gods-little-words

[gods-little-words]

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?    For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.    He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.    Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.    He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.  And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.    Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.    Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. 

[gods-little-words]

Hear!

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive. Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive. Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good. Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge. Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 

Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words. 

Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. 

And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. 

Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 

[gods-little-words]

Answer!

The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD. All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits. The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. 

The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit. A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. 

        Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. 

Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.

But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 

Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 

 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?   Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. 

The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: 

  To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

[gods-little-words]

A Divine Attribute

Something True About God

From A.W. Tozer

It would seem to be necessary before proceeding further to define the word attribute as it is used in this volume. It is not used in its philosophical sense nor confined to its strictest theological meaning. By it is meant simply whatever may be correctly ascribed to God. For this purpose, an attribute of God is whatever God has in any way revealed as being true of Himself.

The doctrine of the Trinity is truth for the heart. The spirit of man alone can enter through the veil and penetrate into that Holy of Holies. “Let me seek Thee in longing,” pleaded Anselm, “let me long for Thee in seeking; let me find Thee in love, and love Thee in finding.” Love and faith are at home in the mystery of the Godhead. Let reason kneel in reverence outside. Christ did not hesitate to use the plural form when speaking of Himself along with the Father and the Spirit. “We will come unto him and make our abode with him.” Yet again He said, “I and my Father are one.” It is most important that we think of God as Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the Substance. Only so may we think rightly of God and in a manner worthy of Him and of our own souls.

Because God lives in an everlasting now, He has no past and no future. When time words occur in the Scriptures they refer to our time, not to His. When the four living creatures before the throne cry day and night, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come,” they are identifying God with the flow of creature life with its familiar three tenses; and this is right and good, for God has sovereignly willed so to identify Himself. But since God is uncreated, He is not himself affected by

that succession of consecutive changes we call time. God dwells in eternity but time dwells in God. He has already lived all our tomorrows as He has lived all our yesterdays.

In studying any attribute, the essential oneness of all the attributes soon becomes apparent. We see, for instance, that if God is self-existent, He must be also self-sufficient; and if He has power He, being infinite, must have all power. If He possesses knowledge, His infinitude assures us that He possesses all knowledge. Similarly, His immutability presupposes His faithfulness. If He is unchanging, it follows that He could not be unfaithful since that would require Him to change. Any failure within the divine character would argue imperfection and, since God is perfect, it could not occur. Thus the attributes explain each other and prove that they are but glimpes the mind enjoys of the absolutely perfect Godhead. All of God’s acts are consistent with all of His attributes.

Divine goodness, as one of God’s attributes, is self-caused, infinite, perfect, and eternal. Since God is immutable, He never varies in the intensity of His loving-kindness. He has never been kinder than He now is, nor will He ever be less kind. He is no respecter of persons but makes His sun to shine on the evil as well as on the good, and sends His rain on the just and on the unjust. The cause of His goodness is in Himself, the recipients of His goodness are all His beneficiaries without merit and without recompense.

With this agrees reason, and the moral wisdom that knows itself runs to acknowledge that there can be no merit in human conduct, not even in the purest and the best. Always God’s goodness is the ground of our expectation. Repentance, though necessary, is not meritorious but a condition for receiving the gracious gift of pardon which God gives of His goodness.

Grace And Peace with Love to all!

[gods-little-words]

The Faithfulness of God

As emphasized earlier, God’s attributes are not isolated traits of His character but facets

of His unitary being. They are not things-in-themselves; they are, rather, thoughts by

which we think of God aspects of a perfect whole, names given to whatever we know to

be true of the Godhead.

To have a correct understanding of the attributes it is necessary that we see them all as

one. We can think of them separately, but they cannot be separated. “All attributes

assigned to God cannot differ in reality, by reason of the perfect simplicity of God,

although we in divers ways use of God divers words,” says Nicholas of Cusa. “Whence,

although we attribute to God sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch, sense, reason and

intellect, and so forth, according to the divers significations of each word, yet in Him

sight is not other than hearing, or tasting, or smelling, or touching, or feeling, or

understanding. And so all theology is said to be stablished in a circle, because any one

of His attributes is affirmed of another.”

In studying any attribute, the essential oneness of all the attributes soon becomes

apparent. We see, for instance, that if God is self-existent He must be also self-sufficient;

and if He has power He, being infinite, must have all power. If He possesses

knowledge, His infinitude assures us that He possesses all knowledge. Similarly, His

immutability presuppose His faithfulness. If He is unchanging, it follows that He could

not be unfaithful, since that would require Him to change.

Any failure within the divine character would argue imperfection and, since God is

perfect, it could not occur. Thus the attributes explain each other and prove that they are

but glimpes the mind enjoys of the absolutely perfect Godhead.

All of God’s acts are consistent with all of His attributes. No attribute contradicts the

other, but all harmonize and blend into each other in the infinite abyss of the Godhead.

All that God does agrees with all that God is and being and doing are one in Him.

The familiar picture of God as often torn between His justice and His mercy is

altogether false to the facts. To think of God as inclining first toward one and then

toward another of His attributes is to imagine a God who is unsure of Himself,

frustrated and emotionally unstable, which of course is to say that the one of whom we

are thinking is not the true God at all but a weak, mental reflection of Him badly out of

focus.

God being who He is, cannot cease to be what He is, and being what He is, He cannot

act out of character with Himself. He is at once faithful and immutable, so all His words

and acts must be and remain faithful. Men become unfaithful out of desire, fear,

weakness, loss of interest, or because of some strong influence from without. Obviously

none of these forces can affect God in any way. He is His own reason for all He is and

does. He cannot be compelled from without, but ever speaks and acts from within

Himself by His own sovereign will as it pleases Him.

[gods-little-words]

Patience, The Fruit!

“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Romans 5:3-5

As we can see from the scripture patience is a fruit of the trials and tribulations that we must all go through in our walk with Jesus. When we patiently endure tribulation, other fruit appears such as experience and hope. Many times growing up as a child I was told that patience is a virtue. The dictionary offers several definitions of virtue; I like the fourth, Effective force or power to produce a definite result. So patience as a virtue is used to create a definite result. What is the result? Experience. If what follows is true then experience is a virtue to create hope. Hope will not make you ashamed, for it is what we all have concerning Jesus. It is hope that feeds your faith. I hope in the coming of the Lord. It is by faith that I have salvation. In the first chapter of James we are instructed to count all of our tribulations as joy.

 “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” James 1:3-4

So then if the definition used above were true; then I would say that tribulations are virtues also. Our trials are very effective forces in the producing of patience. As we grow strong in faith our life will reflect a patience that is noticed. It will bring forth fruit. “But that on good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”

 Luke 8:15

Just how will patience bring forth fruit? Imagine for a moment how others perceive your actions. Do you just react or do you take a deep breath before responding to mistreatment? If you will have patience in those situations you will make an impact. “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.”

Colossians 3:12-14

“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient to all men.”  

1 Thessalonians 5:14

[gods-little-words]

The Lord’s Supper

Most of us have heard this phrase before it has to do with the Last Supper of Jesus our Lord. It is accounted for in every one of the Gospels. The disciples in Book of Acts celebrate it; it was a command of Jesus that we do this in remembrance of him. It is called Holy Communion or Holy Eucharist, some leave off the Holy. Whatever it is called it should not be taken lightly. Let’s look at Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 11 beginning at verse 23.

 “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.” Verse 23-26. We’ll stop here to review what has taken place in these verses. Jesus was the first partaker, after giving thanks to God, he broke the bread and he drank of the wine. He told us what each part of it represented, and that we should do it in his remembrance. What we need to see is the condition of our heart before we partake. Are we holding on to un-forgiveness, bitterness, deceitfulness or any of a number of things? Have we truly searched our secrets and confessed our faults before God? Let’s continue with these verses where we left off verse 27. “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. Verse 27-29.  We could stop here and say wow, that’s really deep. To go on in the next verses we will see just how deep it goes.

“For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” Verse 30-32

Speaking for myself, I will examine my life and heart before partaking of the Lord’s Supper. There is so much to gain just by being honest with ourselves. You know God is the only other person that knows what is hidden in your life, by confession is salvation gained and the heart made just. He only wants to love you, but you must take the steps. Open your heart and let him in, then you can partake and receive.

The Lord’s Supper

In Memory of

Jesus – the Lamb of God.

[gods-little-words]

John answered and said,

A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

(John 3:27)

Here in a brief sentence is the hope and despair of mankind. From the context we know that John is speaking of spiritual truth. He is telling us that there is a kind of truth which can never be grasped by the intellect, for the

Intellect exists for the apprehension of ideas, and this truth consists not in ideas but in life. Divine truth is of the nature of spirit and for that reason can be received only by spiritual revelation. "Except it be given him from heaven." This is not a new theology and wasn't when John Spoke it. The prophet Isaiah, for instance, has this passage.

My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

God made man in His own image and placed within him an organ by means of which he could know spiritual things. When man sinned that organ died. "Dead in sin" is a description not of the body nor yet of the intellect, but of the organ of Godknowledge within the human soul. Now men are forced to depend upon another and inferior organ and one furthermore which is wholly inadequate to the purpose. I mean, of course, the mind as the seat of his powers of reason and understanding.

Man by reason cannot know God; he can only know about God. Through the light of reason certain important facts about God may be discovered. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1: 19-20)

Through the light of nature man's moral reason may be enlightened, but the deeper mysteries of God remain hidden to him until he has received illumination from above.  A.W.Tozer- The Illumination of the Spirit.

Grace and Peace.

wwg1wga!

[gods-little-words]

The Omnipotence of God

In the time of his vision John the Revelator heard as it were the voice of a great multitude and as the voice of many waters and as the voice of mighty thunderings sounding throughout the universe, and what the voice proclaimed was the sovereignty and omnipotence of God: “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Sovereignty and omnipotence must go together. One cannot exist without the other. To reign, God must have power, and to reign sovereignly, He must have all power. And that is what omnipotent means, having all power. The word derives from the Latin and is identical in meaning with the more familiar almighty which we have from the Anglo-Saxon. This latter word occurs fifty-six times in our English Bible and is never used of anyone but God. He alone is almighty. God possesses what no creature can: an incomprehensible plenitude of power, a potency that is absolute. This we know by divine revelation, but once known, it is recognized as being in full accord with reason. Grant that God is infinite and self-existent and we see at once that He must be all-powerful as well, and reason kneels to worship before the divine omnipotence.

A.W.Tozer- “The Knowledge of the Holy”

[gods-little-words]

Boast not!

“Hear this all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: both low and high, rich and poor, together.” The Psalms 49:1-2

 “They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:(For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth forever:)” The Psalms 49:6-8

“There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.”  Proverbs 13:7

 “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labor shall increase.” Proverbs 13:11

 “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.” Proverbs 13:22

 “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes.” Ecclesiastes 5:10-11

 “Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him the power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.” Ecclesiastes 5:19-20

Our Father is a gracious and loving God; he gives to all our needs. If then we are blessed with wealth let us give thanks to him. Let us be faithful with those riches and be the help to those God sends us. The profit of the earth is for all. Not to be stored unto selfishness.  I think the Word of God is clear about it study the scriptures and become a faithful steward.

 Be thankful and faithful; not boastful!  

[gods-little-words]

Enjoy

[gods-little-words]

All along the Watchtower

His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence.

 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his wicked way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for morning. I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief , and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. Take heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the  LORD shall bring again Zion. And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.

[gods-little-words]

Nothing I say matters except the Word of God !

 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commanded it not? Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil and good?

O GIVE thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. A-men’.

 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

 Knowing the truth means knowing “Nothing I say matters unless it’s the Word of God.”

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. A-men’.

.

[gods-little-words]

Light

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

         There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: To keep thee from the evil woman, from flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light we shall see light.

         Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.

         And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

         In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

         Then spake Je’sus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

[gods-little-words]

Wait, Walk, Wash

 IF a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait I say on the LORD. Say not thou, I will Recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee. But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? Prudent, and he shall know them? For the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but transgressors shall fall therein.

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. For we walk be faith, not by sight. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war against the flesh.

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the LORD: walk as children of the light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither is he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if you do them.

[gods-little-words]

Respect

 For there is no respect of persons God.

 Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it. Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. 

                  Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off. These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment. To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress. 

                  My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

                  I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually. Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.

 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. 

[gods-little-words]

Seven Spirits

 And now hear me, my children, what things I saw concerning the seven spirits of deceit when I repented.

Seven spirits therefore are appointed against man, and they are the leaders in the works of youth. And seven other spirits are given to him at his creation, that through them should be done every work of man. The first is the spirit of life, with which the constitution of man is created. The second is the sense of sight, with which ariseth desire. The third is the sense of hearing, with which cometh teaching. The fourth is the sense of smell, with which taste are given to draw air and breath. The fifth is the power of speech, with which cometh knowledge.

The sixth is the sense of taste, with which cometh the eating of meats and drinks; and by it strength is produced, for in food is the foundation of strength. The seventh is the power of procreation and sexual intercourse, with which through love of pleasure sins enter in. Wherefore it is the last in order of creation, and the first in that of youth, Because it is filled with ignorance, and leadeth the youth as a blind man to a pit, and as a beast to a precipice.

           Besides all of these there is an eighth spirit of sleep, with which is brought about the trance of nature and the image of death. With these spirits are mingled the spirits of error.

           First, the spirit of fornication is seated in the nature and in the senses, The second the spirit of insatiableness, in the belly; The third, the spirit of fighting, in the liver and gall. The fourth is the spirit of obsequiousness and chicanery, that through officious attention one may be fair in seeming. The fifth is the spirit of pride, that one may be boastful and arrogant. The sixth is the spirit of lying, in perdition and jealousy to practice deceits, and concealments from kindred and friends.

           The seventh is the spirit of injustice, with which are thefts and acts of rapacity, that a man may fulfill the desire of his heart; for injustice worketh together with the other spirits by the taking of gifts. And with all these the spirit of sleep is joined which is that of error and fantasy. And so perisheth every young man, darkening his mind from the truth, and not understanding the law of God, nor obeying the admonitions of his fathers, as also befell me in my youth.

            And now, my children,  love the truth and it will preserve you !

  Shared from the Testament of Reuben, First born of Jacob and Leah.