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With grace and compassion we are coming to love one another. We are coming to step outside ourselves and clearly see our loved ones and their needs. We can shed layers of selfishness, resentment, anxiety, pettiness, and entitlement. Most of all, we can rise above our human imperfections and step into transcendent love. There is an immensity of space for our love to always continue to grow for one another. Love opens doors to share our faith. We will love to exalt God. To love is to obey Him. They are inseparable, love and obedience. Because this is how God calls us to live, our love will always protect, always trust, always hope, always persevere. Our love will be consistent. It will never give up. Our love is to be rooted in a spiritual connection that helps us find meaning and purpose in our lives and the lives of others. This spiritual love will walk us through life and teach us lessons that will grow our characters. We ought to choose to have love be the motive behind our every choice. Love affirms the words of truth as it creates the spiritual touch between hearts and minds. Love is that pure gift from God to be received and shared. This spiritual gift of love is the only type of love that fulfills the deepest longings of our hearts. It must be cherished. We are to practice love in our every action and we are to reflect love in our very attitude that an atmosphere of kindness, acceptance, and unity is created in ourselves and in those around us. Love is that conviction that comes from God preparing us to be perfect. Our love must be unwavering, unbreakable, having an unparalleled fondness and devotion for the word of God. It must be defined by our emotional, physical, intellectual, and spiritual connection with Him. True love runs immeasurably deep and has life that is so significant that it is unthinkable to be without all that God blesses us with. Love empowers us to be free in our whole selves. We experience "true individuation and self-discovery". Love is that substance of faith that hopes for eternal life with God and those whom He knows are His. Love is that which moved God to create, and He created us with the capacity to love in imitation of Himself. Because God is complete all by Himself and has no needs, His creating us shows His wanting us to share His life as He has all life in Himself. His love is so for us that we have infinite worth to Him. God proved that in His Son Jesus, the most precious Person of Himself. He gave him to us that we may be with them for all eternity. God is the creator God and our love brings joy to Him. Love is light, that enlightens those who give and receive it. Love is gravity, because it draws us to God and it makes some people feel attracted to others. Love is power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows us not to be extinguished in blind selfishness. Love unfolds and reveals the glory of God. Love is to show what God is like. Not to make us like God, but to make us godly. Being like Jesus is loving like Jesus loved. It is easy to love those who are like us. But Jesus wants us to love even our enemies. We must work to rid our hearts of racial prejudice, socio-economic arrogance, and religious superiority. None of that belongs in the life of someone who wants to love like Jesus loves. He loved people selflessly. Godly love gives sacrificially. Loving like Jesus means we hold everything we own with loose hands. We are willing to part with things in order to serve other people. We recognize that all we have is on loan to us from our Father in heaven and we are responsible for what we do with it. We must not equate love with complete acceptance of everything someone does. Jesus did not tolerate sin, deception, or false followers. Loving like Jesus means we care enough about the souls of others to tell them the truth. We do not love people by watering down the truth of the word of God that could save them. Jesus never changed the truth to satisfy the “itching ears” of his listeners. We must love them enough to warn them, challenge them, teach them. Our purpose is to propagate sons and daughters of the Most High God, born of faith just as we are. Our goal is not just to get as much God as possible for ourselves, it is to share as much of God’s love as possible with others. But most of us have this problem…we just don’t have enough God and that means we don’t have enough love. Self serving love is self satisfying only. Let’s ask God for the power to love. We need not only to know about the love of God, but we must have faith in the power of love that God has for us that we may have that love for others. God is greater than our hearts, and we must have faith that God has actually put His love in us through His Spirit. God’s love is all sufficient, and the more we allow God’s love to flow through us, the more perfect our attempts to love will become. Why would we consider love to be measurable. Whatever degree of love we pour out, God will quickly replace with more of His own. Only by pouring out the love God has poured into us is His love perfected in us. Deuteronomy 7:6-9 God loves His people because of His own eternal, sovereign, and good pleasure. And we are not always lovely, but His love is “uncaused, unpurchased and unconditional.” His love is “uninfluenced.” He loves us because He loves us. So, we are to love God’s people simply because God loves them. We can grow in loveliness. Our loveliness blossoms out of the love of God for us and in us, and it is affirmed and magnified and publicly displayed in the love we have for one another. It stands before the watching world as a spoken invitation: come and see God’s love displayed. Love is act, not talk; it shows itself in the deed done, not simply in words spoken. Second, love works itself out in mutual sharing. Loving begins by asking the Lord God to let us become aware of ourself in the divine presence, and we offer ourself to God. We learn to love by letting our heart go out to God. Think on the splendors of the created world. Wonder about the stars and planets, and then delve into the tiniest atom with its elegant particles and forces. Remember that God has created and continues to create. And remember how much God gives us in all this. Consider this, and ponder it. The Lord bestows on us life, light, understanding, desiring, free choice, and the summons to love and to be loved. Most astonishing of all, God plainly wants to and does communicate God's Self to us. Now think about our own case, about our own life history and our own self. We are being created by this great God to live and function according to gifts coming from God's Self. How are we to love in return? What makes sense except to do as God does, to give as God gives? What would be right except to offer all that we are? Love is participation with God. Love is rejoicing in the truth. And with the throes of sorrow that carried Jesus to the cross and the violent struggle that will accompany us, the deeper we are to understand that love that is sacrificial and unconditional will not tolerate sin. We have seen God through Christ, for He is God, and what Christ has done, and is doing for us to save us from our sins, is that love that will mark the redeemed lives forever. Faith works by love. When faith and love exist together, it is proof that we have truly been born again. The fullness of the spiritual path is the understanding that love, that compassion, is the expression of one’s values that bear truth for the moral qualities we have achieved in our character and person. The highest expression of love is the experience and realization of more…more of who we are and what we believe. God is the source of love, Jesus is the proof of love, and we, as true believers, must be the instruments of love in this world. We must show love to the lost, in order to influence them with the truth of the word of God. And we must also share love with each other, in order to encourage one another to keep the faith. The love expression moves what's in our hearts and minds to how we speak, how we hear, serve, and suffer, both for the good of others and to the glory of God. Love will never let us just do nothing. Our concern must manifest itself in selfless behaviors that prove love amidst difficulty. We are today in the time that is darkening, where godly compassion, authentic devotion, and real love are best demonstrated. If we think to go to the kingdom together, we have to be prepared to love one another as times get hard. Even in our absence are we to be mindful of one another. The strong among us will break our silence, blow our cover and let loose our concern that our love shows to be transparent. It is our vulnerableness that proves the power of love. The cross was not a joyful experience. Love hurt Jesus. Honest affection is what we have received, and honest affection is what we must reciprocate. Love is the mature faith to encourage someone to teach the word. If our faith is not stable in our love, then the daily situations, the difficult issues, and the stressful crises of life will move us back and forth between belief and unbelief. This is why we need God and each other to remain centered, focused, and encouraged, because trouble is guaranteed to all. We must find ways to sacrifice in order to minister to the faith of others. Love will not allow us to edit out suffering from the itinerary for our life. God set us in His love knowing that suffering is one of the destinations along the road to perfect obedience. This is the covenant we have with Jesus. Because love is the power, and grace is amazing, and mercy is necessary, and suffering is inevitable, we must quickly move the minds from milk to meat. God only had one child without sin; He will have no children without suffering. Love is what causes our suffering to be turned into a ministry. In our teaching is not heard the hurting. As we express love in the midst of difficulty, we have to keep on encouraging, keep on believing. We can't afford to give up on anyone. We have got to hold onto our faith. We have got to express love, because we experience it! Image created by DeepAI.org

7 Minutes There will be no questioning our physical courage, but the questions will center around our spiritual strength. Pray that you are granted spiritual courage to not let any person impede your spiritual strength. This is not about exertion, it is about thoughts and beliefs. We will be questioned as to the cause, the reason, and the purpose why we believe in every word of God. God’s people will be asked “why” questions presumptuously, as though we have no right to understand truth as it opposes what man says. The presumptive is a statement or question that gives the illusion that those of the world know more than they actually know. So, they will ask “yes” or “no” questions. This they will do, attempting to place us in a dilemma having us pick one of only two options. They do not want the people to witness our knowledge of the word of God. The presumptive statement or question, places the people of God in a position to either confirm or deny the presumption. Why questions force the people to hear reasons, explanations to provide additional information to correct the presumption. Remove the word “why” in the following questions, and they become “yes” or “no” questions. Why do you believe the seventh day is the sabbath? Why do you believe that Jesus is God? Why do you believe the bible is the only source of truth? Why do you believe you are saved? Why do you believe you are one chosen by God? Why do you oppose the laws of man? Why questions switch the control of the conversation from the person asking the question, to the person being asked the question. The world abhors the following words: why, how, what, describe, tell me about, or what do you think about. When we are brought before courts, conduct ourselves decently, but afflict not ourselves with care how we shall come off. We are to have prudent thoughts, rather than anxious, perplexing, disquieting thoughts. We do not study to make fine speeches. It says a quietness of our cause, to be attentive in this matter, as if it were not sufficient to speak for itself. We know upon what grounds we go.   We be not careful to answer in this matter. The best answer is a question when confronted by those who contest God’s word. Answering a question with a question often silences the ones attempting to make an example of someone. God will have a wise remnant people made up of all faithful believers who hold fast to the "word of God" and the "testimony of Jesus" as revealed to John and passed on by him to the churches. This designation is not referring only to Seventh-day Adventist, but has strong inclusivist connotations inasmuch as it encompasses all faithful believers, which make up the entire body of Christ. Adventists would do well to broaden their view of the true "remnant" in the light of a careful study of the biblical text. The remnant is not equivalent to an institutional structure, church organization, or denominational entity. If we don’t act like the remnant, then we are not of the remnant. Many will turn away from the faith in the final days and become of the world because they can’t answer the question, “why are they opposing the church”. And some will question the faith leading into the last days and become accusers of the brethren because they can’t answer the question,“why do you not believe every word of God”. If we are not overcomers now, it will be increasingly difficult to stand for God in this collapsing, lawless world. Let’s face the facts; to answer the questions in truth, which christianity will claim to have answers, will set us on the distancing road to Golgotha. Why must we be like Jesus in the last day? Because our greatest persecutors will be those with whom we sat down to eat. The price that is paid in confronting the world is always worth paying, because then God can do His work through us. God ordained this to happen. So, we don’t fight back. God will be glorified as they ask, “by what power do you teach?” This power of the Holy Spirit is God’s preparation of His people. We are not fearful to displease others with the truth. Our message is offensive, else it is worthless. Our answers are bold, else they are impotent. Never accommodate the gospel by deleting things that offend others. We need to speak boldly even about the things that offend unbelievers. Why? We will not downgrade Jesus. Do you fear taking a straightup stand for truth? Examine yourself and find out why. Do you trust that God is in control of your circumstances when you are confronted with adversity? Why? Why will not be the question of our concern, for the Spirit of God will give us what we are to say, and the likeness of Christ will give us how we are to respond in truth. Our concern will be the recognition of our faith in God as seen in our very deportment. As we deal with the struggles and trials put to us by the opposers of God’s word, familiar passages of truth viewed from the heart will strengthen our minds that we contain spiritual thoughts. And so it is with much prayer that our testimony will tone the heart of the hearers through the word of truth by receiving its message of God’s goodness and grace. Our being approved unto God has trained us for godliness and we value it in every way that we might evidence the hope for those to lean in closely, to be touched with conviction. But we know that much of what we face will be disappointing. And so, instead of showing despair for the encountered trials, we will glory as the power of Christ rests upon us. Why? We have the confidence that God will not allow anythingto happen to us without His permission, and He will not let any “bad thing” happen that will not ultimately bring us more good than destruction. When we experience trial, we must choose by faith to trust fully in God. This choice will help us be more alert to the reasons why God allowed the trial to occur. And the why: we gain an even more intimate relation with Christ, we develop stronger characters, we demonstrate self-control, and we prove the eternal treasure laid up in heaven far outvalues earthly things. In every trial God alone must become our source of strength, provision, protection, and direction. Why? That we love our enemies, bless those who curse us, hope good for those who show hate toward us, and pray for those who despitefully use us and persecute us. We are to persevere. This is why the book of Hebrews is so important to the Hebrew Israelite messengers. We were set out first by God, to bring again those that are and will be His to perfection. From Hebrew to Israelite to Jew to Christian to Adventist to Hebrew Israelite…that is the path of appointment. The word in Hebrews is the door that opens to the house of wisdom…and in wisdom we know that our faithfulness is not in the words, but in the One Who is the Word. The book of Hebrews declares powerfully who Jesus is. The book of Hebrews shows us how to understand the Old Testament that reveals who are the true people of God and why. It teaches us that the whole bible declares the same message. It is all about Jesus. The book of Hebrews teaches the importance of faith as the active belief and trust in God. And especially in Hebrews are we warned severely about the attitude of unbelief. The book of Hebrews explains clearly the reasons for Jesus’ death. It teaches that God can forgive us only because of Jesus’ death. It tells us the role that Jesus’ death played in our salvation and the importance of his death and resurrection to our being made sons and daughters. The book of Hebrews shows us where and explains what Jesus is doing for us in heaven now. It tells us that he sits in the place of greatest honor in heaven, at God the Father’s right side. The book of Hebrews explains many of the reasons why we as God’s people suffer in this world. And Hebrews shows what our attitudes should be during our troubles. The book of Hebrews shows us God’s plan for His people’s lives. Why? He wants us to have the closest possible relationship with Him. He is making His people perfect for the completion of His work. So, He wants us to develop and to become mature in our relationship with Him. Hebrews unlock the glorious tapestry of God’s progressive revelation through reasoning with His people for their last day assignment.

3 Minutes Prophesy is math, is a spiritual math formula. Addition : bringing something about from another - creation. Subtraction : taking away, the flood to cleanse the world, repentance. Multiplication : repopulation, expressing growth, familiazion. Division : the process of separation. Algebra : the variables contained in the definite – character development in humans to form expressions of character. Geometry : the shaping and arrangement of events is when He took His people to shape them into the various characters that they will have. Trigonometry : is when He began to take the minds of the people and have them venture into the various extensions of His purposes. Trigonometry, the triangle, the function of angles, 3, the Godhead, the triune. Calculus : is the calculation of God’s people to acquire that which must be achieved in the perfecting of Christ. New Jerusalem is a solid cube, a 6-sided cube, representing all of mankind and solid. Where is God in this math? He is the line. The beginning and the ending, alpha and omega. The cube is the perfection of mankind, 6, and God is outside the cube, He is the Spirit outside the cube which extends far beyond; mankind is limited. Seven is the completeness of all things, is the 1 God; man and God is the completeness of all things, a spiritual formulation.

3 Minutes Here’s the wonderment of it all. If it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. We are taught that heaven is a place where worthy souls remain in eternity in indescribable contentment in the presence of Almighty God, where no evil exists. If so, how and why was there a group of angels who chose to rebel against God? What was there, and in what form, did a growing discontent culminate in the rebellion. No bible text tells us precisely what the anointed covering cherub did to be thrown from the divine presence, down to the earth with his fellow angels. We are told that iniquity was found in him. We envision the angels as being given a choice between accepting their special non-bodily beauty as totally dependent on God’s will, yet seeing themselves as magnificent intelligent beings who were smart enough to challenge God’s authority. As creatures of sharp intuition, they did not need to use the powers of human reasoning to know that their sin deserved immediate divine retribution with no second chance. What kind of perfect mind would attempt to undermine, circumvent, manipulate, control, those who were holy subjects before God to bring them to conflict. The word says the heart of this defective one was lifted up…pride in his appearance, and the brilliance of his mind were the basis of this corruption. The results…we see the very first casualties of sin. Man had not yet been created. The fact that Lucifer Satan was so successful in enlisting so many, in a cause that would lead to the loss of something as precious as agency with God, seems mystifying. An examination of his tactics in relation to the administration of God reveals possible answers to how he could have done so. We must remember that even today his arguments are very convincing to some. The lessons we learn must reduce the casualty count as the war rages on. How did Satan propose or how did he promote his ideas, in the war in heaven. This angel of God who was in authority…who rebelled against God and His Son desired the “honor” and “power” of God for himself. He wanted not only to exalt what he thought should be his throne above the stars of God, but also to exalt himself above all, including God. His objective was to dethrone God. This was more than just a resentful resistance to God’s authority, more than just a strong aversion or opposition, more than just a desire to literally take over. Satan wanted to become our Father in Heaven. What argument was presented that was so convincing as to persuade many to prefer it? We see no force used in his ill-uses. What type of guarantee or enticement must he have offered? Did he promise them a higher excellence, a compulsion of the mind having unfettered freedom? Did such minds consider any options? How was Satan so cunning as to camouflage the misery that would naturally follow sin? With what words did he fabricate the impression that such conduct would be permitted without any negative consequences? Was Satan aware of the mortal probation that was in place for all the creation because of the presence of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that was placed on every world? This war of words, this conflict of ideologies was a rebellion against the law of God. He offered a life of carnality and sensuality, indulgence wherein nothing would be sin. His offer was a philosophical impossibility. There can be no light without darkness, no good without evil. I mpossible because without law there would be more than chaos, confusion, and anarchy…there would be a desire to be like him. Pride blinded the consequences of his actions. Wickedness never is happiness. Thank God that in the beginning was the Word that in the beginning when God created all was determined…

5 Minutes What is truth? How one lives and dies, what and who one values, and what one believes is dependent upon how one answers this question. It is the most essential and necessary task of our human existence. Truth is what reconciles with God, it is not based on what you believe. If you cannot affirm Jesus Christ, you cannot know truth. Truth is not what always works, and truth is not always understandable. Truth is not just what makes people feel good. And truth is not just what the majority says it is. Truth is not defined by what is intended. Truth is not how we know, truth is to be what we know. Truth corresponds to reality. Foremost is this question...do you know the truth of your condition? Do you understand that Jesus is the embodiment and fulfillment of the word of God? Do you know that the truth is visible? I challenge you to offer up yourself to honest inquiry to hear what is seen. This was the sacrifice of Jesus. This is what makes truth visible. Truth strengthens the frail heart. Few understand that genuine questions are a door to truth. And faithful answers are a path to wisdom. Together, they make for holy conversation. Questions and answers are incredible gifts that allow for the willingness to show the light of Christ in you. Truth defers to no one and is not partial to any. Freedom cannot arrive without the spiritual power of learning which is proceeded by the phrase “and ye shall know the truth”. Eyes are opened to a greater understanding of the freedoms found in the truth. Freedom from the guilt of sin. Freedom from the fear of the judgment of God. Freedom from the burden of tradition. Freedom from our spiritual enemies, freedom in the service of God, freedom to the privileges of sons, and freedom to be of the Jerusalem which is from above. The knowing, and believing, of this truth is freedom. Freedom from prejudices, mistakes, and false notions, than which nothing more enslaves and entangles the soul, freedom from the dominion of lust and passion; and restores the soul to the government of itself under the spirit, by reducing it into obedience to its Creator. The mind, by admitting the truth of Christ in the light and power, is vastly enlarged, and has scope and compass given it, is greatly elevated and raised above things of sense, and never acts with so true a liberty as when it acts under a divine command of liberty. True freedom is the reasonings that are guided by faith, and those free minds whose thoughts are captivated and brought into obedience to Christ.

15 Minutes What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us...worship is pure or worship is base, as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. For this reason the gravest question before the people is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep thought conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move towards our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual, but of the company of believers. Always the most revealing thing about God’s people is their idea of God, and what is the most significant message they say about Him or leave unsaid, for their silence is often more eloquent than their speech. God’s people can never escape the self- disclosure of their witness concerning God. Were we able to extract from any person a complete answer to the question, “what comes into your mind when you think about God?” We might measure with certainty the spiritual forthcoming of that person. Were we able to know exactly what our most influential teachers think of God today, we might be able with some precision to foretell where the people of God will stand tomorrow. That our thoughts of God correspond as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance to us. A right conception of God is basic living as according to His word. Our thoughts of God are to worship what the understanding is to the sanctuary; where it is inadequate or out of plumb the whole structure must sooner or later collapse. There is scarcely an error in principle or a failure in applying biblical truth that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God. Nothing changes a human being faster than a deeper understanding of who God is. God sees our thoughts to know that we have Him in our mind. And thoughts of God are the believer’s constant source of strength. The martyr languishes in the flames but his mind flies upward to God his Savior and looks forward blissfully to the glory that awaits him even as his body sinks to ashes. The imprisoned believer forgets the harsh regime of the camp, the daily grind and grueling labor, as his mind soars upward on the wings of hope to remember God. The weary teacher, struggling with unfamiliar syllables and convoluted grammar in his appointed sphere of service sees beyond the frustrations of the hours as he remembers God. The faithful group studying the word of God, entombed in their study and confronted with an agenda of reasoning to revelation of truths, brightens in their minds and feel their hearts quicken as they remember that their God sees their thoughts from above. The thought of God enlivens all actions. The thought of God should be the believer’s panacea. It should cure all ills at a stroke. And what an infinity there is in the thought of God! Nothing can approach in beauty to the idea of the true and living God. If our thoughts about God are not rising to include the higher glories of truth, then they are amounting to a moral calamity. The first step down for any person is taken when he or she surrenders truth to their opinion of God. God is not different from what He actually is; He is just so much more. Inherent in Christ’s personhood is every shade and texture and breath and aspect and heartbeat and death knell and meaning of whatever love is. And by extension, God is in His presence more expressive of the reality of the evidence of the substance that is Jesus Christ. For he is the faith in every thought that we can never adequately define or even understand it as God sees it. There is no definition that we could put to God. We could never catalog His love. God sees our every thought as a moment of awe...a reason to worship...a hope in the unbreakable promise that the best is yet to come. We must learn to experience God in a real way. The masses of adherents come to believe that God is different from what He actually is; and that is heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind. Whenever we lose a right view of God, everything else gets out of perspective. Sad to say, too many are suffering from an impoverished vision of Him as a god with manlike characteristics. A god made in our image, an inversion of the truth of man made in his image. Human qualities and finite limitations have been assigned to the One who exceeds our comprehension. Our thoughts are to be that there is so much God that He is infinitely unceasingly increasing. It is to be as though we need nothing more, yet long for His continuing forthcoming revelation. Our faith is to precede full understanding as relevant biblical truth and specific passages increase the value of truth. Man can think God’s thoughts after Him but never greater. Though incomprehensible, God is knowable as we believe the truths that God has revealed about Himself. How does God see us? God sees every word. If we are a truthful and faithful people we should be comforted to know that God sees our every word. Let’s reason...we as humans have the gift of hearing. We call this the auditory component of life. Extremely beneficial in that it is to project or express what a person means. Words spoken, words heard, can deceive and delude and conceal and avoid. There can be hidden insinuations in spoken words not detected by simply hearing. What if a visual component is added. Where every word is seen in its full purpose. Might that change the way we hear the sound. Visual information offers perception whereby there is no mismatch in what is spoken, what is heard, what is seen. God seeing the word is the actual witnessing of what stimulates the information in the testimony. Nothing can stop the vision of God. Isn’t it a wonder that God not only hears our prayers...He sees them. Words are more than just accounted for. Every aspect of every word is recorded pictorially giving explicit details graphically, realistically, detailedly, forcefully, tellingly, authentically, representatively. It is a studious concern to understand what is meant by “God foresees everything”. It’s more than just being aware beforehand. It literally means “to see”, “to realize” as a development, including consequences based upon the knowledge derived and applied to ordinary reasoning and experience. Divine inspiration adds the evocation of exceptional wisdom or discernment with feeling, memory, and image to the conscious mind. When a word is spoken, every invisible corresponding effect is revealed to God. Every stimulus of a word is detected. This is what God sees. Every word spoken is seen by God to provide information related to intended or unintended consequences. God knows and sees how the power of the words of the tongue contribute to shaping lives, events, beliefs and even death. God not only sees the words we speak, He watches His own word. No spoken word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment. He sees the actual performance of His words. God watches to see if we speak His truth. He sees when we use the powerful and hope-filled words of Christ to change our perspective, our outlook and our circumstances. When we speak words of truth for the glory of God to help others, God sees the good manifested in our lives. This moves us into His divine will and abundance as He promised that His words would do in accomplishing His purposes. Our every prologue in the last days is to be a unique blessing to those who hear. These words of truth are the revelation of what Jesus sees. And God did not give it to him to tell us, God gave it to him to show things coming. God grants us the priviledge not only to speak prophetic words but to also see them as we are to offer vivid descriptions to the people. Remember, John turned to see the voice...how does God see us? God sees every deed. The eyes of the lord are in every place. His watchful eyes can see every hidden thing. Every act of obedience, great and small, all has meaning because God is watching, and we have eternal value to Him. In every deed we perform, God sees the measure of faith. God sees our actions against the idea of how Jesus would do it. We are to think with sober judgment using Jesus as our measuring line and our aspiration. The measure relates to the apportioning of our faith, for some are weak in the faith and their deeds show discord with right motives, thoughts, and words. When we are in Christ our deeds are spiritually sound. Our deeds are sanctified in Christ. Our deeds are purposed in Christ. God no longer sees our shortcomings; He sees the right doings of His own Son. In Christ God sees our deeds done in love, and He bestows upon us His abundant gifts and the riches of His grace. God sees us in Christ as an inheritor. We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. God sees these good works done, not in our own strength and for our own benefit, but by the grace of God and in obedience to Him - led by the Holy Spirit, to God’s glory. We do the first works. The beginning of our spiritual journey when we first fell in love with Jesus Christ. We possessed a great spiritual hunger. We enjoyed rich fellowship among the brethren. We had an eagerness to repent and to receive what God had for us. We cherished the Word of God. We sacrificed our former religious reputation for Jesus. We were committed to applying God’s Word to our lives. We were receptive to the power of God and to the gifts of the Spirit. We loved Jesus and the wonder-working power yoked with his name. We were quick to confess our sin and turn from our evil works. We severed all connections with a pagan past at great personal cost. We accepted the lost of relations for the sake of Christ. We were faith-filled. We were known for our love of the brethren. The first works are the works done in secret for the Lord out of our first love for Him. We don't do them for others to see. The intensity, though not diminished, must be zealously pursued. It is God who works in us to encourage us to do our utmost good. And the operations of God's grace in us are so far from excusing, that they are intended to quicken and engage our endeavors. It is love that influences our works so that they are pure and good and stand the test before God. Anything short of this is pure deception. What we do matters. Not attempting to earn salvation. We desire that the people not see us in the deeds done, but see the critical message of serving others for the glory of God. For kingdom’s life looks like service. God’s harvest depends upon the works we do. We have a work/faith ethic that is to bring others to Christ. And our deeds done are to focus our witness on Christ. All things are naked and opened to the eyes of God. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Our trust is to be fully found in Him for He sees the wholeness of every aspect of our being from beginning to end. It is in this trust that we stand still and allow God to have His way in the affairs of our lives and that of the world. And whatever He sees of us and whenever He sees us, He sees us now as we are in Christ. God sees our motives, our thoughts, our words, our deeds, real and potential, and He knows them all at the same time. Reason faithfully with this truth – every motive, thought, word, and/or deed is for strength or weakness in the sight of God. They are either for our sobering or for our dispiriting. Our lives can be spiritually deteriorated if our consciousness of God is not present in every aspect of life. If we are not in the right atmosphere, God’s will may be secreted from us. Yet ‘His divine will’, will always be done. Our every contemplation is to be done in the truth of God with the mind of Christ. As we think about the widest context of what God sees in our motives, thoughts, words, and deeds we come to reason that each of these will be compiled for detailed understanding in the panoramic view. With that, there are two aspects of God’s way of arranging to be with us: human character transformation and divine mediation. God sees when the interaction of our motive, thought, word, and deed are in the form of spiritual maturity or formed of ignorance and lack of character. God certainly could have gotten in the face of Adam and Eve and prevented them from succumbing to Satan’s clever appeals. Instead, God arranged for them to be “on their own,” and the result was then expressed in their motive, thought, word, and deed. It was what they did. God’s allowing us to be “on our own” in order to develop character within us is an arrangement He still abides by and regards. God’s seeming absence is an exercise of His purpose. Christ is seeking to fully dwell in us and we in him. By this, God will see the fulfillment of humility, compassion, righteousness, and faith of communion by the power at work within us. Our every way will be spiritually perceptive to God. Isaiah 43:4

10 Minutes God sees every motive. The underlying reason for anything. Self deception is the weight on the scale that injects heaviness to the deceitful heart of man. So much so until man can easily fool himself about his own motives. Man can pretend that he chooses certain actions for God or the benefit of others, when in reality he has selfish reasons. God is not fooled by our selfishness and is “a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”. Human beings can operate from a variety of motivations, often negative. Pride, anger, revenge, a sense of entitlement, or the desire for approval can all be catalysts for man’s actions. Any motivation that originates in man’s sinful flesh is not pleasing to God. God even evaluates the condition of men’s hearts when we give offerings to Him. Because men’s hearts are so deceitful, we should constantly evaluate our own motives and be willing to be honest with ourselves about why we are choosing a certain action. We can even teach from impure motives just to be seen as being righteous. The heart must be guarded. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. God is interested in our motives even more than our actions. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. God wants us to know that He sees what no one else sees. He knows why we do what we do and desires to reward those whose hearts are right toward Him. We can keep our motives pure by continually surrendering every part of our hearts to the control of the Holy Spirit. Surrender is a war term. Surrendering to God means we seek His way. Our Lord is a wise and beneficent victor; He conquers us to bless us as we give Him our wholeself. If we give the outward appearance of obeying God but our hearts are hard, God knows. We are deceiving ourselves and others too. The only way we can operate from pure motives is when we “live in the Spirit”. We must ask God to search us, to try the heart. Selfishness is rooted in a sinful nature. What’s best for the all is to be the passion toward finding the truth. Know the “why” behind all things. When we do the right things for the right reasons that’s service. If we do the right things for the wrong reasons that’s selfishness. What if right values structured our motives rather than feelings. Would the acts done result in greater scrutiny. Would ulterior reasons be rejected. Would the bible take precedence over what you feel is right. When you think your ways are clean in your own eyes...consider corrective vision with what the word of God says. We should prayerfully consider our motives. Some day soon they will be there to bless us or curse us. And from them there will be no appeal, for the Judge knows. Believers will be called to account. That’s powerful in that only God knows the whole truth and He knows the full report. We should never assume our motive. We boast too much of our confidence in our knowledge. We are finite and bound by unknown limitations. In fact, our knowledge is so limited we don’t even really know ourselves. We often lack clarity about the motivations behind even our best or worst actions. We can do good things for the Lord while still harboring sinful motives; we can do lesser things that do not honor the Lord while still harboring just motives. The foremost purpose of truth is to guide the relationship between believers. How does truth manifest itself in you? Do you give up on truth out of a selfish motive? Is your persevering slow to cast doubt? Do you grant the grace of hoping or do you bear contention immediately? Love is to motivate us to assume the best rather than the worst. Love motivates us to regard others with hope rather than suspicion. Love is more than just an ideal. It is a moving force. Love moves God. It is to be our faith in God that powers our motives. It is the “why” to our “reason”. All behavior gets its true virtue from its motive. How does God see us? God sees every thought. He declares that we are seen for the Lord sees not as man sees. God sees every aspect of our minds. He looks to see our understanding. Psalms 26:3; 14:2 Thoughts are the most private parts of our human experience. No one else can know our thoughts unless we communicate them, so we tend to imagine that anything we think is safe, as long as it stays in our minds. But there is One Person who always knows and sees what we are thinking; God knows everything about us. He sees the angry thoughts, lustful thoughts, vengeful ideas, secret greed, and hidden coveting. God also sees those secret longings, hopeful desires, and private dreams and He sees them much more vividly than we do. God does not want us to hide from Him. He wants us to know that He is always there for us. Thoughts are birthed in the mind. And the mind is the language of sensing; I felt God’s was telling me; I had a sense of Gods presence...I felt, I heard, I saw. You ever have an image formed in your mind through thought? Thought is the foundation of our reasoning to truth. For as a man thinketh in his heart so God sees. When God speaks things into being, His word is virtually the same as His thought. How clearly does Christ see the thought? Matthew 21:23-27 The chief priests and the elders had no intention of submitting to the truth, they were trapped. If we say John’s baptism is “from heaven,” we will be shamed for not believing. So we can’t say that is true. If we say it’s “from man,” we will be mobbed, because they say he’s a prophet. So we can’t say that is true. So we will make up a truth. We will say, “We don’t know.” What bondage! They cannot own the truth because they are enslaved to the fear of shame and harm. And what a prostitution of the gift of thought! How seriously they thought! How carefully. Their minds were in full force. “If we say this...then that.” “But if we say that...then this.” “Ah, conclusion: we don’t know.” They thought they had escaped, not reasoning that they were dealing with the Son of God. They thought this was freedom. But God saw their process of thinking. The goal of bringing ourselves or others to a true and sin-conquering knowledge of God will never be reached by the instrument of logic alone. Jesus sent Paul on an impossible mission. He said to Paul, “I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins”. Acts 26:17-18 This is what happens when strongholds are destroyed, and arguments against the truth of God are overcome, and thoughts are taken captive for Christ. This is supernatural work. The eyes of the mind and heart do not open automatically to see the thought. Logic alone cannot bring it about. That’s why Paul said, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit”. This is the mind, the heart, the sequence of thought that God sees. I Corinthians 12:3 How wonderfully like the mind of Christ we by faith can think. God gives us access to knowledge gained by exacting observation of careful thought. God sees our thoughts as we study the truth that we see in the bible by God’s grace that will be our life. In reasoning with God, we have lines of thoughts that God sees as patterns and relationships between faith and truth not because someone is telling us what to see, but because the Holy Spirit is telling us to look, look, look. What wonderful new elements of truth are revealed when God sees our thoughts. God, seeing our thoughts and having the Holy Spirit benefit our learning, teaches us to see the life we should live from God’s perspective. We all have free will to make choices. It is to our advantage to choose God’s way of thinking and doing...a godly perspective; so that we can experience the life and purpose of God in our personal life. We make decisions based on our thoughts and inclinations. God is not a manipulator of thoughts. His will, His desire for us as believers is to allow His word to determine the way we think. He is teaching us how to think like Him. He sees the renewing, the transforming of our minds to build us up in holiness, in faith, in love, in obedience. What an awesome blessing...the love of God toward us through His Word. God is a Spirit. We are not in the form of God. But in truth, as God sees our thought, He sees His image. How so completely our God sees us! Psalms 19:14 We ask that the holy affections offered up to God in these services for the glory of God in praise and the edification of others in prayer be acceptable in His sight. Some may say, oh, this is just so obvious. He’s God, of course He sees everything. But what is the significance of God seeing our thoughts. God is performing a sanctifying work in us. And that starts from the inside out. If God is going to change our attitudes and inclinations so that we conform more closely to Christ, He needs to see what needs to be changed. He sees our thoughts of pride, our fear, anger, and all the inclinations and potential decisions that are welling up from us. His Spirit guards our lips, so that an internal thought or emotion does not get expressed and causes harm to another. But God could not do this if He could not see the thought that was about to come out of our mouth. I smile because God could have changed that deep down in the heart, but for reasons of His own, He sanctifies us in various ways, and one of the ways is this: He saw that thought coming and for the good He kept it from the mouth.

15 Minutes We are like Christ in this world. We will not be afraid on the day when people are judged. Everything in our faith is built upon the person and work of Jesus Christ. Our bodies do not belong to us. How we use our body and our mind reveal what we believe. We exercise honest assessment in reality of every experience. Our entire life is characterized by a sense of contrition, a repentant heart. God knows us far better than we do, and He makes abundant provision for our care. God grants us an endless supply of forgiveness, restoring, encouraging, and empowering grace. Because we are in this fight of faith together, we can keep encouraging and exhorting one another every day to press on so that none of His becomes hardened in deceitful, habitual sin. And with submission graced by the knowledge of Christ we know what we think we know. That’s why it’s crucial that our functional knowing aligns with our doctrinal knowing. God loves us with such incredible love that we experience extraordinary, life- changing events, mercy, and compassion not only from Him, but from those who are His. And He wants us to show that love to others. It’s a reminder of how God loves us, all that Jesus is to us: relentlessly, completely, and without expectation of return. God is our perfect Father and He has a perfect purpose for us. Our traits and abilities make us unique. God gives us certain experiences to help us grow and to use these abilities. He gives us the strength of faith to overcome the challenges we’ll encounter in this life. There must be something special about all of us that made God choose us. That thing that is so special is not that God chose us but that we choose Him. It is our response to His love, His mercy, His grace that He foreknew allowing Him to declare us to be His elect. There is something most impressive about us that serves as criterion to warrant God’s selection...we come to God. We come to consider His wise counsel in reasoning with our every inquiry. We come because we are convinced of His truth. We come because we know that He knows us. Let me put it the way God Himself put it. “For I know them, that they will command themselves and theirs and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment”. Genesis 18:19 God chose us simply because He had a purpose for us, and He wanted to fulfill His purposes through those who choose to be faithful to Him. God didn’t choose everyone equally. This wasn’t a democratic vote. This was a choice of determination based upon the wisdom of counsel. God set His love on the worst of sinners to show how much His grace can change a person. We are like no other. Let’s circle back to the foundation of the world. God knew that we would be holy and without blame before Him “in love”. Emphasis on the “in love”. And this knowledge brought God great pleasure. Thank God that there is no tension between foreknowledge and the exercise of free will. God is omniscient and hence in possession of perfect foreknowledge and yet God has given us free will. God knows that we will freely choose Him in all things. He knew the reality of this before it was real. We’re not especially savable or lovable. The reality is that, left to ourselves, none of us would have turned from our sins and believed. But God worked in our hearts that we would. He chose us and drew us to faith, and so everything about our salvation is a gift from God. That gives us hope in sharing our faith with others because God can save anyone. And it gives us hope for ourself because we can trust that whatever God has started, we can be assured He’ll finish. It is God that has set us apart. And it is God that commands us to be holy. To be holy means at its core to “be set apart.” God is holy. He is set apart because He is perfect and without any sin. To stay morally perfect, He can’t have anything to do with imperfection. He has to stay set apart. So, He told us, “we have to be perfect too.” That’s His requirement for His people everywhere. If we want to be in the presence of God, we need to be like Christ. We need to be perfect. How many of us are perfect? Not one! How many sins does it take to no longer be perfect? Well, how many losses does it take to break a team’s perfect record? Just one. This is what the bible means when it tells us, “for whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all”. Adam and Eve were created “very good”. They lost that creative stature and brought upon all creation an onslaught of trouble. There is a difference between “very good” and “perfect”. Perfect has nothing lacking. The reason God didn’t create them perfect from the beginning, was that creation had to go under probation, even after the creation of mankind. There was yet another element that had to be attained, which required the collaboration of man. This detail is apparent , God’s purpose appears to have the intention of creating man “according to the image and to the likeness” of Himself. When He eventually created man, He made man in His image. And this is where the formula of perfection is hidden: Man, having been created “according to God’s image” was “very good”. But, when man becomes “according to God’s likeness”, he would then be on a course towards perfection. Let’s reason why God commands that we be “made perfect”. In the image of, signifies man’s ability as a free and intelligent creature, to be similar to God. But, after, which is to follow on in the likeness of, signifies man’s course towards the attainment of this simulation, which can only be achieved through the collaboration of man and the Holy Spirit. Given that God is what He is, because He wants to be, and not because He is compelled to, man must likewise “want to”, must attempt to, through use of his freedom as “the image of” and his knowledge, reach perfection; in other words, seek the course towards becoming “after the likeness of God.” This is a characteristic that man alone has, in all of creation. God is intending for us to reach the unity of the faith and the awareness of the Son of God, thus becoming perfect, to that measure of maturity of the fullness of Christ. To reason with and understand that truth is to nowhere refer to the perfection as acquiring incorruptibility and immortality. In the image of God, after the likeness of God, we are to be like Jesus Christ, who is the image of the invisible God. Please hear this matter-of-factly...reason is the highest faculty bestowed on man by his Creator. We not only gain access to more knowledge, but to deeper understanding and greater wisdom whereby we acquire truth. Let’s reason with being like Jesus. Our path towards perfection was set by the Lord Jesus Christ, because this is what will lead us to becoming “after the likeness” of God. Is our being perfect referring to the infinitely perfect God? To reach Him is definitely impossible. But we can draw nearer to Him, from now through all eternity, becoming more and more according to His likeness. Study the scripture where we, like no other, are changed into the same image. Perfection is not a destination point. It is a non-stop course for God’s people who are like no other. Remember, it is in reasoning that God brings us to the revelation of the reality of truth. The reality is, that the creation of mankind was perfected. It was upon the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, that one, like no other, appeared in a state of perfection. Jesus Christ was the only man who was actually perfect. In His person, mankind had found the fulfillment of God’s purpose for it: “let’s create man...after our likeness.” And please just think about this...we were made in the similitude of God...and cursed. When we become like the perfection of Christ, the results will have an impact on all of creation, which will undergo a change in order that God’s plan and His creation be fulfilled, not only for the sake of man, but also for the sake of creation. This is our study for the last days...our preparation for the things to come, that render it necessary that we, this day, must be like no other, made perfect in Christ. For the earnest expectation of creation eagerly anticipates the revelation of the sons of God. For even creation shall be freed from the bonds of deterioration, into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Here is how we are being so blessed in being brought to be like Christ. God entered our world in the person of Jesus. He lived the perfect life we could not. Gave that perfect life to us, and then on the cross took the punishment that ought to have been ours. And after Jesus died for our sins, his resurrection assures us that he really is who he claimed to be. He was like no other. He is the Son of God. God provided a way for us to be holy and perfect through Jesus. God came to do for us what He purposed in Himself, in Christ, that we might be reconciled unto Him, not counting our sins against us, making us perfect. Jesus is the most inclusive person that could ever be. There is no being for whom he did not live, die, and rise. Someone just needs to tell someone about this Jesus. Jesus is the most exclusive person in all of history. No one can go to God except by him. Jesus is the only Savior who could have lived in our place. We are like no other. We can be complete in Christ. We are who God says we are. Deuteronomy 7:6 Let’s make this testimony. There is none like us in the universe. And among the us there are those who are God’s and they are like no other. The universe’s end will come once God’s purpose of events on earth has been completed. This reasonably tells us that there is no other program taking place simultaneously elsewhere in the universe. God’s elect are unique as God intended, and maintaining that understanding serves to magnify our love for God and our awe of His works. God has no ordinary people. We are serious about life. We know of the infinite joy that is offered us. Our faith is like no other faith. We have handed ourself over to God, and it must follow that we are obedient to Him. Not in a new way, a less worried way because we trust Him. Not doing things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save us already. Not hoping to get to heaven as a reward for our acts, but inevitably striving to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of heaven is already inside of us. We are like no other because we see the same truth that God sees, we share the same truth that God shares. Truth is the instrument by which God reveals to each of us the beauties of others. We never ask God why we are like no other. We never ask God why we must endure. We are promised sufferings. They are purposed. So, to us, You need utter no answer. For we know that You are Yourself the answer. You called us because You knew we would be calling to You. In these last days God will have a great and strong people appearing, such as never existed in ages past. None like these have ever been gathered before. God’s spirit will be so accessible, that what God is doing and what decisions they should make in their lives will be by divine inspiration. With prophetic wisdom and illumination, we will be God’s spokespersons. Transformed by everything that Jesus has shared with us, we will embody the promises of God. Our characters will pattern such a life of faith as to be no more servants but friends of Christ, because he has made known to us everything that he has heard from his Father. We will be true. Jesus, pouring forth the mysteries of his Father in the intimacy and trust of transformative love, is sufficient to preserve us during the worst days this world has ever known. Our lives will be in God’s hand and nothing can keep us from accomplishing His purposes. As devastating as the trials, the tribulation, the persecution, the suffering will be, God would never leave the world without His witnesses. We must live this day with the knowledge that God will lift His hand of protection from everything in the world except for His few chosen ones. And yet, knowing this we are to continue inviting people to come to Him and receive His grace. Except for the very few who remain ever faithful to God, heaven and earth will be set infinitely apart. God’s people will see truth. Opinions will be of no avail. God’s people will come to know oneness when the deep meaning of truth is the mind's essential peace. We will come directly into harmony with reality. Our enlightenment means entering truth. And this truth is beyond extension. It is as the impact of a single thought in ten thousand years. God affords us a glorious and vivid illustration of what happens in the final days. The reason we are like no other is to do what Jesus did when he went to the cross. He made an open show of the enemy triumphing over them. We are to so completely disarm the enemy that the people in the world will see the gates of heaven open to them.

Our joy is our sorrow unmasked. So let me first say, our indomitable joy in Jesus in the midst of suffering and sorrow is the flavor of our message. And that the selfsame well from which our triumph and exaltation rises will be filled with our tears. So we will end this writing with this truth – “it is well with my soul”. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into our being, the more joy we can contain. Is not the cup that holds our sorrow the very cup that is being burned in the potter’s oven? And it is not the word that soothes our spirit alone, it is also the very wood, the very word, that was carried to Calvary. When we are joyous, look deep into our heart and there shall be found only that which has given us the richness of bittersweet things experienced for which we have no regret. When we are sorrowful, look again in our heart, and there shall be that truth we are weeping for and mourning over that can bring repentant delight over particular sins, that others may be forgiven who have come to see through the ministry of God's Word, through God's Spirit, and through God's people, the joy of returning to the Father. There is no struggling in our crying. We are now faced with situations that highlight the fragility of life, and the burden we are to carry for every soul truly lights a fire with us. The truth of our testimony must quicken our pace and strengthen our resolve, to bring the word as it is life eternal to those who will hear and who unexpectedly realize that perhaps time is not as unlimited as they once thought it was. With the word they can reason to move forward intentionally with a newly found perspective. Life is suspended in time as we encounter moments of sorrow and joy. It is in the sanctuary, in the scales of mercy and truth, where we empty self and find balance between our sorrow and our joy. It is here where the treasure-keeper lifts us to weigh His gold and His silver. God has a people who will live with joy as great sorrow comes and will cope in times of terrible suffering, even as we support others who are suffering and sorrowing, not yet knowing the joy of peace. That is why the Holy Spirit is teaching us truth, hard truth, that we may live what we have learned. We will walk with joy in sorrow for Christ’s sake. We will cry, we will laugh, and we will spiritually and truthfully worship God. This is God making perfect those inner character qualities. Our every joy, our every sorrow will be based upon spiritual realities. That is why the Feast of Tabernacles is taught to us, that we may not base life on material conditions. It hearkens us to remember that God’s people must be wilderness minded. We are to ignore the false substitutes for joy – worldly good times based upon worldly motives. These sources do not produce joy, they don't, at least in the biblical sense. Such substitutes as self-pity, unthankfulness, pouting, are worldly weeds to choke out fruitful seed. God’s people think biblically, not confrontationally, we do not kick against the sorrow. Jeremiah 30:11-17 God has built into the world, sorrow as a natural result of sin, especially for the believer who has the Holy Spirit convicting him and a conscience that can be triggered by God's Word...look what's possible. Jesus does not promise to exempt us from sorrow. But when we embrace the truth of the word of God there is this power deep inside that in the midst of trials and agony and tears, produces joy. Joy that denies sorrow is neither hard-won, nor true, nor eternal. God’s people are never to hide their heart from sorrow. We have hope enough to remain open to expected encounters with joy because we are a people of the promise. A people shaped in the image of the God whose very Being generates all joy in the universe, yet who also weeps and grieves its brokenness. So we, God’s children, are also at liberty to lament souls being lost, even as we simultaneously rejoice in the hope of their's and our coming restoration. As the dead breathe out the last breath, we who are dying to sin, breathe out sorrow, to breathe in joy. And in the very now that is, our hearts cross with Jesus as he was a man who bore our grief, and carried our sorrows for the joy that was set before him. Because, in truth we reason with God to receive the revelation of His determination for things to come, we come together in the experience of knowing the sorrowful time and events that are now, yet always rejoicing. The people who are seeking God look up often to the stars to see the greatness and the grandeur of God over their heads like galaxies of hope. We are to help them taste from the plate. And in the truth we put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, imprisonments, labors, deprivation, hunger by showing purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand toward all. In the patience of God’s timing our spirits will not be broken. We will be the paradox to the world. Through dishonor and slander, we will show honor and praise to God. As dying daily, they will behold God’s grace as we live because Christ is our life. As punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet being and making many rich in faith; as having nothing, yet possessing everything, we will continually abide in the power of the Holy Spirit, speaking the truth. We are a tiny movement following a crucified and risen King. Brothers and sisters, there will be countless times that our hearts will break. But we are known by God, and that is what counts. God has a work for us to do. And we do nothing for earthly comfort or ease. We sorrow because our kinsmen are perishing in unbelief, cutting themselves off from Jesus. We strive to share the truth as it is the truth, praying that they respond to the wooing of the Holy Spirit. Possibly it is that we are not yet pleading with them with the grace of tears that they may see the tracks of pain in wanting so badly for them to believe and be a follower of Jesus with us. We want us all to have eternal life. We want us to be with Christ forever together. We can hardly bear the thought of losing any. It makes the stones on the breastplate exceedingly heavy on the heart. The world has never seen such a display of love as will be expressed in the midst of sorrow by God’s elect. For we know that we are the fruit of our Lord’s sufferings. We thank God for the strength of the truth. For it is by His goodness that the sentiment of our sorrow is turned to repentance, rendering “godly sorrow” that creates in us an intense hatred of sin and a strong determination to purge ourselves from any and all fellowship that yields to works of darkness. Sound wisdom, sanctifying our influence, confines us to faith. We are as stars in the constellation of promises with weeping sparkles of hope for this time, sorrowing in the expediency of his absence that we may bring to Christ his due compensation, and are to be so satisfied with it that we patiently wait, and quietly joy in his soon appearing. The truth teaches us expressly that this sorrow is changed into joy. Not exchanged for joy, but actually transmuted, so that the grief becomes joy, the cause of sorrow becomes the source of rejoicing. Wherein is the essence of our joy? What were it to us if Christ saved all the rest of mankind and we be not redeemed unto God by his blood? We might have been glad from sheer humanity that others should be benefited, but what would have been our deep regret to be ourselves excluded from the grace. Now how blessed is the joy that we are not excepted. Our hearts know joy because of his atoning agonies. What a peaceful joy to know that through Christ we are reconciled to God. By the putting away of sin, by the salvation of his chosen, and by the vindication of his Father, our joy is uttermost secured beyond anything that was known before or since; for here the very heart of God is laid open to His justice and His love. Our joy is our Christ of God. We must proclaim the word...we must attend the Word. We expect suffering, sorrow, but Jesus is the joy of our consolation. This joy is to work holiness in us as we develop a keener sense of accountability for those around us. We will not be deprived of this joy. It will be the means of our loving them more, praying more for them, and seeking more their good, and we will be the better qualified to do them real service and to lead them to our Lord. We know we will have to bear a little persecution, hard words, and the cold shoulder, but it will serve us to become more like him. We are fully persuaded that the truth of Christ is the joy of our triumph. For we make known all the full truth of a matter. That’s why the world’s joy will be turned into sorrow. Even so will it be that the wicked will curdle into grief. The wine of their transgression will sour into the gripping vinegar of remorse, and will dissolve the souls of those who would not come to reason with God in truth. Joy does not protect us from sorrow, but it certainly enables us to benefit from sorrow. It softens it, sweetens it, and helps us to focus on the hope that endures in the midst of every sorrow as God proves again and again that He is alway with us. The depth of our spiritual awakening is very much connected to the amount of darkness and pain we will go through. God’s souls that evolve to the elect will endure a lot of suffering and much sorrow. We study the truth, that we might know the darkness, that we might become the light for others. Suffering is universal, sorrowing is individual. Both are a strengthening and purifying experience when combined with faith. The suffering teaches us obedience. The sorrowing teaches us humbleness. When we suffer because we sin, we repent. When we sorrow because we sin, we repent. By both we are drawn closer to our Jesus. Our joy of sorrow is real in the very depths of our soul. This joy gives us “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,” to keep our heart and mind through Christ Jesus. Having the joy of sorrow proves the reality of our faith, and we make our conviction attractive to others. Because of Jesus we have a matter for joy, a motive for joy, a measure of joy and because of Christ we have a greater remainder of joy yet to be realized. We have a heritage of joy that as yet we have not entered upon; but it is ours by a covenant of blood, the covenant of perpetual obligation, and none can break the sacred settled inheritance. God’s people are a joyfilled people, a blessed people. We be numbered among them! Jesus enters into our sorrows. And Jesus creates our joys. Our eyes grow dim in his absence, and our sorrow is long even before the troubles actually come, but in our readiness for his return our faces are lighted with joy. We accept our sorrows as coming straight from God. Therein is why the bitterness concerning our trials is but a shadow of what the worse could be. Jesus, on the cross, felt untold numbers of deaths as he died as one. Our sorrow will be for many that they will not come soon enough to fear God in wisdom. When we hear His truth not believed, when some undermine His invitation to come, when we see those forsaking the unity of truth, we sorrow. And the time is soon that we will not be able to go to meet them. The more we love, the more the cost of sorrow. Jesus knows that ours is not a causeless grief. He justifies our sorrow because it touches him. He will remove it. We have to go meet the bridegroom. So, we are to joy in the ones who come now. The Word of God empowers much adaptability to the peculiarities of all His people. You ever notice how a specific text is meant specially for you. God’s word is the key that unlocks every aspect of our lives. The key is perfectly fitted for the individual to touch the out-of-the-way, singular, special, peculiar, idiosyncrasy of sorrow. We’ve read where Jesus said, “and ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.” Christ’s words make it effectual and that covers the sorrow and covers all our wounds; for though we do not see him again just yet, yet he is still seeing us. His Divine Spirit can now so effectually apply the comforts of the Word that it shall not be said, we ought to rejoice, but, we shall rejoice. Notice how Christ deals with the inmost core of our being, our hearts. Do we not know what this experience is, beloved brothers and sisters? I pray we do. Sometimes, we cannot tell our joy, it is too deep; it is so excessive that words and noise of any kind seem quite out of place. So, we want to get alone, and in the silence of our soul to sit still before the Lord, and just take in the full draughts of His love and hearing him say, “I will see you again, and our heart shall rejoice.” God’s people have different pleasures, higher joys than the world. Many who cannot see the truth today are not because they are blind. It is because they live where light is being rejected. But what is worse is that when presented with light, they declare that there is no such thing as light, for they say that they never saw it. Here the sorrow becomes locked in the bosom. Bitter ought to be our regret that ever we should have wandered from the path of right. But all is turned into joy when we know that now the Savior has finished the atoning work. It is so in our joy that we are given the Holy Spirit for if Jesus himself was here we could not all get at him. So we are content with present joys as we prepare to be with him. We will be under very severe afflictions. The more the enemy persecutes us, the more deep, the more high our joy becomes. We will sing in our sighs and rejoice in our mournings; only let us wait and be patient. It is well with my soul...

6 Minutes Faith is not what we cling to when we do not know truth, faith is the knowledge of truth nourished by good acts. It is strengthened by witnesses capable of penetrating our very souls and culminates in the palpable fruits of sure and certain experience. Reason with this very important passage - faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is not only evidence, it’s the real thing. We don’t just hope that unseen substances are real. Faith is substance, it is evidence; the evidence God gives us by many witnesses; the evidence we give to each other; and what we evidence in our own lives. Faith is the substance of an anchor to our souls that we might always abound in good works. The anchor of faith is itself anchored in the embodied God whose existence is not established by proposition but whose literal existence itself grounds our knowledge of Him. He only is the God who is spirit who became flesh. Arise and come forth and witness this by faith! Faith in Him is in every sense truth. It is true that in this life we must live by faith. We are consigned to live by faith in the presence of our God. The purpose of life is to be proven even as we prove God’s promises. The test of life is to do the will of our God. Faith is not the part of the test designed to make it difficult to return to Him; it is what our God has given us to make it possible to return to Him. The trial of faith is not to see what we will do without Him but to see what we can do with Him. We are asked to live by faith not so much to pass the test of being on our own but because we need to learn things of eternal and enduring import. We must learn to know how to respond as witnesses. We must learn to know in the very important way that faith makes it possible to know; something that might not develop otherwise in God’s presence. We must live by faith. For this we are to be most grateful, because to live by faith is to live in Christ with God. We must be clear in our vision as we pursue and proclaim truth. Let it be the word of God and the truth of the word alone that protects us from crisis in our faith occasioned by the precepts of men. Let us ascend to divine revelation, credible evidence of truth, approach to faith by the authority of God, persevere in the function of the will. Wonderfully revealed truth harmonizes with the intimacy of our faith. It is far in excess of what we have right to expect. In this, as in all else, God has been more than just, He has been generously bountiful to His creatures. This is why faith is an act of virtue of free obedience to God; this, finally, is the reason of its sovereign certitude. Although faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Faith pleases God. Reasoning with God whitens the darkness of sin. In our ceasing to sin, is God’s pleasure of creation. And for this same reason since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, and God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth. Faith, it is clear, must embrace at least implicitly every truth that God has revealed, for the motive of faith, the authority of God, applies equally to them all. So, why we must faith the truth...the buildings established for worship today are filled with people who hold to a faith that does not save. Theirs is a dead faith, a mere empty profession. Lack of knowledge, of understanding to test or examine themselves to see if they were truly in the faith is rejected. They know not how to put their faith to the test of truth to make sure they have not been deceived. But how can they determine truth from empty faith? There are some people who just seem to do good. They can be religious, moral, honest, and forthright in their dealings with others. They may seem to be grateful, loving, kind and tenderhearted toward others. They have visible virtues and an external morality. But do they have a sincere love for God? Do the things they do involve God? There are people who possess an intellectual understanding and knowledge of the truth. They know who Jesus is and that he is coming again. They’ve seen the Holy Spirit at work. They tread underfoot the blood of Christ by not believing what they know to be true. These are waiting for Christ to come. Yet, that which is most necessary, they lack...faith in the truth as revealed by the Holy Spirit. The truth does not change. The revelation of truth has always been available to those who want to believe. The truth is Jesus and Jesus is the key to open all truth. Getting insight and understanding from the Spirit of truth is vital to handling the word of truth correctly. There are few, very very few who know how to rightly divide the word of truth. Many are not a shame of the truth, they are a shame because they know not how to keep a straight course in the word to come to the truth. The biggest misconception is that opinion counts. Truth is objectively knowable, not subjective, and no, the scriptures can't be interpreted any way we want. They prefer to reject deeper study by reason. Our studies should be diligent, not only to defend our faith in truth, but also to determine what is worth defending, and what is just a distraction. Willing ignorance, we must leave alone. The bible is to be understood in its entirety, in its context. Every passage has a relationship. The bible provides a basis for making decisions. That’s why people are reluctant to reason the truth of the bible. Once it’s searched, and brought to conclusion there is no picking which parts of it influence you. Our assurance rests upon a ground more secure than all human science, upon the infallible authority of God. Had God so willed, He might have communicated His testimony directly to each member of the human race as soon as we were capable of receiving it. But last of all in these days hath spoken to us by His Son. And we in turn, are to deliver it to God's chosen people. God's message must be authenticated, His messenger must present his credentials. God knows them that are His. We keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

8 Minutes With true faith, we receive the promise of Christ and respond in obedience to the Lord’s word, knowing with certainty it is truth. In what sense is faith judged in terms of truth? Contrast faith with reason. Reason is the motive, the purpose and intention of truth. Reason is the pretext for recognizing and revealing reality, and faith gives the direction in which this revelation may be exercised. Reason is involved in the search for knowledge relating to the mind and to reality. Reason reveals truth and is the precondition of faith; faith is the act in which reason reaches ecstatically beyond itself. Reason is the presupposition of faith, and faith is the fulfillment of reason. Faith, as found in Christ, is determined reality because the divine authority guarantees its truth. It is the truth that we all try to reach, truth in the sense of the “really real”. And it is our faith that stands under judgment when truth is revealed. The only infallible truth of faith, the one in which the ultimate itself is unconditionally manifest, is that any truth of faith stands under a yes-or-no judgment. The infallible truth of faith is revealed in God’s sanctuarial service. The elemental powers of decision were evidenced by the Urim and the Thummim. Otherwise known as “light” and “perfection”, invoked by the High Priest of the sanctuary. When presented to the Lord in prayer, the Urim and Thummim would miraculously illuminate with an answer. Indicative of God taking control of the decision process and outcome. Exodus 28:30 The urim and thummim, by which the will of God was made known by enquiry, shadowed the invitation of reason that God in these last days makes known Himself and His mind to us. Divine revelation centers in Him, and comes to us through Him; He is the light, the true light, the faithful witness, the truth itself, and from Him we receive the Spirit of truth, who leads into all truth. As God grants greater illumination upon His word we are brought to more perfect truth. Inspiration and revelation open the door to the truth that a scripture is not limited to just words. The scriptures can be Urim and Thummim to assist each of us to receive personal revelation. By this means, we obtain access to what God would have us know. The criterion contains a yes; it does not reject any truth of faith in whatever form it may appear in the hearing of faith, and it contains a no; it does not accept any truth of faith. Principle shows to be reality in the cross of the Christ. The premise of all truth is that a glorious restoration of faith must take place in our time because we are to aid in God’s purpose to remove relative darkness, ignorance, and error from the people. We are in the time when God is blessing with periods of greater truth and brighter light. He is giving us full light of day for special consideration in His leniency for the fulness of time. This changes everything. Isaiah 29:14 Apostasy is being incorporated into man’s ideas and philosophies they think prevalent in this day. Their religion has gone significantly further wrong in large part because of those ideas and presuppositions. The word of God is the only way to redefine and redeem their understanding of faith, reason, knowledge, and truth in ways that liberate them from the trouble the world is bringing to the souls of so many. The loss of the understanding of the true nature of God, their unbelief in the authority of God, their abandoning the special witness of the Holy Spirit leads to the loss of the fulness of the gifts of the Spirit and thus of their own nature and purpose. These are the characteristics that bear directly on their experience and understanding of faith, reason, knowledge, and truth. We must faith the truth in the hope that these will hear and return to God. What I say here will be incomplete, but I hope not misleading. God has chosen a special people to enter into discussions of faith and reason which have suffered in these last days because they have not been informed by comprehension of the truths of the word of God. When so informed, faith is seen in a new light. And in turn, the proper understanding of faith and reason casts new light on common understandings of knowledge and truth. While in matters of faith, knowledge, and truth, reason is deployed to present serious challenge to man’s fallible understanding. Reason attempts to reconcile the life-changing power of faith with the compelling persuasive power of truth. Reason is the approach upheld by faith ultimately leading to a higher understanding of knowledge. Reason leads to the certainty of essential truth. Reason tells us that God's revealed word is credible, and in accordance with her advice we freely and unreservedly submit ourselves to the guidance of His Truth. If we would truly reason with every word of God, how powerful and persuasive would faith be in the enlightenment of the mind to logically come to truth impossible to doubt. And losing all vulnerability to doubt, faith would come to be understood as a certainty of both evidence and substance. In fact, faith, in a very real sense, comes to be that truth which one believes in the face of doubt. Might it be said that reason and logic ultimately ground knowledge and truth, whereas faith is what we are obliged to rely on when we lack irrefutable certainty. Faith, on this view, is a sort of positive thinking, what we cling to when we want to know what we do not know. Faith in truth characterizes the lives of thoughtful persons. And the more we know, the less faith we need. The purpose of reasoning with God is to see the evidence of truth that fulfills the hope of our being found in the will of God being obedient in all ways to His word. God is the object of our faith. Faith is not something we settle for in the absence of knowledge. It is a type of knowledge, sure and trustworthy and eminently attainable. It is our trusting in the God that we cannot at this time see and our knowing that the things He has promised He will do. We are told to have the faith of Jesus in the most severe time of trouble as did he in the trial time of the ages...the cross. Did God need faith to know that His Son would look to Him to uphold His promise? God sees all and knows all from all eternity. So, God didn’t need to have faith. He knew... What is meant by “we must faith the truth”? Did Jesus have the evidence and the hope that God would do what He promised? And if we mix that up, we have a faulty understanding of what biblical faith, biblical truth really is. SOP - The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish that the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath upon Him as the sinner’s substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.—Ibid., p. 753. {CTr 277.4} Amid the awful darkness, apparently forsaken of God, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours He had relied upon the evidence of His Father’s acceptance heretofore given Him. He was acquainted with the character of His Father; He understood His justice, His mercy, and His great love. By faith He rested in Him whom it had ever been His joy to obey. And as in submission He committed Himself to God, the sense of the loss of His Father’s favor was withdrawn. By faith, Christ was victor.—Ibid., p. 756. {CTr 277.5} God’s people are to enrich our faith and expand our view of knowledge and truth by reasoning. It is a wonder of what we cling to when we do not know. We are to seek learning by study. Faith is like the seed of truth; alive, growing, pushing upward. The first stirring of faith is to have a desire to believe. The seed is the true word of God...it is Christ. The word swells our souls, and we know that it has sprouted up, when our understanding begins to be enlightened, and our mind begins to magnify. Reason is this entire process whereby we begin to experience the fruits of truth and to know one thing and then another by faith. Faith leads us to a knowledge as sure and as perfect as any we could ever want. Faith could not become knowledge unless it already were knowledge. Faith comes by hearing the Word. It is not hearing the enticing words of man's wisdom, but hearing the word of God, that will befriend faith, and hearing it as the word of God. And if the word be not in the Son of God, then there is no Christ. Faith is anchored in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the knowledge of Him is both sure and possible. Faith is a discernible and undeniable experience. It is not the sense of coming to an end. It is a sense of being sure in the word of God, nothing lacking. So, faith in God to reason is to bring a question or argument to a close in truth. Reasoning teaches the role of scripture and prayer. We must know when something is a case and when something is a fact. A case is a circumstance, a situation, an occasion. A fact is an actual reality. Remember that our faith is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith in a person is a very different thing from faith that some proposition is true. If premises are true, then reason will take you to truth. Once we know what is true, reason provides a wonderful tool for sorting out obligations, anticipating consequences, and persuading others that what we know is true. Truth can be rendered reasonable. The truth of the word itself rests on the occurrence of events. There was a man, Jesus, or there was not; he overcame the whole of sin and darkness in the garden or he did not; the tomb was empty or it was not. The truth of an event is very different from the truth of a proposition. The truth of propositions is established by debatable suggestions. The truth of events is established by witnesses. Because of the word of God we are blessed with an abundance of witnesses; ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me; but ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth; this Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses; and we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead; and without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. God’s true and faithful believers have an embarrassment of riches where scripture is concerned to witness to the truth of God.

6 Minutes We need to come to the full knowledge of the truth and have the faith of the truth. As those who are saved by believing into Christ, we need to have a full knowledge of the truth; we need to be saved and come to the full knowledge of the truth, having a full acknowledgement and appreciation of the reality of all the spiritual and divine things that we have received through faith. Amen! There is a great emphasis in the word of God on the matter of truth; being constituted with the truth, knowing the truth, speaking the truth, coming to the full knowledge of the truth, and walking in the truth. Truth is more than life as it is in Christ. He loved in truthfulness for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever. Today we are in a warfare, in a battle over the truth; in the cultural systems there are many things infused into the minds of the people that are not the truth, and society is permeated with lies and denying the truth. We are in warfare over the truth both for ourselves and for others; we must be armed with the truth and come to the full knowledge of the knowledge of it. This doesn’t mean that we need to promote a certain doctrine or fight for a doctrine; the truth is more than doctrine, it is the divine reality whose essence is the Triune God Himself conveyed by His Word. We need to fight for the truth, coming to the full knowledge of the truth and speaking the truth, seeking to bring all. For even some of the most basic principles in the scriptures are being denied. We stand firm, solidly, like a pillar; we will not compromise the truth anymore but rather, our living will be in the light and our walk will be in the truth, having the truth constituted into our being to protect God’s interests. If the truth is wrought into us and constituted into our being, we will be made able to safeguard the interests of the riches of God’s divinity and the attainments of His consummation. The world wants to usurp us and misuse us, deceive us and misinform us concerning the truth. We need the great and high wall with the strong gates of truth to keep out that which attempts to violate and to allow in, that which magnifies. We must keep coming to God’s word that we be imbued with His truth. God offers us the complete revelation of the truth if we but come to Him to reason. We need to know the truth in a full way, having a thorough apprehension of the truth having received it through faith. God chose us from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. On one hand, God selected us in the sanctification of the Spirit, and on the other, in the belief of the truth. For us to be sanctified in the belief of the truth, the faith of the truth, is something very subjective. Faith is the substantiation of the things unseen; faith is our reaction to the unseen scenery. When we see the truth, we are to react by believing it. When we hear the truth and reason the truth, we learn the truth having the hearing of faith. We don’t just come to the truth in a mental way. The spirit works to transform us into the image of Christ by exercising our spiritual experiences. There is a dawning in God’s people where they represent themselves as bearers of the real truth, not leaning to what favors our personal interests and preferences. Believers with the bible in hand do not number themselves among the surprised. Half-truths, subtle deception, and disinformation from the beginning, is still the fruit of the tree. As believers, our concern for truth, in times of shameless deception, is not just principled; it’s personal. We care about truth, and resolve to speak truth, despite its costs. It demands our highest and deepest allegiance. Our concern “for truth” is a derivative of reason. It is not secondary. We have come to know the higher truth, the deeper truth, the personal truth who gives meaning and value to all other truths, and makes some claims true, and others false. Apart from Jesus, the seemingly dignified plea for truth soon devolves into another language game. Faith in the word of God is particularly insistent on Christ, as divine Son, not only being true, but the truth. In Christ, we will never be done marveling that God chose to make Himself known, finally and ultimately, in a real, historical man. Jesus is the truth, because he embodies the supreme revelation of God. He himself “narrates” God, says and does exclusively what the Father gives him to say and do, indeed he is properly called “God.” He is God’s gracious self-disclosure, His “Word,” made flesh. So rich is faith to be in truth that we find that not only is Christ himself “the Truth,” but the message about him and how he saves is the truth. God has a new-covenant people He refers to as the household of God. These are a pillar and buttress of the truth which God Himself builds. We are to do more than preserve truth, we are to advance truth with the defining message of the One who is the Truth. The pursuit and telling and upholding of truth is no mere matter-of-fact concern. It is the primary conviction of faith. It is a worship concern, stemming from our ultimate allegiance. This faithing the truth gives us right standing with God. Truth is our pursuit not because it serves our own interests, but because Jesus is our God. He makes all truth to be true. We are to never allow anyone to turn our pursuit of truth upside down by rallying us to their focus while we keep quiet about what the bible says. Our professing of truth is not speculative or secondhanded. We know the man Jesus. And without complexity, confusion, or spin, these other things we do know...we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth... we know the truth, and the truth shall make you free... we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him...and hereby know we the spirit of truth. We are not just professors of truth, but witnesses, personal witnesses, to him and his work in us. It must be our personal testimony that neither is there neglect in the cause of truth, which at once inspires both a courage and contrition in our contending for the faith and may help us discern which causes to take up and which ones to let pass. We have an almighty Ally for the truth, the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit is dedicated utterly to the Truth, with omnipotent resources. However alone you might feel in a moment of personal controversy, or however small the circle of believing friends, you have a people. Far, far more than seven thousand who have not bowed the knee. None of us stand alone as testifiers of the truth. By faith we are not to become so familiar with God as to think we truly know Him in all knowledge. Our faith depends on God, on His knowledge because we cannot trust someone we do not know. We believe His every word, His every truth. Taken further, our speech mirrors our faith and knowledge of His word, His truth. It is by faith that God brings us to deeper truths. Faith gives us hope, gives us the strength and courage to dive into something the Holy Spirit has continuously put on our hearts. Faith speaks life into situations and people...opening the ears, the eyes, the heart and the mind. When we witness concerning our faith, we are telling someone the truth we know of God. It is not the determined extent of faith but the object of the faith that matters. Faith is genuine and lasting when it is placed in the most trustworthy object of all: Jesus Christ, the divine Word of truth. And earnest faith is persistent, persevering.