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1 Chronicles 29: 11-12

11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the Kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. 12. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all. NKJV

 

The purpose of the Temple was to exalt the Lord, and to acknowledge the universality of His kingdom. David modeled before the people to worship of the living God, it typically starts with the praise for God’s eternity, his complete control over the universe, and his great power. He is the glorious master over all.

 

David confessed that the riches and honor. He enjoyed had come from God’s generosity. The offerings he and his people had just made were possible only because God 1st had given to them, able to offer so willingly: not only the ability to give, but the willingness to give, is the gift of God.

#1Chronicles29:11-12

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Cursing and Blessings, What Are They?

Did you know that words can change the atmosphere? Words can be used for evil, and for love. When did curses begin? Actually curses began in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve walked with God each day. God uses man to bless the earth.

 

The temptation and fall of man Genesis 3:1 “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, has God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 and the woman said to the serpent, we may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, you shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, least you die. 4 then the serpent said to the woman, you will not surely die. 5 for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. 6 so when the woman saw the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, she also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 and they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, where are you? 10. So we said, I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 and he said, who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I command you that you should not eat? 12. Then the man said, the woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. 13 and the Lord God said to the woman, what is this you have done? The woman said, the serpent deceived me, and I ate. 14 so the Lord God said to the serpent: because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. 15 and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. 16 to the woman he said: I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. 17 then to Adam he said, because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, you shall not eat of it cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.”

 

My stepfather would say to me over and over, “You will not amount to anything in your life.” He spoke these words over my life most everyday without realizing he was cursing me. I see many examples of curses in the workplace, out in public, and home life for many families. Yes, we have the power to reverse curses spoken over us. James 3:5 “Even so, the tongue is a little member and post great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 and the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so said among our members that a defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire by hell. 9 with it we bless our God and father, and with the we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things not to be so.” For example, pouring saltwater into fresh water produce a saltwater; and mixing bad fruit with good fruit produces a bushel of rotten fruit. Likewise, mixing the contradictory speech of blessing and cursing will only produce negative results.

 

Whatever you give permission to in your life, Satan will take advantage of it. If a family member, friend or coworker speaks evil over you, stop and forgive them. I bless the person speaking evil over me. I am a good person and I will continue to forgive others bless others and live my life under the direction of the Holy Spirit.

#HolySpirit #Genesis3 #Curses #GardenofEden #AdamandEve #Russfwood #Russandnancywood

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My Father’s Blessing

My father. Jim, must have been a good man when he went off to war. He was in the Air Force and fought in the Korean War. When my father came home from the war, he began to indulge in alcohol and other vices. I am not sure my age. I must have been around three when my father left and my parents divorced. I never really knew my father as I was too young to remember him when he left. The last time I physically saw him I was five years old living with an aunt and uncle in Northern California where he came to visit me. That was the last time I saw or spoke to him for several years.

On my wedding day, June 26, 1982, my father called and wanted to speak blessings over my new wife and myself. I refused and quickly reminded him of his past and his failed obligations to me and my mother. Needless to say, my father never gave us his blessing and we never spoke again.

There are many who come from broken homes. Fathers leaving after divorce or other life situations. It is so important for families stay together. That a father or mother speak life into their families and their children on an individual basis.

In the book of Numbers chapter 2:22-27  The Priestly Blessing 22 “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23 speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘this is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: 24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. 27 So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.'” This famous Aaronic benediction is a blessing on all people. This blessing follows and describes the special blessing that would result in the life of a man or woman. God’s blessing on the people was not gained by outstanding acts of devotion on their part. Rather, God freely blessed his people as a mark of his outstanding grace and mercy.

#ThePriestlyBlessing #Numberschapter2:22-27 #Russfwood #Russandnancywood

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Destroying My Temple Today And Rebuilding The Lords Temple Tomorrow

Today as I was praying seeking direction from the Holy Spirit, he guided me to the book of Matthew – The temple to be destroyed. “Then Jesus went out and departed from the Temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.'” Matthew 24:1-2

 

The first Temple was built by King Solomon and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. The second Temple under the authority and encouragement of Haggai and Zechariah, and with the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua with great delay in 516 BC . The second Temple was completed and lavishly renovated by Herod the Great. The work began around 20 BC, but the renovations were not completed during the lifetime of Christ. The work was finally finish in A.D. 64. The Temple stood completed for only six years before it was reduced to rubble by the Romans.

 

I have fought many battles internally as well as externally. What I have come to realize I cannot fight this battle alone and not have Jesus the center focal point of my life. Why Jesus? I have used Jesus as a Band-Aid off and on most of my life as I look back over the last 40 years. I was baptized a Southern Baptist in November 1970, being young and impressionable. I wanted to follow Jesus, more than anything and I felt protected being around young people going to a youth camp in the mountains outside Las Vegas. I felt his powerful presence and wanted to do more for Him and felt a calling to go into ministry. But what happened?

 

The battlefield is in our minds and all is won or lost there. The most precious commodity on earth is your mind. Not only is God vying for our minds but the enemy is also vying for our minds as well. Revelation 18 states that in the last days the intellectual property of the soul will be one of the commodities bought and sold in the marketplace and used to drive entire economies. The story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32 is a compelling story that shows how the enemy works against us through our thoughts. In this story we see how the god of this world seduced an uninformed young boy into wasting his substance, which is time, talent, treasure, gifts, ability, inheritance, anointing, and experience etc.

 

When I was growing up as a young teenager, moving away from church looking at all the glitter, neon signs, alcohol, showgirls on the Las Vegas strip and been influenced by new friends outside my faith. My newfound friends were all listening to rock ‘n roll music growing our hair long, recording our own music and going to concerts. I began using marijuana, speed, and other drugs. Eventually selling drugs keeping my habit funded and later arrested. My thoughts were being bombarded by the enemy. Satan was telling me lies in rebellion against the establishment was my only way out. Spiritual warfare in the purest form is the Council of the human mind by another spirit, other than the spirit of the Lord God. Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” I later realized warfare is not with human beings, but with the devil and his demons, who propagate doctrines of devils heresies. Lucifer and ideologies, satanic philosophies, and diabolical imagery. Our enemy. Satan, attempts to defeat us with the strategy and deceit through well laid plans and deliberate deceptions and manipulations. He speaks to our minds, in an attempt to derail us from following a path that leads us to fulfillment of purpose and destiny.

#Matthew24:1-2 #KingSolomon #Babylonians #Haggai #Zechariah #Ephesians6:12 #Russfwood #Russandnancywood

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The Story of Cain and Abel

The story of ID-10020366Cain and Abel is found in the fourth chapter in the bible in the Book of Genesis. They are the first and second children born into the world and are the sons of Adam and Eve. As they grew up we see Cain was a tiller of the ground and Abel was a shepherd and tended the sheep.  “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.”  2 Then she bore again, this time his brother, Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.” Gen 4:1-2 NJKV

Although Abel was the second child he was the first to obey God. His sacrifices were pleasing to God. He was murdered by Cain, his older jealous brother. Both Cain and Abel knew what God expected of them but we do not know why God accepted Abel’s offerings and rejected Cain’s. Because of his obedience Abel is remembered for his faith and obedience. As a result, he was the first member of the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.” Heb 11:4 NKJV.

Since the beginning of time despite the effort of parents disagreements and conflicts between children within a family seem unavoidable. Relationships between siblings are there to teach the children both cooperation and healthy competition. As a result, in most cases, bonds between siblings grows stronger.

We do not know many of the details of the life of Cain and Abel. Both Cain and Abel separately made sacrifices to God and Cain’s sacrifice was rejected. With Cain’s response suggests that his attitude was most likely wrong from the beginning. It seems Cain had a couple of choices. He could have changed his attitude regarding his sacrifice to God or he could have decided to take out his anger on his brother, Abel. By his decision we are reminded by how often we have opposite choices and just like Cain we sometimes make the wrong choice. We see in 1 John 3:12, “not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.” NKJV

The Story of Cain and Abel: Abel

A few of the strengths and accomplishments of Abel are he was the first member of the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11, he was the first shepherd and he was the first martyr for truth as we see in Matt 23:35 – “that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.” NKJV

A couple of lessons from Abel’s life we should consider is that God takes notice of those who come to him and God identifies the innocent individual and sooner or later punishes the guilty.

The Story of Cain and Abel: Cain

Even though we do not know much about Cain and what we do know is negative he does have a couple of accomplishments which include that he was the first human child and he was the first to pursue his father’s business – farming.  Besides Cain’s accomplishments we see several of his mistakes and weaknesses which include he reacted to anger when disappointed, even though a positive solution was available he decided on the negative option, and he was the first murderer.

A few life lessons we can take away from Cain is that although anger is not inevitably a sin. actions that are motivated by anger can be sinful. Anger should be the force behind good action and not behind bad action, what we offer to God should come from the heart – the best of what we are and what we have, and the penalty of sin may last a lifetime.

In conclusion the story of Cain and Abel is just the beginning of God’s expectations and guidelines for our lives. As Abel we must obey God despite the cost and trust that God would make things right.

Image courtesy of Matt Banks at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

#TheStoryofCainandAbel #RussFWood #RussandNancyWood

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Adam, The First Man

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Adam, the first man! Have you ever been in a room full of

people and felt alone? How would you like to have been the very first and only human on the planet? Gen 2:7 – “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” We do not know how long Adam was on earth before Eve was created from Adam’s rib. It is one thing to know there are others around but what would it be like to be the only human and never have known anyone else.

We take for granted our life but Adam missed that what makes us who we are – he had no childhood, no family such as parents or siblings and no friends. What we are taught through our family – how to be human – Adam had to learn on his own. God who understands us perfectly knew Adam needed companionship so God created Eve. “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 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.” Gen 2:21-24

We can only imagine that one of Adam’s conversation with Eve would be the rules of the garden that God laid out before him such as not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’ ” Gen 2:15-17

Eve would have known about not eating from the tree when Satan enticed her. Like Eve we know what we should or should not do but when Satan tempts us sometimes we are momentarily weak and succumb to his ploys.

Then Eve wanted Adam to share in the fruit with her. At that moment the destiny of creation was on the line. Unfortunately Adam, who until that time walked with God in the garden and had a close personal relationship with God, decided without considering the consequences to eat of the fruit. In that instant of rebellion everything that was perfect was shattered. By of that one decision man is now separated from God because Adam choose to act on his own.

But because God loves us He already had a plan to overcome the effects of the rebellion. The complete bible is the account of His plan giving details of where ultimately God Himself comes to earth through His son, Jesus. Because of His sinless life and then His death, made it feasible for God to offer forgiveness for all who want to accept it. With each of our rebellions whether large or small demonstrate that we are descendants of Adam. By our asking for forgiveness of Jesus Christ only then we will become children of God.

As the first human and father of the human race, Adam was the first to be made in the image of Gad and to share an intimate personal relationship with God, the creator of the universe. Adam was the first gardener as God placed him in the garden of Eden as we see in Gen 2:15 – “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” He also was the first zoologist as he named all the animals “Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.” Gen 2:19

Even though Adam was made in the image of God he was not perfect – he blamed Eve and avoided personal responsibility; rather than confront he chose to hide; and instead of admitting the truth he made excuses. But his biggest mistake was to band together with Eve and brought sin into the world.  A couple of lessons we can learn from Adam are we should take personal responsibility and not blame others for our faults and to know we cannot hide from God.

All scripture from the New King James Version.

Image courtesy of Janaka Dharmasena at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

#AdamTheFirstMan #RussFWood #RussandNancyWood

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Who Was Melchizedek?

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Who was Melchizedek? Very little is known about him as he is one of the most mysterious people mentioned in the Bible. He is the king of peace. One day he appeared in Abraham’s life (when he was still known as Abram) and just as quickly disappeared and never heard from again. However, what happened that day will be remembered all through history and ultimately became a theme of a New Testament (Hebrews) letter.

As the meeting between Melchizedek and Abram was very unusual as they were strangers to each other yet they shared a very important characteristic as they both were worshippers of the one true God – the creator of heaven and earth. Abram had just defeated an army and was able to regain freedom of a group of captives. Abram may have had doubts about whose victory it really was but Melchizedek reminded Abram, “And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.” Gen 14:20. At this moment Abram realized that Melchizedek worshipped the same God.

Throughout the Old Testament, Melchizedek was one of a small group of God worshipping people who were not Jewish themselves came in contact with the Jews (Israelites). This proves that the requirement to follow God is not genetic, but rather based on being faithful and obey His teachings. Do you listen to others when God is speaking to you through them? Do you do consider God’s impact on the lives of others?

Melchizedek was the first person in the bible to be both priest and king. He has a gift of encouraging others to serve God with all their heart. His love for God was reflected in his character. A person in the Old Testament who was a type and shadow of Jesus Christ. Some even believe it was Jesus Himself.

A lesson we can take from Melchizedek is to live for God and you more than likely will be at the right place at the right time. Take the time to examine your heart to see whom or what lies your greatest loyalty. If God is truly your answer, you are in the right path and living for God.

Who was Melchizedek? He ruled as a king in Salem, which later became Jerusalem and a priest of the Most High God. “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated ‘king of righteousness,’ and then also king of Salem, meaning ‘king of peace,’ 3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. 4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. Heb 7:1-4

All scripture from the New King James Version.

Image courtesy of Arvind Balaraman at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

#WhoWasMelchizedek #RussFWood #RussandNancyWood