Tuesday Wrapup

This very important article for humanity was removed from the net but has been archived on a server and I found it again today.
Better read it before it is gone forever...

***

Here is my original post on this from August 30, 2008 .

***

So why do they want a switch to kill the internet?

 If and when Marshal law is enacted in America and people are taken to the FEMA camps, will cell phones be "killed."

On another similar front of a sort...

 These people have a way around that; but the powers that be are pushing for a kill switch in cell phones under the guise of disabling stolen phones remotely...ya right!

 Hong Kong's mass protest is networked. Activists are relying on a free app that can send messages without any cellphone connection. 

 Since the pro-democracy protests turned ugly over the weekend, many worry that the Chinese government would block local phone networks. 

In response, activists have turned to the FireChat app to send supportive messages and share the latest news.

 On Sunday alone, the app was downloaded more than 100,000 times in Hong Kong, its developers said.

 FireChat relies on "mesh networking," a technique that allows data to zip directly from one phone to another via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Ordinarily, if two people want to communicate this way, they need to be fairly close together. 

But as more people join in, the network grows and messages can travel further. Mesh networks can be useful for people who are caught in natural disasters or, like those in Hong Kong, protesting under tricky conditions.

 FireChat came in handy for protesters in Taiwan and Iraq this year."

***
 This is not good.

 News that the CDC has confirmed the first case of Ebola diagnosed on U.S. soil. 

An unnamed patient at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas was placed in isolation while awaiting test results for the dreaded virus. 

Apparently, the patient had traveled recently to a West African country, where the disease is spreading, and later developed symptoms that suggested Ebola.

 A blood specimen from the patient was sent to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, a testing process that can take 24 to 48 hours to confirm an Ebola infection — or not.

 The results came back about 3:32 p.m.

In other Ebola news, outbreaks in Nigeria and Senegal appear to be completely contained.

***

 As announced earlier today, the next version of Windows is Windows 10.
Windows 10 in pictures. 

I totally dislike windows 8.1 with the annoying stuff that happens when my cursor moves in certain directions.

 Very irritating when your typing on your blog and suddenly a new window pops up and you have to take a moment to get back to where your currently working.

Heres more;

 Today at a press conference in San Francisco, Microsoft announced the new version of their flagship operating system, called Windows 10.

(Yes, t-e-n. I don't know.)

With the new version of the operating system, they'll be unifying the application platform for all devices: desktops, laptops, consoles, tablets, and phones.

 As early leaks showed, the Start Menu is back — it's a hybrid of old and new, combining a list of applications with a small group of resizable tiles that can include widgets. Metro-style apps can now each operate inside their own window (video).

 There's a new, multiple-desktop feature, which power users have been demanding for years, and also a feature that lets users easily grab objects from one desktop and transfer it to another.

The command line is even getting some love.

The Technical Preview builds for desktops and laptops will be available tomorrow through the Windows Insider Program.

They're requesting feedback from customers. Windows 10 will launch in late 2015.

I used to get on-board to preview new OS from Micro$, but these days not so much.

Been slowly turning Apple, there I said it.

***

 While Windows-based tablets haven't exactly set the world on fire, Microsoft hasn't given up on them, and its hardware partners haven't either.

 HP has announced a series of Windows tablets, with the 7-inch low-end model, the Stream 7, priced at $99.

 The Stream brand is also being used for low-priced laptops intended to compete with Chromebooks (which HP also sells). All are running Intel chips and full Windows, not Windows RT.

*** 

Microsoft will monitor users in the new Windows 9 ( being called Windows 10) Operating System in order to determine how the new OS is used, thus decide what tweaks and changes are need to be made. 

During Windows 8 testing, Microsoft said that they had data showing Start Menu usage had dropped, but it seems that the tools they were using at the time weren't as evolved as the new 'Asimov' monitor.

 The new system is codenamed 'Asimov' and will provide a near real-time view of what is happening on users' machines.

 Rest assured, the data is going to be obscured and aggregated, but intelligible enough to allow Microsoft to get detailed insights into user interactions with the OS. Mary Jo Foley says that the system was originally built by the Xbox Team and now is being used by the Windows team.

 Users who will download the technical preview of Windows 9, which is said to get unveiled today, will become 'power users' who will utilize the platform in unique scenarios. 

This will help Microsoft identify any odd bugs ahead of the final release.

***
 
A new feature being added to the LTE protocol that smartphones use to communicate with cellular towers will make it possible to bypass those towers altogether.

 Phones will be able to "talk" directly to other mobile devices and to beacons located in shops and other businesses. Known as LTE Direct, the wireless technology has a range of up to 500 meters, far more than either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

 It is included in update to the LTE standard slated for approval this year, and devices capable of LTE Direct could appear as soon as late 2015. ... 

Researchers are, for example, testing LTE Direct as a way to allow smartphones to automatically discover nearby people, businesses, and other information.

***
 Just as a matter of principle I often use Tor network browsers to frustrate those who follow other browsers gathering data.

 Several major tech firms are in talks with Tor to include the software in products that can potentially reach over 500 million Internet users around the world. 

One particular firm wants to include Tor as a "private browsing mode" in a mainstream Web browser, allowing users to easily toggle connectivity to the Tor anonymity network on and off.

 "They very much like Tor Browser and would like to ship it to their customer base," Tor executive director Andrew Lewman wrote, explaining the discussions but declining to name the specific company.

 "Their product is 10-20 percent of the global market, this is of roughly 2.8 billion global Internet users." 

The product that best fits Lewman's description, by our estimation, is Mozilla Firefox, the third-most popular Web browser online today and home to, you guessed it, 10 to 20 percent of global Internet users.

You can use this great browser to try out the TOR network.
 http://piratebrowser.com/

***
 
U.S. authorities have arrested and indicted the CEO of a mobile software company for selling spyware that enables "stalkers and domestic abusers.

" The U.S. Department of Justice accuses the man of promoting and selling software that can "monitor calls, texts, videos and other communications on mobile phones without detection." 

The agency pointed out this is the first criminal case based on mobile spyware, and promised to aggressively pursue makers of similar software in the future. Here's the legal filing (PDF). The FBI, with approval from a District Court, has disabled the website hosting the software.

"The indictment alleges that StealthGenie's capabilities included the following: 

it recorded all incoming/outgoing voice calls; it intercepted calls on the phone to be monitored while they take place; it allowed the purchaser to call the phone and activate it at any time to monitor all surrounding conversations within a 15-foot radius; and it allowed the purchaser to monitor the user's incoming and outgoing e-mail messages and SMS messages, incoming voicemail messages, address book, calendar, photographs, and videos.

 All of these functions were enabled without the knowledge of the user of the phone."

 http://snitch.software.informer.com/

***
CIA's Starbucks...
 
 The new supervisor thought his idea was innocent enough. He wanted the baristas to write the names of customers on their cups to speed up lines and ease confusion, just like other Starbucks do around the world. 

But these aren't just any customers. 

They are regulars at the CIA Starbucks.

 "They could use the alias 'Polly-O string cheese' for all I care," said a food services supervisor at the Central Intelligence Agency, asking that his identity remain unpublished for security reasons.

 "But giving any name at all was making people — you know, the undercover agents — feel very uncomfortable. It just didn't work for this location."

***

The state-run OAO Rosneft has discovered a vast pool of crude in the Kara Sea region of the Arctic Ocean, arguably bigger than the Gulf of Mexico. 

From the article: "The discovery sharpens the dispute between Russia and the U.S. over President Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine.

 The well was drilled before the Oct. 10 deadline Exxon was granted by the U.S. government under sanctions barring American companies from working in Russia’s Arctic offshore.

 Rosneft and Exxon won’t be able to do more drilling, putting the exploration and development of the area on hold despite the find announced today."

***
 
Gull Island has a very large oil field that has been hidden

This will blow your mind.

***

OK listen up...your going to want this real bad

***

Mark Of The Beast Is Here Now

Apple Benders

This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice in it!

 Did you ever wonder how Pastor Chuck Smith could have such joy?

Did you ever wonder how he was able to remain joyous even though he faced trials and tribulations like anyone of us does?

In today's lesson we will reveal the secret of how you too can have such joy from the Lord.

We are going to share with you the secret of having this overflowing joy in your own life.

In fact I know that after reading this lesson you will go away from it having joy begin to overflow your own heart; that is how confident I am of the Word of God and it's power and authority.



 ***
God intends for us to be filled with Joy.


And for this to happen, we must believe for it and set our hearts upon it.

We have learned in this walk with the Lord that nothing happens by itself.

We do not come into a walk with God and automatically become filled with joy.

Many things are set before us, and we must believe them and appropriate them, driving forward to possess them in the name of the Lord.

  When the restoration from the exile in Babylon was taking place, the priests read from the law and translated it for the people.

 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God.

 Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:9,10.

We are in the time of great warfare now, and the enemy is trying to wear out the saints of the Most High ( Daniel 7:25 ).

In this battle it is the joy of the Lord that will be our strength.

The overflow of the Spirit is directly related to the joy of the Lord.

 Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.
Psalm 16:11.

Joy is an important part of the restoration.

The further people are from the Lord, the less joyful they are; and the closer they get to the Lord, the more overwhelmed they are with His joy.

In His presence is fullness of joy.

The unhappiness and misery that people have associated with piety is absolutely erroneous; it is pure false doctrine.

Some churches would not consider you to be religious if you did not have a long face.

Reverence to them was not praising the Lord; it was a matter of very great solemnity.

This is a result of the Dark Ages, when people refused to be joyful.

To be religious meant they afflicted themselves, beat themselves with whips, and tortured themselves.

  The closer we get to the days of the restoration, the more we come into His presence, the Parousia.

In his presence is fullness of joy- this we shall believe for.

Joel prophesied that joy is withered away from the sons of men ( Joel 1:12 ).

This is typical of the old age and a world system that cannot be happy or joyful anymore.

It is almost a commitment to unhappiness.

A public poll of the popularity of television programs would reveal that we are not entertained by healthy comedy, only by something which is based on sarcasm and inflicted unhappiness or a miserable situation for someone else.

This is natural to the human nature.

We cannot be happy or joyful as long as the human nature is dedicated to misery.

  Happiness will not just happen to you someday; you must be dedicated to believe for the joy of the Lord.

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit ( Galatians 5:22 ).

You are not going to be joyful, able to love, or be filled with His peace until you determine that this is the way you will be.

Will Rogers said, "People are just about as happy as they want to be." ( Attributed originally to Abraham Lincoln).

This is very true.

I have seen many instances when people have become so deeply motivated to be unhappy.

It is a determination to be unhappy, a deep unconscious resolution to be miserable.

 There must be a deep unconscious resolution within us to be altogether joyful.

At the Old Testament feasts the command was, "Thou shalt be altogether joyful" ( Deuteronomy 16:11,14 ).

When the law of Moses was read, the people gathered in front of the Watergate to listen.

When they heard the law, they all started mourning and wailing.

The people were told not to mourn, but to rejoice in the Feast, eat of the fat and drink of the sweet, for that day was holy to the Lord: "Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

  God intends for His joy to come to us, God never intended that fallen human nature should be self-sufficient and happy in itself.

Regardless of what should happen to us.

He intended that our joy should come from Him.

When the Lord came to teach us, this one thing He made very plain.

"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full."
John 15:11

And in His prayer to the Father, "But now I come to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy made full in themselves."
John 17:13.

We must face the fact that there is a joy which the Lord wants us to have.

The Lord has made for us a provision to be very joyful, and we are not going to have that joy until we determine to believe for that joy and receive it.

  Before these days of the restoration the gaiety and enthusiasm just natural to the anointing of the Spirit would not have been accepted by an old order church.

The true goals of the Kingdom may not be seen until this restoration has fully come.

The objective is not to hold out to the end, and with a great deal of misery and sufferings, finally make it.

If you still hold the apprehension that these days are going to be terrible, but you will somehow survive, you probably do not realize how you are to walk through them.

Would you like to read a few promises from the Scriptures?
And the ransomed of the Lord will return, and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find ( the literal meaning is "overtake") gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Isaiah 35:10.

  This will be the first time that life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness is given to anyone in this world.

Did not the government guarantee us life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as our rights and our privileges?

Here is how it will happen in the Kingdom of God: We shall overtake gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

  Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion.

I have found many people in this walk with God shouting for joy over their portion yet; the dealings of the Lord have been too deep.

But if we would seek the Lord, we would be able to rejoice in the dealings also.

Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land, everlasting joy will be theirs.
Isaiah 61:7.

Everlasting joy is what we are pursuing.

Peter said that we are to rejoice with a joy inexpressible and full of glory, something so great that we cannot express it.

This is to be our portion.

  This joy will not happen automatically.

People are not going to believe in this walk with God if they come to church and we are moping about something, complaining that we have been hit.

Yet, there has never been a time, even under the most miserable assaults of the enemy, that we could not come together and find an occasion to rejoice in the Lord, ad find His joy present.

Even if we are going through testings, we are to pass through and overcome them.

The Master went through trials and He endured the cross, despising the shame, for the joy that was set before Him ( Hebrews 12:2).

We can be joyful about the joy that will come.

This is the optimistic, faith-filled viewpoint that we must have.

There is nothing out there in the world worth rejoicing in.

We are facing complete demoralization of the American people.

Their character is eroding away, and their affluent society is crumbling under their feet.

They live with apprehension, and everything they do is making them more miserable all the time.

Where is the joy?

Where is the rejoicing?

We are going to believe that the Lord will lay His hands upon the remnant.

The only joy will be to those who are crowned.

Everlasting joy will be upon their heads when they come to Zion.

I think this will be the only way to mark the difference between the remnant and the rest of the world.

The rest of the world will never be able to understand our deep joy.

  If you are full of grief, carrying a great big burden, I have a formula for you.

First, you will have to be uncorked.

You are full of wrong ideas, wrong conditioning, and wrong thinking, and you are sealing it all inside.

You can feel the bitterness and unhappy conditionings of your thinking seething down there.

  People can actually determine to be miserable. The fact that "blues" are a popular style of music is significant of this.

They even enjoy boasting about their calamities.

Some people are almost too arrogant to be happy.

Pride has a way of making a person unhappy.

People worry themselves to death and have heart attacks and other physical disorders as a result, despite the fact that this is supposed to be the affluent society, the bread basket of the world, and the savior of nations.

People tend to bottle up their feelings, then try to present a cheerful image of themselves.

All these frustrations seethe underneath, without ever being expressed, and cause ulcers.

  David was a man with the promises of God on his head, yet he spent a good portion of his life as a fugitive living in a cave.

Upon occasion he even acted like an idiot, to keep the Philistines from killing him ( I Samuel 21:12,13 ).

Yet that man was always rejoicing in the Lord, and his heart was set upon God.

He was able to walk with God in this way because first of all, he was uncorked; he expressed himself and got rid of his frustrations.

He sought God.

If revenge was in his heart, he would not sharpen his dagger all day; he would go before the Lord and cry out, "I commit this to You, Lord.You avenge me of my enemies" ( Psalm 59,64 ).

When someone died, he did not offer a somber sort of worship.

He attended a funeral uncorked.

He cried, put ashes on his head, tore his clothes and cried all day at the top of his voice, until he could not cry anymore.

Then he arose and went about his business.

When the Lord filled him with joy and it was time to rejoice, he threw his clothes aside and danced before the Lord with all of his might ( II Samuel 6:12-16 ).

David was an uncorked man.

  (A) It is deadly for you to hold under the surface all your hurts.

You may be  unhappy because it is all boiling inside.

  (B) empty yourself before the Lord. Cry out to Him with all of your heart. One of the purposes of prayer is to empty one's self before the Lord.

  The next step is to be filled with the Spirit.

  (C) Uncork the old bottle, pour out the bad stuff, and pour in the good stuff until you overflow.

You now have the secret of the inexpressible joy of the Lord that is to be your strength.

David commanded the people to rejoice in the Lord.

I like that sort of determination.

He was saying, "When I rejoice, everyone rejoices!"

If that is in your heart, you will be surprised at the influence you can have on people with that melancholy depression resting upon their spirits.

  In these days there will be many times when you do not feel like rejoicing, but remember that joy is not a product of feeling; joy is a product of determined faith.

Determine in your faith tat you will believe God and be filled with joy, and it will be there.

Think of all the things you could enjoy which slip by without your really enjoying them.

If you have a little child, one day you will grieve if you lose these days when you could enjoy him and be happy with him.

  But let all who take refuge in Thee be glad, let them ever sing for joy; and mayest Thou shelter them, that those who love Thy name may exult in Thee. 
Psalm 32:1.

  Are you beginning to see the real prophetic picture of Joy?

Do you want to be a part of the greatest time of sorrows since the world began?

Do you want to partake of this time of sorrows, or do you want to be the remnant that will return to Zion with everlasting joy upon their heads?

This is your decision.

Do you realize that it is your own fault that you have not been joyful as you can be?

Are you going to do something about it?

When the heaviness comes to your because God is dealing with something wrong, repent and get the thing taken care of, but do not be morbid about it.

Be filled with His joy and His presence.

  The Parousia should be characterized by a very happy, joyful people walking with the Lord.

When they persecute us and say all manner of evil against us, we shall rejoice and be exceedingly glad.

This is possible because the joy of the Lord will be with us to accomplish it.

  We are a people who will work and labor for the Lord, but our labors will not be a heavy burden.

His joy is going to be in our hearts.

If it pleases God, we are going to take our honey with a ladle and our vinegar with a teaspoon.

When we walk with a broken heart, with oppressions, or a heaviness, the Lord is the One who brings His joy as a strength and a healing.

When we think that we cannot go on, we really can go on with a blessing from the Lord.

We can well afford to dump some of the old emotions and have that wonderful overflowing of the Holy Spirit.

We must be dedicated to the Lordship of Christ and walking with Him in a perfect balance.

Instead of underestimating the value of experiences that come from God, we need to continually drink from Him and maintain that joyful overflow.

This is a great key of the strength we need to prevail in everything we do.

 Psalm 118:24

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

I Will Not Compete With You

In the news currently is the tale of a church family. Member set against member.

They are destroying what their Patriarch built by their current actions...

Matthew 12:25

And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

Today's lesson is about us being members of one another in love.

***
 If there be therefore any consolation (encouragement) in Christ, if any comfort of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies (affection and compassion),
 
² Fulfill (Make) ye my joy, that ye be likeminded (same mind), having (maintaining) the same love, being of one accord, of one mind (united in spirit, intent on one purpose).

³ Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory (Do nothing from selfishness); but in lowliness of mind (Humility. Note this next phrase)  let each esteem other better than themselves (let each one regard one another as more important than himself).

⁴ Look not every man on his own things ( Do not look out for your own personal interests), but every man also on the things (interests) of others.
Philippians 2:1-4 

This Scripture initiates an understanding of the competitive spirit.

It will not only disturb you, but it will change churches and further open the door to the Kingdom.

  We do not win the race through human competitiveness and by being able to bypass our brother or replace him.

We lose the race when we fail to prefer our brother or sister above ourselves.

We have already failed in the basic ministry of the Body when we have been competitive, wanting our place.

No one can come forth and really walk with God if he is always concerned for his own ministry and burdened for his place.

  Let it be clear in your mind that you lose your race personally when you fail to prefer your brother or your sister.

Romans 12:10 says, Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.

This Scripture is found in one of the three great chapters which speak of the ministries of the Body.

Verse 16 says, Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

Romans 15:2-3 says, Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself.

  Walking in the Spirit is a race and a battle, but it is won by each individual alone in his own relationship to the Lord and to the Body.

You will never win a race and you will never win a place by being competitive and putting down your brother.

If you think that you must step on the neck of your brother in trying to reach up to the place that you believe God has for you, then you are deceived.

When you step on your brother, you are taking a step down, not up.

  I John 3:16 tells us, We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

The competitive spirit still exists too much among God's people.

It is a key of failure in communal homes, in the relationship of husband and wives, and in the ministries of elders, deacons, and pastors of churches.

When you are competitive, you are running the race with chains on.

In the Kingdom of God, the new commandment tells you to love one another and to lay down your life for the brethren.

  A person can get the idea that he has to be very aggressive and win the race or he will lose out; and so he goes all-out to squeeze in competitively.

He tries to be the one who has the maximum exposure in the spotlight.

  In I Corinthians 9, Paul told how he was all things to all men- for example, to the weak, he was as one who was weak.

Then he said, And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow-partaker of it.
Verse 23.

He was not concerned about what he himself was going to receive, but about what everyone else would receive with him as a fellow - partaker.

  Paul went on to say, Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? 

Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self- control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave ( this is where the battle is- not in beating your brother, but in buffeting your body ), lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. I Corinthians 9:24-27.

This is the purpose of the whole race and the whole war and the whole battle- to bring yourself into perfect submission to God, not to sidestep or work around your brother.

It is not like a race, begun with a starting gun, where the object is to see who can run the fastest.

  Esau was ready to race on with his camels and his men after meeting Jacob.

But Jacob wanted to travel slowly because of the little children and the cattle with young ( Genesis 33:13-14 ).

His consideration of them was one reason that God said, "Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated." ( Romans 9:13).

Esau could be moved by a mess of pottage and a shapely figure; and so he married women from the Canaanites.

This was not so with Jacob; he married among the people where God said he was to marry.

He did what God told him to do, coveting above everything else the blessing of the Lord.

Although there had been a competitiveness in him previously, God beat that one out of him.

And when he met Esau again, it was not to compete with him; it was to bring a gift of his goods to Esau.

He won by losing.

  Competitiveness does not exist as a valid principle except in the Adamic nature.

We compete in a race for the mastery of the spirit over the flesh, not for the mastery of our spirit over another man's spirit.

Our struggle is never against our brother, but against our own self.

Let me direct you to some Scriptures which indicate the factors that often are the reason we progress slowly when we could make much more rapid progress.

  Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
I John 3:15.

Just a lack of love for your brother places you in the category of a murderer.

Even a mild form of hatred identifies you as a murderer.

Jude 11 speaks of the great sin of the last day when people go in the way of Cain, in the gainsaying of Korah, and in the error of Balaam.

The way of Cain refers to the fact that Cain did not love his brother; he was jealous of him.

Cain was furious when he saw that his offering was rejected and that Abel's was received.

He hated his brother, and so he rose up in the field and slew him.

Walking in the way of Cain means that you hate your brother.

Even a mild form of competitiveness involves jealousy, which is actually hatred, because love prefers your brother.

If you are not preferring him, then a perverse hatred is present.

  We can say that we are submissive to the Lord and believe that we are submissive to Him and to those who are over us; but if we are merely suppressing competitiveness instead of getting rid of it, we are still not submissive.

Submissiveness is a key to effective communal homes.

In the homes where there is not really the fulfillment of the will of God, a competitiveness is found among the people.

Instead of loving one another and helping one another with problems, there is a competition going on among them.

The same situation exists in families.

If there is competition between a husband and a wife, their marriage is not effective.

Whenever one member of the family is fighting for a place, something is wrong.

The blessing of a family is reduced to almost nothing when there is rivalry between sisters and brothers.

In fact, the atmosphere can be so bad that the parents find themselves nervous and tense because of the sibling's rivalry.

  When you are always fighting for a place, this indicates that you do not actually have a place.

You have no ministry when you are competitive.

Walking with God is not to be an ego trip.

Jesus said, "He who is the greatest is the servant of all" ( Matthew 23:11).

If we are not striving for a place for ourselves, but for our brother, we open the door to give him everything God has given us.

But if we are striving for a place for ourselves , we close ourselves off from everything that he could give to us and we become victims of every evil assault against us.

We cannot battle that battle alone.

We have no defenses against it.

We are overcome by it.

  Let us look at three facets of the competitive flesh.

First, there may be the conscious, and sometimes unconscious, struggle to divert the attention that is focused on another to yourself.

Some people never seek any attention.

Others walk into a room, and consciously or unconsciously they become the one upon whom all attention is focused.

A competitive spirit causes this.

People often do that in homes and in churches.

Even grouping people together for special times of ministry to them must be done carefully, so that  there is not one among them who has such a competitive spirit that he draws all the attention to himself.

  A second facet of the competitive flesh is found in a satisfaction that exists only when you have eliminated the flow of attention to any others but yourself, and all attention is focused on you.

You can call it selfishness.

This can be a basis of jealousy; at least jealousy seems to be involved in this facet of competition.

Yet people who are not basically jealous still enter into this possessiveness in which they have to eliminate the flow to anyone but themselves.

A third facet of the competitive flesh is found in the basic conviction that the achievement is an attainment of individual, personal victories.

That is a lie.

You have not achieved something when you have won an individual or personal victory.

God does not want a brother in authority to pray and believe to come into fulfillment of his ministry by himself.

God gives him a bigger victory than that.

If he could do it by himself, a competitive spirit would be turned loose; and the other brothers would try to show they could d likewise, that they could win victories and attain goals by themselves.

  God has made it impossible for us to walk by individual attainment.

We move because of one another.

We prevail because of one another.

God is not allowing a competitive race in which we see how many are going to be among the end-time company of disciples. 

Every man who has been brought forth on the scene to be a part of that company has had his "legs broken" by God, so that he can win the race.

The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong ( Ecclesiastes 9:11).

  We will come forth to do God's will without competitive spirit.

We cannot win with a competitive spirit.

God has ordained that no one will make it by himself.

You are not in a struggle to see how much intestinal fortitude you have.

You will not make it because you say, "I think I can; I think I can. I have the stamina; I have the will power. I can do it better than anyone else!"

Forget that attitude, because God will blow on it.

  The competitive flesh also effects love relationships.

We constantly see situations in which people are jealous.

When we look into the jealousy , we see that they are possessive.

They feel that they must compete for affection and attention.

They feel they are being neglected.

Feeling neglected is often an expression of competitiveness when a person feels that he has not competed successfully; he has not been able to win.

God allows you to feel neglected and lonely because He will not permit you to win by a competitive spirit.

It is because of your competitive spirit that you do not win.

  True love involves certain possessiveness.

True love may be possessive, however, if there is also a competitive spirit present, your possessiveness will be an affront to God, for you are demanding to possess another person in a way that God will not allow.

True love that God honors has a possessiveness, yet it does not exclude the priority of God- the priorities that God places over people's lives.

They are to serve Him in His Body as He dictates.

This means that no bond or relationship may compete with God's priorities.

  If we have a competitive spirit, the real problem arises when we start competing with God.

Husbands and wives can do this.

What does it mean to compete with God?

We say of an individual, "He is mine!"

But God says, "He is Mine, first! I possess him."

When a husband and wife try to possess each other to the exclusion of God's claims on them, or even in a way that takes priority over God's claims on them, then they are competing against God.

  The last thing you want to do is to compete with God.

You cannot say, "I love So-and-So. Forget what Gd wants in the situation! My possessiveness and desires come first."

You cannot do that.

Many times, when God chooses a man for a certain ministry, his wife comes on the scene and makes a possessive claim in a way that completely ignores and violates God's priorities and claims over her husband's life.

That must end.

The Word says, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness." ( Matthew 6:33 ).

This means that you can have no objectives that compete with God's objectives.

Whatever God wants must have the priority; otherwise you are beaten right there.

Do you see how competitiveness is a wicked sin against God?

If you are racing with chains on your feet.

You are the loser.

  God has revealed great depth of wisdom the sinfulness of the competitive spirit.

The competitive spirit is sinful.

One who competes with a brother or a sister sins against God.

He sins against the Body.

He sins against his own ministry and against his own walk with God.

  The book of Philippians deals greatly with the competitive spirit, though it does not call it that; however, the meaning is still very clear.

Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
 
² I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. ( Friction was in evidence there).

³ And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.

Philippians 4:1-3

What was Paul saying?

He was urging an apostolic ministry to get in and work shoulder to shoulder with some of the women.

  Women seem more prone to be in competition than men, but there is also the war of the sexes going on.

Many women are put down because men want to take the superior place.

As the men overcome their competition with women, they can help the women out of the extreme competitive position they have with one another.

The problem that prevents women from assuming their proper place right now is the fact that the women are always competing with one another.

Each one is trying to be special and have a special place.

Women are usually far more virtuous than men.

If the ministries of authority deal with the competitive spirit correctly, the men and women can walk as brothers and sisters and eliminate any problems that might arise.

The temptations of the flesh can be overcome.

When people are sincere, and deeply motivated and dedicated, there is no reason why there should ever be any breach of morals within the body of Christ.

 The basic competition of women can be seen everywhere.

In communal homes and in churches we see the juggling that stems from a competitiveness.

As God helps His people to overcome this, they will move forward spiritually ten times faster.

  This problem is actually only minimal.

Although it sounds as if we are talking about a great sin, competitiveness is actually a simple basic spirit which reveals itself in the way people think as human beings, in their human concept of trying to overcome insecurity.

The human level of thinking about insecurity leads us to a possessiveness.

We have to possess another person.

We have to possess money or property.

We must have a certain monopoly in a skill or an ability.

As a competitor, we have to be "Somebody."

All of this is involved in the human concept of trying to overcome insecurity.

  What does God want us to do?

Let me share with you my answer, which was my creed for many years.

I do not have to feel secure by what I possess.

I do not have to feel secure because I have an exclusive relationship with any individual or any number of individuals.

I do not have to feel secure because I have a unique ability or a talent that no one else has.

I feel secure because I know God loves me.

Anything the Lord gives me, I will give to others.

Any ability He imparts, I will impart.

I will have won my race when a thousand sons outstrip me.

i will be translated to a higher realm when I can give a son a double portion of all that I have from God.

To me, the law of life shall be, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" ( Acts 20:35 ).

When God shows me how, I will tell others how.

Whatever God gives to me, I will give to others.

  This you must do also.

Do what Paul instructed Timothy to do: "The things which you have seen and heard in me, the same commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" ( II Timothy 2:2 ).

Take it and give it.

You must not fail to do this.

  Being a part of the Father's family is not a matter of competition; it is a relationship of love.

The man who competes is not made perfect in love.

John the Beloved wrote, There is no fear ( the King James Version reads, "no torment" ), in love; but perfect love casts out fear (torment), because fear ( torment) involves punishment, and the one who fears ( is tormented) is not perfected in love. I John 4:18.

When you are competitive, there is an element of torment.
;
You are driven by something other than love.

The competitiveness of fear is based on insecurity.

It is a torment.

John said that one who has this fear, or torment, is not made perfect in love.

  We remember the love of our Master, who, being in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to strive after ( Philippians 2:6 ).

Neither will we strive to rival or to compete in any way with our brothers or sisters or with God's purposes in our lives.

Let us submit ourselves to walk in love, a love that will be without torment of competitiveness.

  God s calling for us to love one another.

If you are in competition, then your love is not made perfect.

Love until you prefer your brother above yourself.

 Ask God to deliver you from the torment of competitiveness, into the perfect peace of love.

Do not compete for a relationship that will exclude others from tat bond.

When you do exclude others, they feel cut off.

Have you ever heard the statement, "I feel cut off"?

Maybe you were responsible for that person being cut off.

Maybe you were striving for a relationship that excluded him.

  When you see something wrong with your brother, the competitive spirit will keep you from giving him the credit that is due him.

The competitive spirit leads us to believe gossip and to judge  a situation before we objectively weigh it or seek God about it.

Real love rejoices not in iniquity; it rejoices in the truth.

Real love thinks no evil.

When we get rid of the competitive spirit, we will be surprised to see what an impediment it has been to perfect love.

The teaching is a basic Kingdom revelation.

Competitiveness must be put to death.

Do not only consent to it; will it to happen.

Determine that it is going to happen.

We will all say to God, "I will not compete with You, God, I am going to seek first what You want."

We will say to one another, "I will not compete with you, my brother.

I will not compete with you, my sister."

We will not compete with those of our own household.

  Great things are before us in the immediate future.

 We will win the greatest victories and attain the greatest achievements; but they will be really great because we are not going to struggle with a competitive spirit.

God has opened the door for you to walk without competition.

This is a beautiful goal.

Many things will be eliminated out of your life which you would otherwise be very slow to overcome.

Let the Lord open your heart to see this as a very deep truth.

Let this Word from the Lord be driven so deeply into your spirit that it burns like a fire within you.

To receive this Word is to be able to walk in it.

Sigh

No comment from me...
http://www.chuckloveskay.com/SmithTrust.Complaint.pdf

Friday wrapup

Why is Jesus coming with a rod of iron?

Because we are ruled by id_ots.

The radio program "This American Life" has published an extraordinary investigative report on how the U.S. government regulators in charge of keeping an eye on the banks actually interact with powerful financial institutions (podcast here). 

 Financial journalist Michael Lewis describes the report thus: "The Fed failed to regulate the banks because it did not encourage its employees to ask questions, to speak their minds or to point out problems.

 Just the opposite: The Fed encourages its employees to keep their heads down, to obey their managers and to appease the banks. 

That is, bank regulators failed to do their jobs properly not because they lacked the tools but because they were discouraged from using them.

 The report quotes Fed employees saying things like, 'until I know what my boss thinks I don't want to tell you,' and 'no one feels individually accountable for financial crisis mistakes because management is through consensus.'"

***
 The public doesn't seem to understand just how dysfunctional our financial regulatory system is, Michael Lewis writes. That may change today with a radio report from "This American Life."

***

This is big...

With LEDs being the preferred long-lasting, low-energy method for replacing less efficient forms of lighting, their uptake has dramatically increased over the past few years.

 However, despite their luminous outputs having increased steadily over that time, they still fall behind more conventional forms of lighting in terms of brightness.

 Researchers at Princeton University claim to have come up with a way to change all that by using nanotechnology to increase the output of organic LEDs by 57 percent.

***

This guy beat it with the help of a wise man...

Researchers are closer to unraveling the mystery of how Timothy Ray Brown, the only human cured of HIV, defeated the virus, according to a new study.

 Although the work doesn't provide a definitive answer, it rules out one possible explanation. [R]esearchers point to three different factors that could independently or in combination have rid Brown’s body of HIV. 

The first is the process of conditioning, in which doctors destroyed Brown’s own immune system with chemotherapy and whole body irradiation to prepare him for his bone marrow transplant. 

His oncologist, Gero Hütter, who was then with the Free University of Berlin, also took an extra step that he thought might not only cure the leukemia but also help rid Brown’s body of HIV. 

He found a bone marrow donor who had a rare mutation in a gene that cripples a key receptor on white blood cells the virus uses to establish an infection.

 (For years, researchers referred to Brown as "the Berlin patient.") The third possibility is his new immune system attacked remnants of his old one that held HIV-infected cells, a process known as graft versus host disease.

***
HTTPS has evolved into the de facto standard for secure Web browsing. Through the certificate-based authentication protocol, Web services and Internet users first authenticate one another ("shake hands") using a TLS/SSL certificate, encrypt Web communications end-to-end, and show a padlock in the browser to signal that a communication is secure.

 In recent years, HTTPS has become an essential technology to protect social, political, and economic activities online. At the same time, widely reported security incidents (such as DigiNotar's breach, Apple's #gotofail, and OpenSSL's Heartbleed) have exposed systemic security vulnerabilities of HTTPS to a global audience. 

The Edward Snowden revelations (notably around operation BULLRUN, MUSCULAR, and the lesser-known FLYING PIG program to query certificate metadata on a dragnet scale) have driven the point home that HTTPS is both a major target of government hacking and eavesdropping, as well as an effective measure against dragnet content surveillance when Internet traffic traverses global networks.

 HTTPS, in short, is an absolutely critical but fundamentally flawed cybersecurity technology.

*** 

Oh ya...now were talking...

The National Security Agency has been making money on the side by licensing its technology to private businesses for more than two decades. 

It's called the Technology Transfer Program, under which the NSA declassifies some of its technologies that it developed for previous operations, patents them, and, if they're swayed by an American company's business plan and nondisclosure agreements, rents them out.

 The products include tools to transcribe voice recordings in any language, a foolproof method to tell if someone's touched your phone's SIM card, or a version of email encryption that isn't available on the open market.

***
We are not very bright! ( Note to future generations)

***

To quote Stephen Sondheim, you’ve gotta get a gimmick if you want to get ahead. Just ask the folks at Coca-Cola who managed to briefly reverse a decade-long trend of declining Coke sales simply by slapping various people’s names on their bottles and cans.

Heineken has been putting big city names on their bottles. 

***

 They cut peoples heads off. A person with a British accent is guilty. Now we will decimate them...

Britain has embarked on a renewed war in the Middle East, starting with air strikes in the next 48 hours, after MPs overwhelmingly sanctioned a UK air assault against Islamic State targets in Iraq.

***

 Why bombing Syria could turn out to be a disastrous mistake.

***

 Why bomb them?

Police say a woman who was killed by a co-worker at a food distribution center in suburban Oklahoma City was beheaded and that witnesses have said the suspect had been trying to convince co-workers to convert to Islam.

*** 

Seriously?

Pipeline To Carry Beer Under Belgian City 

***

Please, please take him out Lord!!!

“Based on his gait, it appears he has gout — something [due to] diet and genetic predisposition that has affected other members of the Kim family,” said Michael Madden, an expert on the North Korean leadership and contributor to the 38 North website.

***

 You want a reasonably priced home? Build it your self...

If you could go online, select a home, print the plans for free, and build it yourself for less than $80,000 in a few days, would you?

 That's the dream behind WikiHouse, an open source home design project that just finished construction of its fourth prototype, a two-story home that snaps together in just a few days.

***

No really this exists...

 Are you female, gay, non-Christian, or otherwise interested in the separation of church and state? Get to know The Gathering, a shadowy, powerful network of hard-right funders meeting Thursday in Florida.

***

 

Thursday wrapup

 

No comment.
The FBI is concerned about moves by Apple and Google to include encryption on smartphones.

 "I like and believe very much that we should have to obtain a warrant from an independent judge to be able to take the contents," FBI Director James Comey told reporters. 

"What concerns me about this is companies marketing something expressly to allow people to place themselves beyond the law."

 From the article: "Comey cited child-kidnapping and terrorism cases as two examples of situations where quick access by authorities to information on cellphones can save lives.

 Comey did not cite specific past cases that would have been more difficult for the FBI to investigate under the new policies, which only involve physical access to a suspect's or victim's phone when the owner is unable or unwilling to unlock it for authorities."

***

This kid does what most men could never ever do

***
 Apple said only nine customers complained of bent iPhone 6 Plus in response to reports of problems with the svelte but large smartphone.

This guy bends his to see if it can be done.
He does bend it!

***
Take a look where Apple tortures iPhone 6 bending and twisting them

One report

OK so phones can bend

Any phone made of metal is still subject to the laws of physics, but to reiterate that this isn’t exactly a problem exclusive to the iPhone 6, here’s a look at other Android and Apple phones that have bending problems.

— Get Bent: The Shocking History Of Bent Smartphones  (Cult Of Mac)

Hein's piece goes on to point out that both the past three iPhones have all bent, as well as Samsung's Galaxy S4, and handful of other Android phones.

Of course the iPhone can bend

Come Away My Beloved Come Away

 Most ministries today want the fresh steaming coffee and sweet donuts of life to offer people to garner numbers and build their spiritual kingdoms up.

Rare today is the man who would present the teaching of the cross of Christ; because the people don't want  to hear about that.

The teaching of the cross drives people away from their doors.

(You may just chose to pass by this exceptional teaching because the cross is mentioned).

But it is the teaching of the cross that makes for a people dedicated to the mind and will of the Lord.

A people whom God will inhabit and move through in this our day and age.

Do you want to see God in your own life?

Do you want to walk in the will of God and have Him use you as He sees fitting?

Are you ready to get out of the mundane and pointless daily grind and to have real value in your walk with the Lord?

Today's lesson shares with us just exactly what God has been trying to reach your heart with. He has been attempting to single you out for His purposes.

Will you continue to resist or will you submit to the Hand of God in your circumstances and in His dealings with you.

Because He has called you out and has drawn you unto Himself with an everlasting Love.
 
 ***
The book of Esther, though written in the style of a short novel, is the historical story of a beautiful Jewish girl in exile, who saved the Jewish nation in it's captivity when it was under great attack and persecution.

The king during this period, King Ahasuerus, became very agitated and deposed Queen Vashti because she refused his command to come to the feast and display her beauty.

Then he ordered a search for a beautiful woman who would be truly submissive.

His officers searched the countries which were under his rule and gathered beautiful maidens for what was in a sense, a beauty contest.

One of them was the beautiful Jewish girl, Esther.

  The young woman then entered into a year filled with a great deal of preparation which is described in Esther 2:12-14:

12 Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;)

13 Then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king's house.

14 In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's chamberlain, which kept the concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name.

  Were the king's actions scriptural?

No, he was not living by the Scriptures- he was the law.

Because of this, he had an opportunity to possess any young woman he wanted and to weigh her merits to see if she was worthy to be queen over his vast domain.

 The purification process that was set before Esther and the other women included six months of myrrh and another six months of sweet spices.

Myrrh was associated with death.

It was also one of the three gifts the wise men brought to the Christ Child: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Myrrh was used for embalming in Egypt and in Jewish death rituals.

The Jews did not actually practice embalming, but they did use a number of spices and aromatic oils to counteract temporarily the offensive odor of a human corpse while it decomposed.

We remember that at the tomb of Lazarus, Martha said, "Lord, he has been dead four days and by this time he stinks" ( John 11:39 ).

That was not merely a statement of idle words, for the stench of a corpse is not just a little odor that is easily eliminated. Air freshener and odor eliminating products would not do much if anything.

  For six months young women were treated with myrrh; then for another six months sweet spices and cosmetics were applied.

Following these months of discipline and preparation, each girl in turn spent a night with the king.

In the morning she was automatically relegated to the second harem and classified as a concubine.

She was not to come out of that area again unless the king summoned her by name.

  This practice reminds us of the Scripture in Song of Solomon 6:9 which says that there are many fair ones, but only one true love: "My beloved is one."

No doubt this practice could also be applied spiritually.

When the Kingdom of God is completely established, we will be positioned according to the way we have prepared our hearts and according to the way we have pleased God.

This concept is frightening, but it is confirmed in the parables of the Kingdom.

  The book of Matthew contains God's promise that the faithful will rule over many things ( Matthew 25:21).

Our faithfulness and the way we walk in these days is like a schooling, but it is also a time of testing.

In one sense, this life is an end in itself, but it is also a preparation and a testing for the place that we are to fill in the next age.

God puts us through many dealings, and the way we respond to them and yield to the Lord determines not only the place we have now, but the place we will have in the age to come.

  It is required of a steward that he be found faithful ( I Corinthians 4:2 ).

If you are faithful now, God will make you a ruler over many things.

To be faithful now means that you move constantly into a greater and greater place of responsibility and into a place of closeness and communion with the Lord.

The present dealings are your preparation for the Kingdom, in which you will be judged and positioned according to the way you now walk.

  Esther was a faithful girl, and she also must have been one of the most attractive woman of all time.

However, for six months she experienced the humiliation of the application of myrrh.

She went about smelling like a dead body that was being prepared for burial.

Likewise, the Lord has to put us through a preparation so that we will be able to come before the King.

  A great deal of speculation exists concerning the difference between the Church and the bride- if there is a difference.

Many Scriptures definitely identify the Church as the Bride, yet many times the Spirit brings out a difference between the Bride and those who overcome only in a measure.

It is difficult to understand how individuals could be relegated to different positions and yet be a part of one entity in the sight of God.

On the other hand, we understand it more fully if we are aware that the Bride is likened unto the Body of Christ, and that in a great house there are vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor ( II Timothy 2:20 ).

Certain parts of the body are less comely, and upon these we bestow the more abundant honor ( I Corinthians 12:23 ).

In other words, we cover them.

Likewise, within the Body of Christ, God has many members- vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor, those who are more pleasing to Him as well as those who are relegated to a place of lesser honor.

Within the entity of the Body of Christ, the individual members come into various levels of pleasing the Lord.

  How can you be pleasing to God?

By having a right response to the six months of purification of myrrh and the six months in which He builds you up with sweet spices and cosmetics.

How do you respond?

With full application?

Yield to it with all of your heart, and cry for the Lord to purify your life and to prepare you for what He has for you.

  This cleansing is very necessary as you stand before the Lord, as Joshua the high priest stood before Him ( Zechariah 3 ).

As he stood before the Lord, Satan was standing next to him, saying to the Lord, "Look at this man; what a mess!"

It was apparent that Joshua, the high priest, had no dignity.

He was dressed in filthy garments; nothing about him was pleasing.

What did the Lord say to the accuser who was standing next to Joshua?

"Satan, the Lord rebuke you; it is the Lord who has chosen this man."

(And it is the Lord who has chosen you).

What was done with Joshua?

First the Lord told those around Joshua to take off his filthy garments.

Although that was an improvement, he still needed help; and so they clothed him with the beautiful garments of a priest and set the fair mitre upon his head.

Then he was ready to minister!

  Many of us feel like Joshua.

We stand before the Lord with filthy garments, and Satan comes to accuse us, saying, "Look, isn't he a mess!"

We acknowledge that it is true, and we have no argument against it.

We sense our unworthiness, and that is a necessity.

If the Bride is going to come forth, we must be dedicated to go through six months of death.

Then we will have six months of the Lord's blessing.

  Should a pastor alleviate the dealings of God that people experience?

( Should the 'emergent church' alleviate them?)

Should he say, "Lord, make it easy for that man?"

No, he should let the Lord deal with His people.

When he looks at the finished product, he will see a people who are prepared to emerge into a position before the King, saying, "Lord, look at us- aren't we beautiful!"

  The Lord has promised His Church that it will be a Church without spot or wrinkle, and He will present it to Himself by the washing of water by the Word ( Ephesians 5:26-27 ).

No spot or wrinkle will remain, not a flaw or a blemish.

Do not hold any other objective in your mind because the purification process is going to be that total!

Do not try to slip by inspection, because you will be inspected.

Do not settle for anything less than perfection.

The Bridegroom is going to come for you!

  At the end of Paul's letter to the church at Thessalonica, he wrote,

²³ And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
²⁴ Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

I Thessalonians 5:23-24

The complete being- spirit, soul, and body- will be preserved blameless.

We revel in this and other glorious promises such as these:

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

He is going to walk among us and be God.

That is a beautiful promise that anyone would rejoice in; but in the next verse Paul states this requirement:

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
II Corinthians 6:17-7:1.

 If you to meet God, remember - without holiness no man shall see the Lord ( Hebrews 12:14 ).

Do not try to work around the purification process.

The time required for this work will vary for everyone.

The six months mentioned in the book of Ester was only symbolic.

No one knows how long it will take.

It may take less than six months, or it may take sixty years; but do not evade it!

Do not be deceived.

The idea of total perfection must be in your mind.

   If you are weak and if you keep slipping, the grace of God is always available; nevertheless, God does not intend for you to accept a state of defeat.

He does not want you to accept anything less than His perfect will.

God did His part to bring you to Himself without spot or wrinkle or any other blemish; that is what Christ shed His blood to attain.

  Do you really want to attain perfection?

Christ asked a sick man, "Would you be made whole?"

Some people want to be sick because they do not want to work.

They would much rather lie in bed, watch television, and not have to take care of their responsibilities.

Many people have enjoyed poor health for years.

  Likewise, many people do not want to be made whole spiritually to really walk with God because they do not want the great responsibility and the total dedication that would be required.

Have you been running from such dedication?

In your heart do you really want to take the responsibility God has for you, or have you been deceiving yourself?

When you face your responsibility before God, do you deliberately blunder so that you will not be into a position where His government is laid upon the shoulders of Christ within you?

Do you still want to follow your own way?

  You may have come far enough in God that you do not need anything that the world or the flesh have to offer, and that is well and good; but do you really want what God has to offer?

And that is well and good; but do you really want what God has to offer?

Do you want to take upon yourself the responsibility, the place, and the walk with Him that He wants you to have?

If you answer "Yes" to the question, "Would you be made whole?"

Then God's response is, "Alright, son, it is time for the work of the cross for you- a deep work."

  You will receive just as much as you are dedicated to walk in.

Your appropriation depends upon how much you want to receive.

Do you believe in the calling God has given you?

Do you also accept the promise that there has to be a preparation for that calling?

Do you believe that you are in the time of preparation?

Analyze the way you respond to God's dealings.

To accept a promise and a holy commission of the Lord is one thing; but to accept deep dealings of God that prepare the vessel is another thing completely.

  Do you want the work of the cross?

Or do you want to "skip through the tulips?"

If you have started to follow Him, the work of the cross is already happening to you.

Now you must decide if that work of the cross will truly result in your coming forth without spot or wrinkle, purified and made ready to be presented to Christ Jesus.

Will you be prepared for the King, or will you be relegated somewhere down the line to a lesser place?

How much are you believing for?

The One Hundred And Thirteen Year Old Bulb Is Still On

Never burns out

 Dangling from the ceiling of a California firehouse is a bulb that’s burned for 989,000 hours -- nearly 113 years. Since its first installation in 1901, it has rarely been turned off, has outlived every firefighter from the era, and has been proclaimed the “Eternal Light” by General Electric experts and physicists around the world.

Tracing the origins of the bulb -- known the Centennial Light -- raises questions as to whether it is a miracle of physics, or a sign that new bulbs are weaker. Its longevity still remains a mystery.

I did a post on it a while back that tells the truth and strips the mystery from this long burning bulb.