About Killeen

Where were you in the fall of 1991, more specifically Oct 16,1991? For me this day culminated about two years of mentioning off hand in one setting or another, “Our lives an the lives of our love ones depend upon our instantly hearing and obeying    the voice of the Holy Spirit.”

Beginning on or about Oct 10, I began to feel concern for my mother who lived in Killeen, Tx. We did not have cell phones in those days, but used land lines like home phones or pay phones. I could not get to a phone at the time and with the confusion and  demands of life, I failed to call that night nor the next night. Sunday I did call her but the phone did not answer. Finally by Monday the 14^th The internal anxiety became so great that at lunch I stopped work and drove to find a  phone that would call out. When My Mom picked the phone she seemed discouraged, as  she had recently experienced a break-in. Some one had forced the back door, breaking the jams and entering at a time that she was at work. In those years she worked for an insurance agency selling all product lines. The thieves seemed to know where the valuables were located and did not do much other damage other than the theft(s.)

One of my skills is repairing and installing doors. I told her that I was finishing up a job that day that had lasted a week, would “cash-out,” meaning get paid and would be free for a day or two. As I thought through the situation, I suggested that I drive to various suppliers and pick up the needed materials, get up early the following morning to come down to repair the damage. Everyone would love it. On  Wednesday, we could load up the van and bring the family for a  day visit with Mimi, our grandma. Most particularity, My oldest would love a day at Mimi’s office doing filing and other incidentals that My Mom did not enjoy, but my daughter just loved to do.

After a little discussion, she relented and agreed to permit us to come. I am sure that she was thinking of the standing luncheon appointment that she had with the credit union officer in charge of auto loans. This lady would hand carry information as to who needed insurance coverage based upon the loans from the previous week. This week was extra special as it was National Bosses week(day) in which people took their bosses to lunch on Wednesday in order to honor and foster morale.

On the Wednesday morning after fading AM traffic we arrived in Killeen around ten thirty. The local Wendy’s still offered breakfast, so I stopped to fill the kids up before we arrived at her house. It never ceased to shock me how hungry everyone would be just after we walked into the door. At my mom’s house. I knew she would be at work and not prepared to fix a table of food. It took us about forty five minutes to finish up, and as we got close, I called my mom’s office to “surprise” her with the news that we were in town. My oldest, about fifteen, was to be dropped by her office and we were to proceed to the house. This was such an unusual event that all were excited and so plans were set. She made arrangements with her friend to have lunch a little later than the usual twelve o’clock hour. This was to give my mom time to get the office things cleared up and unknown to me stop by a different hamburger place to get enough to feed my crew (lunch.)   Did they really need more food?

Traffic and busy lunch pushed my mom’s plans back even later and she just arrived at the house around 12:45. I could tell that she was nervous about the time. I simply asked her to leave the food and proceed (with my daughter) to Luby’s to make the lunch date. We would be fine. I nearly had the door completed by then and it looked like all would go as scheduled. When she arrived at the restaurant around ten till one, the place was blocked off. Looked like some one ad driven through the front window, must be some kind of accident at lunch. Degree of damage was not known but it looked serious. Her lunch plans were definitely going to be changed. I the confusion, She called friends in the Killeen Police and discovered that some one had been shot, This was an “unheard of” happening in this little home of the largest army base in Texas.

We arrived home (back in Dallas,Tx) to discover the ten pm news story about the tragic events of this the :”Killeen Massacre.” This was at that time the greatest act of violence that had ever been perpetrated upon the citizens of this country. I called my Mom again to find that she was still in shock. She mentioned that her friend was gone and the funeral wold be next week. I cried  with her as we recounted the events of the previous week and the surprising co-incidence of the broken door and it’s life altering  effect in our lives.

As it turns out for the previous couple years we had been attending a  church that started a daily prayer meeting. The backbone of this prayer time centered around “The Lords Prayer.” In particular we would insert the names of family and loved ones into it in the place of (Our.) The goal was to provide a kind of umbrella of sorts over these who were important.

How often over the intervening years have I wondered what might have happened if on that particular day I had failed to: call, change plans, or act upon the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. Today my mom  is a  great grand mother after twenty seven years and leading many to righteousness as she knows it. In the last ten years she has been active in her Baptist church taking as many to Sunday school as her car would carry.

I have shared this story with very few, not wanting to bring undue attention to her or in any way dishonor her by bringing to the surface memories most of us would rather forget. She is still able to verify facts to  those in the class of “Holocaust Deniers,” who might like to suggest that this never happened.  Write these thoughts today after praying “The Lord’s Prayer” with the names of friends and family; hoping that any contemporary event to rival this in the story would like wise some how be interrupted and the names of my people protected. How bad would I feel to find that some calamity might have been averted in their lives, had some one prayed. So with all of the emotion that I feel about talking to my mom last night, because she is still alive, I beg you to pray the Lord’s prayer and other verses over you friends and loved ones. We have little difficulty placing our names in the John 3:16 Whomever believes, I am suggesting that we could place a few extra names in the Luke 11:2 Our Father.   

    

Humility

Realizing       Much of your present condition (pleasant and unpleasant) Is: 

The Result of your own efforts,

The result of the efforts of others

The result of talents and gifts from God, parents, or origin,

or simply the result of unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances that happened in your path .

Let My Goodness Pass BY!

My Goodness

Casually sitting on my love seat next to my wife, "licking our wounds" from the day's events; my open eyes beheld a stack of rocks. These rocks resembled those that I played on as a child.

This configuration remains to this day, near Paisano mountain, a few miles west of Alpine, TX. The rocks actually stacked up as high as a four story apartment building. I estimated that any one might measure the half the size of a bedroom. For instance, five people holding outstretched hands would barely encircle even one. These boulders stood five to twenty feet high and varied in configuration. They also "leaned" against each other leaving enough space between one another for a person to walk through the openings. As a kid a I explored in and out of these same rocks for hours while my Gram would paint the landscape. These were some of the fond memories of my childhood, ages 6-8 years.

After I identified the picture, a voice seemed tosay, "I am going to permit my Goodness to pass by, before you." The voice was a whisper. So quiet a whisper, I wondered, "If some one else had been talking, would I have heard the syllables at all, did I really hear it?." Additionally I thought; "I believe that phrase is written somewhere in the Bible. Oh yeah; it is found in Exodus where Moses was given the stone tablets, the ten commandments." These thoughts all passed through my head in a fraction of a second. After what seemed like a long minute, a hand reaching around from behind one of the huge rocks in the what appeared to be a vision. This scene developed upon small a ledge, only a few feet wide. What a narrow ledge, the thought rolled through my mind. Such a narrow step, one slip and a person might fall! First appeared the fingers, then the arm and next the torso of the body. The arms clearly had no coat, nor did the legs, as they came in view; have any pants. For a cloak He had, instead a very bright light. This Light was, as I looked at it, as bright as the arc welder flash. Having worked around such, I have trainied my eyes to look away so as not to be burned. Otherwise I am sure that bright spot would have damaged my eyes; it was that bright. This light danced around the person; having distinct colors. In spite of the brightness, there was discernable color. A bright and a pure white as it flowed like fire up in the direction of the head. It's color flashed so that it appeared to have an almost blue whitecolor. In the periphery of my eyes, the light also seemed to be alive. Glancing closer at the light; it also contained fire with various colors each "flowing" up. Each thread of color weaved around the others not unlike like the colored water from in a "rain run-off" formed from the trickle of a stream that will begin after a rain when the run-off flows down a muddy ditch. The colored water weaves into the clear and unaffected water of larger river not yet affected by the mud and rain. These colors of golden yellow, red, white, light blue and green (similar to teal,) danced up and around the person, almost to the head. It was then that I made two striking discoveries, One that the trunk of the "person" was larger proportionately than the extremities in a way not unlike my own grand father. Second, like him, this image of a man was not very tall. Relative to what I knew the rocks to be, he might have been 4'8" to 5'6". This shocked me because I would have thought such an able powerful person should be six to eight feet tall. He slipped around the boulder, He seemed to hug and then slipped behind so that in a moment, He vanished.

The whole feeling was not unlike sitting of an early morning; at the side of a small pool of water with no breeze and the surface; the water smooth as glass. There was such a complete sense of peace that a person could almost feel the residue of goodness. This Goodness had the texture of fresh homey; Pouring ever so slowly; folding over and around all that it touched and making all sweet in the process. I immediately shared the experience with my wife sitting right beside as it seemed that no words had been spoken between us for some time. At that time and immedately following, I didn't really understand how profound this little snippet of a vision would be or even more how it would affect my life. It has now been some days and that "sense of "Goodness" has pervaded the whole of my being. This feeling is not unlike incredible 'stillness' that happens inside a hurricane when standing between the two directions of the winds. I could not know that this sense of "Goodness" would roll into an all consuming desire, only leaving me to want for more. Just to BE with such a person who is so very good, is the most incredible; at once peaceful and powerfully explosive sense of well being I can imagine. As I think back upon this snapshot of eternity, my mind is a little "dazed," like I had bumped my head on something hard, so solid that it "just did not give." The surviving sense is similar to a person a little woozy from too much drink. I can assure no bump on the head or alcohol was cause of this once in a life time experience.

As I have meditated and walked out my daily life, I noticed something unusual about my 10 pound dog. He stands six inches from the floor and when I lean over I am always aggravated by a habit he has. If I bend over to snap his walking rope on his collar, he always bows down a little lower. In his effort to remain lower than my self, he seems to mbe uncomfortable remaining at my same level. This habit seems to be ingrained. This habit has also been characteristic in other dogs I have owned in past experience. He always wants to remain a little lower than my self; at all times, no matter what!. I began to think that if such a person as I saw stood in a room of people, they would all, in turn, kneel to a possessor of such Goodness. Out of honor and respect, in no wise fear, each would feel compelled to respond. If Goodness should sit in a chair of some kind, many would prostrate in order to keep the order in tact. If I think of a two thousand magnet like the one that picks up metal, it would not approach the drawing power of this Goodness, The paradox: I am at once both attracted and also respectful.

As I have noticed some middle eastern or Medeterrianian area men, at tiimes canbe be small of stature. Because the natural tendency of a people to become drawn to another like his own self, I can easily picture Abraham of old, to have been a man relatively small in stature. Can there be any wonder that a short man like Abraham might be chosen to "carry the torch" of God's rules and His Order. Later, Abraham's descendents would deliver the ten commandments, and subsequently the whole of the owner's operation manual. This one contained in the 613 laws also found in Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. In the vision there was absolutely no external pressure or word for me to kneel at the time. I was simply observing a scenario play out across the scene. It was only after that I became aware of what had happened. This is characteristic of me. At times the full effect of an experience or trauma does not become apparent to me for on average two days. It is something of a defense mechanism that I have developed over the years so that at the time of crisis, I may think clearly and rationally responding to the new facts in a reasonable way. I fully experience the event but hopefully at a later, safer time when lives will not be endangered by my responses.

In conclusion: this is what I saw, heard, experienced! At times the residue of , conflicting and confusing memories make it difficult to reconcile the things that I have seen and heard with the things that I had always thought to be true. . I have tried to understand and make sense of these differences during the intervening dayssince this vision. I have come woefully short. I also have tried to reconcile the various views of God that I have held over the years with a very different paradigm presented by this open vision. I do not assert that It was God which I saw, I simply do not know. Others before me have made this concept the major theme of their life: that He is a Good God. In an age where many call bad good and good bad, I have no explanation. For those who look at a thing they admire and in an effort to praise, they say that is so bad! I can not offer any help. Yet even so, God is a good who always God wants good (whatever is good, kind, true, pleasant, a good report, "to be praised," "to be desired!") For each person He seems to desire pleasantness. Love is like that!

My earliest child hood experiences lead me to think that of God as strong, severe, and unapproachable. This vision presented a very different image. Severe or Kind, He is Real and at some time each and every one of us will have to account for themselves. I hope that each person who reads this account will liberally cover him self with the Blood of Jesus to reconcile the Goodness that I saw with the "dirty here and now!" The natural consequence of seeing this bright light is to realize how dark I am. This also gives the feeling for me of being so very unworthy to stand or even remain in the presence of so great a presence. The courage is to realize that nothing that I could ever do would clean me up enough to be able to so stand, but that another has already paid the price for all my misdeeds.

'Thank you

When I, as   a Dad give,  a gift to my children, and afterward there is no thank you...
I can only conclude that my sacrifice was not valuable to the recipients.
Am I inclined to yield to that inner urge to give again, or do I back off and "let them see how they can do by their self?"

1 K Challenge

1 k =1000; 1000/365=~ 2.75 ; maybe 3x @ day with only 2x once  every other week(so who is perfect?)
The Goal ix  to verbally out loud and in the haring of the loved one: /Say "I LOVE YOU!"

1.  Morning watch, 
2. Evening Watch and 
3. Some other time in the middle of the day.  

Three times a  day for one year

The One K Challenge

What it does for you:: (James  3:3-6) Words paint the picture that the actions of our life live out. Saying "I Love You" directs the Body to begin to feel those feelings and to begin to think  thoughts that are Loving Kind and Understanding..  In short it begins to create a new world that conforms to these words. Because Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, hopes all things, is never jealous; these words frame an atmosphere where Life can flourish.
If minor corrections are needed in the Love walk, they are immediately apparent and the words become mid-course corrections. In time they take you back to the experience of "First Love."  
What it does for the other: It counters any misconceptions about your feelings for the other. It comforts and reduces fears that commitment or feelings have grown cold. It covers a multitudes of sin. It moves the focus of day to day life from the dirty here a now to the happy by and by.
It calls the "Highest good" out of the life performance of all else that happens in the day to day life.
Because Love is a spiritual force first, and only subsequently a physical one, it lifts all who think about it to the "Higher Plane." It tends to draw out the Dream process that hosts all creative thought and action.
So the 1 K Challenge will elevate your and their lives to the best self, the place where life really happens.

Hope that you do well and of course: I love you.

Thoughts on Encouragement

There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do - Freya Stark 

 Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. - W. Churchill

Time is short

Shocking news yesterday, here is the rest if the story....

Have a neighbor with some history... Now how often does Neighbor and history mean something good????? Well with this guy and his story it at best has been a little "iffy!" As events unfolded yesterday we discovered that almost no one in the neighborhood liked this guy. Could be that I am little unusual, but I never looked at all his deficits but only his better points. In short I did like the guy. He was a very interesting person, his profession was that of a DJ. He owned a firm that would sent a MC to a party, function or event. He personally moderated the VFW monthly events, and several other regular club events. Additionally, he became the "canned party" at many weddings as well as other similar celebrations like Birthday, Graduation Parties or Quientera. One time he mentioned that he had twelve thousand songs (MP3) on his computer. His search engine would find the tune as fast as a person could request it; making these parties seem spontaneous.

Over time it became a game with the two of us to tell each the joke "de jour" we had heard. Seldom did I hear a joke that he did not already know and could beet me to the punch line. Even that fact was fun! Once started, we could tell jokes back and forth for some time, He had no trouble telling three to my one, but it was still fun.

Here is the scenario making this piece relevant. With no presenting medical issues; he pulled into a famous Tex-Mex restaurant for a light lunch before an afternoon "Gig." He called his wife from the parking lot to "touch base." She reported that there was no particular alert within his call. He told her of his love for he and hung up. He must have sat in the car a few seconds as the doors were never unlocked. Later a passer-by noticed him. Then after knocking with no response, they called a paramedic. Arriving; The emergency team opened the door only to find that my friend had passed from this world.

... Left this piece in draft form several months: Even today the unexpected nature of his "Call To Report": "Who is the God of your Life?" leaves me stunned (as I think about it!).
Was My Friend ready? Am I ready? Are you ready?

It is never too soon to make your piece with HIM!

Happy Easter

"FACE TO FACE - A Gateway Series | How we view God affects every single area of our lives. It shapes how we feel about Him, how we talk about Him and even how we talk to Him. But God is divine and we’re only human, so how do we discover who He is, how He acts and what He’s like?"

Join us for Face to Face—a dynamic new Gateway series...You’ll discover that the best way to get to know God is by looking at the One He sent—Jesus. You won’t want to miss any of these messages as Pastor Robert takes a look at several everyday encounters of real people who had divine encounters when they came face-to-face with Jesus. And as you get to know God better, your life will be transformed!

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Matthew 28:1-8

WORSHIP & PRAISE

worship?

what role does it play in a vibrant prayer life

Having negotiated several winters, I have stumbled upon a few surprising secrets laying amid the clutter and rubble of a daily life. In effort to restore the place to one of beauty peace and joy, some lessons were gleaned but not nearly enough. Being a person of concrete thought, it at times can be difficult to slip over into the spiritual side. The reality and the pain of the world seems to war against that simple trust in the saving, redeeming, restoring, refreshing Messiah!

So... how to take control the mind, leave off of the dirty here and now... slip into the dreamy by and by; tata Is this the eternal universal problem.

Alas saved by the word. Praise the Lord. That is it; To praise the lord, THIS translates us into the heavenly (in both mind and spirit.) The thoughts of the Lord reside in the right side of the brain, exactly the opposite side of the brain compared to the concrete.

So "praise and worship" transfer the conscious thought center from the concrete into the spiritual side making faith easier, as well as Hope and Love.

I conclude :"Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord. "

Personal Prophesy

As I prayed for a friend a few weeks ago it occurred to me that The Holy Spirit is in the process of building a foundation in these years that will support a much larger building than would be apparent from a casual glance. Considering this It occurred to me that you would benefit from knowing a few concepts related to prophesy. In particular personal prophesy, both that you would share with others and that you would accurately discern the message when someone "gives" one to you. I believe that this area has caused many believers to stumble. The ditch may be avoided on both sides of the road. Some have categorically dismissed personal prophesy entirely, others have been unfairly and inappropriately distracted by personal prophesy. There exist several incorrect notions about the subject and in particular the application of this facit of the Christian walk.

To begin with: prophesy in the old testament is very different from that given since the first day of Pentecost ... after Jesus' life. In the Old Testament times there existed only three classes of people who had the "presence of the Holy Spirit" on a continuing basis. The King, the prophet (at times the group of prophets,) and the High Priest (each one presided for only a year.) The Holy Spirit also "hovered' over the plurality of Jewish people; but on no one in particular. Jewish people today at times sense the "fire" or presence of the Holy Spirit when the Torah   is paraded among the congregation during a part of the regular prayer service (if and when this is offered.) This again is a some what unusual experience that only a few that I have talked to have experienced even once. Often it is felt as a weight, or heaviness (gravity.) The thought gleaned from this is that when one spoke prophesy, the only way to discern the voracity of the message was to observe the "prediction over time." If the thing prophesized happened, it was the Lord; if not, stone the false prophet! In the .New Testament church every believer has the presence of the Holy Spirit. This changes the way prophesy is given and received (by others) as well as how we each.give (and receive  our own selves). Not all are aware of this "Yahweh Shamash" presence of the Lord but unless a person engages in willful or "spiritual" sin, His presence never leaves or forsakes. This Presence then can change  how people relates to personal prophesy. The Lord's first choice is to speak to the person personally his ownself. If  there exists some question as to understanding or implementation of y his message, the Holy Spirit will confirm what was said/heard with other communication. If this confirmation comes in the form of personal prophesy, it would of necessity HAVE to exhort (encourage,) edify (build up,) and/or comfort (console). If the personal experience of personal prophesy does not seem to confirm something already heard from the Holy Spirit or something soon to be heard, it is best "placed om the shelf" until such time as the Holy Spirit presents the information in an understandable form or context.

Couple days ago I was surveying some of the classes offered this semester on Wed evenings, and ran across Pastor Craig Terndrup's series on Prophetic leadership. It will be presented this next three weeks. I took it last year and believe it to be a most through foundational presentation of anyone needing this knowledge. If you have the freedom in your schedule, I believe the information would be excellent; and to protect you from error. Such error can be the result of the many personal prophesies you are likely to encounter during the next few years. While there are audio files of this material (which are preferable to nothing;) the actual experience of the class is invaluable. Some of these things are not taught, but rather caught. By that I mean there is practice time as the class progresses. In these practice prophetic interchanges, it was very surprising to me, to see how strong the Spirit manifested through these things. After the practice, the leader asked for examples of prophetic words that seemed particularly accurate. There were several profound messages in the class of 30-40 people. Additionally the synergy of several "prophetic persons" yields a stronger effort than the sum of the parts. The easiest way to discern the prophetic is to actually have the "gift" yourself. It also reduces the "need" for the Holy Spirit to have to speak through others to get you a message. You "GET IT!" (ha ha.)

All of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to any one who seeks. The actual prophet in the new testament time has three specific gifts if he is one. 1) word of wisdom, 2) word of knowledge, and 3) prophetic speaking. The gift of tongues along with the gift of interpreting tongues is equal to the single gift of prophetic speaking. In the same way that a millionaire has money but not all people who have a million dollars are millionaires, not all people who have these gifts are prophets in the NT sense. I was not thinking that you were called to the office of Prophet, but rather that you would benefit from knowing some of these concepts. It seems to me that the more tools in a carpenters tool bag, the more different things that he does not have to rely on the other guy to do. If he needs a special skill, that person may or may not be available. But, If he can do it himself, he is able continue to progress. Our Habitation service seems to me to be a very excellent example of a public meeting where the Prophetic is strong. To oversee services like this, you would be well served to understand the process and practice from personal experience. It is a learned skill, as well as a gift of the Holy Spirit. You could say the ability to learn these things is itself a gift of the Holy Spirit. You do not have to be a David Wilkerson to benefit from the Holy Spirit in prophetic. Additionally your tendency to lean to the "practical" will streamline your training in these areas. The Holy Spirit is the most practical and workable force in the universe. (and Love never fails. )

Here is a text copy of Strong's definition of the three key words based on the Greek definition.

3874 paraklesis par-ak’-lay-sis

from 3870; TDNT-5:773,778; {See TDNT 592} n f
AV-consolation 14, exhortation 8, comfort 6, entreaty 1; 29

1. 1) a calling near, summons, (esp. for help)
2. 2) importation, supplication, entreaty
3. 3) exhortation, admonition, encouragement
4. 4) consolation, comfort, solace; that which affords comfort or refreshment
5. 4a) thus of the Messianic salvation (so the Rabbis call the Messiah the consoler, the comforter)
6. 5) persuasive discourse, stirring address
7. 5a) instructive, admonitory, conciliatory, powerful hortatory discourse the verb :

3870 parakaleo par-ak-al-eh’-o

from 3844 and 2564; TDNT-5:773,778; {See TDNT 592} v
AV-beseech 43, comfort 23, exhort 21, desire 8, pray 6, entreat 3, misc 4, vr besought 1; 109

1. 1) to call to one’s side, call for, summon
2. 2) to address, speak to, (call to, call upon), which may be done in the way of exhortation, entreaty, comfort, instruction, etc.
3. 2a) to admonish, exhort
4. 2b) to beg, entreat, beseech
5. 2b1) to strive to appease by entreaty
6. 2c) to console, to encourage and strengthen by consolation, to comfort
7. 2c1) to receive consolation, be comforted
8. 2d) to encourage, strengthen
9. 2e) exhorting and comforting and encouraging
10. 2f) to instruct, teach

the idea is this: the parakete was a type of pelican or seagull type bird. It had a peculiar characteristic: it would carry it's young in the mouth sometimes for hundreds of miles. If in that time the young was in danger of starving, it would prick a wound under the tongue causing a bleed. This sustenance which would keep the little one from starving. I believe that the idea communicated is this: If the word of exhortation is not given as a sense (spirit or attitude.) of self Sacrifice even to the point of taking one's on life blood if necessary for sustenance, then the exhortation should be placed on the paradigm of "trust but verify." I often listen to the tone of the voice. ICorinth13: 1 suggests that lack of Love yields a sounding brass sound (trumpet, trombone saxophone sound) or a tinkling cymbals sound (like a tambourine, pipes, or the clash of a symbol.) With practice you can quickly hear the heart sound of humility contrasted to the proud sound of brass, or the judgmental sound of symbols clashing.

Additionally you will not always know the person who is speaking, but you may have observed his (/or her) associates. If he befriends a known enemy, there is a higher than average possibility that he also will matriculate into that area as well. So consider the source.

3619 oikodome oy-kod-om-ay’

feminine (abstract) of a compound of 3624 and the base of 1430; TDNT-5:144,674; {See TDNT 539} n f AV-edifying 7, building 6, edification 4, wherewith (one) may edify 1; 18

1. 1) (the act of) building, building up
2. 2) metaph. edifying, edification
3. 2a) the act of one who promotes another’s growth in Christian wisdom, piety, happiness, holiness
4. 3) a building (i.e. the thing built, edifice)

3624 oikos oy’-kos

of uncertain affinity; TDNT-5:119,674; {See TDNT 539} n m AV-house 104, household 3, home + 1519 2, at home + 1722 2, misc 3; 114

1. 1) a house
2. 1a) an inhabited house, home
3. 1b) any building whatever
4. 1b1) of a palace
5. 1b2) the house of God, the tabernacle
6. 1c) any dwelling place
7. 1c1) of the human body as the abode of demons that possess it
8. 1c2) of tents, and huts, and later, of the nests, stalls, lairs, of animals
9. 1c3) the place where one has fixed his residence, one’s settled abode, domicile
10. 2) the inmates of a house, all the persons forming one family, a household
11. 2a) the family of God, of the Christian Church, of the church of the Old and New Testaments
12. 3) stock, family, descendants of one

For Synonyms see entry 5867 & 5944

1430 doma do’-mah

from demo (to build); ; n n

AV-house top 7; 7
1. 1) a building, house
2. 2) a part of a building, dining room, hall
3. 3) house top, roof
4. 3a) the house tops of the Orientals were (and still are) level and frequented not only for walking, but also for meditation and prayer

NOTE: from this we get the idea of a pastor covering his sheep (church members),

3889 paramuthia par-am-oo-thee’-ah

from 3888; TDNT-5:816,784; {See TDNT 595} n f

AV-comfort 1; 1
1. 1) any address, whether made for the purpose of persuading, or of arousing and stimulating, or of calming and consoling
2. 1a) consolation, comfort

3888 paramutheomai par-am-oo-theh’-om-ahee from 3844 and the middle voice of a derivative of 3454; TDNT-5:816,784; {See TDNT 595} v AV-comfort 4; 4

1. 1) to speak to, address one, whether by way of admonition and incentive, or to calm and console
2. 1a) to encourage, console

4395 propheteuo prof-ate-yoo’-o

from 4396; TDNT-6:781,952; {See TDNT 673} v

AV-prophesy 28; 28
1. 1) to prophesy, to be a prophet, speak forth by divine inspirations, to predict
2. 1a) to prophesy
3. 1b) with the idea of foretelling future events pertaining esp. to the kingdom of God
4. 1c) to utter forth, declare, a thing which can only be known by divine revelation
5. 1d) to break forth under sudden impulse in lofty discourse or praise of the divine counsels
6. 1d1) under like prompting, to teach, refute, reprove, admonish, comfort others
7. 1e) to act as a prophet, discharge the prophetic office

Seek Wisdom

Thinking of you with a delicate mix of Joy and grace, I am hoping that you are pleased with your life. Would love to hear of some of your joys, sorrows, life experiences. In many ways each person life is different, yet the mile posts are ever so similar. Strange how we pass on scientific knowledge, yet fall so very short in passing on that great thing some call wisdom. Wisdom is a free apple on the trees that we pass by in our life journey, yet how many pass by with out ever picking one off of the lower branches. We often notice that people get each day's ticket punched with nothing more than the memory. On the back, if one will pause to reflect, these is a free coupon to be exchanged for the daily installment of wisdom. Let's not be the one who exchanges the steps of life with nothing of value, but instead be the ones who get a sweet tasty bite of wisdom to fuel the next steps of the road of life.

Happy Birthday

Haiku Birthday
Happy Birthday boy
Celebrate a year of Fun;
Then it is all done!

Haiku for my son/daughter

You are my daughter,
Truly a gift from heaven;
So goes my Mission.

To always assist,
Only as I see a need;
Then out of the way!

A relationship,
To endure for a life time;
To encourage you.

Simple Declarations

Simple Declarations

I declare my Faith with a mighty shout!

I believe the Love ...I receive the Love!

I put His word first place
and make it the final authority in my Life!

I act on His word as quickly as I would
a lawyer, a doctor, or a highly trusted friend.

I receive His word as the perfect law of Liberty.

I always triumph in him,
He always gives me Victory.

I have Faith in God

Father I am yours to command.

Your Word is My command.

Here are some faith statements that have been meaningful to me, and maybe they will help you.

I desire to try several different attacks against our problems and might not settle on one even if it at first seems to be successful.        Suggestions for this is to print out these headlines and repeat them as often as seems appropriate.

Because "all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved," I would suggest that you read the praise the Lord out loud enough times that it is second nature.

Baruk A-tah, Adonai, Eloheynu, Maelek, ha Olam haShem O'Messuah!
Praise be (like a cape) upon the Lord, God of the Universe(and mine), King of My world, in the name of Jesus my messiah

I gave this to a lady and dear friend who had been diagnosed with melonoma. This had metastasized and spread several places in her person. After saying this as a montara almost continuously for many weeks, (while also enduring chemo) most of the measurable of the cancer has fallen in remission. The purpose of the prayer was to give peace when she had received a "death sentence!" It had the effect of yielding peace as the meter of the prayer had an internal cadence. The body tends to align itself with the meter inherent in the prayer. I wonder if it would also give you strength (and peace) is times of crisis.

Don't give up!

Just Push

A man was sleeping one night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and God appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might...

So, this the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sunup to sundown, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might!

Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole life had been spent in vain.
Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man's weary mind. (He will do it every time!):

You have been pushing against that rock for a long time but it hasn't moved." Thus, the Adversary gave the man an impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man.

The enemy of his soul said, "Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort, and that will be good enough."

That's what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

"Lord," he said, "I have labored long and hard in Your Service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done.

Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed.

But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back shiny and brown; your core strength will not fail; your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard.

Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now far surpass that which you used to have. True, you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was: to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. That you have done. Now I, my friend, will move the rock.."

How many times, when we hear a word from God, do we use our own intellect to decipher what He wants? What God really wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him... This establishes a kind of handshake where we each contribute our own selves in the relationship. The success lies in the process of "listening with the intent to do the words heard. " All of the benefits sought from a benevolent God come from the simple process of harkening to the voice.

At times we may look at the experience of others to evaluate our own relationship with the Lord. Because this process of "hearing" is singular, the words that the Lord has spoken or not spoken to another are not relevant to out own relationship with Him. We may not judge the hearing of another person, or lack of it; nor may we judge the Lord for His "rewarding" of another in ways that we do not feel He has rewarded ourselves. Either of these judgments will cause the person who engages in them, to stumble. To recover a person must simply forgive; either the Lord or the other person. The other person is only responsible for the words he has heard. If that person is a little "hard of hearing" in a certain area, the "God of all wisdom" is certainly able to look after His own relationship with the person. At times we may tell the other person of "hurts" that the other person has inflicted upon us, as result of not observing the written code given generally to all non-specifically, we may not judge the person as the result of these hurts. We must simple forgive and endure the pain. Knowing that we also have inflicted similar pain upon others, causes us to be able to endure this pain patiently. This is one facet of the principle called Grace.

In summary,
By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God Who moves the mountains.

When everything seems to go wrong..............................Just P.U.S.H.

When the job gets you down.............................Just P.U.S.H.

When people don't do as you think they should..................Just P.U.S.H.

When your money is "gone" and the bills are due................Just P.U.S.H.

When people just don't understand you............................Just P.U.S.H.

P = Pray
U = Until
S = Something
H = Happens

Pass this on to all your loved ones and friends who may need it, they may get it just in time. "
Though no one can go back and make a **brand new start**,
anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending."

Friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly. May God Bless You.

the big picture

In an any organization, like six men carrying a friend to the final destination, each person must carry their share. It doesn't have to be an equal share, only a fair share. Each who does not carry the fair share, leaves one of two options: 1, the load drops and the progress stops; 2, Some one else picks up the slack.

Building organizations is simply a process of building people. Like so many blocks on the side of the wall, the effort is enhanced if every block is in place. If the person administrating the operation wants growth, he may simply concentrate the effort on the growth of each person.
In a faith organization, the faith of each must grow.
In a business, the skill, knowledge , and understanding must grow. Knowledge would be specific or general. While understanding knows how to put the skill together with the knowledge. This is like found in Ex 35:30: knowledge, wisdom, understanding. As each person increases their efficiency, the overall efficiency and profit of the enterprise will similarly grow.
In a faith based organization, the skill is knowledge of the scriptures or doctrines. The wisdom is the overall knowledge of the goals mission, and vision as well as the specific (product) knowledge of the persons who are clients of the organization. The understanding includes the ability to discern the needs of the specific person, as well as the specific application of the scriptures and doctrine. When this grows the sense of identification of each member grows in tandem. Truthfully this sense of identity is the essence of Faith.

Faith implies faith in something or someone. So faith grows as this sense of identification seems more and more reliable within the person. Reliable implies trust, but "trust and verify" is a necessary process to build this kind of faith. Picture this:"Here a little and there a little." Doesn't grow overnight, but every day; here a little and there a little. Occasionally, almost by Providence there will be a "supercharge" of faith that seems to come from some internal understanding or revelation; That lifts the faith to a higher floor where the daily growth is more like stairs. I have learned not to covet the great boosts, as it has always preceded some similarly spectacular difficulty for which the "super-charge" was needed to simply maintain! So as enough are the today cares, so also "enough are the today graces!"

May God truly bless your today and may you have a special sense of His presence, especially as it is needed. I am personally in favor of you today, and if you have no one else believing in you, I still do. So be encouraged to try again if you stumble, and remember the formula to get back that which was lost,

Confess, repent, forget, try again!

Self CPR

Self CPR

Very interesting and important.

What are you to do if you have a heart attack While you are alone.

If you've already received this, It means people care about you. The Johnson City Medical Center staff actually Discovered this and did an in-depth study On it in our ICU.

The two individuals that discovered this then did An article on it, had it published and have had it incorporated into ACLS and CPR classes.

It is very true and has and does work.

It is called cough CPR. A cardiologist says it's the truth If everyone who gets this sends it to 10 people, You can bet that we'll save at least one life. It could save your life!

Let's say it's 6:15 p.m. And you're driving home (alone of course), after an usually hard day on the job. You're really tired, upset and frustrated. Suddenly you start experiencing severe pain In your chest that starts to radiate out Into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only about five miles from the hospital

Nearest your home. Unfortunately you don't know if you'll be Able to make it that far. What can you do? You've been trained in CPR But the guy that taught the course didn't tell You what to do if it happened to yourself.

Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, this article seemed to be in order. Without help, the person whose heart is beating improperly and who begins to feel faint, Has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness. However, these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously. A deep breath should be taken before each Cough, and the cough must be deep And prolonged, as when producing sputum From deep inside the chest. A breath and a cough must be repeated About every two seconds without let up Until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again. Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and Keep the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital.

Tell as many other people as possible about this, it could save their lives! From Health Cares, Rochester General Hospital via Chapter 240s newsletter 'AND THE BEAT GOES ON ' (reprint from The Mended Hearts, Inc. Publication, Heart Response)

BE A FRIEND AND PLEASE SEND
THIS ARTICLE
TO AS MANY FRIENDS AS POSSIBLE

The Law vs. Grace

The preamble

There seems to exist between the ground swell of Messianic believers a feeling! These new believers, who for the most part, keep the precepts and statutes of Torah as a way of life much better than the church at large have great trouble reconciling their new faith with the life style what they view as the catholic church universal. As "unsaved" Jews, they lived in more perfect obedience to the Law than what they see most believers to live. What is the meaning of this? Are they as individuals to become Goya in lifestyle in order to Accept this New Life. Common sense would say NO! Answer must be for the church to become more "Righteous in the daily life!"

Response to Romans 2:12-16

The law and grace,

the before and after.

The law and grace, the before and after. Two very different paradigm. The before always carries a load of guilt and shame, different for each but really similar for each; person to person. Each day, a day of judgment and by implication of failure, as the law was sent only to provide a target for living and by it's existence a d-facto contra part to the "agreement" between God and his people by which He provided the Blessings of Obedience. The if then conditional provided that all who "opted-in" would obtain the Blessing and those who did not did not qualify for the "if-then conditional." Deut 28:1-2 notes that all who "observed to do the law" would obtain the blessing. In a careful reading one is not required perfect obedience , but only perfect "listening with the intent of obeying." The significance of this is simply that it was not about the body obeying the Law, but about the heart condition and the process of observing to do. Provision was made for imperfect and incomplete obedience in the annual Day of Covering or Yom Kippur. This whole dynamic set up a day to day; even a minute to minute series of acts of self judgment.

Grace

The contrast of Grace sets up a similar series of periodic self judgments in the dynamic of the "if-then conditional;" the difference is that with the Grace we have a added feature that all incomplete performance was "forgiven-released," some two thousand years ago. This leaves a different atmosphere. The new one is one of success as opposed to failure. This new atmosphere provides great Freedom to live in a dimension of success that when observed by those under the old provision (The Law) might become jealous, desiring such freedom to live and walk in the law with out the weight of guilt, and the stumbling block this guilt becomes.

What to Do?

Trouble is: how many rally walk in this freedom. How many even consider that the precepts of the Law have not changed only the judgment for non-performance?

Conclusion

Just for today, I volunteer to walk in the Right way, to keep as much of the Torah as I can. Where I miss it, I now plead the merits obtained by the Blood Yeshua shed in the process of enduring the Cross and all that it Cost!

How to make an appeal

Numbers 14: 11-21         interceding
filling earth with the Glory of God
Percieve the problem
• 11 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be until they believe me, for all the signs which I have showed among them?
• 12 I will strike them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of you a greater nation and mightier than they.
  Your welfare
• 13 And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou brought up this people in thy might from among them;)
• 14 And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and that thy cloud stood over them, and that thou g before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.
  save face of person making petition to
• 15 Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of you will speak, saying,
  reputation
• 16 Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he swore unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.
• 17 And now, I beseech you, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
  Answer my prayer because it will improve your interests
• 18 The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
  make the petition
• 19 Pardon, I beseech you, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy,
  pledge to remain faithful regardless of the decision
• and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.
• 20 And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word:
• 21 But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.
• 22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
• 23 Surely they shall not see the land which I swore unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
• 24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land wherein to he went; and his seed shall possess it.
• 25 (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.

Church Growth

I see the church today as a compendium of many different people with many different levels of knowledge and commitment. To visualize a spiral where the person just now introducing Himself to Jesus the savior, is on the last spot of the tail. What ever might be the worse problem of the life is simply removed. For about two years the new believer has a honeymoon where he is permitted to learn and grow in faith as fast as possible with almost no interference from the evil one (except that which is provided by other people in the person's world.) Then after the two years little problems challenge the new believers status quo. In general circumstances require additional growth and unselfishness. Some of these new- bees are interested in History, for them the history of the church steps from and center. Other people grow in grace and knowledge in other areas, like missions, evangelism, children's work, etc.

As knowledge and faith are gained,, the person gradually circles and progresses to the center of the spiral. For these a great step may be taken to shorten the critical path to the center. That step would include some bible classes, or curriculum concentrated to gain as much knowledge as possible. The person on the out side may not attend every week on the weekend service. The next level in would attend regularly, but maybe not take any additional leadership responsibility. The next level in would take this responsibility but not to the point of full time service. This progression begins actually not at the place where conscious knowledge of God affects habits and patterns of living. Instead it starts back where some one else began to share the gospel and some one else began to pray for their welfare.

The person at the center of the spiral some would call the origin would be the person with the greatest faith, the person who first had the idea to start a particular fellowship. Some times this person is a person of prayer, sometimes a person of action with the prayer person close by. As the numbers grow the level of faith/knowledge of this first few people limits the size of the over all fellowship. In order for the overall fellowship to grow, the person/s at the center must increase in love and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. When these persons take an additional step of faith it leaves a "place" for the next and each person can take a step forward in the place vacated by the one before. In this way the tail grows longer as each new person steps into the spiral to take their own place. 2Cor 10:12 suggests that we should not compare ourselves among ourselves, but the "substance of Faith" is measurable and can grow. Speaking of comparison, at times the person closer to the center resists the person further out in the spiral exceeding him in faith and love of the Lord. This picture is similar to the process by which people sit in the same seats or seats similar in location relative to the pulpit. Over time this seat gets the designation as "so and so's seat." Other people respect this location as each one has their own seat location as well. A new person must needs find a seat, but "woe to be " should he inadvertently claim "so and so's seat!" It is precisely this pressure that inhibits the "growth in the size of the fellowship."

"Love of the Lord:"

Love is an interesting word to define. Every one knows when they have it, or think that they do. Yet who can say if they have it or if the thing that they have is or is not the same as that held by another, especially if the other is the object of the first person's love. Suffice to say it is a strong and positive feeling of affinity a person might have for another person, place or thing. Love can grow over time and change the nature of it's emotion. A spiral of intensity and degree could also describe love as well. Starting with the first introduction to a person, a person would have "surprise." As a second experience or interaction takes place a progression of knowledge leads to recognition of the sort; "I have seen you before." Repeated exposure develops short term recall. Additional experiences and interactions over time develop a "long" term recall. At some point the person "moves the object of their love" to a deep place in their mind, heart, soul or being. At this location the object is desired on a subconscious level. This kind of love bubbles into the "dream life" to a place where their thoughts are automatic and out of conscious thought. The method in which each of these thresholds of love is transversely is by the tongue and the words of the mouth.

It is like the words, "I love you" have a double edged force. On the one hand they tell where the person is in the spiral; on the other hand they point a light to the next step in the progression. In this the words "I love you" some how tell the inner being, I need to develop more love for this person, place or thing! The emotions follow lead of the words and over time reinforce these words with attendant emotions that we typically call Love. In order to develop more Love of the Lord one must simply say "I love you Lord Jesus!" After a while this feeling will grow to substantiate the heard directives of the soul. Sadly it works the other way as well. If a person says that "My love is not as strong as it used to be," the feelings back off in intensity as well. This same process works between people. The simple effect of an "I love you," is to cause the "felt Love" to grow over time. Works the same with "I love your law!" It has the cleansing effect of causing the speaker to want to walk closer to the path "the Law" prescribes.

In a fellowship the increased "Love of the Lord" has a drawing quality, whereby it draws other pilgrims in the path of life into the spiral describing the fellowship. Jesus said "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me." Most people have a "God shaped hole" they are forever trying to fill with everything that they come across. When they finally find God for which the hole was created in the first place, They are at peace. Seeing some one else who obviously found this wonderful object also gives hope that maybe some day they also might find this great joy!