Archive for the 'Religious Resources' Category

Having Hope In God

Auto Date Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

I had never been particularly interested in religion especially after my schooldays when it was rammed down my throat - it just seemed so boring and unreal with so many rules and regulations that to me it was just something for “sad” people living their sad and pathetic lives.

I’d heard of stories where people had had “amazing experiences” and apart from thinking what liars they were I also felt that they should be locked away in mental institutions to protect the rest of us sane people from their delusions.

Well, I became one of these people just under three years ago after the most amazing experience that I would never have believed if someone else had told me it had happened to them. My family and friends can vouch for this because they have seen the change in my life over the last three years so it can’t be dismissed as just a “flash in the pan”

I went from living on my own and quickly drinking and smoking myself to death to a guy that was reunited with his wife and family and has never had the urge to touch a drink or a cigarette since.

I had been on an Alpha course (a 12 week informal course that discusses who Jesus is and what Christianity is all about) a couple of years before and although that had been fun I had done nothing further - it was only when I was so desperate and at the end of the road that I remembered the course I’d been on and just yelled out to God in sheer desperation rather than in any form of hope or expectation that HE would actually do anything for me - the result of this was however instant and I don’t know why I was so blessed.

Life is just so brilliant now and I feel that this peace, happiness and pure inner contentment that I have on a daily basis is so wonderful and couldn’t even be compared to having monetary riches beyond your wildest dreams that I just wanted to share this with the rest of mankind.

The book I wrote will show you what I did, what is on offer to you all and that there are no silly rules and regulations which were MAN MADE and nothing whatsoever to do with God.

Why not just have a look for yourself - you’ve nothing to lose and truly, what you may gain is priceless - you can then do the same for others - what a legacy that would be.

A recent testimonial, exerts of which are included below, show just why I want this book to reach and touch people who are looking for what I’ve found.

I LAVISHED your book. My life was in shambles; my wife had divorced me and tonight I was in such a state of despair that I had rung my Mother to tell her that suicide was my only option - after reading your book I have a peace about me that I have not had since I was 19 and I’m 56 now. Thank you thank you for allowing God to speak through you to me - I now feel a complete relief from all the pain and misery I have known for the past 37 years and I thank you for saving my life - actually GOD SAVED MY LIFE but you threw me the life preserver - may God continue to bless you, your family and your ministry.

Roy Thompson, Atlanta, Georgia - royjrthompson@bellsouth.net

The author had had a dreadful drink problem for over 30 years but was miraculously freed from this overnight which resulted in him becoming a Christian. 3 years on his life couldn’t be better and he wrote his book in the hope this may help others. Details of his book and contact details can be found at www.aspecialjourney.com

YOU - A Bright Shining Star?

Auto Date Saturday, April 26th, 2008

There are about eight stages of our development as effective
“translators” of spiritual truth. Our lives shine as an ever
brighter and brighter light as we move from one stage to another.

First, we must give Jesus His rightful place at the center of
our lives. Here we gain FAITH.

As we become more aware of good and evil, and turn away from
evil, choosing to do good - because Jesus is now abiding in us
and giving us those inner nudges and prompts, we grow more
virtuous. That is, you become a GOOD person.

With that comes a deep desire to know more about God’s words in
the Bible. Not everyone disciplines themselves to dig into it as
they should, but if you do, your light shines brighter as you
understand more spiritual truths. Your basic KNOWLEDGE of God
increases.

Knowing God better makes you want to serve Him, and do things
that please Him. Which means we want to serve and help others
around us. Which also means, we have to deny ourselves time,
attention, expense, and so on, resulting in SELF-CONTROL.

Oh but when we try to serve others we’ll soon run into
situations where we are misunderstood. At times those situations
turn into real trials by fire. Yet, if we hang in there and
don’t despair, we’ll add ENDURANCE to our more and more lovely
character.

By responding in humility, like Jesus would, to those that wrong
us, we grow in GODLINESS. That is, we’re more and more like
Jesus and God.

That humility and godliness will cause us to be alert and begin
to spot others who have been hurt. Intuitively we’ll spot them,
and know how to help them better. So that suffering we have from
false accusations enriches us after all, with KINDNESS.

Now we’ll be trying to guide these weaker, hurting friends
through these very steps to maturity, meaning that we are now
reproducing ourselves, which is true LOVE and the essence of God
Himself.

Have you reached maturity in your character development? Or are
you stuck at one of the earlier stages? Sometimes, just seeing
where you are, relative to where you are headed, can be a big
help to get you moving forward again.

Let your light shine ever brighter and brighter!

How Adam & Eve Reflect God’s Kingdom!

Auto Date Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

“Let us make man in our image.” Such a Scripture does not support the trinity, but it does support the plain truth that the Word was God and the Word was with God, two Beings with the one sacred name of God/Elohim (John 1:1-2). “In the Beginning was the WORD (Logos/Spokesman/Revelatory Thought), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” This clearly reveals, to objective readers, TWO Beings who shared the ONE family name of GOD. (Ephes. 3:15). God created all things through Yeshua/Jesus who was the Word (Ephes. 3:9).

When the Word became flesh He was “God with us” and thereby became the “Son” and the One who remained in Heaven thereby became the “Father.” They had coexisted eternally in a SHARED GLORY (John 8:42, 7:5, 8, 16:27-28). We can either accept or reject Yeshua’s revelation of the UNKNOWN FATHER FIGURE whom mankind has never heard or seen. The Word who became Yeshua is the God-Being who dealt with ancient Israel. They didn’t know the Father and most still don’t today, and they can’t unless the Son reveals Him (John 5:37, 6:44,46, 8:54-55).

And we can either accept or reject Yeshua’s explanation/interpretation of what “one” means: unity/united. He said the Father was in Him and He was in the Father (through the Holy Spirit and unity of mind and purpose) and He prayed for the Church of God to express and exhibit that exact same unity and oneness by the Holy Spirit (John 14:11, 15:4, 17:11, 21, 23). Please check out these Scripture references and see that it is so. One Holy Spirit of UNITY AND DIVINE PURPOSE (I Cor. 12:12-20).

The Scripture says “Let us make man in our image,” and it says “ELOHIM (not YHVH) made man in His image.” It’s saying the Word and God made man “in OUR image” and, that as ONE GOD FAMILY UNIT/KINGDOM, the united God made man in HIS image. It elaborates, for our sakes, by also saying Elohim created MAN in His image…MALE and FEMALE created He THEM” (Gen. 1:27).

So there’s a reverse of the singular and the plural, man/them and our/His. This “mystery” is further revealed when it’s written in Gen. 5:1-2: “In the day that Elohim (Gods) created man, in the likeness of God made He HIM; male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name ADAM.” The ONE ADAM FAMILY then had a son, Seth, in “his (Adam’s) own likeness, after his image” (Gen. 5:3).

Does this exclude Eve? Wasn’t Seth also in her human likeness and image? Yes. For conclusive proof that God PURPOSELY inserted all this into the Genesis account to REVEAL to us later about the ONE GOD FAMILY/KINGDOM, the apostle Paul preaches: “For we [Christians] are members of his [Yeshua’s] Body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and they TWO shall be ONE FLESH. This is a GREAT MYSTERY: but I speak concerning Christ and the Church” (Ephes. 5:30-32).

That’s how the ONE GOD FAMILY (Elohim with the Father Supreme and the Son gladly subject to His authority - 1 Cor. 15:28) can be and is presently composed of two God-Beings, and is in the conversion process of “bringing MANY SONS TO GLORY” (Heb. 2:10) since Christ was the “FIRSTBORN OF MANY BRETHREN” (Rom. 8:29). Jesus was the PROTOTYPE of a new genus: the Kingdom of God!

It’s illustrated that even as MANKIND has shared in Adam’s earthy image, we’re soon to share in the HEAVENLY image of the Second Adam when we’re born again of the Holy Spirit (John 3:3,6 4:24), with righteous character and composition! Mankind after the Godkind! And all through the ONE SPIRIT of God that unites us.

“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27), “who shall change our vile body that it may be FASHIONED/CREATED like unto His GLORIOUS BODY” (Philip. 3:21), “for we know that when He shall appear, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM” (1 John 3:2) - we are not going to be dogs or cats, or even angels, we are to be heavenly beings, HOLY SPIRIT-COMPOSED, born again GOD-BEINGS in the one divine family unit/Elohim!

We are presently members of MANkind, huMAN, in the ADAMic Family unit (Gen. 5:2), but God promises we’ll soon be changed in the twinkling of an eye, miraculously transformed, and join the HEAVENLY SPIRIT/GOD FAMILY.

We’ve clearly seen how “two” can be “one” whether in the God Family or in the Adam family. It’s right there in the Bible if we’ll just believe what we see and read. It’s the plain truth of the Bible for those willing to believe what God has revealed.

Those who reject the testimony of the Scriptures (to hang on to vain traditions of men, whether trinity or oneness) are unable to explain what we’re to become. Why have we received the down payment/earnest of the Spirit? (Ephes. 1:13-14). What conversion process are we in? (2 Cor.3:18). What are we being converted to if not into the character and composition of the Holy Spirit?

God is spirit. We must be born again of the SPIRIT. Yeshua is the FIRSTBORN of many brethren (Rom. 8:29). We’re presently partakers of the DIVINE nature (2 Pet. 1:4). God is our Father, Yeshua is our elder Brother - a family relationship. We’re in Adam’s human/earthy image now; we’re to be in the Second Adam’s spiritual/heavenly/divine image soon.

God is reproducing Himself! That’s what the conversion process is all about: God became man so man could become God. Mankind was created after the Godkind so after a life of conversion and purification, we can be resurrected to GLORY and share the glory of the Father and Son as born-again sons of God (Elohim).

Again, what are we to become? How can you strive to enter God’s Kingdom, the Kingdom of Gods (Elohim), leaving the human kingdom behind, if you refuse to accept the awesome potential God (Elohim) offers? Take receiving the Holy Spirit and being born again of the Holy Spirit to its logical/biblical end/fulfillment.

When we’re glorified God-Beings, worshipping our Supreme Father God in His Kingdom (I Cor. 15:28), just like Yeshua will submit to the Father as all in all, we’ll be immortal Priest-Kings (Rev. 5:10, 20:6), and God will be the “God of Gods” (Ps. 97:7, 136:2). Christ is the King of Kings (we’re those kings), and the Lord of Lords (we’re those lords), and the Father is God of Gods (we’re those Gods/Elohim) - (Micah 4:5).

We either accept Yeshua’s revelation of the UNKNOWN FATHER and His eternal coexistence with Him, and His work as Creator, as the Word, under the supervision of the Father, or we must reject the New Testament.

The Jews know Yeshua’s claims and don’t water them down to fit their religion. They reject His revelation for now, like most of traditional Christianity, but both Houses of Israel (Anglo-Saxons, Western Europeans and Jews as taught by Brit-Am Israel) will get over this stumbling block and soon embrace our transcendent calling to become literal members of the Heavenly Family of Gods (Elohim), higher than the animals and angels (Heb. 2:9-10).

We don’t call God the Father for nothing, or do we? We’re to be the literal children of God, the Children of the Resurrection (Luke 20:36).

David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer in Ohio and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe’s Rise and Fall. With a focus on the Middle East and Jerusalem, his analytical articles help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out the Beyond Babylon blog.

FOOD ON THE TABLE

Auto Date Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

Food on the Table…story number 22 out of 50 from my book, My Walk with the Lord

Psalm 37.25 “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”

During a period of unemployment the money was scarce. I was a single parent with three growing children to feed. As I read my Bible that morning, the above scripture spoke to my heart. We were down to a couple of cans of beans and some grits. I went to the Lord and asked Him to send us some money to buy food or send us some groceries, someway, somehow. I told no one except the Lord about the extreme lack of food.

That evening, the children and I went to church. It was a good time of worship of the Lord. When the service ended, most of those in attendance gathered around the altar and made our requests known to God. As I rose from my knees, I had the peace that passes all understanding and the blessed assurance that everything was going to be okay. This event happened right before Thanksgiving.

When we arrived home, one of my daughters entered the house, and I heard her shout, “Praise the Lord!” I went in and looked on the table. It was practically groaning from the load of groceries piled on it. I opened the refrigerator and it too was full. God had moved on someone to help us in our time of need. That person has a great reward in Heaven! This event not only increased my faith but helped my children’s faith increase. God is faithful!

Luke 11.3 “Give us day by day our daily bread.”

Irvin L. Rozier, author of My Walk with the Lord, www.selahbooks.com email iwcroga@aol.com

About the Author

author, preacher, retired military, father, brother, uncle, grandpa, friend and neighbor

Dealing with Heart Disease.

Auto Date Friday, April 4th, 2008

Dealing with Heart Disease.
There are two different types of Heart Disease, the disease of the flesh and the disease of the spirit. For a moment I would like to talk to you about the Heart Disease of the flesh. In 1999 I had a massive heart attack, in fact I had three. On the first one I was pronounced dead by a Doctor from a prestigious Hospital. God in His mercy raised me up to continue my ministry, but He also allowed my body to maintain the Disease. I understand what many go thru when their hearts fail them. I know the pain and sometimes the despair that follows the attack. Fear wasn’t with me but was rebuked. I was ready to leave this world and be with my Saviour. Living with this disease is sometimes difficult because the symptoms don’t show outwardly. Have you ever heard people say, ” I don’t see a thing wrong with you.?” I have. Heart disease is a silent killer that gives little or no warning just as Cancer. There sometimes is no outward sign that a person has the disease. I have experienced, nights without sleep, pains that come and go and depression that I have to rebuke. Yes, ministers also are attacked by Satan. I know how it affects family and friends. Many friends walk away from you, because they don’t want to deal with it. The best friend I have is my wife Juanita. She is always there with words of incouragment and comfort. This reminds me of the times Jesus sent out the disciples by twos, one would be able to lean on the other and help each other. Thats how I feel about my wife, she is my best friend. To be able to live with this dibilitateing Disease, I turned to the Bible for my answers, the first question I had for God was, 1. Why Me? The answer I received was, 1Pe 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. But the most surprising of His answers was, “Why Not You, My Son also had to suffer.” I accepted these answers and went on. 2. How will I continue on with my ministry? 1Co 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 2Co 8:7 Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. The key word here was grace. His Grace would be sufficient for me to continue in His path. Unlike the Scientologist, I accepted the help of my doctors, took my medication, blessed each pill by the grace of God and trusted in Him. I don’t think about dieing, for its up to the Lord. I learned one thing real fast, I have no controll over my time to die, so why worry about it. The Joy of the Lord is my strength. The best example that God showed me was the life of Job. Job 1:6-12 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. So I put myself in Jobs shoes. Satan have you considered my servant Anthony? So put yourself in Jobs shoes. Satan have you considered my servant ………………? To live with Heart disease, 1. Live. Don’t let the disease rule you. 2. Grace. Let Gods grace fill you with understanding of why you. For God Grace is sufficient. 3. Faith. Let your faith in God deliver you thru all the pain and suffering that you go thru. 4. Believe. Believe that God has a reason that you are allowed to be inflicted. 5. Show. Show the world what your God can do. 6. Witness. Be a witness to His majesty and Power. 7. Rebuke. Rebuke the spirit of infirmity. 8. Stand. Stand, and when you’ve done all, stand on Gods word. 9. Don’t Fear. Don’t fear or fret about the body but consider the soul and the one who has power over body and soul. 10. Read. Read Gods word daily, it comforts the Body, Mind and Soul. Remember this one thing, Prayer isnt automatic. Many Christians believe that God will answer all prayers because of the statment by Christ. Mat 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. This statment has a condition that goes along with it, “If it be Gods Will !” Mat 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. Praying in the will of God is important,” not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Luke 21:25-26 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. Now to the Spirit.Rev 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. Mans heart is a complex thing not just in the flesh but especially in the spirit. Man has come from the creation of God in His image to a creature that is being killed in spirit by the cancer that has taken over this world. I just want to share with you a letter that I received today from a good friend of mine. “Dear Brother Smith, It has been a long time you never heard from me, an incident occurred that completely took me off my feet. My wife was shot by armed robbers on september 10th, over $30,000 collected from her as she was working on her new clinic site, 8 bullets has so far been removed from her head, the rib’s were broken by bullets and the right leg. She will be injected for 28days and no one is permitted to see her during these period. Brother it’s a tormenting period for me, help me in prayers please. Bishop Dr.Joseph Rankin” This world is dieing. Many are calling for peace, but peace is unattainable in this life. Prostitution, Homo-sexuality, Rape, Murder, Theft, Unrighteousness, war, rumors of war, Earthquakes, Floods, Fires, And man still fails to repent or to see the signs of the times. There are many that say that they belong to God, but which god do they belong to. John 8:44-47, Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. The cancer of mans spirit is growing each and every day. Many worldwide are calling for an alliance of Christian, Judaism and Islam, to bring about world peace and prosperity. They want to join all three under one universal name. But there can only be two that can align themselves together, Judaism and Christianity, for the Jews and Christians are brothers. All other, so called religions that denigh the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not of God but of that spiritual cancer. You cannot make an alliance with the Devil. His promises to you are worthless and misleading. Death and destruction are in the paths of man, for he knows not the God of our fathers. Rejection has become the norm around the world. Many are ignoring the signs of the times, many are being cautious stating that the things that have are are going to happen are fulfillment of prophecy. The cancer in man has blinded him from the truth. He no longer sees the suffering of others, he no longer sees the signs of the times, the signs in the heavens, the signs in the earth and the signs on the earth. Hell enlarges its boarders daily and is never full. Man is on a course that puts him in the number that will have not only one death but will die a second time. Heb 3:10-12, Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 1Jo 3:21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. Apostasy; An abandonment of what one has professed; a total desertion, or departure from one’s faith or religion. Rev 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 2Pe 2:14-22; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. Apostasy; An abandonment of God for the lust of the flesh, power, coruption,instability, hipocrits all. Lost and dieing without hope of a resurection in Glory. Falling as a tree in the woods with no sound to be heard, falling with cancer without any truth within them. False teachers, flase preachers, false prophets, without understanding, without knowledge, without wisdom. As a tree falls, so shall it be raised. My words are nothing compared to the words of God.

Temple of Spirit & Truth Ministries
A.R.Smith Sermons International
www.ourchurch.com/member/a/arsmithsermons/