Mercy

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."

Mercy -compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.

There is no greater need in my life than to obtain the mercy of the Lord. I do not need wealth. I do not need fame. I do not need health. I do not need happiness. What I need, and desire more than anything else in all the universe, is to obtain the mercy of the Lord. "God, have mercy on me."

How do we obtain mercy? God has mercy on us. We must pass His mercy onto others.

When we have received the mercy of God, it changes us because we know how undeserving we are. Mercy is a reflection of God's goodness, not a reflection of our goodness. When we have mercy on others, it reflects our heart. (When we do not have mercy on others, it reflects our heart). Mercy is always undeserved. Mercy's root is the LOVE of God. God is merciful to us because God loves us.

Being merciful is a heart condition that only God does perfectly. The mercy that we extend to others, if we're even merciful at all, often times has conditions, "Do this...or do that...or don't do this or that."

True mercy, unconditional mercy, has no conditions. We are given the mercy of God simply by asking the Lord for His mercy. Jesus Christ is merciful to us now, already, before we even ask Him. God is good!

"Thank you Lord, for your mercy."

~dkg

Christmas Day

"I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul." Psalm 142

Christmas is the happiest day of the year for a lot of folk. However, it's the saddest day for some.

Personally, I know what it's like to spend Christmas Day at home completely alone, watching Christmas specials for "shut-ins." That day helped me understand the despair and loneliness that many people feel on Christmas, feeling like no one cares. But God cares! On that Christmas Day many years ago, God miracously reunited me with a precious loved one at around 11:30pm. That day turned out to be the most unforgettable, HAPPIEST Christmas for me ever!

The Lord is faithful. When we call out to Jesus, especially in our loneliness, He hears. Some ask in their despair and loneliness, "Where is God?"
I'll tell you - feel the breath coming from your nostrils. That's Him! He is with you.

~dkg

The Curse

Manger -"a long open box or trough for horses or cattle to eat from."

After he was born, Baby Jesus' parents wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him upon long, wooden beams, a dead tree, just like the cross. The first place Jesus laid his head to rest was a dead tree, and the last place he laid his head to rest was a dead tree. Ironically, Jesus was crucified on the Sabbath, "the day of rest."

Jesus Christ came into this world to die for the sin of the whole world, the curse we all inherited from Adam and Eve when they broke the law of God, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." This is why everything began to grow old and die. Sadly, sin (noun) is in our DNA; we all have an inclination to sin (verb): "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

Here's the Good News!
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Jesus took our place, he died; He gives us His eternal life. 

Consider Jesus: His life, His actions, His mercy, His ministry of healing, His words (Father, forgive them, they know not what they do), His death. Did Jesus go around yelling and screaming at people? No. Did Jesus belittle and berate people? No. Did Jesus hold their sins against them? No. 

The people Jesus became angry with were "pious religious rulers" who thought they were holy and superior to sinners. They used God for their profit and Jesus admonished them. Why? Because they blocked the Grace of God in other people's lives, they blocked the Good News of the gospel to the poor and downtrodden.

 God is not angry at us anymore! Jesus paid the price for sin so we could all have fellowship with Him. The veil of the Temple has been ripped in two from the top to the bottom and we can all enter in to God's presence. The blood of Jesus paid our debt in full on the "cursed, wooden cross," 100%.

~dkg

Clothed with Glory

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." 

In these verses Jesus compares our garments against the innate Beauty of lilies. Nothing is more earthly beautiful than nature, and we need light to see nature's beauty. Nothing reflects beauty in darkness.

In ancient times, King's robes were elaborate, ornate, made of silk and valuable textiles, embroidered with gold and silver. King's robes were beautiful works of art. The wisest king who has ever lived, King Solomon, was not clothed as perfectly as the lilies of the field. Why? Because God clothes the lilies. 

God desires to clothe us, too, but not with silk and linen, or with gold, silver, pearls and precious jewels, but with the very presence of the Glory of Jesus: "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee."

~dkg

"Upside Down" Cross

"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." I Corinthians 1:18

It is commonly believed that an upside cross is a symbol for Satanism. It is traditionally held that St. Peter was crucified on an upside down cross.* Was St. Peter crucified for Satan? No.

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree..." Galatians 3:13

The above verse reads, "Christ...being made a curse..." 

Is the cross cursed? Is an upside down cross cursed? The person of Jesus Christ became a curse; the cross did not. The cross is not a curse and an upside down cross is not a curse. Either way the cross is not a curse. The cross is a dead TREE.

Again, St. Peter was crucified upside down. When I see an upside down cross, I think of him and his martyrdom for our Lord Jesus Christ.

~dkg

*

The Fear of the Lord

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

We know that we exist, we know our thoughts, we know who our family members are; we think we know who are friends are. We think we know where we are now, and where we are going in life.

All of the above can change in an instant! We could suffer a mental breakdown and lose sight of who we are. We could discover that our parents are not our biological parents. Our friends could betray us and "stab us in the back." We could lose all that we planned for ourselves in a single mishap or accident. Our dreams could come crashing down in a natural or man-made disaster. We could become maimed by disease. Everything we know could disappear overnight in a number of different ways, including death. There is no guarantee of anything temporal.

There is one thing that never changes: The eternal God. We need to fear God because He is God.

When we know God, we fear Him. In His Holy Word, the Bible, we learn of God's deep love for us, and also of His intense hatred of sin. We learn that God keeps His promises. He promises to save His people from their sin through the blood of His son Jesus Christ (trust Him). God promises to eternally punish those who reject His son Jesus Christ, and eternally reward those who accept Him (believe Him). Believers are motivated by love and fear of God, not on account of what they have to fear themselves, but on account of what unbelievers are unknowingly facing. Christians are afraid for the unbeliever and what they will suffer when they die without knowing Jesus Christ. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

Please tell others about Jesus. Pray that the lost will sense the urgency of the gospel and fear God. The gospel is "good news" because of the "bad news." The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowing God. When we know God, we will know Him forever. The Lord Jesus Christ reassures Christians that we do not need to be afraid of His wrath. "There is no fear in love; for perfect love casts out fear."

When we see that the road's bridge is out, it is our moral responsibility to warn others who are walking and driving straight toward it, especially in this midnight hour!  

~dkg

Halloween

Halloween means "Holy Evening."

Halloween is the evening before All Saint's Day.

"He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it." ~Romans 14:6.

Halloween is a most controversial day in Christendom. Some Christians say, "Halloween is the Devil's Day." But, if the Devil ever had a day, if there ever was a day that was Satan's Day above any other day, it is not Halloween, rather, it would be the day that Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross. There is no other day in all of history that compares to the evil that was consummated at Jesus Christ's crucifixion. However, that day does not belong to Satan. In fact, no day belongs to him. The Devil is not the author nor creator of any day. God is! Every day that has ever existed belongs solely to God. 

When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, who else was there beside them and God? Satan. From the very beginning of Earth's creation, Satan has tried to trump God's days with evil. Every day since, Satan tries to destroy God's days. It cannot be done. Halloween does not belong to Satan anymore than the the day that Jesus died on the cross does. Of all the days in Earth's History, the day Christ died is most exalted by God himself...and three days later God proved it. JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD!

"... we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world* knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (I Corinthians 2:8)

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." ~John 10:10. This is true everyday, seven days a week, and 24 hours of each and every day.


Halloween is a "Holy Evening" just as the word means regarding "All Saint's Day." Satan tries steal October 31st away from God, but Halloween will always belong to the Lord.

~dkg

* (*princes of this world refers to satan and his demons, see Ephesians 2:2 and II Corinthians 4:4).

Body, Spirit, Soul

"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 soul." Genesis 2:7

A live person is a tri-une being consisting of a body, a spirit and a soul.

• "dust" - body 
• "living soul" - spirit and soul 

Body - Imagine a glove.
Spirit and Soul - Imagine your hand going into the glove and as it does, your hands feels the glove and your hand moves the glove.

The glove without your hand is like a body without a spirit and soul. It won't move because there is no life in it. The analogy is not perfect but we can grasp what our body is without our spirit and soul. Dead.

"We are not a body with a spirit and soul; we are a spirit and soul with a body." ~Anon

~dkg

Bible Reading

What book are you currently reading, or have read lately? A novel, encyclopedia, or magazine? Perhaps, there's a news article you've just laid down, or a love letter, or menu. Think of all the media you've read today, yesterday, last week, and in the past year - at work and at leisure. Or the stories you've read from childhood, fairy tales and Aesop's Fables. 

How many textbooks, reports, newspapers, novels, and children's books have been edited, reviewed, or rewritten for "just the right word." All of them. Yet, this is the reason some people won't read the Bible. 

Without the Bible, we wouldn't have the story of Adam and Eve, David and Goliath, Samson and Delilah, Noah's Flood, Jacob's Ladder, or Joseph's Coat-of-many-colors; or the story of Moses leading 3 million Hebrew slaves out of Egypt through the Red Sea and toward the Promised Land, and Moses on top of Mt. Sinai interceding before God for those same people who unknowingly broke the Ten Commandments before he did! And the story of Jesus Christ who said he was God's Son and preached love and forgiveness and declared that we are no longer under the Law, but under Grace, and how Jesus was murdered by religious rulers for his gospel, and then how God rose him from the dead 3 days later to prove who he was! And how the resurrection shadows the story of Jonah and the whale.

Regardless, wether or not one believes the Bible is true or not, it is rich in history of middle-eastern kings, literature, poetry, and proverbs...and past and future prophecies that far surpass Nastrodomous's quatrains. There's a scarlet thread that weaves through Genesis to Revelation and ties everything together. We see the beautiful tapestry unfold when we take time to read the Bible.

~dkg

The Great Commission

"Us four and no more!" ...What if Noah and his three sons had said that?

Some people believe that salvation and the calling of God are just for them and their church, or denomination, or family. Jesus came to save the whole world, everyone, but not everyone believes God. (Believing in God, and believing God, are two different things).

When Noah built the Ark, it took 150 years! He preached the entire time the message that God was going to send a great flood to cleanse the earth of wickedness and to "Get ready!" For fifteen decades, Noah told everybody who would listen. Only those people closest to him, believed what God spoke through him. Only eight souls were saved in the ark.

It's been over 200 decades since Jesus preached, "Get ready!" And that the Great Day of the Lord is coming when God will cleanse the earth again, but not with water, with FIRE. Only those closest to Jesus, believe what God spoke through Him. "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you."

The Bible prophecies that comparatively only a few souls will be saved. Still, Christians must warn others of God's coming judgement against an ungodly world just as Noah did. The "Good News!" is that God has provided for us a safe refuge in Jesus Christ. It is not for us to chose who to witness to. Jesus commissioned us, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel."

"Go!"

~dkg

Spiritual Housekeeping

Ten years ago, I heard God's still small voice say, "Get your house in order." There was a sense of urgency and thought that I would die soon. I lived each day sensing that "today could be the day" (I still do), and gave away unneeded things, got paperwork in order, and tried to be patient and loving to my family and others. Here it is ten years later, I'm still here! (Thank you Lord). 

Recently, I questioned God, did I heard his voice back then and if so, what was "Get your house in order" all about. Instantly I felt that it wasn't about dying, it was about Living. Our body is our house (God's temple) where our soul and spirit dwells. God wants us to align our body and soul with our spirit that is united with His Spirit; and to be congruent in purpose. In other words, God want us not to be "double-minded" when it comes to living for Him. Getting our spiritual house in order is getting rid of unnecessary things that interfere with our peace. Just like living in a cluttered house can be overwhelming and cause us great anxiety, so too, can living with cluttered minds and hearts filled with unecessary things of this world. God want us to have Peace.

"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

I am still getting my house in order. Housekeeping is an every day thing. "Get your house in order" is God's way of saying, "Always be ready. I'm coming back soon!"

~dkg

Death

Preachers have told us for years to "get saved!" and warned that the unbeliever's punishment is "going to Hell."
The Bible says the punishment for unbelief in Jesus Christ is Death: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

What is Sin?
"Whatsoever is not of Faith is sin."
There are many counterfeits to faith: confidence, arrogance, assumptions, and pure ignorance. Faith is only faith if it's in something True (faith-worthy) because faith in a frayed tightrope will do you absolutely no good when you step on it.
Faith is not something you muster up, or "will" to do, it's Who you believe and receive, it's Jesus Christ. He is our Faith. The moment we accept Him, that is Faith, it happens in a micro-second, the Holy Spirit comes in and unites with our spirit and everything after that micro-second is Jesus' working through us.

"Faith is not of yourselves, it too, is a gift of God."

Death and Hell
"Death and Hell are cast into the Lake of Fire, this is the Second Death." Hell is cast into a lake of fire. Hell is not the end. Everyone in Hell will be resurrected and stand before "The Great White Throne Judgement Seat of God" and Judged.

Who is Sitting on the Throne? 

It's JESUS!!! Unbelievers will stand before Jesus and account for every word spoken against Him, and are judged for their unbelief reflected in their words (the evidence of their unbelief in Jesus). Yes, we are all guilty of sin (especially Christians it seems), but Jesus paid the price for everyone's sin, yet, not all receive His pardon for their sin. Only unbelievers are judged for the "unpardonable sin," which in a nutshell, is unbelief in Jesus Christ.

The Good News!
Jesus is innocent. He is the Son of God. He took the punishment for the sin of the whole world, for my sin and your sin, on the cross. The punishment for sin is death. That's why Jesus was crucified, to pay the wages of sin on our behalf. Jesus died for Me and for You because God loves us!

God rose Jesus from the dead to prove two things:

• That Jesus is of God
• That sin is Paid in Full!

"What must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."

~Acts 16:31

~dkg

Genesis 14

"And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea." Genesis 14:1-3

Kings uniting with kings, going to war against other kings. Inherit in the title "king" is to be ruler over all. There cannot be two kings over a given land, and if a king wants more land in his kingdom, he must defeat the kings of the lands he wants to conquer. Yet, these kings in Genesis 14 were uniting with other kings to defeat other kings. What is in the heart of a king to ask another king to help him overcome yet another king? Are kings willing to share their kingdoms? No, they will fight to keep them! What we have here are multiple, crissed-crossed strategic "chess matches" with one goal in mind, to be The King over all.

In battle, it is the king's army that does the fighting. These kings are uniting their armies to conquer other kingdoms. They will divide the spoils later, and then the real war between kings will begin!

There is only one God. He is the "King of kings."

~dkg

Genesis 13

"And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south." Genesis 13

Abram and his wife Sarai and his adult nephew Lot were moving out of Egypt. What had brought them down into Egypt was a famine. Abram had had a lot of possessions before (except food), and now that the famine was over, he was very rich! He could afford to pack up and move back home. It is easier to relocate when we have nothing, when we have no roots. Sometimes people move away from home to start a new life and they leave everything behind. But, when people are homesick, really homesick, they are willing to move everything they have aquired over time to move back, no matter how much baggage they have accumalated. They will pull up deep roots, if they have to, just to go home. Abram moved his family into Egypt because of hunger. Now he and his family were full, the famine was over, and everybody longed to go home. He pulled up his roots and went back to where his heart was, the land that God had given him. Abram experienced much danger in Egypt. He almost lost his wife...and his life! He lost nothing because God was with him and protected him. God gave him favor in Egypt.

May God protect us and give us favor on our journey home.

~dkg

Genesis 12

Coming soon

The Tower of Babel

"And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech." Genesis 11:1

Unity. Unity of language. Unity of speech. Unity of mind.

Imagine if the whole world had only one language. Imagine if everyone spoke the same thing. Imagine if everyone understood everybody else. Mankind would have made it to the moon 4,000 years ago!

It is fathomable to imagine a one world language. For instance, if everyone spoke English there would be more understanding, more sharing of ideas, more sharing of theories, more sharing of inventions. Our world's knowledge base would exponentially increase.

On the other hand, it is unfathomable to imagine a world of "one speech" where everyone says the same thing. Ideas would be the same, reasoning would be the same, beliefs would be the same. People speak the same thing when people are thinking the same thing. The Bible says that our thoughts do not reflect God's thoughts. A world of "one speech" would be united against God.

God wants us to be united with him. After the flood in Noah's day, the world was turning away from God just as it was doing before the flood. There was one language, one speech, and one mindset - against our Creator. This is why God confounded mankind's language in Genesis 11. God will put roadblocks in our path when we are bent on going the wrong way.

When we are confused, do we seek to understand our circumstances in light of God's Word?

~dkg

Genesis 11

The Tower of Babel

Genesis 11

1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

~King James Version

For "The Tower of Babel" Continued...Click Here.

Genesis 10

"Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood." ~Genesis 10:1

In Genesis Chapter Five, before the great flood that covered all the earth, we read "the generations of Adam," which recorded Adam's descendants from his son Seth up to Noah and his three sons. Now, after the flood, we read "the generations of the sons of Noah."

After the flood, the earth was renewed and ready to be replenished and repopulated. This time four "Adams" (Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth) would be the root of all generations to come. We are all descendants from one of these four branches of mankind. These four men were all descended from one man Adam, they were all from a "single branch." After the flood, the branch of Adam shoots out in four directions. "... and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood." (Gen 10:32).

We are all descended from Adam. We are all descended from Noah. But we are not all descended from Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

~dkg

Genesis 9

"And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth." Genesis 9:1

"And the Lord said...And God remembered...And God blessed..." These are the three beginning phrases in Genesis 7, 8, and 9.

When the Lord speaks, we listen. When God remembers, we look up. When God blesses, we rejoice!

"And God blessed Noah."

God spared Noah's life: Blessing!
God spared Noah's wife's life: Blessing!
God spared Noah's sons's and their wives's lives: Blessing!
God spared all living things...on the ark: Blessing!

What more could Noah ask for: Nothing. Yet, God blessed Noah again! What did God bless Noah with? A renewed earth. A blank slate. A new beginning. New! New! New! Noah was blessed by God to replenish the renewed earth.

"If any man be in Christ he is a new creation..."

Has God spoken to you? Has God remembered you? Has God renewed you? Has God blessed you?

~dkg

Genesis 8

"And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged; The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; and the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated." Genesis 8:1-3

"God remembered Noah...and every living thing...and all the cattle..."

God is mindful of us and everything that matters to us personally. He is mindful of where he put us; He is mindful of where we are; He is mindful of where we've been; He is ever mindful of where we're going, or think that we are going, which is sometimes: no where. Where was Noah? The earth was flooded with water. All land marks, gone. All points of compass, gone. All hope, not gone! We may lose sight of where we are, but God never loses sight of us. He know exactly where we are. He will never, ever forget us.

"God made a wind to pass over the earth..." The wind that God caused to blow over the waters, just as God's spirit moved upon the face of the waters in Genesis Chapter One, sped things up for Noah like gusty sails in the wind; it dried the earth faster than it would have if God had not intervened. God always intervenes for his people, not just in one way, but sometimes in many ways! The "fountains of the deep...were stopped...rain from heaven was restrained...waters returned...waters were abated."
God remembered Noah and moved all water out of his way.

Do you recognize when God is moving in your life? Do you see God's faithful hand in your circumstances? Thank him for his intervention!

~dkg

Genesis 7

"And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation." Genesis 7:1

The Lord said, "Come...." The Lord did not say, "Go...." So, where was the Lord? He was in the Ark!

The Lord's invitation to "Come" into the ark was to Noah and "all thy house." Yet, God extended the invitation verbally to just Noah. Noah received the invitation and then had the commission to tell everyone else: His wife, His three sons; His three sons' wives (one wife per son!). There were eight in all invited into the ark. Only one man received the message, Noah. Then Noah became the messenger to seven others.

Why did God just tell Noah? God said, "...for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation." Which generation is God referring to? The last generation of mankind before the great flood that covered the whole earth.

Are we "this generation," that is, the last generation that will witness the second coming of the Lord? Are we telling our loved ones about his invitation to "Come" to him? Have we heard God's invitation ourselves?

~dkg

Genesis 6

"And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose." Genesis 6:1-2

The spirit of God moves. The serpent questions. Men multiply and take. The more men multiply, the more men take, and the more men take, the more men multiply. In these verses, men are taking multiple wives. Verse one states that men were multiplying on the face of the earth; they were increasing the population of this planet. Men were monogamous up until Genesis 6 (except for Lamech, Gen. 4:19, who was the first man recorded to take for himself two wives). Monogamy did nothing to hinder a population explosion.

What was the allure for taking more than one wife? Women's beauty. More women equals more beautiful women. Beautiful things are oft times coveted after, lusted after, and sometimes taken from their rightful owners. These "fair" women were "daughters of men." They had fathers who raised them, mothers who succored them, families who loved them. But they were taken, perhaps against their wills, to become a possession, not a just wife. "They took them wives of all which they chose."

Who took them? "...the sons of God..." Just as Adam was the "son of God" and took of the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil," even so did the descendants of Adam, "the sons of God," take that which was forbidden, multiple wives.

"Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Gen. 2:24. How can three or more people in a "polygamous marriage" become one flesh?

Are we satisfied with all that God has given us?

~dkg

Genesis 5

"This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created." Genesis 5:1-2

This book within the Bible, the "Book of the Generations of Adam," is a record of Adam's and Eve's decedents, from their son Seth unto to their "great-upon-great" grandson Noah and his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. During the lives of Noah and his three sons, God sent a great flood which covered the whole earth.

Let's look at some of Adam's and Eve's descendants.

First, it's important to note that Adam's and Eve's first-born son Cain is NOT mentioned in the "Book of the Generations of Adam." In all the inherit promises for being a first-born son, Cain forfeited all these and lost all honor of being mentioned. It's as if he hadn't been born. His name has been blotted out.

Seth - "And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth."(Gen. 5:3). By age 130, Adam may have had hundreds of sons and daughters, but none are worthy of mention in "the book" until Seth. Why? Because Seth looked just like his father!

...and Seth begat Enos and Enos begat Cainan...

Cainan - Enos was ninety years old when Cainan was born. It is interesting that the name of "Cain" is within the name "Cainan." Although, Cain is not included in the "Book of the Generations of Adam," evidently he was alive and well in the memories and in the tradition of naming others after him by his "brothers." This could indicate that Cain was forgiven and even well-loved.

Enoch - "Enoch, the seventh from Adam," (Jude 1:14). "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." (Gen. 5:24). The first supernatural happening to a human-being ever recorded in the Bible after "God created the heaven and the earth." Nothing in modern Ufo's sighting and supposed alien abductions compares to this!

Are we walking with God? Has God seized our hearts today?

~dkg

Genesis 4

"And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord." Genesis 4:1

The first verse in Genesis Chapter Four is about Cain, not about "Cain and Abel." So, let's talk about Cain.

Cain was the result of Adam knowing his wife Eve in the Biblical sense; they really KNEW each other. They were intimate, they were physically and emotionally involved with each other.  Cain was the fruit of their love. He looked just like his father Adam. Eve declared that Cain was "a man child." Cain was the very first baby ever born on earth and in the universe. Cain was the first human-being to ever have a belly button! He was unique. Cain did not need Abel to complete him, nor was he "part of a pair." Cain was whole in and of himself. Surely, he relished in the love and admiration that he received from both his parents. Cain was a first-born and had all the qualities of a first-born child, even more so after Abel came along.

Adam was also a "first-born" in that he was the very first human-being created, made in the image of God, by God's own two hands. God spoke the world into existence, but, when he made Adam, God got down on the ground, got his hands dirty, got intimately involved with the dust of the ground, humbled himself even. Then being face to face with Adam, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Adam "became a living soul," (Gen 2:7). Which brings us to another "S" word in the Bible: soul.

Just as Cain looked like his father Adam, so Adam looked like God, until Adam sinned. Then his resemblance to God was marred. Cain looked like his father Adam until he sinned, too. Surely, murdering another human-being, his own younger brother Abel, turned Cain into an unrecognizable "grotesque creature," if he even faintly resembled his father anymore.

Who do you and I resemble?

~dkg

Genesis 3

"Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, 'Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree in the garden?'"Genesis 3:1

In Genesis Chapter Three, we see another "S" word: serpent. In Genesis Chapter One, the very first "S" word in the Bible is "spirit," specifically, "the spirit of God." The spirit of God moves, wherein the serpent questions. The serpent questions everything that God does, everything that God says, and everything that God promises. The serpent questions God's creation. The serpent questiones Eve, "Yea, hath God said...?"

"...the serpent was more subtle...." The serpent already knew the answer to his question. His motive was to get Eve to question God, to question her husband Adam, and to question herself. The serpent wanted Eve to question everything except him. Why Eve did not question the serpent is evident in his subtle, devious approach.

Do you question others about God? Why not question God directly? Everything we need to know about God is in God's Word.

~dkg

Genesis 2

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." Genesis 2:1

As in Genesis Chapter One, verse one, the earth is mentioned again in addition to "The heavens." This time "heaven" is plural whereas in Chapter One "heaven" is singular. After the "beginning" God went on to create more heavens. There is only one earth, just as there is only one you. Mankind is unique in the Universe.

Verse two states, "And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made." Everything that God made or ever will make has already been created. The seed of all humanity was within Adam's and Eve's DNA. We were created by God "in the beginning."

It's a wonderful blessing to know that we were in the mind of God from the very beginning when he created "all his work."

~dkg

Genesis 1

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth...and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Genesis 1:1-2

The first "S" word in the Bible: spirit

And not just "spirit" but "spirit of God." The first spirit mentioned in the Bible is God's spirit.

What does God's spirit do? The spirit of God moves. The spirit of God "moves upon the face of the waters." Does the spirit of God move upon your face? The human body is 70% water!

~dkg

Atheism

The Bible says, "...There is no God," in two separate verses, Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1.

But, always, always, always, look up Bible verses for yourself.

"The fool hath said in his heart, 'There is no God.'"

"Atheism does nothing for the 'God-shaped' hole in the human heart, except to make the hole unfathomable." ~dkg

Natural Man

"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God."

God knows and understands what this world thinks of the gospel. Believers should understand this, and never be offended when others laugh, mock, and scorn the Bible. Laughing at foolishness is a natural reaction. Natural and Spiritual are two different realms. 

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 

"God is a Spirit..." The spiritual realm is where you will find Him when you are seeking for Truth.

~dkg

Easter

When Jonah was thrown overboard and swallowed by a whale, Jonah was as good as dead. Imagine the shock three days later when Jonah arrives alive in Ninevah! 

Or Joseph, when his brothers sold him into slavery and took his coat of many colors, dipped it in blood, and took his coat to their father Jacob claiming Joseph was dead. But, twenty years later Jacob had his son Joseph back alive! Imagine the Joy! 

These Old Testament typologies foreshadowed the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those who crucified Jesus snarled, "Prove you're God and come down from the cross!" mocking him in his humiliation. But, what greater Power, what greater Proof that Jesus is who He claimed to be, not by coming down from the cross, but by coming out of the tomb!

 "Is it any wonder that God should raise the dead?" Jesus is Risen!! 

And this is the Hope of every Christian. "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." Some claim, 'oh, Jesus disciples stole his body'. Well then, Why did every disciple beside St. John die a martyr's death? No one knowingly dies for a lie. People are only willing to die for the Truth. The resurrection is our Blessed Hope. 

Happy Easter!

~dkg

Good Friday

Remembering Good Friday. 

What is a 'Last Will and Testament'? It is an enforceable, legal document declaring one's wishes after one's death. But, it does not take effect until after one dies.

Good Friday marks this pivotal point in the History of Mankind when Jesus the Christ died on the cross. The New Testament of God's grace is for Everyone; No one is excluded. We are All deeply loved by God. We are All heirs of salvation. All we need to do is receive it. Unfortunately, some of us opt out of 'the will' for various reasons, mostly unbelief. For some, the reading of 'the will' is conveniently reserved for a future time that may never come. 

May I encourage you to read the New Testament now, today, even if it is only one verse. God's Peace to you.

~dkg

Angels Unawares

"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
Hebrews 13:2

Years ago before cell phones, I was driving off a highway exit ramp at midnight and my car died-out on the ramp. I was alone. I quickly prayed, "Lord help me." Before I could even think to be afraid, within one minute a car pulled behind me, and then someone knocked on my driver's window. It was a woman. She said, "Honey, you can't be out here by yourself, it's too dark. Let me take you to the nearest gas station so you can call someone to come get you."

I went with her because I had just prayed for help - "Pat" was the answer to my prayer. She was so nice and spoke graciously with me, and even waited with me at the gas station until my friends picked me up. I kept thinking the whole time that Pat was an angel. I believe she was. Why would any woman get out of their car at pitch-black midnight, in the middle of an exit ramp, and come up to a stranger's car in which they had no clue who was in it. She was alone too!

Regardless if Pat was angel or not, I will never forget the kindness of "a stranger."

Be kind to others.

~dkg

Jesus the Servant

Jesus Christ - Serves EVERYONE. 

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others." Matt. 20:28

"And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, 'If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.'" Mark 9:35

Yes, Jesus Loves Me!

Does God Love Us?

Yes!

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

Yes, Jesus Loves Me!

Yes, Jesus Loves You!

There is no Greater Love!

Hymn by William Batchelder Bradbury

Jesus loves me—this I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong—
They are weak, but He is strong.

Refrain
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me—He who died
Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.

Refrain

Jesus loves me—loves me still,
Though I’m very weak and ill;
From His shining throne on high
Comes to watch me where I lie.

Refrain

Jesus loves me—He will stay
Close beside me all the way,
Then His little child will take
Up to Heaven for His dear sake.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Poem by Anna Bartlett Warner
(As originally published in 1860)

Jesus loves me—this I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to him belong,—
They are weak, but he is strong.

Jesus loves me—loves me still,
Though I'm very weak and ill;
From his shining throne on high,
Comes to watch me where I lie.

Jesus loves me—he will stay,
Close beside me all the way.
Then his little child will take,
Up to heaven for his dear sake.



Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Loves_Me

Remembering the Innocent

In memory of Leo Ramos

A SECRET PLACE

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men." 
~Psalm 139

Every human being ever created, was created in secret by God. Only the Lord knows the exact moment of our conception, the precise moment He gave life to us. 

When the abortionist goes in to a woman's womb with his surgical knife, or deadly poison, to slay innocent blood, he is going in to a MOST HOLY place. God, the Creator of life, will not hold anyone guiltless who purposely takes the life of an unborn, innocent child.

Jesus, too, was innocent when he was slain for sins that he did not commit. Jesus understands that most women do not realize what they are doing when they seek an abortion because they do not want to give birth to a baby for whatever reason: being unmarried; out of due time; abandoned; homeless; living in poverty; afraid to have a baby; etc., (incest, rape, and saving the life of the mother are not addressed here).  

 Jesus cried out to God the Father on the cross, 

"Father forgive them, they know not what they do." 

Jesus freely forgives. 

~Luke 23:34

The blood of Jesus Christ and the blood of ALL innocents shed from the foundation of the earth (scripture includes Abel's blood) will be required from the bloody hand's of the guilty.

"As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." ~Psalm 103:12

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." 
~Isaiah 1:18

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." 

~Acts 16:31

~dkg

The Spiritual Realm

In memory of Leo Ramos
In early mornings, spiritual analogies come to me. I write them down, even if for an audience of one. 

When Jesus healed the eyes of a blind man, Jesus made clay out of dust and his spit and rubbed it on the man's eyes. "What do you see?" Jesus asked him. "I see men as TRESS walking. Then Jesus rubbed the blind man's eyes again and said, "What do you see now?" - "I see men!" exclaimed the man. He was healed.* 

Now some preachers say, "Jesus didn't heal the man perfectly the first time, he didn't see clearly" (as if Jesus' power was not operating at 100%). But I say, Jesus healed the man so beyond physical healing that he saw into the spiritual realm! And that's why he saw men as trees, because that's what trees represent in the Bible, spirits. Jesus is the "Tree of Life."

When trees are uprooted, are they alive? Are they dead? Think. What determines an uprooted tree's life or it's death will depend on whether the uprooted is watered, regardless if it's replanted in soil or not. Trees may live without soil, but they cannot live without water, if a tree does not recieve water, it will die eventually. 

We are all like trees walking. Are we drinking of the "Water of Life"?

Jesus said, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." ~John 4:14

*~Mark 8:22-26

~dkg

Sacrificial Love

In memory of Leo Ramos
Where does Love originate? In that, sacrificial love? The unconditional love that would die in the place of another. Love that Jephthah did not have for his own flesh and blood. He could have offered himself to die in his daughter's place. Old Testament sacrificial law allowed substitution. 

Read the tragic story of Jephthah and his daughter here:

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Judges-Chapter-11/

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." ~John 15:13

~dkg

Time

In memory of Leo Ramos

"In the beginning, God created the heaven and earth." 

~Genesis 1:1

What was before "in the beginning"? ETERNITY.

Time is a fleeting, temporary. There is coming a time when time, as we know and experience time, shall be no more.

After the vision that God gave to the Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos, John wrote:

"And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." ~Revelation 10

After time, then what? 

ETERNITY.

~dkg

In memory of Leo Ramos

Now

In memory of Leo Ramos
"NOW" <-- All of eternity past and future is in that one word. 

It truly is the only time God has given us. We cannot go back to the past, we cannot travel to the future, nor are we guaranteed another second of breath. We only have this moment. 

"For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, Now is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation." ~2 Corinthians 6:2

"Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near..." ~Isaiah 55:6

The time to call upon Jesus, is Now.

~dkg

In memory of Leo Ramos

Signs of the Times

In memory of Leo Ramos
Since mankind did not recognize the first coming of Jesus the Christ, will mankind recognize Jesus' Second Coming? Surprisingly, Yes!

Due to lack of paying attention to the signs, many people will not see the Day of the Lord approaching, but, everyone will see the Lord's return to the Earth. "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory." ~Mark 13:26

Jesus compares discernment of weather (looking at the signs in the sky to tell future weather) with spiritual discernment. He compares the natural realm to the spiritual realm. In both realms, God warns us about the future. Not everyone pays attention to the weather, nor weather forecasts; many people are caught off guard and without their umbrellas when it rains. Not everyone pays attention to spiritual signs. In both cases, undiscerning people are unprepared for what transpires.

Jesus said also to the people, "When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?" ~Luke 12:54

"This time," refers to when God in the flesh (Jesus) walked among men. Here are the outward SIGNS of the Lord's first coming:

(((MIRACLES)))

Turning Water into Wine!

Healing Lepers!

Healing the Sick!

Healing the Paralyzed!

Healing the Blind!

Feeding Multitudes! 

Power over Wind!

Casting out Demons!

Walking on Water!

Raising the Dead!

&

RISING FROM THE DEAD!

"When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red."
~Matthew 16:2

"Ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" ~Jesus

Vesperitan - Latin for "evening"

In memory of Leo Ramos
"Evening Prayers"

"The busy day of life is over. Its pleasures, its duties, and its anxieties have passed away. The sunshine and the shade, which alternately marked its path, have disappeared; and the soft tints of evening gather over the sky. The evening of life! Yes. Life has a sunset hour, a twilight season. The eye dim, the silver lock, the feeble step — reveal the closing of earthly existence has arrived. How rapid is the flight of time. How near the approaching of eternity!" 

~ Anon: The Evening of Life 

In memory of Leo Ramos

Twilight

In memory of Leo Ramos

Evening Prayers

"The busy day of life is over. Its pleasures, its duties, and its anxieties have passed away. The sunshine and the shade, which alternately marked its path, have disappeared; and the soft tints of evening gather over the sky. The evening of life! Yes. Life has a sunset hour, a twilight season. The eye dim, the silver lock, the feeble step — reveal the closing of earthly existence has arrived. How rapid is the flight of time. How near the approaching of eternity!"

~Anon "Evening Prayers"

In memory of Leo Ramos