ARE WE LIVING THE LIVING WORD OF GOD

                                        

                                         ARE WE LIVING THE LIVING WORD OF GOD

 “Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some person ever reads.”
― William J. Toms

 “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.” This quote is popularly attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. The saying is often used as a recommendation for how we should primarily or even exclusively evangelize. But, did St. Francis of Assisi really say this? And, did he really live this out as his primary means of evangelization?

Well, the truth is, there is no evidence that St. Francis said this. It is clear that St. Francis’ life and actions did provide a great deal of evangelization on their own.

There is no doubt that our lives should proclaim the Gospel. But, we should also be able to articulate the Gospel to others.”  (Did Francis really say, Preach the Gospel at all times and if necessary use words?  (October 4, 2011 by Kevin Cotter)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  John 1:1 NIV

 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Hebrews 4:12 NIV

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV

 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.  John 1:14 NIV

 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.  Colossians 3:16 NIV

 Are we truly living the Living Word of God?  The Word of God comes alive when we not only speak it and proclaim it, but when we actually live it.

When we ask Jesus into our heart and are born again, then Jesus, Who is the Word made flesh, is truly living His life through us.  Not only do we need to be proclaiming the Word but living it through our actions and deeds.

The Word of God is alive when we speak it!  When God created the heavens and the earth He spoke the Word.   And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”  Genesis 1:3

The devil cannot hear our thoughts but he can hear our words.  We need to speak out the word for not only the devil to hear but the world.

When we are afraid, we can say:

I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4 NIV

When we need to be healed we can say:

Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.  Psalm 30:2 NIV

 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.  Matthew 10:8 NIV

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:19-20

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”  Matthew 17:20 NIV

It really is about the Kingdom of God.  We need to live in His Kingdom, not the world.  You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.  James 4:4 NIV

 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”  John 9:5 NIV

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.  Psalm 119:105

 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:16 NIV

 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 NIV

 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  1 John 1:5-7 NIV

When we live in the Kingdom of God, we are living out God’s Word in us and through us!  Can we live the living Word of God by ourselves?  No, we cannot.  That is why Jesus said, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” John 14:26 NIV   “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.  John 15:26 NIV   Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”  John 7:38 NIV

We need the Holy Spirit in our lives because He gives us the help that we need to carry out His mission, His Word here on the earth.

The Acts of the Person of the Holy Spirit

• He teaches – John 14:26
• He testifies – John 15:26
• He guides – Rom. 8:14
• He speaks – 1 Cor. 2:13
• He enlightens – John 16:13
• He strives – Gen. 6:3
• He commands – Acts 8:28
• He intercedes – Rom. 8:26
• He sends workers – Acts 13:4
• He calls – Rev. 22:17
• He comforts – John 16:7
• He works – 1 Cor. 12:11
• (“What We Know About the Holy Spirit” Dr. Elmer Towns BIBLE SPROUT)

 PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master
Grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved, as to love. St. Francis of Assisi

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.  John 14:12 NIV

Please open the link below so you can listen to the song---Thru His Eyes---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3-JKygR-MI

Marcella Ward May 25, 2022     Author of “Stolen Identity: Plan of the Evil One”

 

 

                                                    A WORLD IN TRANSITION

 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. ⁶ The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.  Genesis 6:5-8 NIV

 ¹⁷ I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. ¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁹ You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. ²⁰ Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. ²¹ You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”  Genesis 6 17-21 NIV

 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: ¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶ Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.¹⁷ So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”  Genesis 9:12-17 NIV

You might think, what does the story of Noah and the ark have to do with a world in transition?  During the time of Noah, the world had become very wicked.  There were evil, corrupt, people and the human race was being defiled by the Nephilim. The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.  Genesis 6:6 NIV   “These heroes of old were also called "Nephilim." This name, plus other biblical stories about giants such as Goliath, suggests that these were a race of both very large and very strong men. Hebraic legends in the Book of Enoch and other extra-biblical texts also talk about the Nephilim as a race of giants who were able to do amazing things, but also performed acts of great evil. Their strength and size were most likely the product of demon "DNA" combined with human genes.”  (Compelling Truth “Nephilim-Who or What Were They?”)

Is there a correlation between what happened in the days of Noah and what is happening in our world today?  I believe so.  Is the whole human race corrupt now as in the days of Noah?  No, thank God, but there are those in power who are corrupt and evil as evidenced by what is happening that we can see with our very own eyes. 

Just as in the days of Noah, God is transitioning the world into a new era.  The era of the Kingdom of God. God has been warning people, through His prophets, to repent but there are those who have chosen (I am speaking about those leaders in government and those in power throughout the world) to reject God and continue with their evil agendas i.e. take away our freedoms. 

Also, the devil is at it again with trying to destroy the human race by combining Artificial Intelligence in order to change our DNA.  We are created in the likeness and image of God.  God had to put a stop to the workings of the Nephilim in the days of Noah and so He will now!

The only one who can stop the madness that we see going on in our world is God Almighty!  I believe the ark of Noah represents a place of safety, a place of escape, where the world will be guided into a New Era.  The Era of The Kingdom of God.  We will be entering the ark when God so chooses and we will be kept safe in His care as He carries us to a time of peace and tranquility where the waters are no longer something to be feared but a place of rest because we are held by God’s mighty hand.

The following are words that I believe the Lord gave me on May 16, 2020:

“Like Noah’s Ark, this world is in a time of transition.  Soon the door will close for all the evil doers.  The Ark is the place of safety for all who have given ear to My warning and are covered by the Blood of the Lamb.  Rest assured, the world is embarking into a time of transition and no demon in hell will stop it!  Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia  A new world order---GOD’S WORLD ORDER—Amen.”

So enter the “Ark of God” through Jesus Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!  He will save you and give you peace as you rest on the waters of the Holy Spirit. 

Marcella Ward May 17, 2022

Author of “Stolen Identity: Plan of the Evil One”

 

    

 

                                           WHY DID JESUS COME AS A CARPENTER

 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.  Mark 6:3 NIV

“People called Jesus a carpenter (Mark 6:3), and He was known as a carpenter’s son (Matthew 13:55). There is some evidence that the Greek word used for “carpenter” (tekton) could also be translated more broadly as “artisan,” “contractor,” or “handyman.” It is possible, therefore, that Jesus and Joseph were the sort of men you call when something needs to be fixed—be it made of wood, stone, or something else. It is also possible that they acted as civil engineers, even designing bridges or other structures that were needed by the people of the town. This throws an interesting light on Jesus’ later comments about the temple.” (Was Jesus a Carpenter? Got Questions)

“Of all of the occupations Jesus could have chosen, why did He choose to be a carpenter? Those who wrote about Him in the New Testament were fishermen (John, Peter), a tentmaker (Paul), a tax collector (Matthew), and a doctor (Luke). Only He was a carpenter. Carpenters work with materials of the earth (wood, steel, stone, sand, limestone, shale, iron ore, etc.) to build structures such as homes. Jesus worked with some of the lowliest among us to begin His ministry and build His church. Is it not fitting that the Creator of all that we know manifested in the flesh to become a builder among us?” (July 24, 2021 by Christian Apologist Why Did Jesus Come as a Carpenter?)

We know that a carpenter takes a raw material, usually wood, and measures, cuts, and fashions it into something that he has imagined.  He takes something that is not useable, i.e. a piece of wood and makes it into a tool that can be used for a specific purpose or something that can protect or shelter someone.  It can be fashioned into a masterpiece because the artisan, the carpenter, has a purpose for what he has created.  It is no longer its former self, so to speak, but a new creation.

Are we not a new creation when we come to Christ?  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV Does He not mold us into a vessel to be used for His Glory?  Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?  Romans 9:21 NIV 

The same hands that worked with wood and fashioned tools to create something or build something for a purpose stretched out His hands on the cross of wood so that our very own lives could be restored and made anew because of His sacrifice.

Open the following link for a song about “Carpenter’s Tools.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1bsYbrgGf8

 

                                                                CELEBRATE LIFE

With the leaked announcement that Roe vs. Wade could be overturned by the United States Supreme Court and the states deciding for life, it is a time for celebration!

States Certain to Ban Abortion

“If Roe were overturned or fundamentally weakened, 22 states have laws or constitutional amendments already in place that would make them certain to attempt to ban abortion as quickly as possible. Anti-abortion policymakers in several of these states have also indicated that they will introduce legislation modeled after the Texas six-week abortion ban.

By the time the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the Mississippi case, there will be nine states in this group with an abortion ban still on the books from before Roe v. Wade, 13 states with a trigger ban tied to Roe being overturned, five states with a near-total abortion ban enacted after Roe, 11 states with a six-week ban that is not in effect and one state (Texas) with a six-week ban that is in effect, one state with an eight-week ban that is not in effect and four states whose constitutions specifically bar a right to abortion. Some states have multiple types of bans in place.” (26 States Are Certain or Likely to Ban Abortion Without Roe: Here’s Which Ones and Why Elizabeth Nash,Guttmacher Institute

Lauren Cross,Guttmacher Institute

First published online: October 28, 2021)

1. Alabama—Pre-Roe ban, Near-total ban, State constitution bars protection
2. Arizona—Pre-Roe ban
3. Arkansas—Pre-Roe ban, Trigger ban, Near-total ban
4. Georgia—Six-week ban
5. Idaho—Trigger ban, Six-week ban
6. Iowa—Six-week ban
7. Kentucky—Trigger ban, Six-week ban
8. Louisiana—Trigger ban, Near-total ban, Six-week ban, State constitution bars protection
9. Michigan—Pre-Roe ban
10.   Mississippi—Pre-Roe ban, Trigger ban, Six-week ban
11.   Missouri—Trigger ban, Eight-week ban
12.   North Dakota—Trigger ban, Six-week ban
13.   Ohio—Six-week ban
14.   Oklahoma—Pre-Roe ban, Trigger ban (effective November 1, 2021), Near-total ban, Six-week ban
15.   South Carolina—Six-week ban
16.   South Dakota—Trigger ban
17.   Tennessee—Trigger ban, Six-week ban, State constitution bars protection
18.   Texas—Pre-Roe ban, Trigger ban, Six-week ban
19.   Utah—Trigger ban, Near-total ban
20.   West Virginia—Pre-Roe ban, State constitution bars protection
21.   Wisconsin—Pre-Roe ban
22. . Wyoming—Trigger ban

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”  Jeremiah 1:5 NIV

PSALM 139:1-18 NIV

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—

Marcella Ward May 4, 2022

Author of “Stolen Identity: Plan of the Evil One”