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The Bell

THE BELL
I KNOW WHO I AM
I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15)
I am united with the Lord(1 Cor. 6:17)
I am bought with a price(1 Cor. 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt.5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ(1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil.3:20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31-34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God(2 Cor.5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God(Rom.8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor.1:21-22)
I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8: 28)
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16)
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12)
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)

I belong to God
Do you know
who you are!?


"The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make His face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn His face toward you

and give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26

The Teddy Bear Filling Station

The other day, the Lord told me to go to a small business near my house. It is called The Filling Station. It is a new business where you buy an empty teddy bear and fill it up with stuffing, then dress it in a cute outfit. God had been prompting me to pray for it everytime I drove by, but this day he said to go. I got up and went!

I discovered the lady was a Christian and she needed prayer for her business. We prayed together and chatted for a while, She told me a story that happened a few weeks ago. She was feeling down because business had been so slow and she looked outside. An elderly gentleman in an older yellow car drove over the curb into the parking lot. He appeared to be about 90 yrs old.

She thought he might be looking for the barber shop that used to be in that little building so she ran out to save his getting out of the car. She asked if he wanted a haircut. He said that he wanted to see her. His name was Victor and he told her that he came to say that everything was going to be alright. He patted her on the arm and said for her not to worry.

She asked where he lived because she wondered if he lived in the nearby neighborhood. She pointed as she asked. He told her no and turned the opposite direction and pointed. She followed his arm and hand with her eye and said, "Victor, you are pointing up." He just smiled, told her not to worry and drove over the curb and down the street. She has not seen him since.

Now what do you think of that? What a wonderful story!

The Stream

This picture is a painting by Leila Ashton. I have borrowed it from the Internet Google Images. I wanted to give her the credit for the picture.

I saw a vision this AM... I was squatting beside a lovely stream. I could look through that clear water and see the beautiful rocks in the bottom of the stream. They were so pretty that I wanted to hold them.

The Lord said that the rocks were our personalities and character traits. The stream has worked and worked on us and worn off the rough edges. I asked him where He was in the picture and then I saw Him ... He was the water. He was flowing over us and smoothing the rocks. Oh, Thank you Jesus!

How Is It Going?

How is it going with you? Everyone I know who is truly following Christ is having lots of trouble. God is doing His final refining before He pours out a huge wave of the Holy Spirit. He is getting us ready.

Are you fighting His work in you, or are you spending time with Him to get closer and find out what He wants from you? You can see some of this all wrong, you know, and start beating on the devil. Better than that, you can realize that God Himself is doing His pruning in your life. You can take some time to ask Him what He wants you to learn.

I sure do not want to go around this mountain again, do you? Father, show us what it is You want us to know, change, and understand. Refine us so that we are ready for Your great outpouring. We do not want to miss a single thing.

We take this time of difficulty and draw close to You as we would draw close to a loving father. Protect us from the enemy and protect us from ourselves. We thank You and bless You for Your great and tender mercies. Amen.

Rev. 2 15 The doctrine of the Nicolaitans

The root of the word Nicolaitans comes from Greek nikao, to conquer or overcome, and laos, which means people and which the word laity comes from. The two words together especially means the destruction of the people and refers to the earliest form of what we call a priestly order or clergy which later on in church history divided people and allowed for leadership other than those led by the spirit of the risen Lord. A good translation of Nicolaitan would be "those who prevail over the people."

This clerical system later developed into the papal hierarchy of priests and clergy lording over the flock. The Council of Trent stated, "If anyone shall say that there is not in the Catholic Church a hierarchy established by the divine ordination, consisting of bishops, presbyters and ministers, let him be anathema."

It is not the question of the ministries but rather in the separation of them into a hierarchy over the people. This very idea was taken over by the Protestants with their own corruption of leadership roles and coverings. The Church of Ephesus was commended for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans. The wrong separation of the clergy from the laity is a great evil in God's sight and He hates the lust for religious power over others.

There is an ungodly spiritual authority in the Church today, which is nothing more than the prideful spirit of control, manipulation, domination and intimidation and a rebellion of the rightful authority of God.

Four Rules to Live By

(Not what you think, so read on)!
I met this guy while I was in Albuquerque and he has a Motto he lives by everyday. He said listen carefully and live by these 4 Rules: Drink, Steal, Swear, & Lie. I was shaking my head 'no', but he then told me to listen while he explained his four rules.

So here they are:
1.. "Drink" from the "everlasting cup" every day.
2.. "Steal" a moment to help someone that is in worse shape than you are.
3.. "Swear" that you will be a better person today than yesterday.
4.. And last, but not least, when you "lie" down at night, thank God You live in North America and have freedom.

I am not as good as I should be; I am not as good as I could be; but THANK GOD, I am better than I used to be.

-- Author Unknown

How Big is Your Jesus?

How big is your Jesus? What is He like? I have heard people say that THEIR Jesus would never correct them because they have gone through so much.

Excuse me... Jesus was a man (HUMAN!) just as we are. He came here to go through terrible things and show us that there is an answer to our difficulties in him.

Jesus never excuses us from sin. He shows us the way to overcome. If YOUR Jesus is not ever correcting you, then my dear person, you know the wrong one.

Please do not misunderstand. Jesus is never cruel, mean, mouthy, or surly. He knows how to convict with His Word (the Bible), with His eye as He watches you, with His Holy Spirit as he leads you. In order to receive his LOVING correction... that is right, I said LOVING, you must get to know Him. Read His Word. Pray. Sit in His presence.

Praise God for His correction that keeps us safe and close to his protection. I hope that you have a big Jesus. He wants to be big in your life. Let Him today!

Satisfied?

Are you satisfied with your life? Have you relaxed spiritually? If so, you are in a dangerous place.

The Word of God says that without a vision the people perish. That word “perish” means to cast off restraint. Without a vision, you walk aimlessly. You have no goal for your life and you wander around stretching for nothing. If you aim at nothing, you will surely hit it, nothing.

You might say, “But how do I get a vision?” That one is easy, ask God for one.

You can also dig deep in your heart and discover a gift or talent you have always had. Work on that because surely it connects to what God wants you to do. God did not give it to you by mistake.

Do not be satisfied today. Stretch… It is good for your muscles and good for your spirit.

Dominion, Dominion

God has been speaking to me over and over about dominion. He has had me ponder how Adam and Eve had dominion. He showed me how they lost dominion to the devil when Adam sinned.

I want to stop right there for a minute.... Do you realize that when we believe the lies of the devil, he has dominion over us? Well that is exactly what he won. He won that chance to lie to us.... He is so sly and so clever, but not as clever as God. He did not realize that Jesus would come take it all back for us.

On with my story... Jesus came to us... lived life as a man without sin, which is what Adam was supposed to do, then he started taking back that dominion for us. He suffered with the horrible things he went through as he neared the cross. Finally he overcame death itself by coming back to life....

Hallelujah! He bought it all back, but dear one, you and I cannot lie down and think God is going to roll it over us. We have to reach out and take it. You see, we are back to dominion. God gives us the power to TAKE DOMINION over our circumstances. He even gives us the right words in the Word of God.

Have you ever heard of the Scripture that speaks of working out your own salvation with fear and trembling? Well, loved one, this is what it is... it is taking back that dominion. It is using what Jesus gave you. It is once more being like the perfect Adam God created. You have power over your circumstances, power over your life.

The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you. There is nothing that is impossible for a person who believes. How do you get all this? Prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer!

So are you willing to stay in the mire of the enemy's lies or are you ready to step out of those old ways and accept ALL that God has for you? He planned for you to have it all, you know. Even from the beginning of time, he wanted you to have it all.

Ponder what I have said here then come with me as we work to move closer to God. Blessings to you, loved one.

Fire, Fire!

Fire, Fire! Hey everyone, it is time to wake up. Our God is a consuming fire! If he lives in you, you also should be on fire.

Church, oh church! Arise, arise! It is time to begin moving the way Jesus did. greater things than he did, we shall do. Arise, arise. Oh, sleeping giant...... Shake off your slumber. Get up. Let us get going. No more time to waste playing church. No more time to have us four and no more. No more time.

Fire, fire. Let the Holy Spirit come and bring his fire to ALL CHRISTIANS EVERYWHERE.

Come Holy Spirit, Come!

Elizabeth

This is my beautiful daughter Elizabeth. She is 40 years old and has 4 beautiful daughters age 17, almost 16, 15, and almost 14.

Elizabeth is a prophet... a seer.... with a heart for the hurting and the down and out. She is an intercessor. God wakes her in the night to pray for people he puts on her heart. Her call is not an easy one. She loses lots of sleep and she is very concerned about the welfare of people.

And They Healed Them

I am writing this in orange today because orange is the color of healing!

I was just reading the story in Acts 9 about Tabbitha's death, and Peter's ministry to her. It says that he removed everyone from the room. Hey, what a good idea to get all the negative spiritual influence out of the way so that you have only BELIEF behind your prayers and your actions!

Acts 9:40 says in the Amplified that . . . Peter put them all out of the room and knelt down and prayed, then turning to the body he said, "Tabbitha, get up!" and she opened her eyes; and when she saw it was Peter, she raised herself up and sat upright.

Did you notice what Peter did? He did not ask God to heal her. He prayed, and I think when he did that he was asking to be completely refilled with the Holy Spirit so that he could do the healing work necessary. THEN he told her to get up. He commanded her with his Holy Ghost power.

God did not say for us to go out and ask HIM to heal. He told US to heal because he has given us back the dominion that the devil took when Adam sinned. We are to be full of the power of God (that was the prayer that Peter prayed) and we are to do the things Jesus did and even greater things than this.

Please do not misunderstand me. I am not so foolish as to think that God had nothing to do with this. On the contrary. It is God IN US who does this work. We need to do it the way He wants though. For years we have been whining for God to do this and God to do that. I think God wants us to do what He said... take authority. That is why Jesus died. He bought back all the dominion and authority that we lost with sin.

May God be IN YOU today, full of glory and power in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

A Comment From Oswald

Any strand of our own energy will blur the life of Jesus. We have to keep letting go, and slowly and surely the great full life of God will invade us in every part, and men will take knowledge that we have been with Jesus.
My Utmost For His Highest
by Oswald Chambers

A Time To Reflect

It is almost Resurrection Sunday, Easter. I have noticed that God has so many of us thinking about all that Jesus did on the cross. How little we really know and understand about it. Oh, we think we do, but according to our lives, we do not.

First of all, that cross bought us salvation. We say, Yes, I understand that. I get to go to Heaven. Beloved, that is not what salvation is. Do you know that the word salvation means hope, healing, peace, safety, deliverance, and prosperity. It is for now, not just for heaven. Tell me, are we all receiving that? There.... that is what I am talking about.

I have been going over Isaiah 53:4 about how Jesus bore our griefs [maladies, anxieties, calamities, diseases, griefs, sicknesses] Wow. Now right there if we would just get a hold on that we would be far better off than we are.

That brings up another thing. When we were saved, we had to reach our and accept it by FAITH. So we have to reach out and accept our healing by faith. Either Jesus did it for us or he did not. What are we going to believe?

Remember that the Israelites died in the wilderness because of unbelief. Let us not die in the wilderness because of our unbelief. We have the Word of God. We have proof positive that Jesus has completed the work for us. He absolutely bought back the things that the devil stole from Adam when Adam sinned. We must exercise our faith to believe and accept.

Will you join me now in meditating on all that Jesus did for us and reach out to receive the healing and everything that salvation means?

Have a wonderful Passover/Resurrection season. Be blessed today!

Fellowship with God!

My dear friend sent me another wonderful tidbit this morning.... It is so good.

Rejoice oh daughter of Zion! That is what the Lord reminded me of. The nugget I got from Joyce Meyer this morning is "Don't fellowship with
(ruminate, rehash) what you have done wrong. Fellowship with God" . Joyce said she was always vulnerable to that, rehashing what she had done wrong, telling God how sorry she was and apologizing to him over and over again and one day He said to her "Are you going to fellowship with me or your mess?" Let us revel in his love for us as His beloved chosen bride and let Him work our details out :o)

I love your tidbits, Delores. Thanks, and blessings to all!

Nugget for the Day

Nugget for the day from friend Delores: "Where our vain imaginations run is the place where we don't trust God."
Hmmmmmm...... where do we tend to fret, feel defeated, ruminate, worry???
Lord, we choose to judge you faithful and trust you in those areas. Amen.

Do You Think He is Faithful?

I received the following from a friend the other day. I thought it was something worth my taking before the Lord, and I thought maybe it might help others.

Here is what my friend said....

I heard a great tidbit in church today. Pastor said the reason Sarah was able to conceive was that it says she JUDGED God faithful. He said that often we are not able to be in faith (conceive in the spirit realm for our needs/desires) because we look at our experiences and consciously or unconsciously judge God unfaithful.

I witnessed to that one. I have said with my mouth that God is faithful and have believed it but then have become discouraged because I looked at the areas still not happening and have unconsciously responded to them as if God was not faithful to me. Hmmm...worth pondering and checking our hearts.

Wow, that is really deep. We tend to serve God with our own rules. He is trying to get His rules in us. That is why he makes us wait.

Blessings for a New Day

I bless your day with all God's good salvation blessings, peace, hope, healing, deliverance, and safety... May you be his light. Remember that He created you just the way you are with the special gifts he gave to you. Those gifts are so that you can reach out and be a blessing to the world.

If you can sing... hum and sing your lovely songs today. If you can smile, give those away all day. If you can encourage, speak a good word to all you meet today. If you can pray, pray for those around you who are in need. Use the great gifts and wisdom God has given you. It will bless his socks off...

The Gardener

The Gardener

Copyright by Karen Appleby

The gardener poked his tools in his gardening apron, slipped on his gloves and walked toward the beautiful patch of tilled up earth. Oh what a beautiful sight to behold--his precious plants all doing what they were to do. Each one lifting hands high toward the rain and the sun, drinking in whatever the day brought forth. Each one trusting without a question about why, or where, or when. Yes, it was a beautiful garden.

He stopped, bent down and inspected each plant carefully, touching each one gently as he passed. Occasionally he would reach into his gardening apron and remove a pair of pruning shears. As he supported the plant with his left hand, he carefully clipped off branches that were not growing well and not producing good fruit. He made each cut thoughtfully and delicately so that the plant would not suffer unnecessary shock or damage. Naturally, he knew every plant’s need. However, he had to force the plant to produce to its best ability.

Every branch which the gardener leaves on the plant is a branch which will bear much fruit. Every branch which the gardener prunes will also bear much fruit. All plants in his garden are productive; none are weak and dying. Because of his touch, every plant is vigorous as it matures.

These wonderful plants do not have to do anything but submit to the work of this master's hands to be good fruit bearers. They do not have to strain to grow well; they do not have to worry about nourishment. The gardener's care alone causes the plants to flourish. The plant never takes the credit away from its master.

How does this gardener feel about his plants? Why, he would absolutely give his life for them. Rain or shine he is always in that garden speaking tenderly to his plants, gently pruning, carefully transplanting. His is a prize winning plot of land because of his dedication to it, and each plant can proudly say that it was chosen by this master for a special purpose--to bear much fruit. The whole world will see the beauty of that fruit as the gardener releases plants and chooses others.

Come visit sometime. The gardener will be glad to tell you about his prizewinners if you ask.

The Plague of Frogs

In Exodus 8, the Lord tells us about the plague of frogs that was upon Egypt. Those frogs were in everything. They were in the houses, in the beds, in the kneading troughs and in the people’s faces. Can you imagine stepping on frogs? Can you imagine getting a frog in your nightclothes? Can you imagine getting a frog in your underwear? Worse yet, can you imagine frogs jumping into the food you are preparing?

This was a plague of terrible proportion. However, God has told us that Pharaoh wanted the frogs to go so he lied and agreed to let the people go. Moses asked Pharaoh to tell him when he wanted the plague of frogs to stop, Do you know what Pharaoh told him? He said, “Tomorrow!” Why did he not ask for right now? What a strange request.

You know that we also get used to our plagues and we put up with them until tomorrow! We become kind of friendly with them and even feel that we deserve to suffer with them. Beloved, this is wrong because Jesus has paid for our healing. He suffered those stripes on his back for our healing. He went through all that and then we turn our back on it and say, no thank you. I like my plague of frogs. I think I will keep it a while longer. Come back tomorrow and get rid of my problem!

I have decided to believe Jesus. I have repented from listening to the voice of the enemy coming through well meaning people. I am tired of people thinking doctor before they think God. Yes, we need doctors if there is serious trauma… car accidents and the like, but as for me and my house, we have decided that we want the frogs removed NOW, today.

Three Kinds of Christians

1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Those three parts of man are the things that rule three different kinds of Christians. They are as follows:

BODY (The Carnal Christian)

Galatians 5:20-21

Depends on the flesh

Pharisees moved in this realm

If it feels good, do it!

Envy, Jealousy

Selfishness

Fighting, Arguing

Taking sides

Witchcraft, Drugs, Controlling others

Idolatry

Strife, Anger, Rage

Drunkenness, which is

(Overindulging of any kind, TV, Sports, etc.)

Fornication, Adultery

Immorality, Impurity, Indecency

Divisions, Dissensions,

Party Spirit, Carousing

Factions, Sects with peculiar opinions,

Heresies

Partiality

SOUL (The Soulish Christian)

Galatians 6:1-7, James 8:1-11

Tries to walk God’s ways with his own mind.

Figures out best ways to do what God wants.

Sporadically curses.

Wants to be seen by men.

Loves titles, Loves to tell you his titles.

Exalts self

Ruled by the five senses

His works have no eternal value.

Does not want to wait for God.

Will try to set self in ministry to receive

Admiration and appreciation.

Because he wants his OWN will,

He is disobedient to the Holy Spirit.

SPIRIT (The Spiritual Man)

Galatians 5:22-23

Jesus is in control of his life so he exhibits:

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self-control

Intimacy with God and Sex in Marriage

copyright 1990

by Karen C. Appleby

Introduction

The Lord showed me this revelation a year or so ago, and I have felt since then that we really need to give it to the body of Christ. We need to share it with the young people and teenagers because it says why they are to keep themselves pure.

It also tells them that the thing they are fighting is really the devil’s attempt to suck them all into the pool of perversion so that he can say he is winning.

It is my prayer that this teaching will clarify understanding for those who read it and bring them great freedom and blessing.

KCA

A Picture Of Jesus And The Church

Ephesians 5:22-32

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Leave = to abandon, forsake.

Joined = to glue to, to adhere, cleave.

One = first, agree.

Mystery = a religious truth that man can know by revelation alone and cannot fully understand.

The first human institution God created was marriage and then the family. They are both extremely important to Him.

God created Eve from the man himself so that they would truly be one flesh and would be able to work together SIDE BY SIDE to do God’s perfect will.

God Institutes Marriage

Genesis 2:21-25

And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Leave = loosen, relinquish, forsake, refuse.

Cleave = cling or adhere; abide, fast, follow close, be joined together.

One = united, first, alike, alone, altogether, together.

Naked = uncovered, exposed.

Ashamed = feeling shame, guilt, disgrace, inferior or unworthy.

This scripture lines up with the one we just looked at in Ephesians. We see that the marriage of Adam and Eve in Genesis and the marriage Paul speaks of in Ephesians are really an example of Jesus’ relationship to the church.

You may be saying, “But the church does not have sex with Jesus.” True, but it does have intimacy with Him. We are to leave all the worldliness in our past lives and cleave to Him. We become one with Him, and we are even naked, uncovered and exposed with Him.

He knows all about us. He knows our thoughts and our every move. If we really have learned who He is, we will stand naked before him without feeling any shame because He loves us so much, and He forgives and heals us.

Why He Wants Godly Marriage

Malachi 2:15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.

One = united, first.

Seed = posterity, children.

Heed = guard, protect.

None deal treacherously = do not offend or be unfaithful.

The Lord wants the marriage covenant to be strong and remain pure so that the couple will produce GODLY SEED. God wants children who will grow up to love Him and walk with Him all the days of their lives.

Look at our world today. The children are ravaged because of the ungodly lives of their parents. Satan attacked that which the Lord wanted from the adults, and now the children are being sacrificed to the gods of the nation--greed, perversion, self, etc.

Naturally since this godliness is the one thing the Lord wants from a marriage union, the devil is going to vigorously attack marriage from every angle. He will try to cause division oftentimes through a spirit of jealousy that carries the very substance of division with it.

Remember that Cain was jealous of Abel and therefore killed him. Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him and sold him to the Midianite traders. Anger and division cause one or both parties in a marriage to kill and sell the relationship. The people in the family who suffer the most are the innocent children.

What Place Has Sex?

Many people seem to think that Christians are against having a sexual relationship. Well, you know that it was God himself who created sex. He did it for a wonderful reason.

First however, let us discover some of the things the Lord says about sex.

The whole book of the Song of Solomon is a love letter from Solomon to his bride. It is all about sex and intimacy. This book is also about Jesus and His Bride.

1 Corinthians 7:1-3

Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.

Paul says here that we can avoid fornication (sex outside marriage) by having our own husband or wife. That sure sounds as if God intended married men and women to have a sex relationship. He would never have given instructions on such things if He were not permitting it.

Husband render = give away, deliver, perform, requite, restore, reward, yield,

Due = obligation

Benevolence = kindness; euphemism for conjugal duty

Euphemism means a nice way to say. . .

Conjugal duty means the sexual rights of marriage.

The Sexual Responsibilities Of Marriage

1 Corinthians 7:4-5

The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.

Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

The Lord even goes so far as to say that in this loving relationship (remember it is like Jesus and the church) the husband and wife, neither one, have the power (that means control) over their bodies. They give their bodies as a loving ministry to their mates.

Jesus did this for us. He gave Himself wholly and unreservedly to us so that we could have a good life with Him. We in turn give our bodies whole heartedly to Him. We are to take care of body, soul and spirit because we were bought with a price. When we really know and understand that He loves us, we have love, peace, and joy.

When we really know and understand that we love and have a mate who loves us, it brings us a form of love, peace and joy. It cannot replace what Jesus provides, but it does give us a picture of His relationship with the church.

Covenant Relationship

God has always worked in covenant relationships. He made a covenant with Noah that He would never flood the whole earth again. To show Noah that He would keep it, He made a bow in the sky as a reminder of the covenant.

He made a covenant with Abraham about inheriting the Promised Land. This time God sealed the covenant with blood:

Genesis 17:10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

Circumcision is the cutting away of the extra skin on the male penis. It is an illustration of cutting away the flesh from the heart so the person will not sin. It is the flesh we battle all the time in our lives. We call circumcision a prophetic drama.

A covenant is a formal agreement. With God a covenant is an agreement that He makes and we complete. We call the Old Testament covenant the law. In it blood of animals covered sin, but this kind of blood did not last.

Jesus came and gave His life to fulfill the new covenant. This covenant also had shed blood to cover sin, but this time the blood lasted forever.

When people were under the law in the Old Testament, the high priest had to enter the Holy of Holies once a year with blood and atone for the sins of the people of Israel.

Leviticus 16:15

Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:

Leviticus 16:30

For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.

Leviticus 16:34

And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

The Veil And The Blood

This was a fearful and a dangerous thing to do. If the priest went before the mercy seat with any sin in his life, the holy God who dwelled behind that veil could have struck him dead.

The priest wore garments with bells on the hem, and there was a rope tied around one of his legs. Those who were outside held onto the rope and they pulled him out if they heard the bells stop ringing. No one else entered that area. No one wanted to because it was so unsafe.

Hebrews 10:16-20

This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

When Jesus came He brought the New Covenant to replace the old. No longer do men have to go to the priest with their bulls and lambs to sacrifice. Now we have the blood of Jesus that washes away our sins.

Jesus became the perfect sacrifice with the perfect blood to take before the Mercy Seat. That is just what He does for us. When we confess our sins, He sits at the right hand of the Father and says, “That person is covered by my blood. I forgive him, Father.” Then the Father pronounces us forgiven.

Matthew 27:50-51 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain [torn in two] from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

The perfect sacrifice of Jesus destroyed the veil that stood between every day ordinary people and the presence of God. Now because of the death and resurrection of Jesus and the spilling of His blood, man would have access to the Holy of Holies at any time.

What does all this have to do with the intimacy and sex in marriage, you ask? It has everything to do with it.

A Lesson in Female Anatomy

God made the female with hidden sexual parts. At the opening of the vagina (the birth canal and the place where sexual intercourse takes place) is a thin but tough ring of skin called the Hymen.

This Hymen is like the veil. It covers a holy area that is off limits to others. The Holy of Holies also was off limits to everyone except the high priest, and then he could only enter once a year.

When the man and woman come together for the first time, the Hymen veil tears as the priest and prophet of the this new home makes entry. This does not hurt her because there are no nerves in the Hymen. There are blood vessels, however, and blood is shed the first time this happens. The marriage then becomes a blood covenant. Now the husband has free access into the most holy area.

This sexual act is the illustration of Jesus giving Himself once and for all for the church with His blood covenant. It is a prophetic drama of just what the intimacy with God really is.

Just for whom is this prophetic drama? Whenever the marriage act takes place in purity and love it shows the devil who has won. He hates that. That is why he has tried so hard to pervert sex and people. Satan has used sex more than any other thing to destroy Christians. He tries everything from marital unfaithfulness, premarital sex, to sexually abusing children to try to stamp out the good relationship with God. He even uses sex as the center of the Satanic Rites.

Friends, he will not win. Now that you know the reasoning behind his work, clean up your own life and begin to move in sexual purity. Let your sexuality illustrate the glory of God through Jesus Christ’s gift to the church. Become pure and intimate with your mate and intimate with God. This will bless Him greatly!

If you do not have a mate, purify your life and keep it that way so that you may glorify God when and if the time comes. It is never too late to be clean. That is the beauty of the blood of Jesus. It makes us as white as snow. So if you have already made big mistakes, or you have been violated in a sexual way, just ask the Lord to heal you and he will wash you whiter than snow.

Thank you, Lord, for the blood of Jesus that covers every part of our past lives.

A Thought for the Day

Author Unknown

This came to me via email... It was something to think about, so I am sharing it.

Philippians 4:13 --- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

The road to success is not straight. There is a curve called Failure, a loop called Confusion, speed bumps called Friends, red lights called Enemies, caution lights called Family. You will have flats called Jobs. But, if you have a spare called Determination, an engine called Perseverance, insurance called Faith, a driver called Jesus, you will make it to a place called Success.

On Prayer

On Prayer

by Karen C. Appleby

copyright 2006

When I was young in the Lord, He anointed me to pray. Oh how I prayed. It flowed from a well deep within me. It flowed and flowed and I loved to pray and spend time with Him.

I developed a disciplined prayer for all my family and friends and God even had me write a handy little booklet to help me pray so that I would not forget anything. One day I sat down to go through my disciplined prayer list when I heard a voice loud and clear say, “Don’t bring me your ritualistic prayers. I don’t want them.”

It scared me to death. The last thing I wanted was to be rejected by God for doing wrong as I had been rejected in my early life. I stammered around and tried to pray prayers that I thought were not ritualistic. A huge wall came between God and me concerning prayer. I cried out to him. I wept before him. I started to pray and found no words to speak. This went on for a long time. The accuser of the brethren had me in his clutches and accuse he did. The problem got worse instead of better and I beat up on myself. The more I did that, the more I felt I had failed my wonderful God.

Round and round I went with the condemnation and the accusations coming against me. Finally I had become my own worst enemy. Satan did not have to accuse me anymore, I had picked up the ball and it was rolling well.

I finally began to realize that this was not my precious Jesus who had done this. I recognized the condemnation came from the clever enemy. I prayed and repented from believing the condemnation, but I still did not have the root of my problem.

Now you must realize that I did not stop praying altogether. I talked to God, but could not seem to pray those passionate prayers for others that I had been able to do before. I decided that I needed to stop striving over this and I jumped into God’s lap and gave the whole thing to Him. I decided that the prayer was going to come to me when I quit working and punishing myself in my own flesh. I would trust the Lord to take care of this problem.

I talked to the Lord about my problem, but I did not strive. I stayed close to Him and sat almost always silent before Him. I knew that He was with me and His presence was there. Whenever I needed to pray with someone, God gave me the ability to do so.

I went to Canada to teach at a women’s retreat. Three of us talked about how we give away our inheritance just as Esau gave his inheritance to Jacob for a pot of stew.

I taught how we attained that inheritance of dominion in the Garden of Eden and how when Adam and Eve sinned; they gave their dominion to the devil because Eve believed the devil’s lie. Adam also believed a lie when he sinned because he thought that if he did not eat the fruit, he would be separated from Eve forever. He did not want that because he loved her. I knew while I studied this whole thing that I was onto something that was going to be life changing for all of us, including me.

I inspected my walk with the Lord and discovered several places that I had believed the devil’s lies. I began taking back the territory that I had yielded to the enemy. I confessed and repented for all the lies God showed me I had believed. Some of those darkened veils that cover us when we sin came off my eyes and let in more of His light.

One morning I got out my disciplined prayer guide and opened it up. As I sat there, the Holy Spirit stirred within me. I had believed the lie about prayer! I wrote a letter to the Lord in my journal to confess and repent for the wrong I had done. God was setting me free. Step by step, He had taken me from deception to revelation.

God is so smart. Do you know how much I learned in that process? I learned more about recognizing the voice of God--He will never talk to me the way the devil did! I learned more about getting caught up in condemnation… another tool of the enemy. (I do not care how rejected you were as a child, it is the devil’s plan to destroy you. Do not be surprised when you find this out.)

I learned more about giving every difficulty over to God. I learned that if you give something to him, He will take care of it at the right time. I learned to look for the places in my life where I have believed lies and repent from that. I am sure that I will learn even more from this.

Thank you, Lord, for your awesome ways.

Matthew 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Prophetic Drama

Do you know what a prophetic drama is? It is when God or a person does something in the natural that points to a spiritual truth. Here is a prophetic drama that I saw today.

It is very cold outside today. We have about 3 inches of snow on the ground and the bitter cold makes the snow crunchy and sparkly. In fact, mild air movement causes the snow that rests on the trees to give off little puffs of flakes. The flakes that fall gently to the ground sparkle in the bright sunshine. It looks as if there are tiny diamonds falling.

When you cannot see the top of the tree from your window, you cannot tell from where these diamonds are coming. I like to think that it is God showing me a prophetic drama of how he is going to pour out on his children this year. He is blessing me with this beauty to tell me that he is going to bless me with a cascade of good things so that I can fulfill his will for my life.

Thank you, Lord for the falling diamonds in my territory. I receive from you so that I may do your will.