The HOLY SPIRIT and FIRE !

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance.

but HE+ that cometh after me

is mightier than I,

Whose+ shoes I am not worthy to bear:

HE+ shall baptize you

with the HOLY SPIRIT,

and with

fire:

.

.

Whose+ fan is in His+ hand,

and HE+ will thoroughly purge His+ floor;

and gather His+ wheat into the garner;

but HE will burn up the chaff

with unquenchable fire.

Matthew 3: 11, 12

<(((><

.

.

If you want the blessings of The LORD to attend your way, then you must ask yourself: What have I done for JESUS CHRIST?

Paid your bills? ....Commendable, but millions of pagans and Buddhists and Moslems and Hindus pay their bills.... but they won't get into Heaven.

.

Didn't ever drink, smoke, or do drugs? ... lots of people haven't done these things. But that's not a ticket into Heaven either.

.

.

Fed, clothed, and raised your children to be decent, law-abiding, productive citizens? .....Now this is simply your un-abdicatable duty; you will be dreadfully accountable if you don't do this. Again, the above millions of peoples do this very same thing... yet they do not follow the Living Savior, Our LORD JESUS CHRIST,... so Heaven will be closed to them also.

.

.

Kept the 10 Commandments? (i.e., no stealing, no killing, no "cussin' using The LORD'S name, no adultery, doing ONLY Holy things on the sabbath, have not coveted after [lusted after] anything or person I've seen, etc.)... Aha, you say, I've kept all these things from my youth up because my parents made us live holy and righteous lives... but, that's not enough to get you into Heaven. If it was, the Bible could have stopped at Exodus.
.
Like JESUS Himself+ said, those commandments are right things to do and indeed, are simply the basic requirements of all.. Nothing beyond basic duty here... although you will reap better fruits if you do these right things than if you do not!
.
BUT, it still won't get you into Heaven.

.
Why?

.
Because you haven't been cleansed from your past sins...

and your present tendency

to hide your sinful nature from GOD.

.

However, HE+ sees you as you REALLY are.

HE+ loves you...

but an uncleansed sinner simply doesn't enter Heaven.
.

HE+ will not change the rules for anyone,

including me or you.

.

If you don't believe this now,

REALITY awaits you

when you open your eyes

in death.

.

So, what must I do to be saved from the punishment

certainly ordained for each person who dies in their sins?

JESUS says you MUST (no option here) ... yes, MUST be born again in order to see Heaven. You must be born from above, through water and by the HOLY SPIRIT.

.

And...

.

here is the scary part...

.

you can't control the HOLY SPIRIT...

.

HE+ does!
.

HE+ Who+ loves you MOST, knows you BEST.

.
You cannot hide anything in the secret place of your heart;
HE+ sees you in there.

.

So HE+ waits.

.
HE+ waits for you to come clean

and confess your sins...

all of them...

to HIM+.

.

If you confess and turn away from your sins

AND WANT TO LIVE ONLY FOR JESUS,

HE+ will know it!

[ HE+ will also know it if you

don't want to live only for HIM+ .]
.

HE+ will bring you that new birth from above [through water and the HOLY SPIRIT] and make you into a brand new creature...that new creature in CHRIST that The Word talks about. And you will be clean and have help to STAY clean until it is your time to leave this world for the Heavenly realm.

.

So, if you want the reality of blessings, then do it HIS+ WAY... repent, be cleansed, and come and follow JESUS... in spirit and in truth.

.

Then... and only then... you will be able to DO SOMETHING FOR JESUS... something that is acceptable unto a Holy LORD and not a pitiful humanistic endeavor.

.
Then --- and only then---

will The LORD JESUS CHRIST

send forth His+ blessings

for this year and all the years to come.

.

Believe me, you'll get nothing from participating in a superstitious chain letter ...except another sin to be accountable for on the day of judgment.


JESUS said,

"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life;

no one

comes to the FATHER

except through ME+."
.

HE+ meant it.
.

This was written in response to a superstitious chain letter sent to me. It had a portion of the LORD'S PRAYER on it. It said to say it and then immediately send the chain letter to 20 people to receive [health, wealth, etc.] for an entire year... with no problems!

.

.

At the bottom, we were informed it was a Roman Catholic novena. Upon research, I discovered its content originated in 1952 out of Mother Teresa [see "novena Wikipedia"]. But, Mother Teresa refused to give the poor dying ones the simple GOSPEL message that JESUS saves repentant sinners.

.

I'd stick to the Word!

.

.

Sister Judith Hannah + + +

IS ONE NATION, "UNDER GOD" ?

~ OR ~

Is ANY nation "under GOD" ?

.

One nation under GOD+ does NOT exist...

.

as we have been led to believe.

.

The LORD JESUS CHRIST said plainly,

.

"My+ Kingdom is not of THIS world."

.

<(((><

.

So, who do we believe?

.

The deceiver and destroyer of mankind...

or...

The AUTHOR+ and FINISHER+ of our faith ?

There is a Kingdom of GOD+ that exists "out of every kindred, tongue, people and nation." There is a nation that is truly ONE and INDIVISIBLE. The other one is a fake, a phony, a supplant trying to get the people of GOD+, the called-out ones, to follow it.

.

But, JESUS said,

.

"Follow ME+ ."

.

There is a nation where there is liberty and justice for all ... but we do NOT fight for that liberty and justice with any carnal weapons.

For, the weapons of that peculiar nation's warfare are NOT CARNAL BUT MIGHTY through GOD+, to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of GOD+.

<(((><

.

YES... there is a nation which is ONE NATION UNDER GOD+, INDIVISIBLE, with LIBERTY and JUSTICE FOR ALL.

.

BUT,

IT IS NOT ONE OF THE KINGDOMS

OF THIS EARTH ...

AND IT NEVER HAS BEEN.

<(((>< <(((>< <(((><

.

JESUS said, "Render therefore

.

unto Caeser

.

the things that are Caeser's ;

.

and unto GOD,

.

the things that are GOD'S.

.

+ + +

TAKING CARE of MY HEART...

Friends are like flowers...

They take care of

My Heart.

Thank you Sister Diane, Sister Martha, Sister Barbara...

Thank you Brother Milton...

May our Dear LORD+ bless

each of you today

with as much joy

as you have

blessed me.

Today is Sister Judith Hannah's 62nd birthday. She rejoices to have been blessed by The LORD JESUS CHRIST for 62 years. HE+ indeed doeth all things well.

HE+ loved me 'ere I knew HIM+;

now, ALL my love is due HIM+.

HE+ plunged me to Victory

in His+ Redeeming Blood.

Amen.

Hallelujah.

+ + +

In the name of the FATHER, Who begot thee;

And, His+ Holy SON+ JESUS, Who+ saves thee;

And the HOLY SPIRIT,

Who baptizes thee with Spirit

and with Fire.

<(((><

HOW PHARAOH LEARNED ABOUT GOD'S MERCY

~ OR ~

.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF

THE LONG-SUFFERING NATURE

OF GOD

.

.

Lately, our Sunday School lessons have been focusing on Moses and Pharaoh in Exodus, chapters 5-15.

.

I have been pondering what The LORD could be showing us for today's living in these Old Testament Scriptures.

.

Certainly, HE+ must be speaking to us in these lessons... because The LORD JESUS CHRIST is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

.

<(((><

.

We all know the familiar story about the LORD'S ancient people, the Hebrews, living in Eygpt for about 400 or so years. During that time, they became slaves and oppressed. They were badly mistreated.

.

At the time of Moses' birth, the Hebrew slaves were ordered to cast their male babies into the Nile River. Some books say the Hebrew babies were eaten by the crocodiles which lived along the Nile and were considered "sacred" ~ the crocodiles, not the babies ~ in some parts of Egypt. Some books say this command was lifted after a couple of years, under a new ruler. [I do not really know this for certain, not having researched this myself. ]

.

.

We know that The LORD sent Moses back to Egypt with instructions to tell Pharaoh to let MY+ people go. Pharaoh, of course, did not recognize the authority of this GOD Who was telling him to do something. Pharaoh rejected Moses' Word from the GOD of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, and thus, refused to obey it.

.

<(((><

.

So, did The LORD destroy Pharaoh ?

NO.

The LORD, in His mercy,

gave Pharaoh a glimpse

of His great power.

.

.

<(((><

.

The LORD commanded Moses to show Pharaoh the great sign of Aaron's rod becoming a serpent. That serpent swallowed up Pharaoh's dark magicians' serpents.

.

<(((><

.

So then, did Pharaoh believe that the LORD,

the GOD Whom Moses served,

was powerful ?

YES!

Did Pharaoh care that HE was powerful?

NO!

So, did The LORD destroy Pharaoh?

NO!

The LORD showed Pharaoh

His Mercy, once again.

.

.

<(((><

.

In The LORD'S mercy, HE sent the first plague of waters-turning-to-blood, through the hand of Moses, as Moses obeyed the LORD and smote the waters of the "sacred" Nile with his rod.

.

.

<(((><

.

So then, did Pharaoh believe that The LORD,

the GOD Whom Moses served was powerful?

YES!

Did Pharaoh care that HE was powerful?

NO!

So, did The LORD destroy Pharaoh then?

NO.

The LORD showed Pharaoh

His mercy, once again.

.

.

<(((><

.

On and on the confrontation continued, all through the plagues of blood, frogs, lice, flies, murrain sores on livestock, boils upon both animals and Egyptians, hail and fire, locusts, darkness...

.

<(((><

.

Until finally... did Pharaoh believe that The LORD,

the GOD Whom Moses served was powerful?

YES!

Did Pharaoh care that HE was powerful?

NO!

So, did The LORD destroy Pharaoh then?

NO.

By the end of these confrontations, what did Pharaoh know...

.

REALLY KNOW...

.

about the GOD Whom Moses served?

.

<(((><

.

Pharaoh knew: HE was powerful and HE was merciful.

And, that was ALL that Pharaoh

needed to know

in order to obey HIM.

.

<(((><

.

DON'T WE KNOW THE SAME THINGS....

AND EVEN MORE SO...

IN CHRIST JESUS,

WHOM WE CALL "LORD" ?

.

<(((><

.

Did the knowledge of GOD'S Great power

and evidence of His Great mercy

change Pharaoh?

NO.

.

<(((>< .

.

NEITHER WILL IT CHANGE US...

.

unless we obey HIM+ in Spirit and in Truth,

.

for The FATHER seeketh such to worship HIM.

+ + +

.

<(((><

.

In the name of the FATHER, Who created us,

and His beloved SON Who saves us,

and The Blessed HOLY SPIRIT

Who sanctifies us.

+ + +

the PATHS of The LORD...

All

the paths

of The LORD

are

mercy

and

truth

unto such as keep

His+ Covenant

and His+ Testimonies.

Psalm 25: 10

Yes, this is true. We keep His+ Covenant daily by performing the vows of our baptism. Daily we work out the application of our renouncements of :

• the world
• the flesh
• and the devil...

and all his tormenting lies that tell us

to believe him instead of Our LORD JESUS CHRIST,

blessed be HIS+ Name, forever and ever.

His+ Testimonies should be on our lips and tongues, daily. We praise HIM+ when things work out nicely for us. We give HIM+ the praise and glory due unto His+ name.

We DO NOT SHARE His+ glory with natural-minded ways and means... in other words, we do NOT give glory unto mankind and his ways but always, always we return the true thanksgiving and praise unto The LORD for making things to work out properly... making the cars to operate well, the machinery to work right, the medicines to be effective, etc.

We DO NOT DIMINISH His+ praise, though, when things go awry.

HE+ is LORD AND MASTER of this universe. HE+ does NOT turn a deaf ear to our problems and heart-aches. Rather, HE+ expects us to

continue to affirm

Who+ HE+ IS

and was

and evermore shall be

in the face of the struggles besetting us day by day.

<)))><

O LORD our GOD,

THOU+ Who+ loveth mankind,

we praise THEE+ with all that is within in us.

We bless Thy Holy Name and

Thy Son, JESUS CHRIST ,

Ruler of the Universe,

to Whom+ every knee shall bow...

of beings in the Heavens,

of beings on the earth,

and beings under the earth.

We bow the knee of our heart,

LORD GOD,

and yield our lives unto THEE+,

Who+ art worthy of praise at all times.

We pray, do THOU+ accept

the free-will offering of our hearts,

unto the praise and glory

of Thy Holy Name.

Amen.

+ + +

BREAKING through the LETHARGY Barrier...

Breaking Through the LETHARGY BARRIER...

How do we do it?

How do we Christians get the dead wood

out from between our toes...

and become full of life,

like hinds, leaping about on high places?

One step...

one verse...

one prayer...

one commitment...

one small, flesh-denying discipline...

seriously, undistractably done,

one at a time.

Well, why aren't we doing it?

<(((><

.

There is a justifiable reason for those crises which come upon GOD'S people. Crises wake us up. Crises draw us closer to the LORD JESUS CHRIST and away from listening to the world's voices.

QUESTION:

Do we Christians need

crises

in order to get out of our lethargic stupor, our humdrum, tedious,

plodding along in our dutiful "service" to our LORD ?

If we gave our

spouses, children, relatives, and close friends

the same kind of priority-time devotion

WHICH WE GIVE TO HIM+ ...

would our family, marriages, and important relationships

thrive ?

Or rather, would they dry up and die?

Shall we pray for The LORD

to send some crises upon us...

because we cannot wake up

and draw closer to HIM+...

on our own ?

Is this what we NEED ?

No, we say, thinking of all the problems

that could befall us, our home,

our finances, our loved ones.

But I say, that unless we truly repent for filling our minds, our hearts, our hands, and our beings with the things and activities of this world,

we will indeed have some crises to deal with. HE+ will see to it.

The LORD OUR GOD IS A JEALOUS GOD.

Furthermore, HE+ seeks HIS+ own... zealously.

Get ready.

It is a fearful thing

to fall into the hands of The LIVING GOD+...

...in Whose+ Hands is the breath of every living thing.

One step...

One verse...

One commitment...

One small, flesh-denying discipline...

seriously, undistractably done...

one at a time.

In the Name of The FATHER,

Who created thee;

His Holy Son JESUS CHRIST,

Who+ saves thee;

And the blessed HOLY SPIRIT,

Who anoints thee.

Amen

SOFT AS CLAY...

Soft as clay in the Master's Hands...

O LORD JESUS, soft as clay in the Master's Hands, I would be

Willing clay... workable, compliant...

not fighting against THEE+

when I don't like the changes.

My lump of brittle dryness,

cracking, and falling in pieces...

not able to be used,

except for dustpan debris...

until the moisture of Thy Nearness+

is added unto me.

The stiffness and hardness of my clay heart then

... and only then...

is worked,

kneaded thoroughly by the Potter of all flesh.

until I have reached that perfect state:

being totally malleable in Thy+ Hands.

Work me, make me supple under Thy+ Touch

until I don't fight THEE+ any more.

Form me, shape me,

into a vessel meet for Thy+ Use

... for Thy+ Divine Purpose...

on this battlefield of life.

And, help me not to harden

until the change has come.

My ears crave to hear this

at the setting of my sun:

"Enter thou into the joy of

Thy LORD+,

My+ good and faithful servant...

well done!"

+ + +

FILLING THE HOUSE!

PENTECOST SUNDAY

But ye shall receive

Power,

after that the HOLY SPIRIT is come upon you:

and ye shall be witnesses unto ME+

both in Jerusalem,

and in all Judaea,

and in Samaria,

and unto the uttermost part

of the Earth.

Acts 1:8

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come,

they were all

with one accord

in one place.

And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven

as of a rushing mighty wind,

and it

FILLED ALL THE HOUSE

where they were sitting.

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire,

and it sat upon each of them.

And they were all

filled with the HOLY SPIRIT,

and began to speak with other tongues,

as the SPIRIT gave them utterance.

Acts 2:1-4

May The LORD JESUS CHRIST fill our houses and our hearts

with His+ Blessed HOLY SPIRIT

so that, IN ONE ACCORD,

our joy and our peace may flow abundantly

offering LIFE+ to this dead and dying world...

to rescue the perishing

and save the dying

and to prepare our hearts for the Eternal Habitations.

In the name of the FATHER Who+ begat us,

His Beloved SON+ Who saves us,

And the HOLY SPIRIT Who sanctifies us.

Amen

ASCENSION DAY, 2009

"....go to my brothers and say to them; I ascend to My FATHER and your FATHER; to My GOD and your GOD."

"The angel said, This same JESUS you see going into heaven will come again in this manner.

"JESUS said, As the living FATHER has sent Me, and I live by the FATHER,he that eats me (the Bread of Life) shall live by me."

+ + +

Sister Judith is teaching first graders and cannot post much now. She asks your prayers for her strength and endurance!!

SO... WHAT WAS HE+ DOING DOWN THERE?

So,

what was HE+ doing

way

down

there?

Scripture says HE+ was 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth.

So... what was HE+ doing down there ?

PREACHING!!!

What was HE+ preaching?

HE+ was preaching the Good News !

What was the Good News?

There was LOTS of Good News !

1. Death has no more dominion over HIM+.

2. HE+ is the firstborn from the dead.

Who did HE+ preach to ?

1. the dead

2. to the captivity

3. to the Patriarchs

4. to the righteous dead who died in the Covenant of Abraham

For it was impossible for Death to hold HIM+ !

HE+ broke the bonds of sin...

DEATH...

the curse laid upon all of us sons of Adam due to sin.

The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the [Mosaic] law. Adonai, The LORD JESUS CHRIST, was the fulfillment of the Law. HE+ , a man had no sin of Adam: HE+ was the 2nd Adam ! But HE+, a man, was born under the curse of death. HE+ would die as all human flesh dies.

But, HE+ won the battle and "Death" died ! That old enemy, "Death," was swallowed up in Victory !

Death, the ultimat curse, couldn't hold HIM+ because it had no claim on HIM+ even though he was the son of man... because HE+... yes, HE+ alone... had no sin!

The Good News ?

Death

cannot

hold

HIS+

people

either!

... His+ people who have entered His+ covenant and are walking... dead to sin... but alive unto GOD, through CHRIST JESUS, our Risen LORD!

"Death" was .... and IS... swallowed up in Victory... even for the smallest, tiniest Christian.

Do not be afraid of those who would kill the body... but be afraid of the ONE+ Who has the power to destroy both body and soul in Gehenna... the second death!

+ + +

Bless GOD! FATHER, SON+ , and HOLY SPIRIT!

And blessed be HIS+ Kingdom, forever and ever.

Amen.