him on my side I’m fearless,

afraid of no one and nothing. MSG

John 8:12 Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life.   AMP

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John 8:12 Jesus once again addressed them: “I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.”  MSG

Matt 4:16 The people who sat (dwelt enveloped) in darkness have seen a great Light, and for those who sat in the land and shadow of death Light has dawned.  AMP

Dan 2:22 He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him!  AMP

Eph 5:8 For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light [lead the lives of those native-born to the Light].

9 For the fruit (the effect, the product) of the Light or the Spirit [consists] in every form of kindly goodness, uprightness of heart, and trueness of life.

10 And try to learn [in your experience] what is pleasing to the Lord [let your lives be constant proofs of what is most acceptable to Him].

11 Take no part in and have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds and enterprises of darkness, but instead [let your lives be so in contrast as to] expose and reprove and convict them.  AMP

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Eph 5:8 You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You’re out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it!

9 The good, the right, the true — these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours.

10 Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.

11 Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. MSG

Eph 5:13 But when anything is exposed and reproved by the light, it is made visible and clear; and where everything is visible and clear there is light.

14 Therefore He says, Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine (make day dawn) upon you and give you light.  AMP

Isa 60:1 ARISE [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you — rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!  

2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and dense darkness [all] peoples, but the Lord shall arise upon you [O Jerusalem], and His glory shall be seen on you.

3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.  AMP

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Isa 60:1  “Get out of bed, Jerusalem! Wake up. Put your face in the sunlight. God’s bright glory has risen for you.

2 The whole earth is wrapped in darkness, all people sunk in deep darkness,

But God rises on you, his sunrise glory breaks over you.

3 Nations will come to your light, kings to your sunburst brightness. MSG

2 Cor 4:6 For God Who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts so as [to beam forth] the Light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God [as it is manifest in the Person and is revealed] in the face of Jesus Christ (the Messiah).

7 However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.  AMP

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2 Cor 4:6 It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.

7 If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. MSG

1 Peter 2:9  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.   AMP

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1 Peter 2:9 But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you  MSG VIDEO MAN DIES IN THE HOSPITAL SEES LIGHT

Matt 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

15 Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a peck measure, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.  AMP

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Matt 5:14  “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill.

15 If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand.

16 Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand — shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. MSG

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Isa 49:6 He says, It is too light a thing that you should be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors [of the judgments] of Israel; I will also give you for a light to the nations, that My salvation may extend to the end of the earth.  AMP

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Isa 49:6  He says, “But that’s not a big enough job for my servant — just to recover the tribes of Jacob, merely to round up the strays of Israel. I’m setting you up as a light for the nations so that my salvation becomes global!”MSG

PAUL AFTER JESUS APPEARED AS LIGHT  Acts 26:18  To open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may thus receive forgiveness and release from their sins and a place and portion among those who are consecrated and purified by faith in Me.   AMP

Prov 13:9  The light of the [uncompromisingly] righteous [is within him — it grows brighter and] rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked [furnishes only a derived, temporary light and] shall be put out shortly.  AMP

1 Thess 5:5  For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we do not belong either to the night or to darkness.  AMP

Job 22:28  You shall also decide and decree a thing, and it shall be established for you; and the light [of God’s favor] shall shine upon your ways.  AMP

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Job 22:28 You’ll decide what you want and it will happen; your life will be bathed in light. MSG     

Ps 97:11 Light is sown for the [uncompromisingly] righteous and strewn along their pathway, and joy for the upright in heart [the irrepressible joy which comes from consciousness of His favor and protection].   AMP

Ps 112:4 Light arises in the darkness for the upright, gracious, compassionate, and just [who are in right standing with God]. AMP

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Ps 112:4 Sunrise breaks through the darkness for good people —  God’s grace and mercy and justice! MSG

Isa 60:20  Your sun shall no more go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself, for the Lord shall be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended.  AMP

1 Cor 4:5 So do not make any hasty or premature judgments before the time when the Lord comes [again], for He will both bring to light the secret things that are [now hidden] in darkness and disclose and expose the [secret] aims (motives and purposes) of hearts. Then every man will receive his [due] commendation from God.  AMP

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1 Cor 4:5 So don’t get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of — inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the “Well done!” of God. MSG

Luke 11:36 If then your entire body is illuminated, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright [with light], as when a lamp with its bright rays gives you light.  AMP

Hab 3:4 And His brightness was like the sunlight; rays streamed from His hand, and there [in the sunlike splendor] was the hiding place of His power.  AMP

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Hab 3:4  His cloud-brightness like dawn, exploding, spreading, forked-lightning shooting from his hand —  what power hidden in that fist!  MSG

Mal 4:2 But unto you who revere and worshipfully fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings and His beams, and you shall go forth and gambol like calves [released] from the stall and leap for joy. AMP

Heb 1:2 [But] in the last of these days He has spoken to us in [the person of a] Son, Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of all things, also by and through Whom He created the worlds and the reaches of space and the ages of time [He made, produced, built, operated, and arranged them in order].

3 He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God’s] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power. When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high, AMP

John 1:5  And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].  AMP

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John 1:5 The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out. MSG

John 1:9 There it was — the true Light [was then] coming into the world [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] that illumines every person.  AMP

1 John 2:10  Whoever loves his brother [believer] abides (lives) in the Light, and in It or in him there is no occasion for stumbling or cause for error or sin.  AMP    ¯¯¯

1 John 2:10  It’s the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God’s light and doesn’t block the light from others. MSG

VIDEO CHOOSE LIGHT 2

IN THE MIST OF YOUR ENEMIES 4-24-15    

video Corrie ten boon forgive your enemies22     

ENEMIES-those who oppose you, cIrcumstances can opress you, sickness, fears, poverty. all enemies.

Ps 110:1 THE LORD (God) says to my Lord (the Messiah), Sit at My right hand, until I make Your adversaries Your footstool.   AMP

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Ps 110:1 The word of God to my Lord: “Sit alongside me here on my throne

until I make your enemies a stool for your feet.” 

1 Cor 15:45  Thus it is written, The first man Adam became a living being (an individual personality); the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving Spirit [restoring the dead to life].   AMP

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1 Cor 15:45  We follow this sequence in Scripture: The First Adam received life, the Last Adam is a life-giving Spirit.  MSG

Eph 4:8  The text for this is, He climbed the high mountain, He captured the enemy and seized the booty, He handed it all out in gifts to the people. MSG

Ps 23:5  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my [brimming] cup runs over.  AMP

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Ps 23:5  You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing. MSG

Ps 112:5  The good person is generous and lends lavishly;

6 No shuffling or stumbling around for this one, But a sterling and solid and lasting reputation.

7 Unfazed by rumor and gossip, Heart ready, trusting in God,

8 Spirit firm, unperturbed, Ever blessed, relaxed among enemies, MSG

Prov 16:7  When God approves of your life, even your enemies will end up shaking your hand. MSG

Isa 49:26 And your enemies, crazed and desperate, will turn on themselves,

killing each other in a frenzy of self-destruction. Then everyone will know that I, God, have saved you — I, the Mighty One of Jacob.”  MSG

Matt 5:44  I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer,  MSG

Luke 6:35  “I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never — I promise — regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst.  MSG

Rom 12:14  Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath.  MSG

Rom 12:20 But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.  AMP

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Rom 12:20  Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. MSG

Ex 23:4  “If you find your enemy’s ox or donkey loose, take it back to him.

5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, don’t walk off and leave it. Help it up. MSG

2 Kings 6:22 [Elisha] answered, You shall not slay them. Would you slay those you have taken captive with your sword and bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and return to their master.

23 So [the king] prepared great provision for them, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.  AMP

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2 Kings 6:22  “Not on your life!” said Elisha. “You didn’t lift a hand to capture them, and now you’re going to kill them? No sir, make a feast for them and send them back to their master.”

23 So he prepared a huge feast for them. After they ate and drank their fill he dismissed them. Then they returned home to their master. The raiding bands of Aram didn’t bother Israel anymore.  MSG

Luke 6:27  But I say to you who are listening now to Me: [in order to heed, make it a practice to] love your enemies, treat well (do good to, act nobly toward) those who detest you and pursue you with hatred,

28 Invoke blessings upon and pray for the happiness of those who curse you, implore God’s blessing (favor) upon those who abuse you [who revile, reproach, disparage, and high-handedly misuse you].

29 To the one who strikes you on the jaw or cheek, offer the other jaw or cheek also; and from him who takes away your outer garment, do not withhold your undergarment as well.

30 Give away to everyone who begs of you [who is in want of necessities], and of him who takes away from you your goods, do not demand or require them back again.  AMP

Luke 6:34  And if you lend money at interest to those from whom you hope to receive, what quality of credit and thanks is that to you? Even notorious sinners lend money at interest to sinners, so as to recover as much again.

35 But love your enemies and be kind and do good [doing favors so that someone derives benefit from them] and lend, expecting and hoping for nothing in return but considering nothing as lost and despairing of no one; and then your recompense (your reward) will be great (rich, strong, intense, and abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind and charitable and good to the ungrateful and the selfish and wicked.

36 So be merciful (sympathetic, tender, responsive, and compassionate) even as your Father is [all these].  AMP

1 Cor 4:12 And we still toil unto weariness [for our living], working hard with our own hands. When men revile us [wound us with an accursed sting], we bless them. When we are persecuted, we take it patiently and endure it.

13 When we are slandered and defamed, we [try to] answer softly and bring comfort. We have been made and are now the rubbish and filth of the world [the offscouring of all things, the scum of the earth].  AMP

1 Tim 2:8  Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray — not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God. MSG

1 Peter 3:9  Never return evil for evil or insult for insult (scolding, tongue-lashing, berating), but on the contrary blessing [praying for their welfare, happiness, and protection, and truly pitying and loving them]. For know that to this you have been called, that you may yourselves inherit a blessing [from God — that you may obtain a blessing as heirs, bringing welfare and happiness and protection]. AMP

JESUS  John 18:37  Pilate said to Him, Then You are a King? Jesus answered, You say it! [You speak correctly!] For I am a King. [Certainly I am a King!] This is why I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the Truth. Everyone who is of the Truth [who is a friend of the Truth, who belongs to the Truth] hears and listens to My voice.  AMP

John 19:10  So Pilate said to Him, Will You not speak [even] to me? Do You not know that I have power (authority) to release You and I have power to crucify You?

11 Jesus answered, You would not have any power or authority whatsoever against (over) Me if it were not given you from above. For this reason the sin and guilt of the one who delivered Me over to you is greater.  AMP

Luke 23:34 And Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they divided His garments and distributed them by casting lots for them.    AMP

1 Peter 2:23  When He was reviled and insulted, He did not revile or offer insult in return; [when] He was abused and suffered, He made no threats [of vengeance]; but he trusted [Himself and everything] to Him Who judges fairly.

AMP   video forgive after murder

Acts 7:60  And falling on his knees, he cried out loudly, Lord, fix not this sin upon them [lay it not to their charge]! And when he had said this, he fell asleep [in death].  AMP

Ps 91:5  Fear nothing — not wild wolves in the night, not flying arrows in the day,

6 Not disease that prowls through the darkness, not disaster that erupts at high noon.

7 Even though others succumb all around, drop like flies right and left, no harm will even graze you.

8 You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance, watch the wicked turn into corpses.

9 Yes, because God’s your refuge, the High God your very own home,

10 Evil can’t get close to you, harm can’t get through the door.

11 He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go.

12 If you stumble, they’ll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling.

13 You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes, and kick young lions and serpents from the path. MSG

2 Kings 6:14  So [the Syrian king] sent there horses, chariots, and a great army. They came by night and surrounded the city.

15 When the servant of the man of God rose early and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was around the city. Elisha’s servant said to him, Alas, my master! What shall we do?

16 [Elisha] answered, Fear not; for those with us are more than those with them.

17 Then Elisha prayed, Lord, I pray You, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.  AMP

John 14:30 I will not talk with you much more, for the prince (evil genius, ruler) of the world is coming. And he has no claim on Me. [He has nothing in common with Me; there is nothing in Me that belongs to him, and he has no power over Me.]   AMP

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John 14:30  I’ll not be talking with you much more like this because the chief of this godless world is about to attack. But don’t worry — he has nothing on me, no claim on me. MSG

Ps 13:4  So no enemy can get the best of me or laugh when I fall on my face.

5 I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms —  I’m celebrating your rescue.

6 I’m singing at the top of my lungs, I’m so full of answered prayers. MSG

Ps 18:48 He rescued me from enemy anger, he pulled me from the grip of upstarts, He saved me from the bullies. MSG

Nah 1:15 Look! Striding across the mountains —  a messenger bringing the latest good news: peace! A holiday, Judah! Celebrate! Worship and recommit to God! No more worries about this enemy. This one is history. Close the books.   MSG

video a widow testamony of forgivness 2

SPENDING THE INHERITANCE 4-17-15 VIDEO DEEP THOUGHTS ON  

1ST realizing we are sons and inheritors with Him. All He has and is. We can then give away everything-love, hope, kindness miracles. It all comes out of inheritance as Sons.

Ex 34:9 And he said, If now I have found favor and loving-kindness in Your sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I pray You, go in the midst of us, although it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your inheritance.  AMP

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Ex 34:9 saying, “Please, O Master, if you see anything good in me, please Master, travel with us, hard-headed as these people are. Forgive our iniquity and sin. Own us, possess us.”  MSG       I AM MY BELOVEDS HE IS MINE

Ex 19:5 Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine.  AMP

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Ex 19:5 If you will listen obediently to what I say and keep my covenant, out of all peoples you’ll be my special treasure. The whole Earth is mine to choose from, MSG

Eph 1:11 In Him we also were made [God’s] heritage (portion) and we obtained an inheritance; for we had been foreordained (chosen and appointed beforehand) in accordance with His purpose, Who works out everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His [own] will,  AMP

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Eph 1:11 It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, MSG

Mal 3:17 And they shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in that day when I publicly recognize and openly declare them to be My jewels (My special possession, My peculiar treasure). And I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.  AMP

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Mal 3:17 God-of-the-Angel-Armies said, “They’re mine, all mine. They’ll get special treatment when I go into action. I treat them with the same consideration and kindness that parents give the child who honors them. MSG

Matt 13:44 “God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidently found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic — what a find! — and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field.

45 “Or, God’s kingdom is like a jewel merchant on the hunt for excellent pearls.

46 Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it. MSG

HE IS OUR INHERITANCE

Num 18:20 And the Lord said to Aaron, You shall have no inheritance in the land [of the Israelites], neither shall you have any part among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites. 

Gen 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

Deut 10:9 Therefore Levi has no part or inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God promised him.

Prov 8:21  That I may cause those who love me to inherit [true] riches and that I may fill their treasuries.  AMP

prod son Luke 15:11  And He said, There was a certain man who had two sons;  AMP

Luke 15:28  But [the elder brother] was angry [with deep-seated wrath] and resolved not to go in. Then his father came out and began to plead with him,

29 But he answered his father, Look! These many years I have served you, and I have never disobeyed your command. Yet you never gave me [so much as] a [little] kid, that I might revel and feast and be happy and make merry with my friends;

30 But when this son of yours arrived, who has devoured your estate with immoral women, you have killed for him that [wheat-] fattened calf!

31 And the father said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.  AMP

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Luke 15:28  “The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen.

29 The son said, ‘Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends?

30 Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!’

31 “His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours —  MSG

PRODIGAL MEANS- EXTRAVAGANT, LAVISHED ON WE FOCUS ON THIS MAN’S EXTRAVAGANT WASTE BUT THE TRUTH IS HE HAD AN EXTRAVAGANT INHERITANCE THAT LASTED FOREVER NEVER RECALLED

Gal 4:5 Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage.

6 You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, “Papa! Father!”

7 Doesn’t that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you’re also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance.

Heb 10:34 If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. MSG

Rom 8:17  And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us — an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!  MSG

Heb 9:15 [Christ, the Messiah] is therefore the Negotiator and Mediator of an [entirely] new agreement (testament, covenant), so that those who are called and offered it may receive the fulfillment of the promised everlasting inheritance — since a death has taken place which rescues and delivers and redeems them from the transgressions committed under the [old] first agreement. AMP

1 Peter 1:4 [Born anew] into an inheritance which is beyond the reach of change and decay [imperishable], unsullied and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, AMP

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1 Peter 1:4 including a future in heaven — and the future starts now! MSG

Acts 20:32  And now [brethren], I commit you to God [I deposit you in His charge, entrusting you to His protection and care]. And I commend you to the Word of His grace [to the commands and counsels and promises of His unmerited favor]. It is able to build you up and to give you [your rightful] inheritance among all God’s set-apart ones (those consecrated, purified, and transformed of soul).   AMP

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Acts 20:32  “Now I’m turning you over to God, our marvelous God whose gracious Word can make you into what he wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need in this community of holy friends.  MSG

Eph 1:14 This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life. MSG     HOLY SPIRIT

Gal 3:22  But the Scriptures [picture all mankind as sinners] shut up and imprisoned by sin, so that [the inheritance, blessing] which was promised through faith in Jesus Christ (the Messiah) might be given (released, delivered, and committed) to [all] those who believe [who adhere to and trust in and rely on Him].  AMP

Eph 1:18  By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),  AMP

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Eph 1:18 your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for Christians, MSG

Col 1:12  Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God’s holy people) in the Light.   AMP

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Col 1:12  thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. MSG

Col 3:24  Knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward. [The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ (the Messiah).  AMP

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Col 3:24  confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ.  MSG

Heb 11:8  [Urged on] by faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went forth to a place which he was destined to receive as an inheritance; and he went, although he did not know or trouble his mind about where he was to go.

9 [Prompted] by faith he dwelt as a temporary resident in the land which was designated in the promise [of God, though he was like a stranger] in a strange country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs with him of the same promise.

10 For he was [waiting expectantly and confidently] looking forward to the city which has fixed and firm foundations, whose Architect and Builder is God.

11 Because of faith also Sarah herself received physical power to conceive a child, even when she was long past the age for it, because she considered [God] Who had given her the promise to be reliable and trustworthy and true to His word.

12 So from one man, though he was physically as good as dead, there have sprung descendants whose number is as the stars of heaven and as countless as the innumerable sands on the seashore.   AMP

Rom 4:13  For the promise to Abraham or his posterity, that he should inherit the world, did not come through [observing the commands of] the Law but through the righteousness of faith.  AMP

Prov 8:21 That I may cause those who love me to inherit [true] riches and that I may fill their treasuries.  AMP

Prov 8:21  Handing out life to those who love me, filling their arms with life — armloads of life! MSG

Rev 21:7  He who is victorious shall inherit all these things, and I will be God to him and he shall be My son.  AMP

John 16:33 I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]  AMP

Rom 8:37  Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.  AMP

1 Cor 15:57  But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ.  AMP

James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and in their position as believers and to inherit the kingdom which He has promised to those who love Him?AMP

Luke 6:33  If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that.

34 If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that’s charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that.

35 “I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never — I promise — regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst.

36 Our Father is kind; you be kind.

37 “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults — unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier.

38 Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back — given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.”  MSG

Luke 12:33 “Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on.

34 It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. MSG

Rom 12:6  let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t. If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else;

7 if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching;

8 if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

9 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good.

10 Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

11 Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master,

12 cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. MSG

2 Cor 9:10 This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God,

11 wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.  MSG

1 Cor 15:45  Thus it is written, The first man Adam became a living being (an individual personality); the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving Spirit [restoring the dead to life].  AMP

Ps 2:8  Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations as Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth as Your possession.  AMP

GIVING VIDEO JOY OF GIVING 3

AMAZING 4-10-15  VIDEO

John 1:50  Jesus replied, Because I said to you, I saw you beneath the fig tree, do you believe in and rely on and trust in Me? You shall see greater things than this! AMP

John 5:20  The Father dearly loves the Son and discloses to (shows) Him everything that He Himself does. And He will disclose to Him (let Him see) greater things yet than these, so that you may marvel and be full of wonder and astonishment. AMP

2 Sam 7:20 What more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord God.

21 Because of Your promise and as Your own heart dictates, You have done all these astounding things to make Your servant know and understand.  AMP

Luke 18:17  Truly I say to you, whoever does not accept and receive and welcome the kingdom of God like a little child [does] shall not in any way enter it [at all].   AMP

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Luke 18:17  Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.”  MSG

Luke 2:16 So they went with haste and [by searching] found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in a manger.

17 And when they saw it, they made known what had been told them concerning this Child,

18 And all who heard it were astounded and marveled at what the shepherds told them.

19 But Mary was keeping within herself all these things (sayings), weighing and pondering them in her heart.

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.  AMP

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Luke 2:16  They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger.

17 Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child.

18 All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.

19 Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself.

20 The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told! MSG

Isa 9:6 For a child has been born — for us! the gift of a son — for us! He’ll take over the running of the world. His names will be: Amazing Counselor,

Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness. MSG

Mark 5:18  And when He had stepped into the boat, the man who had been controlled by the unclean spirits kept begging Him that he might be with Him.

19 But Jesus refused to permit him, but said to him, Go home to your own [family and relatives and friends] and bring back word to them of how much the Lord has done for you, and [how He has] had sympathy for you and mercy on you.

20 And he departed and began to publicly proclaim in Decapolis [the region of the ten cities] how much Jesus had done for him, and all the people were astonished and marveled.  AMP

Mark 6:51  And He went up into the boat with them, and the wind ceased (sank to rest as if exhausted by its own beating). And they were astonished exceedingly [beyond measure],  AMP

Mark 7:37  And they were overwhelmingly astonished, saying, He has done everything excellently (commendably and nobly)! He even makes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak!  AMP

Luke 5:24  But that you may know that the Son of Man has the [power of] authority and right on earth to forgive sins, He said to the paralyzed man, I say to you, arise, pick up your litter (stretcher), and go to your own house!

25 And instantly [the man] stood up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went away to his house, recognizing and praising and thanking God.

26 And overwhelming astonishment and ecstasy seized them all, and they recognized and praised and thanked God; and they were filled with and controlled by reverential fear and kept saying, We have seen wonderful and strange and incredible and unthinkable things today!  AMP

Luke 9:42  And even while he was coming, the demon threw him down and [completely] convulsed him. But Jesus censured and severely rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the child and restored him to his father. 

43 And all were astounded at the evidence of God’s mighty power and His majesty and magnificence. But [while] they were all marveling at everything Jesus was doing, He said to His disciples, AMP

Luke 24:32  And they said to one another, Were not our hearts greatly moved and burning within us while He was talking with us on the road and as He opened and explained to us [the sense of] the Scriptures?  AMP

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Luke 24:32 Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?”  MSG

Matt 2:10  When they saw the star, they were thrilled with ecstatic joy.  AMP

Ex 3:1  Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the west end of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb.

2 The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn’t burn up.

3 Moses said, “What’s going on here? I can’t believe this! Amazing! Why doesn’t the bush burn up?”

4 God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”   MSG

Luke 2:47  And all who heard Him were astonished and overwhelmed with bewildered wonder at His intelligence and understanding and His replies.

48 And when they [Joseph and Mary] saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, Child, why have You treated us like this? Here Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You [distressed and tormented].

49 And He said to them, How is it that you had to look for Me? Did you not see and know that it is necessary [as a duty] for Me to be in My Father’s house and [occupied] about My Father’s business?   AMP

PAUL-DISCIPLES

Acts 4:10  I’ll be completely frank with you — we have nothing to hide. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you killed on a cross, the One God raised from the dead, by means of his name this man stands before you healthy and whole.

11 Jesus is ‘the stone you masons threw out, which is now the cornerstone.’

12 Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one.”

13 They couldn’t take their eyes off them — Peter and John standing there so confident, so sure of themselves! Their fascination deepened when they realized these two were laymen with no training in Scripture or formal education. They recognized them as companions of Jesus,

14 but with the man right before them, seeing him standing there so upright — so healed! — what could they say against that?  MSG

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Acts 4:13  Now when they saw the boldness and unfettered eloquence of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and untrained in the schools [common men with no educational advantages], they marveled; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.  AMP

Acts 13:9  But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit, looked steadily at [Elymas]

10 And said, You master in every form of deception and recklessness, unscrupulousness, and wickedness, you son of the devil, you enemy of everything that is upright and good, will you never stop perverting and making crooked the straight paths of the Lord and plotting against His saving purposes?

11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind, [so blind that you will be] unable to see the sun for a time. Instantly there fell upon him a mist and a darkness, and he groped about seeking persons who would lead him by the hand.

12 Then the proconsul believed (became a Christian) when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished and deeply touched at the teaching concerning the Lord and from Him.  AMP  VIDEO

Acts 5:12  Through the work of the apostles, many God-signs were set up among the people, many wonderful things done. They all met regularly and in remarkable harmony on the Temple porch named after Solomon. MSG

2 Thess 2:16  May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, MSG

Ps 18:16  But me he caught — reached all the way from sky to sea; he pulled me out Of that ocean of hate,

17 that enemy chaos, the void in which I was drowning.

18 They hit me when I was down, but God stuck by me.

19 He stood me up on a wide-open field; I stood there saved — surprised to be loved! MSG

Ps 139:5  I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too —  your reassuring presence, coming and going.

6 This is too much, too wonderful —  I can’t take it all in!

7 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight?

8 If I climb to the sky, you’re there! If I go underground, you’re there!

9 If I flew on morning’s wings to the far western horizon,

10 You’d find me in a minute —  you’re already there waiting!

11 Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark! At night I’m immersed in the light!”

12 It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you. MSG

Phil 4:7 Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. MSG

Ps 1:1  How well God must like you — you don’t hang out at Sin Saloon, you don’t slink along Dead-End Road, you don’t go to Smart-Mouth College.

2 Instead you thrill to God’s Word, you chew on Scripture day and night.

3 You’re a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, Never dropping a leaf, always in blossom. MSG

Song 5:16 His words are kisses, his kisses words. Everything about him delights me, thrills me through and through! That’s my lover, that’s my man,

dear Jerusalem sisters. MSG

Phil 4:23  Receive and experience the amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, deep, deep within yourselves. MSG

1 Thess 1:1   I, Paul, together here with Silas and Timothy, send greetings to the church at Thessalonica, Christians assembled by God the Father and by the Master, Jesus Christ. God’s amazing grace be with you! God’s robust peace!

MSG

Rom 5:11 Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah! MSG

1 Tim 6:11  But you, Timothy, man of God: Run for your life from all this. Pursue a righteous life — a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. MSG

Matt 6:22  “Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. MSG

1 Peter 1:8  Without having seen Him, you love Him; though you do not [even] now see Him, you believe in Him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy.  AMP

2 Cor 9:15 Now thanks be to God for His Gift, [precious] beyond telling [His indescribable, inexpressible, free Gift]!  AMP

Gal 3:5 Then does He Who supplies you with His marvelous [Holy] Spirit and works powerfully and miraculously among you do so on [the grounds of your doing] what the Law demands, or because of your believing in and adhering to and trusting in and relying on the message that you heard?  AMP

JESUS MARVELED

Mark 6:4  But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor (deference, reverence) except in his [own] country and among [his] relatives and in his [own] house.

5 And He was not able to do even one work of power there, except that He laid His hands on a few sickly people [and] cured them.

6 And He marveled because of their unbelief (their lack of faith in Him). And He went about among the surrounding villages and continued teaching.

7 And He called to Him the Twelve [apostles] and began to send them out [as His ambassadors] two by two and gave them authority and power over the unclean spirits.  AMP

Matt 8:5 As Jesus went into Capernaum, a centurion came up to Him, begging Him,

6 And saying, Lord, my servant boy is lying at the house paralyzed and distressed with intense pains.

7 And Jesus said to him, I will come and restore him.

8 But the centurion replied to Him, Lord, I am not worthy or fit to have You come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant boy will be cured.

9 For I also am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my slave, Do this, and he does it.

10 When Jesus heard him, He marveled and said to those who followed Him [who adhered steadfastly to Him, conforming to His example in living and, if need be, in dying also], I tell you truly, I have not found so much faith as this with anyone, even in Israel.   AMP

2 Thess 1:10  When He comes to be glorified in His saints [on that day He will be made more glorious in His consecrated people], and [He will] be marveled at and admired [in His glory reflected] in all who have believed [who have adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Him], because our witnessing among you was confidently accepted and believed [and confirmed in your lives].  AMP

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.  AMP

Rev 15:3 And they sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying, Mighty and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God the Omnipotent! Righteous (just) and true are Your ways, O Sovereign of the ages (King of the nations)!  AMP

VIDEO

RESURRECTION 2-5-15 video amena resurrection       

Luke 18:31  Then taking the Twelve [apostles] aside, He said to them, Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written about the Son of Man through and by the prophets will be fulfilled.  

32 For He will be handed over to the Gentiles and will be made sport of and scoffed and jeered at and insulted and spit upon. 

33 They will flog Him and kill Him; and on the third day He will rise again.

34 But they understood nothing of these things; His words were a mystery and hidden from them, and they did not comprehend what He was telling them.  AMP

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Luke 18:31  Then Jesus took the Twelve off to the side and said, “Listen carefully. We’re on our way up to Jerusalem. Everything written in the Prophets about the Son of Man will take place.

32 He will be handed over to the Romans, jeered at, made sport of, and spit on. Then, after giving him the third degree, they will kill him.

33 In three days he will rise, alive.”

34 But they didn’t get it, could make neither heads nor tails of what he was talking about. MSG

John 11:24  Martha replied, “I know that he will be raised up in the resurrection at the end of time.”

25 “You don’t have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live.  MSG

Luke 24:1 BUT ON the first day of the week, at early dawn, [the women] went to the tomb, taking the spices which they had made ready.

2 And they found the stone rolled back from the tomb,

3 But when they went inside, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

4 And while they were perplexed and wondering what to do about this, behold, two men in dazzling raiment suddenly stood beside them.

5 And as [the women] were frightened and were bowing their faces to the ground, the men said to them, Why do you look for the living among [those who are] dead?

6 He is not here, but has risen! Remember how He told you while He was still in Galilee

7 That the Son of Man must be given over into the hands of sinful men (men whose way or nature is to act in opposition to God) and be crucified and on the third day rise [from death].  

8 And they remembered His words.  AMP

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Luke 24:1 At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared.

2 They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb,

3 so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn’t find the body of the Master Jesus.

4 They were puzzled, wondering what to make of this. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, two men, light cascading over them, stood there.

5 The women were awestruck and bowed down in worship. The men said, “Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery?

6 He is not here, but raised up. Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee

7 that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?”

8 Then they remembered Jesus’ words. MSG

2 Tim 1:10 [It is that purpose and grace] which He now has made known and has fully disclosed and made real [to us] through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, Who annulled death and made it of no effect and brought life and immortality (immunity from eternal death) to light through the Gospel. AMP

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2 Tim 1:10 But we know it now. Since the appearance of our Savior, nothing could be plainer: death defeated, life vindicated in a steady blaze of light, all through the work of Jesus. MSG

Isa 25:7 And here on this mountain, God will banish the pall of doom hanging over all peoples, The shadow of doom darkening all nations.

8 Yes, he’ll banish death forever. And God will wipe the tears from every face. He’ll remove every sign of disgrace From his people, wherever they are. Yes! God says so!

9 Also at that time, people will say, “Look at what’s happened! This is our God!

We waited for him and he showed up and saved us! This God, the one we waited for! Let’s celebrate, sing the joys of his salvation. MSG

Isa 53:12  Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly —  the best of everything, the highest honors —  Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch, because he embraced the company of the lowest. He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep. MSG

Acts 1:3 After his death, he presented himself alive to them in many different settings over a period of forty days. In face-to-face meetings, he talked to them about things concerning the kingdom of God. MSG

Acts 2:24  But God untied the death ropes and raised him up. Death was no match for him.

25 David said it all: I saw God before me for all time. Nothing can shake me; he’s right by my side.

26 I’m glad from the inside out, ecstatic; I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope.

27 I know you’ll never dump me in Hades; I’ll never even smell the stench of death.

28 You’ve got my feet on the life-path, with your face shining sun-joy all around.

29 “Dear friends, let me be completely frank with you. Our ancestor David is dead and buried — his tomb is in plain sight today.

30 But being also a prophet and knowing that God had solemnly sworn that a descendant of his would rule his kingdom,

31 seeing far ahead, he talked of the resurrection of the Messiah — ‘no trip to Hades, no stench of death.’

32 This Jesus, God raised up. And every one of us here is a witness to it.

33 Then, raised to the heights at the right hand of God and receiving the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he poured out the Spirit he had just received. That is what you see and hear. MSG

Rom 5:6  Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway.

7 We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice.

8 But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

9 Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way.

10 If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we’re at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life!

11 Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah! MSG

Rom 5:17 If death got the upper hand through one man’s wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus Christ provides? MSG

Rom 6:8 If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. MSG

Rom 14:8 It’s God we are answerable to — all the way from life to death and everything in between — not each other.

9 That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other. MSG   video creed skit guys

1 Cor 15:30 And why do you think I keep risking my neck in this dangerous work?

31 I look death in the face practically every day I live. Do you think I’d do this if I wasn’t convinced of your resurrection and mine as guaranteed by the resurrected Messiah Jesus?

32 Do you think I was just trying to act heroic when I fought the wild beasts at Ephesus, hoping it wouldn’t be the end of me? Not on your life! It’s resurrection, resurrection, always resurrection, that undergirds what I do and say, the way I live. If there’s no resurrection, “We eat, we drink, the next day we die,” and that’s all there is to it.

33 But don’t fool yourselves. Don’t let yourselves be poisoned by this anti-resurrection loose talk. “Bad company ruins good manners.” MSG

1 Cor 15:39  You will notice that the variety of bodies is stunning. Just as there are different kinds of seeds, there are different kinds of bodies — humans, animals, birds, fish — each unprecedented in its form.

40 You get a hint at the diversity of resurrection glory by looking at the diversity of bodies not only on earth but in the skies —

41 sun, moon, stars — all these varieties of beauty and brightness. And we’re only looking at pre-resurrection “seeds” — who can imagine what the resurrection “plants” will be like!

42 This image of planting a dead seed and raising a live plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in approaching the mystery of the resurrection body — but only if you keep in mind that when we’re raised, we’re raised for good, alive forever!

43 The corpse that’s planted is no beauty, but when it’s raised, it’s glorious. Put in the ground weak, it comes up powerful. MSG

John 12:23-24 Jesus replied that the time had come for him to return to his glory in heaven, and that “I must fall and die like a kernel of wheat that falls into the furrows of the earth. Unless I die I will be alone-a single seed. But my death will produce many new wheat kernels-a plentiful harvest of new lives.  TLB

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John 12:23 Jesus answered, “Time’s up. The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

24 “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. MSG

1 Cor 15:54 Then the saying will come true: Death swallowed by triumphant Life!

55 Who got the last word, oh, Death? Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now? MSG

Heb 2:9 What we do see is Jesus, made “not quite as high as angels,” and then, through the experience of death, crowned so much higher than any angel, with a glory “bright with Eden’s dawn light.” In that death, by God’s grace, he fully experienced death in every person’s place. MSG

Dan 6:26  I decree that Daniel’s God shall be worshiped and feared in all parts of my kingdom. He is the living God, world without end. His kingdom never falls.

His rule continues eternally. MSG

Acts 14:15  “What do you think you’re doing! We’re not gods! We are men just like you, and we’re here to bring you the Message, to persuade you to abandon these silly god-superstitions and embrace God himself, the living God. We don’t make God; he makes us, and all of this — sky, earth, sea, and everything in them. MSG

Phil 2:15 Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night MSG

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the one who brings people back to life, and I am life itself. Those who believe in me will live even if they die.

26 Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe that?” GOD’S WORD

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John 11:25  “You don’t have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live.

26 And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all. Do you believe this?”  MSG

Phil 3:10 I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself.

11 If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it. Focused on the Goal

12 I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me.

13 Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward — to Jesus.

14 I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. MSG

Col 3:1 IF THEN you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  AMP

Gal 1:16  To reveal (unveil, disclose) His Son within me so that I might proclaim Him among the Gentiles (the non-Jewish world) as the glad tidings (Gospel), immediately I did not confer with flesh and blood [did not consult or counsel with any frail human being or communicate with anyone].  AMP

1 Peter 1:3  What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, MSG

video peter and john tomb  

PASSOVER –BLOOD AND COMMUNION GOOD FRIDAY 4-3-15

VIDEO BLOOD OF JESUS TESTED

1 Cor 7:23 You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for by Christ]; then do not yield yourselves up to become [in your own estimation] slaves to men [but consider yourselves slaves to Christ].   AMP

THE CHRIST WAS ANOINTING AND ANOINTING BLED OUT BLOOD– BLOOD BLED OUT ANOINTING  RECORD IN THE BLOOD

1 Peter 1:18 You must know (recognize) that you were redeemed (ransomed) from the useless (fruitless) way of living inherited by tradition from [your] forefathers, not with corruptible things [such as] silver and gold,

19 But [you were purchased] with the precious blood of Christ (the Messiah), like that of a [sacrificial] lamb without blemish or spot.  AMP

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1 Peter 1:18  It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in.

19 He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb.

20 And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately — at the end of the ages — become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you.

21 It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God. MSG

Rom 3:22 There is no difference between people.

23 Because all people have sinned, they have fallen short of God’s glory.

24 They receive God’s approval freely by an act of his kindness through the price Christ Jesus paid to set us free from sin.

25 God showed that Christ is the throne of mercy where God’s approval is given through faith in Christ’s blood. In his patience God waited to deal with sins committed in the past.

26 He waited so that he could display his approval at the present time. This shows that he is a God of justice, a God who approves of people who believe in Jesus.

GOD’S WORD

Acts 20:28  “Now it’s up to you. Be on your toes — both for yourselves and your congregation of sheep. The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people — God’s people they are — to guard and protect them. God himself thought they were worth dying for. MSG

Titus 2:14 Who gave Himself on our behalf that He might redeem us (purchase our freedom) from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people [to be peculiarly His own, people who are] eager and enthusiastic about [living a life that is good and filled with] beneficial deeds.   AMP

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Titus 2:14  He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness.  MSG

DEAD WORKS

Heb 9:12 He went once for all into the [Holy of] Holies [of heaven], not by virtue of the blood of goats and calves [by which to make reconciliation between God and man], but His own blood, having found and secured a complete redemption (an everlasting release for us).

13 For if [the mere] sprinkling of unholy and defiled persons with blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a burnt heifer is sufficient for the purification of the body,

14 How much more surely shall the blood of Christ, Who by virtue of [His] eternal Spirit [His own preexistent divine personality] has offered Himself as an unblemished sacrifice to God, purify our consciences from dead works and lifeless observances to serve the [ever] living God?   AMP

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Heb 9:12  He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all.

13 If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior,

14 think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out.   MSG

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Heb 9:12  He used his own blood, not the blood of goats and bulls, for the sacrifice. He went into the most holy place and offered this sacrifice once and for all to free us forever. GOD’S WORD

Heb 9: 26 For then would He often have had to suffer [over and over again] since the foundation of the world. But as it now is, He has once for all at the consummation and close of the ages appeared to put away and abolish sin by His sacrifice [of Himself].  AMP

PUT AWAY-Cancellation – disannulling, to thwart the efficacy of anything, to nullify, to frustrate it, rejected, to make void

Rom 5:9 Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. MSG

Eph 1:7 Through the blood of his Son, we are set free from our sins. God forgives our failures because of his overflowing kindness.   GOD’S WORD

Rev 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the witness, the trustworthy one, the first to come back to life, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. Glory and power forever and ever belong to the one who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood

6 and has made us a kingdom, priests for God his Father. Amen.  GOD’S WORD

1 John 1:7  But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].  AMP

Heb 10:19 So, friends, we can now — without hesitation — walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body.

22 So let’s do it — full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out.

23 Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word.

MSG

Gen 4:9 The Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he answered. “Am I supposed to take care of my brother?”

10 The Lord asked, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground.

11 So now you are cursed from the ground, which has received the blood of your brother whom you killed.

12 When you farm the ground, it will no longer yield its best for you. You will be a fugitive, a wanderer on the earth.”  GOD’S WORD

Heb 12:24 And to Jesus, the Mediator (Go-between, Agent) of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood which speaks [of mercy], a better and nobler and more gracious message than the blood of Abel [which cried out for vengeance].  AMP

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Heb 12:24 You’ve come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant. The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel’s — a homicide that cried out for vengeance — became a proclamation of grace. MSG

Gen 3:17  Then he said to the man, “You listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree, although I commanded you, ‘You must never eat its fruit.’ The ground is cursed because of you. Through hard work you will eat food that comes from it every day of your life.

18 The ground will grow thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat wild plants.

GOD’S WORD

Mark 15:17  They dressed him in purple, twisted some thorns into a crown, and placed it on his head. GOD’S WORD

Luke 22:44 And being in an agony [of mind], He prayed [all the] more earnestly and intently, and His sweat became like great clots of blood dropping down upon the ground.  AMP

Col 1:20  God was also pleased to bring everything on earth and in heaven back to himself through Christ. He did this by making peace through Christ’s blood sacrificed on the cross.  GOD’S WORD

Rev 19:13  He is dressed in a robe soaked with blood, and he is addressed as “Word of God.” MSG

SPRINKLE-blood of sprinkling, i. e. appointed for sprinkling (serving to purify)

Lev 8:30  And Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron and his garments, and upon his sons and their garments also; so Moses consecrated Aaron and his garments, and his sons and his sons’ garments.   AMP

Isa 52:14 [For many the Servant of God became an object of horror; many were astonished at Him.] His face and His whole appearance were marred more than any man’s, and His form beyond that of the sons of men — but just as many were astonished at Him,

15 So shall He startle and sprinkle many nations, and kings shall shut their mouths because of Him; for that which has not been told them shall they see, and that which they have not heard shall they consider and understand.  AMP

Zech 9:11 As for you also, because of and for the sake of the [covenant of the Lord with His people, which was sealed with sprinkled] covenant blood, I have released and sent forth your imprisoned people out of the waterless pit.   

12 Return to the stronghold [of security and prosperity], you prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will restore double your former prosperity to you.  AMP

1 Peter 1:2 Who were chosen and foreknown by God the Father and consecrated (sanctified, made holy) by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and to be sprinkled with [His] blood: May grace (spiritual blessing) and peace be given you in increasing abundance [that spiritual peace to be realized in and through Christ, freedom from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts].

3 Praised (honored, blessed) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)! By His boundless mercy we have been born again to an ever-living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 [Born anew] into an inheritance which is beyond the reach of change and decay [imperishable], unsullied and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,

5 Who are being guarded (garrisoned) by God’s power through [your] faith [till you fully inherit that final] salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the last time.  AMP

John 6:53 And Jesus said to them, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, you cannot have any life in you unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood [unless you appropriate His life and the saving merit of His blood].

54 He who feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has (possesses now) eternal life, and I will raise him up [from the dead] on the last day.

55 For My flesh is true and genuine food, and My blood is true and genuine drink.

56 He who feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood dwells continually in Me, and I [in like manner dwell continually] in him.

57 Just as the living Father sent Me and I live by (through, because of) the Father, even so whoever continues to feed on Me [whoever takes Me for his food and is nourished by Me] shall [in his turn] live through and because of Me.

58 This is the Bread that came down from heaven. It is not like the manna which our forefathers ate, and yet died; he who takes this Bread for his food shall live forever. AMP

offering sacrifices there is a remembrance of sins,  the memory of sins committed is revived by the sacrifices,

NT MEMORY- “in memory of” but in an affectionate calling of the Person Himself to mind; (b) not of the “remembrance” of sins, what is indicated, in regard to the sacrifices under the Law, is not simply an external bringing to “remembrance,” but an awakening of mind

Matt 26:28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which [ratifies the agreement and] is being poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

29 I say to you, I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it with you new and of superior quality in My Father’s kingdom.  AMP

SUPERIOR QUALITY-Of a new kind; unprecedented, novel, uncommon, unheard of

all things are new, previously non-existent, begin to be far different from what they were before, as respects substance; of a new kind

Mark 14:24  And He said to them, This is My blood [which ratifies] the new covenant, [the blood] which is being poured out for (on account of) many.

25 Solemnly and surely I tell you, I shall not again drink of the fruit of the vine till that day when I drink it of a new and a higher quality in God’s kingdom. AMP

Luke 22:15 And He said to them, I have earnestly and intensely desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;

16 For I say to you, I shall eat it no more until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

17 And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He said, Take this and divide and distribute it among yourselves;

18 For I say to you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine at all until the kingdom of God comes.

19 Then He took a loaf [of bread], and when He had given thanks, He broke [it] and gave it to them saying, This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.

20 And in like manner, He took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament or covenant [ratified] in My blood, which is shed (poured out) for you.

Eph 4:16 He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

1 Cor 10:16  When we drink the cup of blessing, aren’t we taking into ourselves the blood, the very life, of Christ? And isn’t it the same with the loaf of bread we break and eat? Don’t we take into ourselves the body, the very life, of Christ?

17 Because there is one loaf, our many-ness becomes one-ness — Christ doesn’t become fragmented in us. Rather, we become unified in him. We don’t reduce Christ to what we are; he raises us to what he is. MSG

1 Cor 11:23  Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread.

24 Having given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, broken for you. Do this to remember me.

25 After supper, he did the same thing with the cup: This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you. Each time you drink this cup, remember me. MSG

1 Cor 11:26  What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.

27 Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his death. Is that the kind of “remembrance” you want to be part of?

28 Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe.

29 If you give no thought (or worse, don’t care) about the broken body of the Master when you eat and drink, you’re running the risk of serious consequences. 30 That’s why so many of you even now are listless and sick, and others have gone to an early grave. MSG

Rev 3:20 “Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you.

21 Conquerors will sit alongside me at the head table, just as I, having conquered, took the place of honor at the side of my Father. That’s my gift to the conquerors!  MSG    COMMUNION VIDEO JESUS BLOOD NEVER FAILS ME

PIONEERS-FORERUNNERS 3-27-15

FORERUNNER One who proceeds-One who comes before and indicates the approach of another. A visionary who sees the futher and brings it to the present.

Isa 40:1  “Comfort, oh comfort my people,” says your God.

2 “Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem, but also make it very clear

That she has served her sentence, that her sin is taken care of — forgiven!

She’s been punished enough and more than enough, and now it’s over and done with.”

3 Thunder in the desert! “Prepare for God’s arrival! Make the road straight and smooth, a highway fit for our God.

4 Fill in the valleys, level off the hills, Smooth out the ruts, clear out the rocks.

5 Then God’s bright glory will shine and everyone will see it. Yes. Just as God has said.”  MSG

Matt 3:1 While Jesus was living in the Galilean hills, John, called “the Baptizer,” was preaching in the desert country of Judea.

2 His message was simple and austere, like his desert surroundings: “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.”

3 John and his message were authorized by Isaiah’s prophecy: Thunder in the desert! Prepare for God’s arrival! Make the road smooth and straight! MSG

Matt 11:10  This is the one of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, who shall make ready Your way before You. 

11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

12 And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize — a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion].

13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied up until John.

14 And if you are willing to receive and accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come [before the kingdom].  AMP

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Matt 11:10 He is the prophet that Malachi announced when he wrote, ‘I’m sending my prophet ahead of you, to make the road smooth for you.’

11 “Let me tell you what’s going on here: No one in history surpasses John the Baptizer; but in the kingdom he prepared you for, the lowliest person is ahead of him.

12 For a long time now people have tried to force themselves into God’s kingdom.

13 But if you read the books of the Prophets and God’s Law closely, you will see them culminate in John, teaming up with him in preparing the way for the Messiah of the kingdom.

14 Looked at in this way, John is the ‘Elijah’ you’ve all been expecting to arrive and introduce the Messiah. MSG

John 1:29  The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out, 30 “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I’ve been talking about, ‘the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.’

31 I knew nothing about who he was — only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God.”

32 John clinched his witness with this: “I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him.

33 I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who authorized me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’

34 That’s exactly what I saw happen, and I’m telling you, there’s no question about it: This is the Son of God.”  MSG

John 3:28 You yourselves are my witnesses [you personally bear me out] that I stated, I am not the Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), but I have [only] been sent before Him [in advance of Him, to be His appointed forerunner, His messenger, His announcer].  

29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the groomsman who stands by and listens to him rejoices greatly and heartily on account of the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my pleasure and joy, and it is now complete.

30 He must increase, but I must decrease. [He must grow more prominent; I must grow less so.] 

31 He Who comes from above (heaven) is [far] above all [others]; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth, and talks the language of earth [his words are from an earthly standpoint]. He Who comes from heaven is [far] above all others [far superior to all others in prominence and in excellence].  AMP

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John 3:31 “The One who comes from above is head and shoulders over other messengers from God. The earthborn is earthbound and speaks earth language; the heavenborn is in a league of his own. MSG

John 3:34 For since He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God [proclaims God’s own message], God does not give Him His Spirit sparingly or by measure, but boundless is the gift God makes of His Spirit!   AMP

Acts 2:22  You men of Israel, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man accredited and pointed out and shown forth and commended and attested to you by God by the mighty works and [the power of performing] wonders and signs which God worked through Him [right] in your midst, as you yourselves know —

23 This Jesus, when delivered up according to the definite and fixed purpose and settled plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and put out of the way [killing Him] by the hands of lawless and wicked men.

24 [But] God raised Him up, liberating Him from the pangs of death, seeing that it was not possible for Him to continue to be controlled or retained by it.  AMP

John 14:12  I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father.  AMP

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John 14:12  The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it. MSG

1 John 1:1 [WE ARE writing] about the Word of Life [in] Him Who existed from the beginning, Whom we have heard, Whom we have seen with our [own] eyes, Whom we have gazed upon [for ourselves] and have touched with our [own] hands.

2 And the Life [an aspect of His being] was revealed (made manifest, demonstrated), and we saw [as eyewitnesses] and are testifying to and declare to you the Life, the eternal Life [in Him] Who already existed with the Father and Who [actually] was made visible (was revealed) to us [His followers].

3 What we have seen and [ourselves] heard, we are also telling you, so that you too may realize and enjoy fellowship as partners and partakers with us. And [this] fellowship that we have [which is a distinguishing mark of Christians] is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah).

4 And we are now writing these things to you so that our joy [in seeing you included] may be full [and your joy may be complete].  AMP

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1 John 1:1 From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in — we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands.

2 The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.

3 We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.

4 Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy! MSG

Heb 6:19 [Now] we have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whoever steps out upon it — a hope] that reaches farther and enters into [the very certainty of the Presence] within the veil, 

20  Where Jesus has entered in for us [in advance], a Forerunner having become a High Priest forever after the order (with the rank) of Melchizedek. AMP       ¯¯¯

Heb 6:19 It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God

20 where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek. MSG

Heb 2:9  What we do see is Jesus, made “not quite as high as angels,” and then, through the experience of death, crowned so much higher than any angel, with a glory “bright with Eden’s dawn light.” In that death, by God’s grace, he fully experienced death in every person’s place.

10 It makes good sense that the God who got everything started and keeps everything going now completes the work by making the Salvation Pioneer perfect through suffering as he leads all these people to glory.  MSG

1 Cor 15:45 Thus it is written, The first man Adam became a living being (an individual personality); the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving Spirit [restoring the dead to life].  

46 But it is not the spiritual life which came first, but the physical and then the spiritual.

47 The first man [was] from out of earth, made of dust (earthly-minded); the second Man [is] the Lord from out of heaven.

48 Now those who are made of the dust are like him who was first made of the dust (earthly-minded); and as is [the Man] from heaven, so also [are those] who are of heaven (heavenly-minded).

49 And just as we have borne the image [of the man] of dust, so shall we and so let us also bear the image [of the Man] of heaven.

Rom 12:1 I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.

2 Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].

3 For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him. AMP

Heb 11:32  And what shall I say further? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets

33 Who by [the help of] faith subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promised blessings, closed the mouths of lions, 

34 Extinguished the power of raging fire, escaped the devourings of the sword, out of frailty and weakness won strength and became stalwart, even mighty and resistless in battle, routing alien hosts.

35 [Some] women received again their dead by a resurrection. Others were tortured to death with clubs, refusing to accept release [offered on the terms of denying their faith], so that they might be resurrected to a better life. 

36 Others had to suffer the trial of mocking and scourging and even chains and imprisonment.

37 They were stoned to death; they were lured with tempting offers [to renounce their faith]; they were sawn asunder; they were slaughtered by the sword; [while they were alive] they had to go about wrapped in the skins of sheep and goats, utterly destitute, oppressed, cruelly treated —

38 [Men] of whom the world was not worthy — roaming over the desolate places and the mountains, and [living] in caves and caverns and holes of the earth.

39 And all of these, though they won divine approval by [means of] their faith, did not receive the fulfillment of what was promised,

40 Because God had us in mind and had something better and greater in view for us, so that they [these heroes and heroines of faith] should not come to perfection apart from us [before we could join them].  AMP

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Heb 12:1 THEREFORE THEN, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us,

2 Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. AMP ¯¯¯

Heb 11:32  I could go on and on, but I’ve run out of time. There are so many more — Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. . . .

33 Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions,

34 fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies.

35 Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection.

36 Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons.

37 We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless —

38 the world didn’t deserve them! — making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.

39 Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on MSG       ¯

Heb 12:1  Do you see what this means — all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running — and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.

2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed — that exhilarating finish in and with God — he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. MSG

HOLY SPIRIT —  Luke 24:49  And behold, I will send forth upon you what My Father has promised; but remain in the city [Jerusalem] until you are clothed with power from on high.  AMP

Acts 2:15  For these men are not drunk, as you imagine, for it is [only] the third hour (about 9:00 a.m.) of the day;

16 But [instead] this is [the beginning of] what was spoken through the prophet Joel:  AMP

MOVING FORWARD 3-22-15   VIDEO BOLD TO GO

Heb 6:1 THEREFORE LET us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity. Let us not again be laying the foundation of repentance and abandonment of dead works (dead formalism) and of the faith [by which you turned] to God,  AMP

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Heb 6:1 So come on, let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on “salvation by self-help” and turning in trust toward God;  MSG

Rev 4:1 AFTER THIS I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice which I had heard addressing me like [the calling of] a war trumpet said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place in the future.

2 At once I came under the [Holy] Spirit’s power, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the throne!  AMP

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Rev 4:1 Then I looked, and, oh! — a door open into Heaven. The trumpet-voice, the first voice in my vision, called out, “Ascend and enter. I’ll show you what happens next.”

2 I was caught up at once in deep worship and, oh! — a Throne set in Heaven with One Seated on the Throne, MSG

2 Peter 1:5  So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding,

6 alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder,

7 warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others.

8 With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus.

9 Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

10 So, friends, confirm God’s invitation to you, his choice of you. Don’t put it off; do it now. Do this, and you’ll have your life on a firm footing,

11 the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. MSG

2 Peter 3:11  Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life?

12 Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day —

13 but we’ll hardly notice. We’ll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness.

14  So, my dear friends, since this is what you have to look forward to, do your very best to be found living at your best, in purity and peace. MSG

Heb 11:15  If they had been thinking with [homesick] remembrance of that country from which they were emigrants, they would have found constant opportunity to return to it.

16 But the truth is that they were yearning for and aspiring to a better and more desirable country, that is, a heavenly [one]. For that reason God is not ashamed to be called their God [even to be surnamed their God — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob], for He has prepared a city for them.  AMP

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Heb 11:15  If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted.

16 But they were after a far better country than that — heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them. MSG

Job 11:8  God is far higher than you can imagine, far deeper than you can comprehend, MSG

Ps 97:9 You, God, are High God of the cosmos, Far, far higher than any of the gods. MSG

Ps 113:4 God is higher than anything and anyone, outshining everything you can see in the skies. MSG

1 Chron 29:17 I know, dear God, that you care nothing for the surface — you want us, our true selves — and so I have given from the heart, honestly and happily. And now see all these people doing the same, giving freely, willingly — what a joy! MSG

1 Cor 2:7  God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don’t find it lying around on the surface. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest — what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene.

1 Cor 2:10  But you’ve seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you. The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along.

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2 Cor 3:18  And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.  AMP

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2 Cor 3:18  All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him. MSG

Rom 5:2  Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God’s favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God. AMP

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Rom 5:2 And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand — out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. MSG

Eph 4:1 In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk — better yet, run! — on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. MSG

Heb 11:20  [With eyes of] faith Isaac, looking far into the future, invoked blessings upon Jacob and Esau.  AMP

Dan 8:26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings which has been told you is true. But seal up the vision, for it has to do with and belongs to the [now] distant future.  AMP

Heb 2:5  For it was not to angels that God subjected the habitable world of the future, of which we are speaking.

6 It has been solemnly and earnestly said in a certain place, What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You graciously and helpfully care for and visit and look after him?

7 For some little time You have ranked him lower than and inferior to the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of Your hands,

8 For You have put everything in subjection under his feet. Now in putting everything in subjection to man, He left nothing outside [of man’s] control. But at present we do not yet see all things subjected to him [man].

9 But we are able to see Jesus, Who was ranked lower than the angels for a little while, crowned with glory and honor because of His having suffered death, in order that by the grace (unmerited favor) of God [to us sinners] He might experience death for every individual person.  AMP

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Heb 2:5  God didn’t put angels in charge of this business of salvation that we’re dealing with here.

6 It says in Scripture, What is man and woman that you bother with them; why take a second look their way?

7 You made them not quite as high as angels, bright with Eden’s dawn light;

8 Then you put them in charge of your entire handcrafted world. When God put them in charge of everything, nothing was excluded. But we don’t see it yet, don’t see everything under human jurisdiction.

9 What we do see is Jesus, made “not quite as high as angels,” and then, through the experience of death, crowned so much higher than any angel, with a glory “bright with Eden’s dawn light.” In that death, by God’s grace, he fully experienced death in every person’s place. MSG

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Jer 29:11  For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.  AMP

2 Sam 7:19  But that’s nothing compared to what’s coming, for you’ve also spoken of my family far into the future, given me a glimpse into tomorrow, my Master God!

20 What can I possibly say in the face of all this? You know me, Master God, just as I am.

21 You’ve done all this not because of who I am but because of who you are — out of your very heart! — but you’ve let me in on it. MSG

1 Cor 3:22  Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the present, the future — all of it is yours, MSG

1 Peter 1:4  including a future in heaven — and the future starts now!

5 God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all — life healed and whole. MSG

1 Tim 6:19  In this way laying up for themselves [the riches that endure forever as] a good foundation for the future, so that they may grasp that which is life indeed.  AMP

Ps 18:33  He makes my feet like hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly or make progress on the dangerous heights of testing and trouble]; He sets me securely upon my high places.  AMP

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Hab 3:19 The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!  AMP

Ps 61:2  From the end of the earth will I cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and fainting; lead me to the rock that is higher than I [yes, a rock that is too high for me].   AMP

Col 3:2  And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth.  AMP

Jude 20  But you, beloved, build yourselves up [founded] on your most holy faith [make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the Holy Spirit;  AMP

Luke 9:62 Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.  AMP

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Luke 9:62  Jesus said, “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.” MSG

Prov 6:4  Don’t procrastinate —  there’s no time to lose.

5 Run like a deer from the hunter, fly like a bird from the trapper! MSG

Hag 1:2  A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “The people procrastinate. They say this isn’t the right time to rebuild my Temple, the Temple of God.”

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1 Tim 6:12  Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses. MSG

Col 1:5  The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope. The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn’t diminish or weaken over time.

6 It’s the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you. From the very first day you heard and recognized the truth of what God is doing, you’ve been hungry for more. MSG

Eph 3:18  That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it];

19 [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your 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]!  AMP

Acts 22:14  And he said, The God of our forefathers has destined and appointed you to come progressively to know His will [to perceive, to recognize more strongly and clearly, and to become better and more intimately acquainted with His will], and to see the Righteous One (Jesus Christ, the Messiah), and to hear a voice from His [own] mouth and a message from His [own] lips; AMP

2 Cor 8:9  For you are becoming progressively acquainted with and recognizing more strongly and clearly the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (His kindness, His gracious generosity, His undeserved favor and spiritual blessing), [in] that though He was [so very] rich, yet for your sakes He became [so very] poor, in order that by His poverty you might become enriched (abundantly supplied).  AMP