IF

This two letter word may be the most important word in the entire bible, it denotes emphatically free will. It puts our success as individuals and a nation squarely upon our shoulders. Our happiness and well being are dependent upon how we choose when faced with the big IF.

Our Father doesn't change, HE is the same GOD who spoke to our ancestors.

Mal 3:6

6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
KJV

The same choice is set before you and I, this day;


Deut 11:26

26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;
KJV

What are the choices given us? What IF? How do we attain those good things, those blessings?

Deut 11:27

27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day:
KJV

How do we never have those blessings, or sadder yet, lose them?

Deut 11:28

28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
KJV


The choice is yours, you can have cursings, or blessings, it all depends on how you handle if.

Be blessed;

Ex 19:5

5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
KJV

Or be cursed, your choice;

Mal 2:2

2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
KJV

I would urge you to go to Deuteronomy chapter 28 and read it knowing that the Father wants us to choose to love Him, because He loves us, so that He may bless us. For the conditions are laid down by Him, and He does not change. He cannot bless us if we don't do it His way, and He must if we do because He gave His Word;

Heb 6:18

18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
KJV

So, choose life, choose blessings, pay heed to the if's.

SUPPOSITION

I have had this recurring theme run through my mind so I have decided to put it to words. I title it supposition because that is what it is for I don't know God's thoughts.


Isa 55:8-9

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
KJV


There are many, many people casting dispersions on our President, Obama this, Obama that, we all hear it. I want to introduce a thought that may not have occurred to some of us. "Who makes kings and kingdoms?"

2 Chron 1:11

11 And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king:
KJV


2 Chron 2:11

11 Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the Lord hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them.
KJV


Rom 13:1
13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
KJV

To me this would indicate that Obama has been chosen to hold the presidency at this time, and although I despise his policies, there could be a reason he is there beyond our grasp. Perhaps this has come to pass to awaken the people from their lethargy, to bring them to the knowledge that they have put God (the true provider) on the shelf. He has used people this way in the past;
Ex 7:13

13 And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.
KJV


Ex 9:12

12 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had spoken unto Moses.
KJ

It is quite obvious that Obama believes his policies are what we need, many have rabidly adhered to the failed socialist/Marxist/communist ideologies. How could one believe such junk?


2 Thess 2:11

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
KJV


For what cause?

2 Thess 2:10

10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved
KJV


Could this just be another example to those with eyes to see, and ears to hear?

1 Cor 10:11

11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
KJV


Those of us in the end time ark, whose rock is THE ROCK should stand against bad policy, we should encourage others to do so, but above all, we must maintain our integrity, our credibility and not malign the person, but the deed. For the battle is not ours, but GOD'S.
2 Chron 20:15

15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.
KJV


Let's not let the finger be pointed at us and dispersions be cast upon the name of Christ, Christianity. Hate the sin, not the sinner. After all, it is GOD who holds the scales.

LAUS DEO

So? What is required of us? How do we please GOD?

It is simplicity itself, and there is only one way, nothing else will get you there. Without this one main ingredient there would be no will to reverence, follow, or serve.

Deut 10:12

12 And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
KJV

Love GOD and He will bless you;

Ps 37:4

4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
KJV


Does GOD leave us ignorant of what He desires?

Mic 6:8

8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
KJV

How about if we do lots of stuff, but fail in love?

Hos 6:6

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


Will The Father help us love Him?

2 Thess 3:5

5 And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
KJV


How do we know that we love Him?

2 John 6

6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
KJV


Simple huh?



Here is where my title came from today:


LAUS DEO

HALLELUJAH

Just a little primer to bring everything into proper perspective, a short lesson in who's who, and what's whose, and where we as a people really stand.
Ex 19:5

5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
KJV

Can you give your soul to GOD? Or perhaps just choose to align yourself with His wishes and be blessed.
Ezek 18:4

4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
KJV


How much do we really accomplish on our own? Are we the power houses we think ourselves to be?
Deut 8:17-18

17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.


Or do we owe a huge debt of gratitude to our loving Father? Which many are ignorant of to this very day.

18 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.
KJV
Those of us who choose to learn, keep, and do The Lord's commandments, statutes and judgments have a destiny. We are to be a peculiar people a holy people.

OT:5459 OT:5459 hL*g%s= cegullah (seg-ool-law'); feminine passive participle of an unused root meaning to shut up; wealth (as closely shut up): OT:5459 KJV - jewel, peculiar (treasure), proper good, special.

Deut 14:2 2 for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. KJV

For what purpose?

Ex 19:6 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. KJV

I'm fully aware that the prophecies in Revelation are yet future, but they deal with over comers, those who believe, those who learn, keep and do God's commandments statutes and ordinances.

Rev 1:6 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

KJV Rev 5:10 10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests : and we shall reign on the earth. KJV

Please don't overlook where we shall reign, God is bringing His Kingdom back to earth, and where ever God is that is where heaven is. The heavenly Kingdom is going to be here on earth.

We are being groomed to help God run His Kingdom, the commandments, statutes and ordinances are our guidelines to a more productive and happier life. By our following them we prove our intentions to be obedient, our acceptance that there is but one God, One King, One Lord of lords.

I wish you all the best.

OUR WISDOM

Deut 4:5-9

5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.

6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?

8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;
KJV


Sometimes a passage just grabs me, I share this one without commentary. I have made bold some for emphasis, but it's all pretty self explanatory. I hope you enjoy it too.

HOW OLD?

Have you ever wondered at the age of the earth? Many will claim the bible says this earth is six thousand years old, but does it? Let's take a look.

Gen 1:1
1:1 In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth.


There is no time line, just a flat statement, God created the Heaven and the earth period. It doesn't say when.

Gen 1:2

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

lets define without form: Strong's #OT:8414

OT:8414 WhT) tohuw (to'-hoo); from an unused root meaning to lie waste; a desolation (of surface), i.e. desert; figuratively, a worthless thing; adverbially, in vain:

And void: Strong's#OT:922

OT:922 WhB) bohuw (bo'-hoo); from an unused root (meaning to be empty); a vacuity, i.e. (superficially) an undistinguishable ruin:

So did God in all His infinite wisdom create a place lying waste and in ruins? Not according to Isaiah 45:18 He didn't, He formed it to be inhabited.

Isa 45:18

18 For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.

The word vain is once again Strong's #8414, and he clearly states he did not create it not in vain, but to be inhabited.

So let's dig deeper, you will notice the word was in verse two, chapter one Gen.

Was: Strong's#OT:1961

OT:1961 hy*h* hayah (haw-yaw); a primitive root [compare OT:1933]; to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary):

It appears to me in light of Isa.45:18 that Gen.1:2 would read

:2And the earth became a desolate undistinguishable ruin.

Which means there is an unspecified time period between Gen. 1:1 and Gen. 1:2. No body knows how long that was.

In Isaiah He goes on to say it's no secret.

Isa 45:19

19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.

There was an earth AGE before this one, same earth different age.

2 Peter 3:5-6

5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:


The earth that then was, the earth that was turned into a worthless thing, an undistinguishable ruin, was destroyed by water.

6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

Many will say, That was Noah's flood, Noahs flood didn't leave the earth a ruined waste.
Jer 4:23-24

23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.

Noah's flood didn't kill every living thing.

Jer 4:25-27

25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.

26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger.

27 For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.

God destroyed the first earth age.

Jer 4:28

28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.


How about dinosaurs, we have a big strong herbivore

Job 40:15-16

15 Behold now behemoth , which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.

16 Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.

He has a tail like a tree and huge strong thighs.

Job 40:17

17 He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.


This isn't an elephant.

Job 40:18-24

18 His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.

19 He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.

20 Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play.

21 He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.

22 The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.

23 Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.

24 He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.

There is no biblical basis for a six thousand year old earth, according to Peter the days of creation add up to seven thousand years alone, some believe eight thousand more accurate, then add another six thousand from the time of Adam and you have fourteen thousand.

2 Peter 3:8

8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

TONGUES

Tongues as a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

First, let me say tongues are not the only manifestation of the Holy Spirit, just the one I have chosen for this post.

ACTS Chapter two
The church is gathered.

Acts 2:1-2
2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.


You will notice in verse four "other tongues" so lets go to Strong"s and define tongues
Strong's #1100-glossa

1) the tongue, a member of the body, an organ of speech

2) a tongue

a) the language or dialect used by a particular people distinct from that of other nations

5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?

2)a) is what we're after, These people were filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, not unknown languages. It was understood by everybody there. It was heard in your hometown language, accents and all.

8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

This was a world wide gathering of believers.


9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,

10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,

11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

Hear Strong's 191; akouo,

2) to hear

b) to attend to, consider what is or has been said

c) to understand, perceive the sense of what is said

Every language of this part of the world was recognized, heard with understanding.

God's Holy Spirit was not made manifest by unknown tongues, but by tongues all could understand. There were mockers then too.


13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

You always have a unbelievers in a crowd, people don't believe and don't want anyone else to. So they accuse the apostles of being drunk at nine in the morning.


14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

That is how the Word describes tongues as manifested by the Holy Spirit. As for me, I'll ignore what men say, and stick with the word.