Consolation

Every moment of the day and night our actions can be like a talk to the Most High, us following God and calling upon Him, with the knowledge He is always with us.

+++

Related articles

• Avian And Attributes – Fortress

Not withholding the Good News

When on holiday probably you may meet different people on places where you have not been before and where you shall not come again soon. It are places where probably nobody knows you. When you are there it is with your attitude, your example, the way you treat others around you, how you act and speak that you shall give an impression of what and who you are.

Geographic features of Southern European countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea

When being a Christian it is very important that you give others the right impression. The last few weeks from the South of Europe we got a lot of images in the new of protestors against the many tourists who behave badly. Over the years we also have seen pictures of visitors to those places in the South of Europe behaving badly, which makes us understand why so many of the locals are fed up with those impolite visitors, drunkard and order disruptors. A big problem with the consumerism and growing tourist industry is that at many places some hotel-owners think they have to provide enough entertainment for their customers and provide all day long noise which may disturb the local inhabitants.

‘National embarrassment’: Ding Jinhao, from Nanjing in east China’s Jiangsu Province, wrote: ‘Ding Jinhao was here’ over hieroglyphics on the wall of an ancient Egyptian temple in Luxor

At the coasts of Europe we do find many places where there is a lot of noise going on until late at night, with all sorts of events which disturb not only locals but also several other people who came to have some rest.
Many tourist places also have problems with vandalism and litter from tourists. This not only a problem for Europe, as we can see how many cultural and important historic sites are damaged by visitors.

Banners reading ‘No tourism apartments’ hang from balconies in Barcelona. Photograph: Albert Gea / Reuters/Reuters

As Christians we should show our respect to the inhabitants of the places we are going to visit and should treat those places with respect, having eye for nature and keeping those places clean and not making unnecessary noise.

But at those places where we come it would not be bad to be a witness of our faith and to show others how when we all would come under Christ could be living in a peaceful world full of respect for all around us.

In the Holy scriptures we are counselled fair dealing with our fellow-men. When we are able to travel we should be pleased that we can belong to those who can afford it. In the Book of Proverbs we can find the precept that expresses the great Scriptural thought that the so-called possession of wealth is but a stewardship; that the true owners of what we call our own are those to whom, with it, we may do good. Not to relieve them is a breach of trust.

“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.” (Proverbs 3:27 NIV)

Summer Visitors by Maurice Prendergast (1897) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At our holiday resort we should show the right attitude and may not withhold good from those to whom it is due. When it is in the power of your hand to do good, to help others, to give some extra, you should do it. But this is not only for material wealth. You also can contribute with spiritual help. You can use the occasion to talk about your believes and to show your faith to others. At those resorts, hotels, campings or places where you stay to relax you make take advantage of your free time to share your faith with others. Sharing is part of showing your love for others. Sharing the Good News of the coming Kingdom is a necessity. We do have to warn people of the coming dangers. We should make them aware of the coming Great War, a horrible situation wherefore we should prepare us, making sure that we shall be spiritually strong enough to stand the many temptations, dangers and horrors. “A warned man is worth two” you should think and out of love you should warn.

You should remember the sayings from the Bible, the Law of God. You should remember what you have heard in your ecclesia (or church) and faith community. You also should practise what you remember and let all obedience be from the heart.

“Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them.” (Proverbs 4:5 NIV)

“Let thy heart keep my commandments.”

“Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden.” (Deuteronomy 4:23 NIV)

When we are there at those places of holiday making we should not forget God but be with Him and trust Him. All actions we undertake should be in praise of the Most Highest. And how can we not do it with spreading also His Words? There, for sure, there shall be moments to chat and to have little conversations also about what you believe, where you stand for, and how you have put your hope on the son of God and are looking forewards to his return.

+

Preceding articles

Summer time to spend some more time at the growing process of your faith

Christians having the right heart to call others to go to God

Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses preach?

Glory of God appearing in our character

++

Additional reading

1. Loving and having respect for the woman
2. Respect for all
3. Is being a humanitarian enough to convey the full love of Christ?
4. 7 Ways To Become A Better Christian
5. Crisis man needed in this world
6. Daring to speak in multicultural environment
7. How long to wait before bringing religiousness and spirituality in practice
8. Looking for True Spirituality 7 Preaching of the Good News
9. Looking for True Spirituality 8 Measuring Up
10. High time to go out telling the world about Jesus
11. Beautiful feet of those who announce the good news
12. Preaching by example
13. A Christian has to have eyes and ears and a tongue to use in good ways
14. Proclaiming: a task given to Christians
15. Go! Proclaim! Testify!
16. Go and make disciples of people of all the nations
17. Scriptures and Thoughts about: Proclaim
18. Preaching Christ Is Not Enough
19. To proclaim the day of vengeance
20. Witnesses of Christ and of his gospel
21. Witnessing because we love

+++

People walk past grafittis reading “Come on stand up great star hunters” written on the Sacre-Coeur Basilica in the Montmartre area in Paris on March 19, 2014. (AFP Photo / Martin Bureau) / AFP

Further reading

1. Fire in Greek refugee camp was intentional and will happen again: Eyewitnesses (Middle East Eye)
2. The Tinderbox That Is The Balkans
3. 7 cringe-worthy cases of tourists defacing natural and cultural landmarks around the world
4. ‘Ding Jihao was here’: Chinese tourist, 15, defaces 3,500-year-old Egyptian temple and his family issue national apology
5. Vandal tourist seen destroying pieces of Great Wall of China by kicking it Kung-Fu style
6. China instructs its citizens on how to behave abroad
7. Ancient Egypt Temple Vandalized by Chinese Tourist Graffiti
8. Barcelona anti-tourism activists vandalise bikes and bus
9. Damaging selfie: Student breaks 19th century statue in Milan while taking pic of himself
10. Gov’t slammed over reaction to Irianna verdict, Athens vandalism by protestors
11. “Go away!”, frustrated Venice locals tell tourists
12. ‘F**k tourism’: Vandals deface Paris’ Sacré Coeur basilica
13. Vandalism and tourism settings: An integrative review
14. Rome, Italy
15. 5 Things to do in Rome | Fariha Ansari Javed
16. When in Rome don’t sit, dip, eat, drink in fountains
17. A weekend in Venice
18. Abruzzo. The Italian region ready to be revealed
19. Discover Malta
20. Malta & Gozo
21. Portugal
22. How to mimic George Clooney’s motorcycle adventure through Spain
23. Visiting Lisbon last year
24. E28 Tram Lisbon: tourist jam
25. Meteora, Greece
26. Athens, Greece
27. A few hours to spare in… Athens
28. France and its Fantastic Summer Festivals!
29. 5 Ways To Travel Smarter In Vietnam, And Have Stories To Tell Back Home
30. A tourist in the U.K.
31. Touristing!
32. Volunteer Vs. Tourist
33. The (Not-So) Lonely Traveler
34. 20 tourist traps to avoid in Europe — and where to go instead
35. Three teens identified in Boston-area Jewish cemetery vandalism
36. FBI Reviewing Islamic Cemetery Vandalism In Castle Rock
37. Bucharest, Romania: A Sort of empty feeling
38. Regina cenotaph vandalized with graffiti
39. Graffartists are not people
40. What is Respect Nowadays? (1 min read)
41. Do to others…
42. Agape

+++

Related articles

• Greek tourism hit by strike
• Priest condemns selfie-taking tourists disturbing worshippers
• On camera at pub street
• Forget Spain; try Menorca, the untouched gem of the Mediterranean
• Why it is okay to charge tourists more than locals for chips or Taj Mahal tickets
• Black water alarms visitors at Niagara Falls
• James Turrell installation at Grecian resort invites visitors to contemplate the sky
• Dramatic photos show how huge wildfires are ravaging France, forcing 10,000 people from their homes

Natural inclinations and Praying and asking

Pray without ceasing.
`1 Thessalonians 5:17`

Quote by Paul, 5:15: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances.” Klisura Monastery in Sofia Eparchy, Bulgaria Български: Цитат от Памел, 5:15: “Винаги се радвайте. Непрестанно се молете. За всичко благодарете.” Клисурски манастир в Софийска епархия, България (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Whatever might be our natural inclinations with reference to definiteness and persistency in prayer, we must take our instructions from the Scriptures; and overcoming our natural predilections, we must as “little children” and as “dear children” conform our views and conduct to the instruction which is from above. Let us all, therefore, remember the words, “ask (in My name), and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”–`John 16:24`. The Heavenly Father has multiplied mercies, blessings and providences in store for His obedient and faithful children who will ask for them.

`Z.’96-162` `R2005:5`

+++

Related articles

• Lynn Arden Karantonis
• Being “Authentic”
• Women With Gifts 2015 Prayer Schedule
• Rejection
• 7 Maintaining Your Encouragement Output 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
• on writing with my heart (breathe on me, breath of God)
• 1 Thessalonians 016b – Fear Not

• More to Come – Looking at a Bright Future (bluebirdsalwaysfly.wordpress.com)
  let me be your “Paul” – reminding you of the work, labor, endurance, and love of your present life. God sees all of it and smiles. Our heavenly Father is a good supportive parent, so allow me to direct your attention to all the good stuff and applaud you.But you have more purpose and more acts and more love in your future. Like my little grandbaby who at five months is just learning to roll over and has so much more to do (like crawling), we are urged to keep on growing and doing.
• You must seek to find. (bibledonate.wordpress.com)
  Seek Christ, See the Holy Spirit, Seek God, Seek HIS Kingdom and these thing will be given to you as well.
• Lonely (debbiesjourneytohealthandhope.com)
  Make wishes of times gone by seem like a soothing balm.

Joining for a new year in the assurance to be bought with a price

Though we are already a few weeks in the new year and soon we will be looking at the new civil year we want to look at the older writing about those openings for a “New Year“.

As members of a New Covenant, installed by Jeshua, Jesus Christ, we should remember not only how difficult it must have been for the virgin Miriam (Mary) but also for the community of followers of the Nazarene.

Often we do think we can own the world and can do what we want. We do not like others to intervene in our life. We also find it difficult when we are directed by others. But when we have chosen to follow Christ we get reborn and we do have to start a new year of a new calendar for life.

Having started a new season we do want to ensure all that  the Spirit of God brings love, hope and freedom and that we do have the remembrance soon of the message Miriam (Mary) was to receive about a child given to the world, prophesied about to bring the world in a new system, preparing all those on earth to look forward for a coming Kingdom.

But the new hope given in that renewed world would belong to people who do know they do not belong to themselves but to the one God has provided. To him we should give ourselves and should come to accept him as our offer for our sins, making us worthy to be as a brother or sister of him, a child of God under salvation by the blood of Christ.

The message that came on earth and brought a change in the world, a new beginning, is what we shall remember the coming weeks, leading up to the remembrance that he was born and circumcised, taken up in the community of the Judaic people, the Jews.

Sculpture – head of Jesus Christ, the Cornerstone (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We now should become united under Christ, forming a heart of oak, funded in the cornerstone Jeshua, Jesus Christ our only lord and master on earth. Living in this world we do know we may not be of this world, but that does not mean we do have to be stateless. We should be of Christ, forming one strong community of brethren and sisters all wanting to do the Will of God like Jesus only wanted to do the Will of his Father. All wanting to follow and keeping to the Law of Christ: the Law of Love.

In these darker times of the year, the leaves falling down, our roots should bring forth new branches, to prop up those falling to pieces, the doubters and uncertain or indecisive. We do have to stand ready for those with questions, for those who are looking for God, for those who are not feeling so well and for those who have problems. We as brothers and sisters should let them feel they are welcome at our door.

Let us this year work to become more like Christ Jesus and help each other to grow in the lord, in the knowledge that they like we are bought with the same price. We may not wait any longer to give priority to form a loving brotherhood.

Ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
`1 Corinthians 6:19,20`

 

AT the opening of the new year, what lesson could be more important to us than this one, that we are not our own, but belong to another; that we are not therefore, to seek to please ourselves, but to please Him; nor to seek to serve self, but to serve Him; nor to seek to obey self-will, but on the contrary His will? This means holiness in the most absolute and comprehensive sense of the word (not only separation from sin to righteousness, but separation from “self” to the will of God in Christ).`Z.’97-35` `R2099:4`

 

All those who love God should come together regularly and as true believers should see themselves as parts of the body of Christ  holding “fast to the Head, from whom the whole body is nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, (and) grows with a growth that is from God” (Colossians 2:19).

Let us all be in union with each other, in union with Christ and in union with God:

John 15:4: 4 Remain in union with me, and I in union with YOU.+ Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remains in the vine, in the same way neither can YOU, unless YOU remain in union with me.+

1 John 2:24: 24 As for YOU, let that which YOU have heard from [the] beginning remain in YOU.+ If that which YOU have heard from [the] beginning remains in YOU, YOU will also abide in union+ with the Son and in union with the Father.+

John 15:4: 4 Remain in union with me, and I in union with YOU.+ Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remains in the vine, in the same way neither can YOU, unless YOU remain in union with me.+

John 6:56: 56 He that feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in union with me,* and I in union with him.+

1 Corinthians 12:27:27 Now YOU are Christ’s body, and members individually.+

Colossians 2:19:19 whereas he is not holding fast to the head,+ to the one from whom all the body, being supplied and harmoniously joined together+ by means of its joints and ligaments, goes on growing with the growth that God gives.+

1 John 3:24: 24 Moreover, he who observes his commandments remains in union with him, and he in union with such one;+ and by this we gain the knowledge that he is remaining in union with us,+ owing to the spirit+ which he gave us.

John 14:23: 23 In answer Jesus said to him: “If anyone loves me, he will observe+ my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our abode with him.+

Are you making good progress in “holding fast to the head”? Are you being “nourished and knit together” with others as you do so? Don’t make the mistake of looking to blame others; all must pull together as fellows in the same ship – looking to Christ as the Captain.

+

Preceding article: You do not belong to yourselves,for you were bought with a price

Dutch texts about this subject / Nederlandse teksten over dit gegeven:

1. Ook behoort gij Uzelf niet toe, want gij werd met een prijs gekocht
2. Als broeders en zusters samen op weg voor een nieuw jaar

Please do find the verses in different versions:

You do not belong to yourselves,for you were bought with a price

Hebraic Roots Bible 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 – Flee fornication and be joined to our Master

Nazarene Commentary 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 – Flee from Immorality

+

Find out who are brothers in Christ or what a Brother in or of Christ should be:

1. Two new encyclopaedic articles
2. What are Brothers in Christ
3. Who are the Christadelphians
4. Rebirth and belonging to a church
5. Not many coming out with their community name
6. United people under Christ
7. Christadelphian people
8. Christadelphians
9. Christadelphians or Messianic Christians or Messianic Jews
10. My faith

+++

Related articles

• We Are Complete, Only In Him (pastorht.wordpress.com)
  Under the Old Covenant, men approached God through a priest, while under the New Covenant, we have direct access to the Father through Jesus Christ. Under the Old Covenant, a man’s sin led to his death while under the New Covenant, God is merciful to our unrighteousness. Under the Old Covenant, man could not be cleansed of a consciousness of sin while under the New Covenant, our sins and iniquities are remembered no more, and our guilty consciences are cleansed.
• DIG for Sunday the 26th of October…..there is only one gospel, there is no other…..Galatians 1 v 6 and 7 (heilanword.wordpress.com)
  The word gospel could be translated as good news, and the grace of Jesus Christ is indeed good news.Anything other than the grace of Jesus Christ is not good news and is therefore not the gospel.
• To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, (activeinspiration.wordpress.com)
  According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
• Christ In The Book Of Hebrews: “the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus” (settledinheaven.wordpress.com)
  Jesus came forth from the grave by the power of God.  It was the God who brought peace to all mankind through Christ’s death and resurrection!
• Jesus is Matchless (theencouragementexpress.com)
  One could find many illustrations to prove that often personality is greater than the idea. Such is the case with Christianity. The secret of the power of Christianity is not in its ethics. It is not in Christian ideas or philosophy, although Christianity has a philosophical set of ideas. The secret of Christianity is found in a Person, and that Person is the Lord Jesus Christ.
• “Holiness is the balance between my nature and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ.” ~~Oswald Chambers (quotesthoughtsrandom.wordpress.com)
  God’s goal for us is that we be holy, just like God is holy. God has given us the power of His Holy Spirit to make it happen.
• Tuesday, 4 November 2014 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (First Reading) (petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com)
  He humbled Himself by being obedient to death, death on the cross. That is why God exalted Him and gave Him the Name which outshines all names, so that at the Name of Jesus all knees should bend in heaven, on earth and among the dead, and all tongues proclaim that, Christ Jesus is the Lord to the glory of God the Father.
• Today’s Bible Reading (ephesians 1:1, 3-10) (prayers4reparation.wordpress.com)
  As he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in his sight in charity.Who hath predestinated us unto the adoption of children through Jesus Christ unto himself: according to the purpose of his will:
• People Are Watching (revderrickkeeter.wordpress.com)
  As he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in his sight in charity.Who hath predestinated us unto the adoption of children through Jesus Christ unto himself: according to the purpose of his will:
• Christology: twelve grammatical rules (pjcockrell.wordpress.com)
  Not to speak of Christ in any way that sidelines his human experience.Jesus Christ is truly human.
  +
  Not to speak of Christ as if he were relevant only to some people in some cultures and circumstances. Jesus Christ is present to all people, in all times and places, as their divine-human Prophet, Priest and King. The church trusts and proclaims, but never possesses, this Messiah.

An academic year ending, again a new year standing ready for us

We do come to the end of the academic year and the Summer holiday. We also look already forward to the new academic and church year coming soon. Time goes so fast it often surprises us. When we look at what happened last year, seeing the good and the bad things we also can find that the lovers of God may have had again several blessings.

Year after year we may count on God, Him willing to be with us and giving us many blessings and taking care we do not fall in temptation, get on the wrong track, or that we are not much tested and certainly not beyond what we can endure.

 

O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of His praise to be heard: which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.
`Psalm 66:8,9`

 

Thanks be to God that His grace has preserved us, “kept us from falling,” through another year:–that so many of us are still of one heart and of one mind in respect to His Word and its service!

When we remember that the Adversary is to be permitted to bring “strong delusions” upon the Lord’s people for the very purpose of sifting out all not truly His (`2 Thessalonians 2:10-12`), it should surely call forth our thanks to God that the opening of another year finds us still standing fast,–appreciating the Truth, and in full accord with all the divine appointments by which He has kept us from falling.

`Z.’03-3` `R3125:2`

Preceding articles:

Psalm 66 OJB

Psalm 66 HRV

*

Scroll of the Psalms: Words given unto us to think of and Praise the Most High Elohim (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Related articles

• Good Morning Hugs Of Love XVIII (poemotherapishoppe.com)
  A Fine Day We Have Before Us!
  +
  “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalms 46:1
• Bless the Lord sons of God (cfcspn.com)
  There is no need to be afraid of evil, or tomorrow, for the Lord is Lord of it all. By his hands He created the universe, and by His power they remain. He made us in his image and called us His children, bless the Lord he abound in mercy, and the kingdoms of the world are his alone. In Him we live and have our existence bless the Lord we are saved.
• Let Nothing Disturb You! (prayersofmysoul.wordpress.com)
  Let nothing trouble you, 
  Let nothing scare you,
  All is fleeting, 
  GOD alone is unchanging.
• 35 Inspirational Quotes from The Psalms (vincentegoro.wordpress.com)
  I find the book of Psalms, to be one of the most inspirational, motivational, uplifting, encouraging, and comforting books of the Bible. Here are 35 inspirational quotes from the psalms. I pray that you are blessed by them:
• Morning Prayer 7.18.14, Bartolomé de las Casas, Friar & Missionary to the Indies, 1566 (dailyoffice.org)
  Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
• The Remedy: Prayer Journey (prienblog.wordpress.com)
  Have you ever taken the time toevaluate your journey with God? Are you growing in your love relationship with Him? Youmay be thinking, “Can you really know if you are growing spiritually?”Yes, there are ways you can evaluate your spiritual growth. One way is to think through your prayer journey. Are you praying more? Because prayer is talking with God, ask yourself if your communication with Him is getting better.
• #WranglerLife (christyvitkus.wordpress.com)
  Being a Christian means finding a treasure that is more valuable than anything this world could give us. Nothing satisfies on this earth that is without Christ.
• Gatekeepers! Watchmen! You are to speak out- Be bold and courageous (thechristiangazette.wordpress.com)
  Gatekeepers where also watchmen on the walls.They were ministering priests from the tribe of Levi. Gatekeepers were trusted officials and high priests in the servant role of protecting the Lord’s house. They were stationed at all 4 gates (N,S, E, W). They also appointed and taught others around them to guard the gate as well. Their hearts were fully committed to the Lords will. Today’s gatekeepers hope and pray for revival and eagerly await the Lord’s return. They are always prepared and continually remind others to be ready. Gatekeepers made sure that nothing unholy entered into God’s house and nothing was allowed to leave unless it had approval. They were in charge of the Temple items and treasuries of the House of the Lord.
• The Favor of God, no secret formula (fggam.org)
  To favor means to give special regard to; to treat with goodwill; to show exceptional kindness to someone. Sometimes, it means to show extra kindness in comparison to the treatment of others; that is, preferential treatment. Deuteronomy 28:50 warns of judgment by a “nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young.” Though it is natural for us to favor the young in times of affliction or judgment, this nation will not give such favor.Esther received royal favor above all the other virgins (Esther 2:17). It is from this use of favor that we get the word, favorite. The greatest favors are shown to the favorite.
• Psalms 66. A Song Of Praise And Thanksgiving. Praise To God For His Awesome Works (bummyla.wordpress.com)
  1 Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: 2 Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. 3 Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.

Building up the spirit of the soul

When you know the Spirit is the source of life you should also know that life without spirit and without the Spirit is impossible. When people think about the living person they think about the living soul which is the being which can exist because of the Divine Creator allowing it to exist.

Of Light and Shadow  says:

All life has soul. The soul tells the body what it is as it’s essence. What it will be. If something is one dimentional, what is it. It simply exists. It is what it is. Humans, animals, and plants have a living soul. Although different from each other. {Spiritual Senses, Opening your spiritual hearing}

Man thinking on a train journey. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The above blogwriter considers that spirit is energy and exists throughout all the universe and forms all things even objects, though we can not see any life in such lifeless elements, like cupboards, houses, etc.. For us the spirit is just the ‘lifespirit’ or ‘breath of life’ which is God His and our thinking, handling, speaking and working.  It is an activity which may keeps the laws of physics in check and which can give impulses or carry with it everything a living thing is and capable of becoming.

A seed carries the potential of being a tree. {Spiritual Senses, Opening your spiritual hearing}

And so we may also carry the potential of growing up and becoming an adult who can think in a different way than the baby, toddler, young child, or adolescent. That spirit, our thinking and our soul is not something which lives next or separately in our body. It is not something which can leave our body to continue to live somewhere else. Once we die our spirit or breath goes out of our body and we finish living, thinking and handling. In our death we can do nothing any more.

Human being itself is the ‘soul’ wherein God blew His Breath of life. we may consider ourselves righteous, lovers of God, believers, wise, or perhaps not so wise, but we all are existing because God allows us to be. We only can do certain things because God allows it to happen and has given us certain crafts or capabilities.  All our works are in the hand of God.

The problem is that since the downfall in the Garden of Eden we all have good and bad things in us. We all carry love  but can bear hatred in ourselves. We all have to grow up and learn things, like Jesus also had to grow up and learn things. We all shall be tempted like Jesus also got tempted. Only God is the only One Who can not be tempted. God is also the only One Who can not die or cease living. god cannot expire or come to come to an end. When a person dies, that person breathes his last breath and dies. All human beings have the death thread in their tree of life. Even Jesus who did not sin had to face death and landed up in hell (sheol = the grave) for three days. We probably shall be there in the underground for longer.

Breath of Life – both sides (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We may be sure that there is one event which shall be the same for rich and poor, to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good, and to the bad; both to the pure, and to the impure; both to him that sacrifices, and to him that does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; as is the swearer, even so is he that fears an oath.  After the madness of this world we all go to the dead. The living will know that they shall die; but the dead know nothing, and there is no longer any reward to them, for their memory is lost. Also their love and their hatred and their envy shall have perished when they die. Yea, there is no portion for them any-more, not an other being, a spirit or extra soul that will go out of their body and all the material they gathered in this worl shall be useless for them in their death.

When death comes to us it will be too late to change or to change our mind or path. When we did not enough preparations to enter the gate of the Kingdom of God it shall be totally too late.forever in all that is done under the sun.  It is before you die that you do have to build up your mind, make the right friends, find life with the wife whom you love, all the days of the life of your vanity, which are given to you under the sun; for that is your portion in your life, and in your labour in which you labour under the sun.  Whatsoever your hand shall find to do, do with all your might; for there is no work nor device nor knowledge nor wisdom in Hades/Sheol/the Hell or the Grave/Sepulchre, where you are going.  For Christians there does not exist a Hades, god of the netherworld and dispenser of earthly riches. Also his netherworld kingdom, the abode of the shades of the dead has no meaning for a Christian. Though the bastardisation of the Nazarene prophet Jeshua who is the son of God, to ‘Issou’ or ‘Jesus’ meaning “Hail to Zeus“, real Christians know Jeshua or the Christ is not Zeus the brother of Pluto, the god of the underworld which does not exist in the real universe of the Only One God.  After you die you shall become dust again.

” Jehovah God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7 NHEBJE)

“1  For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hatred, man doesn’t know it; all is before them.  (2)  All things come alike to all. There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good, to the clean, to the unclean, to him who sacrifices, and to him who doesn’t sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; he who takes an oath, as he who fears an oath.  (3)  This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event to all: yes also, the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.  (4)  For to him who is joined with all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion.  (5)  For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything, neither do they have any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.  (6)  Also their love, their hatred, and their envy has perished long ago; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.  (7)  Go your wayeat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works.  (8)  Let your garments be always white, and do not let your head lack oil.  (9)  Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your life of vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity: for that is your portion in life, and in your labor in which you labor under the sun.  (10)  Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going.” (Ecclesiastes 9:1-10 NHEBJE)

“19  For that which happens to the sons of men happens to animals. Even one thing happens to them. As the one dies, so the other dies. Yes, they have all one breath; and man has no advantage over the animals: for all is vanity.  (20)  All go to one place. All are from the dust, and all turn to dust again.  (21)  Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, whether it goes downward to the earth?”  (22)  Therefore I saw that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who can bring him to see what will be after him?” (Ecclesiastes 3:19-22 NHEBJE)

It is before we die we shall have to have build up knowledge. Gaining knowledge has to happen in the ‘now’, when we do live.

Adam heard the sound of God walking in the garden and heard his voice calling to him.
Samuel when he was young and living with Eli heard God calling his name. He heard it clearly and suspected that Eli was calling to him. He heard it the same as he would hear with his natural ears. {Spiritual Senses, Opening your spiritual hearing}

The Divine Creator, Jehovah, the Most High God, has given His Word to His creation. Each of us is part of that creation and can either listen to God His word or ignore it. In this world we are living in, most people have lost the notion of hearing God.

We have placed God beyond our understanding (and indeed he is) but we have also placed him beyond our experienceing (which He is not) We are called to experience God and have him in our lives. We just get so caught up with our daily lives we loose sight of him and our senses grow dull. Samuel said “Here I am.” We have to ready our mind and spirit to receive from our spiritual senses. We need to learn to pay attention to what they tell us. There are many places in the Bible where the voice of God was heard. Sometimes like a trumpet or a thunder. When Jesus was baptized the heavens opened and voice called out “This is my beloved Son, in whome i am well pleased.” {Spiritual Senses, Opening your spiritual hearing}

Lots of people, also many who call themselves Christian, do not want to listen to what God said about His son, nor to what Jesus said about him and his Father. They ignore what they have said and what is written down in the Bible, and made their own doctrines which all their church members do have to believe, because they so called can not understand it.  But God is not a God of disorder and incomprehension. God is a God of Clarity, and when He says “this is my son’ He means that person is His son and not Him.

We should listen to what God says, but then we first do have to be hearing God which

is not the only benefit of hearing in the spirit.

It is Jehovah God Whom we do have to ask to open our ears to hear

“the sounds of heaven”.

Through the ages many eyes may not have seen, nor ears heard what was really written in the Bible, not wiling to accept it as God His Word. Not willing to listen to it and not prepared to open their heart to it those Words of God could not enter into the hearts of those people. It is up to the lovers of God to call others and to let them know that God calls them. We should let others know that also they like we have the things prepared by Jehovah.

God has revealed so many things to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.  For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

Those who love God and are willing to come closer to Him with the assurance they did not receive the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, in order that they might know the things granted to them by God; which things we also speak, not in words taught in human wisdom, but in words taught by the Holy Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

We should allow the Words of God feed us and should be pleased there are men of God willing to contribute to the work of the Lord, helping to spread the Good Tidings and to exhort or to give urgent advice, recommendations, or warnings to people around them. They are aware that the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can they know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  For them and us it is important to listen to those Bible readings, exhortations and devotionals knowing that he that is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is discerned by no man.

“9  But as it is written, “Things which an eye did not see, and an ear did not hear, which did not enter into the heart of man, these God has prepared for those who love him.”  (10)  But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.  (11)  For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God, except God’s Spirit.  (12)  But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God.  (13)  Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things.  (14)  Now the natural man does not receive the things of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  (15)  But he who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is judged by no one.” (1Corinthians 2:9-15 NHEBJE)

Living in this world we would like to find perfection. The Creator has given His commandment, which is very broad.  those who call themselves Christian should love God’s law and use it as their meditation all the day, so that God can make them wiser than their enemies. We can find God His testimonies as our meditation. Together, with other lovers of God, you can read the Bible and follow its guidance, seeking God His commandments and not those of man. Already in our life such bible reading shall keep back our feet from every evil away when we not depart from God His judgements; for He will instructed us. We can  gain understanding by God His commandments, looking daily in His Word and when we are willing to think about what He is saying to us. Having Daily Manna, when hating every way of unrighteousness we shall be able to find God His law as a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our paths.

“96  I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commands are boundless.  (97)  MEM How I love your Law! It is my meditation all day.  (98)  Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for your commandments are always with me.  (99)  I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.  (100)  I understand more than the aged, because I have kept your precepts.  (101)  I have kept my feet from every evil way, that I might observe your word.  (102)  I have not turned aside from your ordinances, for you have taught me.  (103)  How sweet are your promises to my taste, more than honey to my mouth!  (104)  Through your precepts, I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.  (105)  NUN Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.  (106)  I have sworn, and have confirmed it, that I will obey your righteous ordinances.” (Psalm 119:96-106 NHEBJE)

Memoir and remains says

The Word of God functions like a light to illuminate both God’s nature and the human heart — and thus interaction between the two.

in Exegeting the Heart.1

The Gospel acknowledges how we have no claim upon God, God is not obliged to us– and yet, God blesses us supremely despite ourselves. A right understanding of the Gospel thus drives us to thankfulness. {Exegeting the Heart.1}

On this site we shall offer words of thought freely and we should carry them out and bring also words of meditation to others freely.

Where all is received freely, there is no cause of discontent: much of giving thanks if we have anything. When we look to desert, we may wonder more at what we have than what we want: if afflicted, destitute, kept low and bare, it is a wonder we are not in hell. All this is spoken because men are not thankful, We are eager till we have blessings, but when we have them, then barren in praises, unfruitful in obedience: like little children, forward to beg favours, but careless to acknowledge what they have received.  {Exegeting the Heart.1}

Our meditation and breathing as a plumb-line to place the bricks of the church wall, strong but with a blow in the wind to bring the message worldwide of the Good News. – Bas-relief, River Wall, Calne This is one (and a half) of several similar pieces in the wall. They were made of ceramics by Richard Cowdy and Vivien ap Rhys Price to symbolize the theme of ‘Breath of Life’ inspired by the legend that the scientist Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen here.  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We should all serve God cheerfully  (Psalms 116:16, Psalms 123:2, 1 Corinthians 3:22-23, Malachi 3:18, John 12:26) and make use of His Word to show others which blessings can come unto mankind if they would listen to the Most High. That Word should be our plumbline in the body of Christ we would like to be part of. With it we can make sure that the walls of our congregation can be straight.

Like Mike Parsons with Jeremy Westcott wrote in A Plumbline, a Doorway and an Anchor

When we meditate on it (the word of God) we can picture what it talks about and use our imagination. We ought not to be scared to use our imagination: God has given it to us so that we can see things, picture them, and visualise them. Now some Christians are wary of concepts like ‘visualisation’ because they have been adopted by New Age and occult people. Even meditation is viewed with suspicion in some circles. But these things are not wrong in themselves. It is simply that we have to approach them afresh and learn how to use them in a godly way.

There are some Christians, also some Bible Students who find meditation is part of the heathen world. Mostly they have a limited view about meditation, thinking of Zen and Buddhist meditation.It depends how you want to look at meditation, being it a mental concentration on something or a way to transpose our being from this world or imagining something that gives us peace or satisfaction. You could say when we are looking for methods to slow down and, eventually, completely stop the incessant activity of our minds then we would also say that is not the meditation we are talking about. For us such exercises are not really meditation – they are substitutes for meditation because it is normally very difficult to stop our minds all-together.
But to come to a state of thoughtless awareness, as an act of doing nothing we also would not call it the right mediation.

The thoughts we would like to present on this platform should make us think and consider. They should bring us into a state of awareness. It may be short messages, but they may not miss their point in waking the state of consciousness. When we take a look at the various explanations of meditation, another thing we often see is that meditation is defined as taking a moment to sit quietly or to ponder. True meditation, however is much more than this. It is a state of profound, deep peace that occurs when the mind is calm and silent, yet completely alert. This is just the beginning of an inner transformation that takes us to a higher level of awareness. This enables us to fulfil our true human potential.

We either come  in this state or we are not, regardless of what we are doing in life. Truly, a man can be in meditation while doing his day’s labours as another man can be very far from meditation while sitting in a lotus posture on the top of a mountain. He can come in a dreaming state of consciousness, where his or her thoughts are far away from the Creator. When we speak about the meditation we as Christians should get it is not about a state of deep sleep in which the mind, the ego and the superego are still. No, for us it should be placing ourselves in the willingness to receive messages from our heavenly Father. It is giving our own ego in the hands of the Most High. It is not bringing ourselves in a state of thoughtless awareness beyond the mind, but bringing ourselves in a state where we allow God to enter our mind and to enlighten us by taking us deeper into His world of ‘sacral’ knowledge.

Meditation is a means of transforming the mind. The short messages we would like to bring regularly, as form of meditation, with the short quotes from the Bible, we would like to offer as a help or a tool to transform our character. It should bring us to take a moment to think about a certain matter and to let the text give us information how to change or how to build ourselves up to become a good Christian. Those texts may be from ordinary human beings, but they want to bring the focus on God His Word and to relate His Words to our daily life. The confrontation of every day, which we should not be afraid off.

Psalm 1 gives us a key to deeper fulfilment in every dimension of our being: meditation. Its essence is reading and reminding ourselves of the truths of God while dwelling in his presence. As we dwell on him with our minds, our other dimensions ignite, affecting our lives and relationships, infusing them with wisdom, stability, and delight.

According the Apostolic Resource Centre, which believes that Jesus intends the church to be instrumental in transforming human society and that he will be returning for a victorious church, a bride who has made herself ready for the King, to meditate we have to learn to use the right side of the brain, the creative/intuitive area.

we need to learn to activate that part of the brain so that we can see, and visualise, and experience spiritual realities, and especially the heavenly realms.

That flow of the spirit is revelation from the inside which comes as spontaneous thoughts and pictures and feelings. If we are not used to tuning in to them, they can slip past and we can miss them. It works like this. The air around us is full of radio and television signals of which we are not normally aware. But if we were to have a radio, turned on and tuned in, we would be able to hear whatever was playing on that particular station. If we had a TV set tuned in we would be able to see what was on that channel. And it is just the same with tuning in to God. {A Plumbline, a Doorway and an Anchor}

Therefore we do need to open our mind and give ourselves in the Hands of God. in case we are not willing to open our ears to the signals God is sending out all the time, we shall not be able to be comforted. We , when reading the bible or reading exhortations, should be willing to let the words come deep into us and should try to find its connection with other passages in the Bible. When we allow those Words from God give sense to those words from people and let them flow through our spirit, then we can let them become projected into the right side of our brain, so that we can hear His voice, see visions and pictures, and receive revelation from Him. We tune in to that through meditation.

Our imagination is the screen on which God projects things. But it can also receive images from our soul, from our subconscious, and we need to know the difference. Our imagination can play back experiences we have had in life. There may be a song, or a smell or a taste which can transport us instantly back to an experience we had many years previously. We can imagine it, recall it even feel the same feelings we had at the time (whether positive or negative).  {A Plumbline, a Doorway and an Anchor}

With those words from our brothers and sisters, who look at a certain Bible passage, we can ad some songs, like ‘Songs in the night’ and other previous publications from various Bible Students from several countries. Those meditations do not have restrictions by borders of countries. they may cross oceans and with internet we do hope to bring those messages all over the world. And each reader can carry the messages with him and bring it to others, so that the good News may be preached in far away parts of the world.

All those people may live far away from each other, but by reading the same texts and taking time to meditate on it and to say prayers over the same subject, we can connect with each other and join forces, being part of a world wide movement of people who want to learn from God His word and who are willing to help each other to grow by that Word of God.

We do hope we can contribute to the spreading of that Good News and to help you to meditate on God His Word. Wishing that we all can grow in ‘heavenly’ knowledge and grow as brothers and sisters in Christ.

+

Preceding: Daily portion of heavenly food

++

Additional reading:

1. What is life?
2. Darkness, light, burning fire, Truth and people in it
3. Dying or not
4. What happens when we die?
5. Is there an Immortal soul
6. The Soul not a ghost
7. Immortality, eternality – onsterfelijkheid, eeuwigheid
8. Grave, tomb, sepulchre – graf, begraafplaats, rustplaats, sepulcrum
9. Sheol, Sheool, Sjeool, Hades, Hell, Grave, Tomb, Sepulchre
10. A fact of History or just a fancy Story
11. Jesus three days in hell
12. The soul has no rainbow if the eyes have no tears
13. Creator and Blogger God 2 Image and likeness
14. Creator and Blogger God 4 Expounding voice
15. Philosophy hand in hand with spirituality
16. Fragments from the Book of Job #1: chapters 1-12
17. Fragments from the Book of Job #6: chapters 38-42
18. Self-development, self-control, meditation, beliefs and spirituality
19. Fear of God reason to return to Holy Scriptures
20. Fear and protection
21. Atonement And Fellowship 5/8
22. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #1 Kings Faith
23. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #3 A voice to be taken Seriously
24. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #6 Words to feed and communicate
25. Exhortation -Exhortatie of uiteenzetting
26. A Living Faith #3 Faith put into action
27. Looking for True Spirituality 1 Intro
28. Looking for True Spirituality 8 Measuring Up
29. Being Religious and Spiritual 4 Philosophical, religious and spiritual people
30. Being Religious and Spiritual 8 Spiritual, Mystic and not or well religious
31. Are you being swept along by the world
32. To mean, to think, outing your opinion, conviction, belief – Menen, mening, overtuiging, opinie, geloof

+++

Other useful readings:

1. Becoming People of “True Faith”
2. Is There Still a Place for Religion?
3. Spirituality and Your Health

+++

Related articles

• On Not Knowing the Soul (irrevspeckay.wordpress.com)
  The soul is either a very delicate thing, or an everlasting thing. It is disputable and indisputable. Self-evident and non-existent. A matter of belief and, for some, a matter beyond believing. It is the foundation upon which theologies have been built and kingdoms sold away. It is where we locate any immortality that might exist; it is where any sense of permanence might reside; it represents wholeness unyielding to the vagaries of disease and death (though, apparently, it is possible to be corrupted morally and bought through a deal with the devil). Even for those who are not sure what they believe happens upon the death of the body, the survival of the soul offers solace.
• Are Soul & Spirit different? (bluegrassnotes.wordpress.com)
  if we are not trying to figure things out would there be that much to talk about. If we do not talk about the past, about others or about what we are trying to achieve in the future…..what’s left to talk about?
• Breathe (markconner.typepad.com)
  No one I know really takes time to stop and think about his or her breathing. Yet, each day we take about 26,000 breaths. That’s about 14,000 litres of air. We should breath from our stomach not our chest … but when we are stressed, distracted, or moving too fast we don’t breath properly. We need only around 4-6 breaths a minute but most of us take around 16-20. Experts tell us that 99% of our energy should come from our breathing But most of us only access 10-20% of that available energy. [See Nooma 014 Breathe for more]
• Is The Gift of God’s Holy Spirit Reviving You? (chronicillnesspaindevotionals.wordpress.com)
  Have you ever thought about what life was like for believers before the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost? Although certain individuals were anointed with the Spirit at various times, the continual gift of the Holy Spirit was not given to all believers until after Jesus’ death and resurrection.
• Spirituality Science – Man Is a Spiritual Being (bhavanajagat.com)
  In my view, Soul or Spirit is the divine attribute of a material substance that Science describes as Protoplasm, Cytoplasm, or Cytosol, the Living Matter found in all living entities.The method called scientific inquiry is limited to observations or statements that can be further verified. The reality of Soul or Spirit when defined as the vital, animating, Life principle of all living things can be verified using scientific inquiry. There is a fundamental dualism between matter and matter. A distinction can be made between living and non-living, or animate and inanimate matter. In Natural Science, matter is defined as a thing that has Mass and hence it occupies Space. While Matter has physical dimensions such as weight, and volume, it has an immaterial dimension for it has attributes such as being immutable, and imperishable.
• True Source of Joy (prayersofmysoul.wordpress.com)
  Whenever we focus on our troubles, we take our eyes off Jesus and we become blind to what he’s doing to help us. Spiritual growth means improving our self-control so that we focus on Jesus no matter what’s happening. The sooner we remember to do this, the sooner we see him again.Keeping our eyes on Jesus does not mean ignoring everything else. Quite the contrary! We are to look at the world and look at others with eyes wide open,fantasizing nothing, apathetic toward nothing, in denial over nothing, but viewing it all through the eyes andthe vision of Jesus Christ.Losing sight of Jesus makes us vulnerable to sin. Then, when we get in touch with our sins and realize that we’ve crucified Christ by hurting others and ourselves, we truly do mourn and weep, as Jesus prophesied in this Gospel reading. But notice that he added: “You will grieve for a time, but your grief will be turned into joy.”

  Jesus knows the answer! Keep your eyes on him. Follow him.

• Revival (thispathcalledlife.wordpress.com)
  God is truly my compass. I will always find my way home because God points north.
  +
  Technically, we as humans get older because time moves forward and that constant covers many aspects of this path called life. With that said, I know I’m a new person through the Spirit within. Worldly Crysta died in the water that day. Sin lost it’s power and hold on me. I publicly declared I walk with Jesus until my last breath on this planet. Even in this confidence, I do have lingering emotions of Worldly Crysta. These emotions feel like the aftermath of a mint in my mouth I long ago finished. But the flavor faintly stings on my breath. As a growing Christian that raises an eyebrow and birthed a recurring thought: Did Worldly Crysta really die?
• Jesus I love You, But Not Your Word (graceandtruth.me)
  Many times I said it. Even though I had always read the Bible, even from a young child. I read it a lot. I memorizedverses even. I believed it was truth, I believed it was the Word of God. And over and over God used His Word to teach me and to speak to me.But I didn’t love it.
• The Ongoing Spiritual Battle (foodforthespiritualsoul.wordpress.com)
  While we focus on the things that we can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch, on this earth; we often lose sight of the Spiritual Battle that we, as Mankind, have been engaged in since the time of Adam and Eve. Upon that sin committed in the Garden of Eden, that is when God established Enmity between Man, and Satan and his evil. Harmony would never be reestablished again, until God’s Perfect Timing for it. God, the Creator, could only reestablish or “create peace” again, on this earth, as His Creation. As His Creations, we have consistently used His Gift of Freewill in choosing to rebel against Him; instead of following His Ways. We have consistently been seduced…enticed…and willingly chose to flirt with evil and it’s indulgent ways; when it was originally created for us to lead lives in perfect harmony, with His Guidance from Up Above.

Daily portion of heavenly food

In this world lots of events demand our attention. We are pushed from one site to the other, having to do this, responding to that, needing to meet his person, or having to write to that one.

We have to face the hectic life of getting into business, having to do the shopping, taking care of the household, bringing the kids to school and to their after school societies or arts classes. They have their activities which demands their, but also our, attention. They want to get somewhere in life and we are wondering where we can get to. Who does not want to come somewhere at the top in life? But what may it be, having reached the goal or having become some one important. What does it contribute to our personal life?

Saint Padre Pio stated: “Through the study of books one seeks God; by meditation one finds him”. The Rosary: A Path Into Prayer by Liz Kelly 2004 ISBN 082942024X pages 79 and 86 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Like most people Christians allow the rush and crush of selfish ambition to deprive them of their daily portion of heavenly food. Oh, so often they forget what is most important in life. By forgetting the more spiritual matters it often happens they come like most citizens, bewildered in the mass of people trying to get somewhere in life.

Forgetting to take in their daily portion of spiritual food they must not be surprised, if they grow spiritually leaner day by day, and if “the peace of God” gives place in their hearts to the discontent which is growing in the world, notwithstanding the multiplication of their comforts and privileges.

Still life with Bible, by Vincent Van Gogh (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We should remember how important it is to have our daily Bible Readings. There are different ways to get around the Book of books in the whole year. Either you may go from chapter to chapter, until the end of the Bible and start all over again, taking perhaps another translation each time. Or you may follow the practical Bible roster or Bible Reading Plan provided by several Bible Students Groups, like the International Bible Students or the Christadelphians.

Next to those Bible readings we need some extra guidance and encouragement. This can be received by reading the daily notes or additional daily short meditations. Such literature can be like daily manna, the spiritual food which can take care that we grow and become more mature Bible Students.

We may not forget the Divine Creator Himself has given us His teaching. By His men He allowed the Words come unto many people all over the world in many languages. That way all over the world people can get to know and keep in their hearts those commandments God has given to the world. For length of days and years of life, and peace they will add to those who are willing to listen to those words of the All Mighty. Those people who believe there exist that Supreme Being Who is eternal Spirit, can find His handbook for life, which has every guidance we need in it. This Super Power is more mighty than any man, and it is Him we should fear and not our fellow man. To His words we should give more attention than to the words of man. By reading them the readers shall find their character and their personality changing by the years. They shall be able to find kindness and truth, but should also be aware that favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man, plus good success can leave them if they do not continue on the right path.

We should trust in the Most High Lord of heavens, the God of gods, Jehovah with all our heart. Too many people today are leaning on their own understanding, convinced they have enough own insight. How mistaken they can be. God asks us to trust the Adonai with all our heart and not to rely on our own understanding.

In all our ways we should have respect unto Him by listening to Him Who has all the answers. Him we can trust to give our hand to be guided through life. When we allow Him to order our goings, we can be sure we shall be able to find easier ways in life. We therefore may not neglect the God’s Word. It will not be sufficient just to read His Word once in our lifetime. It also will not be sufficient to go to Him only when we are in trouble or find no way out. We shall have to show to God we are with Him and do love Him, not for what we might get from Him but out of honest feelings of love for Him and His creation.

We should all be aware that we will not enjoy life — really live — as God intended, without feeding regularly on God’s Word.

As human beings we do need water daily, our drinks and our other beverages. We can not survive without having food regularly. Spiritually it is exactly the same, we can not survive without our spiritual food at regular time intervals.

In case we do not eat properly we shall not be able to stay healthy. We need the necessary nutrients to stay strong physically. But we do not only have our physical body. We do have our brains and our way of thinking. To keep that healthy we shall need to give our brains the right impulses. We do need spiritual food to stay strong spiritually.

God’s Word — the Bible — is the food that feeds our faith, and gives us spiritual strength.

” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'” (Matthew 4:4 NHEBJE)

By every thing that God prescribes we shall be able to live. Like we need to feed our body every day, we also need to feed our spirit every day.

British Library Add. MS 59874 Ethiopian Bible – Matthew’s Gospel (Ge’ez script) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Our daily Bible reading should be our standard activity whereby we virtually bind the Word of God around our neck, writing them on the tablet of our heart. Doing so, we will find favour and good repute in the sight of God but also of man. Acknowledging Him, He will make your paths straight.

To get regularly some of God’s Word into our mind we can build up some good habits, such as reading the Word every time we eat food, or every morning when when we awake, or right before we go to sleep. It does not matter so much when we take some time to read in the Bible or when we take some time to pray or have our little conversation with the One Who we love. We only should not postpone it and should remember every day.

We may not be wise in our own eyes. We should fear the Most High Divine Creator, Jehovah and turn away from evil. When we fulfil such daily routine of Bible Reading it will be healing to our body and be as a refreshment to our bones.

Let the Word of God with the daily readings exhort us so that God in all our ways shall direct our paths.

” My son, do not forget my teaching; but let your heart keep my commandments:  (2)  for length of days, and years of life, and peace, will they add to you.  (3)  Do not let kindness and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart.  (4)  So you will find favor, and good understanding in the sight of God and man.  (5)  Trust in Jehovah with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  (6)  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  (7)  Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear Jehovah, and depart from evil.  (8)  It will be health to your body, and nourishment to your bones.” (Proverbs 3:1-8 NHEBJE)

Taking every day the Bible into our hands to read in it we should also pounder and meditate on what we have read. We should let the Words of God go deeper in our mind. Not only letting the word coming into our minds, we should also allow the Word of God come out of our minds, speaking it to ourselves and others. Speaking the Word — especially when you personalize it, can really build your faith fast.

You can read the Word of God (the Bible) on your own or with others. Listening to others who read it aloud is also a nice way to share God’s Word.

Of course, nothing can replace your own reading of the Bible, or having it read to you. But additionally it may benefit you to include devotional reading, texts or meditations on biblical texts or Bible Fragments.

Charles Taze Russell

For this reason we would like to contribute to encourage you to think about certain Bible fragments and would like to present, or to do our part in providing, material to enrich you spiritually. Besides Bible Fragments we will on this site, in the future, places short devotions or thoughts and discussions of our confreres from the past. As such you shall be able to find some parts from Charles Taze Russell his “Daily Manna” which had far better success than the Bible Students had dared hope for at the turn of the 19th century.

At the beginning of the 21st century we too would like to present “Daily Manna” to provide our visitors and readers with  spiritual nourishment. We do hope we shall find enough people who are truly committed to seeking God and walking closely with Him, interested to meditate with us on the provided readings from the Bible as well as from previous writings by different Bible Students.

We shall regularly bring an extraction of God’s word, with or without commentary and present some thoughts to draw the sincere seeker closer to God on a regular basis.

Knowing that the hope for the world lies in the blessings of knowledge and opportunity to be brought to all by Christ’s Millennial Kingdom — but that before Jesus shall return everywhere in the world the Gospel shall have to be preached, we would like to bring our contribution to that preaching and hope that you would like to share the Good News with others.

We all should work at our self and help others to work at themselves to become more clean and ‘holy‘ so that we can set apart and be prepared for the return of Christ Jesus, when all the wilfully wicked will be destroyed.(Acts 3:19-23; Isaiah 35).

We wish we can stimulate you to look more into your Bible and to study further the Word of God.

For the extra devotional texts we shall first present writings from the original edition of the “Daily Heavenly Manna” first published in book form on February 1, 1905 (R3498). The compiler, Sr. Gertrude W. Siebert was noted for making her
selections with “particularity and carefulness.”
The popularity of the first edition of 20,000 called for a subsequent printing of 40,000 in 1907 (R3967.) This second edition added the feature of interleaved lined pages for use as an “Autograph and Birthday record.” Its use as a follow-up for the colporteurs was suggested at that time, and some of their early experiences are recorded in R4561 and R5869.
By 1911, the popularity of the “Manna” was so great that a reader of the “Towers” suggested the use of the Wednesday text for the weekly Testimony meeting (R4770). A similar suggestion a few months later was amended by Pastor Russell to a suggestion for the Thursday text. (R4833)

In the past several people found comfort in the thoughts the Bible Students offered and some call it their “Heavenly Breakfast Food” and tell that they feast upon its lessons as regularly as the sun rises. Surely the little tithe of time daily
spent in partaking of its morsels of heavenly counsel cannot fail to profit all who partake.
The day opened with such meditations is sure to be the better spent and more profitable.
The heart thus turned to holy thoughts is much less likely to go aside from right paths than otherwise. “The wisdom that cometh from above” is thus gradually and easily assimilable, and cannot fail to bear some good fruit in the hearts of the saints, and to awaken reverence in the worldly.

+

Additional reading:

1. Not the circumstances in which we are placed constitutes our comfort
2. The big agenda item
3. Walking in the Light of Life
4. The giving and protecting God
5. God’s Blog recorded in a Book
6. Creator and Blogger God 2 Image and likeness
7. Bible in the first place #2/3
8. God’s Comfort
9. Man’s plans prevailed by God’s purpose
10. Words to inspire and to give wisdom
11. People Seeking for God 1 Looking for answers
12. People Seeking for God 2 Human interpretations
13. People Seeking for God 3 Laws and directions
14. People Seeking for God 6 Strategy
15. My God
16. The manager and Word of God
17. Understanding what we read
18. A time for everything
19. Feed Your Faith Daily
20. He who kneels before God can stand before anyone!
21. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands
22. We have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace
23. A Living Faith #10: Our manner of Life #2
24. If you want to go far in life
25. Grow strong in weakness
26. Running away from the past
27. Everything that is done in the world is done by hope
28. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #4 Transitoriness #3 Rejoicing in the insistence
29. Philosophy hand in hand with spirituality
30. Being Religious and Spiritual 4 Philosophical, religious and spiritual people
31. Being Religious and Spiritual 7 Transcendence to become one
32. Discipleship way of life on the narrow way to everlasting life
33. Youth has difficulty Bible Reading
34. Hello America and atheists
35. Charles Taze Russell never claimed to have found a new religion, or a new church.
36. Russell himself never claimed to be a prophet.
37. Around C.T.Russell
38. Russell and his beliefs
39. Biblestudents & T.C.Russell

+++

Related articles

• { Armor of God } (alongtimetraveller.wordpress.com)
  Some of the most anxiety-ridden times of my life have also been the sweetest times of God revealing Himself to me. I can assure you that I would not be the same today without those moments. My fear drives me into God’s Word, which guides me into His comfort in my toughest times.
• American Foundations The Bible? (wemmons.wordpress.com)
  How far down into this mud-hole of godless self-destruction can we go before the blessing and guidance of God is lifted off our nation? History has numerous examples of societies who chose to forget God and reject His design for their existence. The end results have never been good. When a nation fails to fulfill it’s God-given purpose, then it has no purpose, no vision and no reason to exist. Without a vision, or reason to exist, a nation begins to devour itself and soon becomes another footnote in the history books of other nations. Is this what we want for America? How much you pray and how well you vote will determine the answer!
• Striving In Pra… (granaatbloeisels.wordpress.com)
  I always feel that one of the great factors in our own spiritual enlargement is a real active concern for others; not in the sense that we look after another’s vineyard and neglect our own, become “busy-bodies” as the Apostle would term it, occupied with everybody’s business except our own, but that there is a right and proper and fruitful concern for others. What the Scriptures that we have read bring before us is that God’s great revelation of purpose in the Church is not going to be realized without some tremendous and terrific conflict. There have to be those who throw themselves into that conflict for that end.
• Conversation with God (lifeandtimesinthehood.wordpress.com)
  He used my everyday trials in life that all people go through in life; divorces, surgeries, health issues, relationships, etc. by turning them into a lie and used them against me. He did it so subtle that I thought I was doing all of it on my own; so that I would feel guilty and take the blame for all the negative feelings and own it as unworthy, worthless and unwanted. He did it little by little so I wasn’t aware of his presence.
• Eighty Happy Students (smoothersailing.wordpress.com)
  There were 78 Bibles given out to some very thrilled students. One student said he was so excited to get a Bible because he could now have his own and be even closer to one day being a pastor. Other students were so excited to receive their Bibles they cried, sang and danced for joy.”
• The Dark Knight of the Soul (theatlantic.com)
  Michael, 25, was a certified yoga teacher when he made his way to Cheetah House. He explains that during the course of his meditation practice his “body stopped digesting food. I had no idea what was happening.” For three years he believed he was “permanently ruined” by meditation.
  “Recovery,” “permanently ruined”—these are not words one typically encounters when discussing a contemplative practice.
• Daily Meditations – Wednesday, July 2, 2014 (keys2kingdom.wordpress.com)
  By far the greatest gift ever received by us is the Holy Spirit Himself. Those who discover the value of His presence enter realms of intimacy with God never previously considered possible. Out of this vital relationship arises a ministry of power that formerly was only a dream. The incomprehensible becomes possible because He is with us.
• Reasons Why I Do not Share The Gospel (fanaimasala.wordpress.com)
  Would you agree with me if I say these are the reasons why I do not share the gospel with others ?1. I am too busy.
  2. I don’t know how to share it.
  3. I am not smart enough.
  4. People don’t want to hear it.

  Well, all of these may have some influence, but I believe the real reasons are deeper.

• Spiritual but not religious – Good or bad? (havau22.wordpress.com)
  Some school governors in Birmingham England have been accused of attempting to impose and promote a narrow faith-based ideology in secular schools. Should we be encouraging spiritual rather than religious education?
  +
  I would suggest that here there isan attempt to relate in prayer one-to-one with an image of a personal yet transcendent God.Being religious means accepting the value of knowing about divinely revealed ideas in religious culture and also being spiritual means finding the divine spirit within inner experience.
• Pressing on To Maturity (disciplesforlife.wordpress.com)
  1. God’s desire and purpose for His image bearers is that we know Him. This call is especially so for believers who have been united to Christ
  2. Our growth in maturity is blocked not merely by intellectual issues, but by sin and love of the world, indicating a serious heart issue
  3. God calls us to press on toward maturity in the strength He has given: in prayerful reading and studying of His Word, asking for and depending on God’s help for our increased spiritual growth