Lessons From the Story of Moses
this article will be an extension off of the article I just did titled “The Story of Moses.” As I said in that article, I believe this man has one of the most powerful and dramatic stories in all of the Old Testament. There are major lessons to be learned from this man’s story and adventure in God.
For all aspiring eagles in God, I believe that Moses and King David are two excellent role models for all of us to learn from. They were both true heroes of the faith and there is much to learn from both of their stories in the Lord. This article will be on what we can learn from the story of Moses and what we can each take with us on our own individual journeys with the Lord.
1. Personal Relationship With God

As I have stated numerous times in many of our other articles, the #1 thing God wants to do with each one of us is to establish an intimate, personal relationship. Moses definitely accomplished this with God the Father! The Bible may have given Moses two of the finest and highest compliments that any person could ever hope to receive from God Himself.
Here are the two verses giving Moses these two incredible compliments direct from the Lord Himself:
“So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” (Exodus 33:11)
“But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.” (Deuteronomy 34:10)
The second verse is one of the last verses that are at the end of this man’s story. It is a very fitting statement and compliment in which to end his story in God. These verses are obviously referring to Moses’ face-to-face encounters with God in the burning bush and on top of Mount Sinai when he received the 10 commandments from God the Father.
However, the thing to really grab a hold of is that even though God initiated making this kind of direct contact with Moses, Moses entered in and was not afraid to meet God face to face and one on one! The Bible says that when God first manifested His presence up on top of Mount Sinai, all of the other Israelites were scared to death of God.
They told Moses that he should go up there and talk with God for them lest they should die from coming into direct contact with the Lord. Here are the exact words out of the Bible of the fear they had with their own God:
Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” (Exodus 20:19)
Their fear of God is the exact same fear that many Christians still have today. They know that the Bible tells them that God wants to establish this individual, personal relationship with each one of us, but they are too afraid to approach God to establish this kind of intimate, personal relationship with Him.
I will not go into all the different reasons people are afraid to establish a personal relationship with the Lord. But suffice to say, this is what God really wants, and if you would be willing enter in without any type of fear like Moses did, this will then be the beginning of a new and adventurous life for you with the Lord.
Just look at the story of Moses and what happened to his mundane life out in the desert once he made direct contact with the Lord and then proceeded to follow God’s call on his life! His whole life changed for the better – and what an incredible adventure he had with God in the last 40 years of his life!
Moses was 80 years old when God first made contact with Him and called him out for the deliverance mission that He had in store for him. Everything that Moses experienced in the Lord all occurred in the last 40 years of his life. It is never too late to turn your life over to God the Father and enter into His perfect will for your life. You just never know what God may do with the rest of what time you still have left down here on this earth!
Moses did two powerful things that dramatically changed the course and quality of his life:
He entered into and followed God’s personal call on his life.
He entered into a good, intimate, personal relationship with God the Father.
Look at these two things as a 1-2 punch. Totally surrender your life over to God the Father, ask Him to place you in His perfect will for your life, find out what your call and purpose is going to be for Him, and then do not be afraid to enter into a dynamic, powerful, personal relationship with Him. If each Christian would be willing do both of these things, I believe that God would then take them into heights and adventures that could possibly be beyond their wildest dreams.
I am not saying we are all going to have the same kind of story Moses had, but many of you can definitely testify that all of your lives have been changed for the better and that your lives are very exciting in the Lord. He constantly keeps us guessing and wondering what He is going to do next.
To those of you who have never taken either one or both of the above steps with the Lord, just imagine and visualize the story of Moses as I described it for you in my last article. God is no respecter of persons. Look what happened to this man’s mundane life out in the desert once he fully surrendered his entire life over to God’s call for his life, and then had enough courage and faith to enter into a very powerful, personal relationship with God the Father.
Dare to let God do the same for you. God will work with anyone who is willing to enter into this realm with Him.
2. Moses Was Not Afraid of the Manifest Presence of God

Not only was Moses not afraid to enter into a close, intimate, personal relationship with the Lord, but he also was not afraid of the manifest presence of God.
Some of you may have had some incredible manifestation activity with the Lord – with most of it being with the Holy Spirit. However, what we have found out is that this kind of supernatural activity can freak many people out, just like it did with the Israelites when God first appeared on Mount Sinai.
It is one thing to know that God and Jesus are up in heaven at a safe distance from all of us – but it’s quite another thing once anyone starts to receive direct manifestation activity from the Lord.
People seem to really be afraid of any kind of direct contact with God. But for those of you who have had any kind of direct supernatural activity from the Lord, I am sure you can testify that there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of in reference to the manifestations that we have all received. I will not go any further on this subject in this article, as this would be an entire article all in itself.
However, for those of you who are very comfortable and very appreciative of these manifestations when they do occur, just remember the story of Moses and what an incredible thing it really is whenever God does decide to manifest Himself to you in any way that He should choose to do so. It really is an incredible blessing, and it makes our walk in the Lord that much more fun and exciting to be in!
3. Moses Was an Excellent Representative for God

The Bible says that we are to be ambassadors for Christ. We are His representatives. One of the most amazing things about the story of Moses is that Moses stayed true, loyal and faithful to God the Father during the entire 40 year journey in the wilderness. The Bible says that the Israelites were constantly complaining, moaning and bellyaching about their lot. Not enough food, not enough water, not enough this, not enough that.
The Bible says they lacked for nothing. God made sure they had enough manna raining down from heaven on a daily basis to keep them properly fed. They also had no problems with God providing adequate shelter and protection for them. Still this was not enough. And remember, every one of the Israelite men 20 years and older did not make it into the Promised Land due to their lack of faith in the Lord and failing to follow Him fully.
Thus Moses was constantly surrounded by negativity and pessimism with all of these people surrounding him. And yet Moses never got tired of talking about God, teaching about God and all of His ways, and making sure that all of God’s laws and commandments were enforced among the people.
Moses was the perfect representative for God in a sea of negativity. Negativity and pessimism can be contagious, but it never affected Moses. He stayed true, loyal and faithful to the Lord during these trying times and he never once strayed from God as His loyal representative.
Moses should serve as a powerful role model for any Christian who finds himself in an environment of negativity and pessimism – either at home or in the workplace. God can still use you and your testimony in a mighty way when the time is right.
4. Standing in the Gap

Moses personally did one of the most amazing things in all of the Old Testament – he got God to change His mind!
When Moses was up on Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights with God the Father getting the 10 commandments and many of the other basic laws and commandments that God was wanting His people to live by, the Israelites were down at the bottom of the mountain making a false idol by way of a golden calf.
When God sees this, He becomes so furious that He literally wants to consume the Israelites right there on the spot. However, when Moses sees how mad God is getting and what God is wanting to do to these people, Moses immediately “steps into the gap” for his people and begins trying to reason and plead with God as to why He should change His mind and not kill them.
Here is the verse that tells you word-for-word what Moses said to God to get Him to change His mind:
Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, “He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth?’
Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.” “So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.” (Exodus 32:11-14)
This part of Moses’ story shows you the power of intercessory prayer and what prayer can accomplish if God is properly approached. God can be moved to answer prayer, especially prayers that come from the heart. Standing in the gap means you personally stand in the gap for someone else. You are praying to God for someone else.
Sometimes people may be to weak to pray for themselves. Other times some people are either not saved or they have no real personal relationship established with God and are not confident enough to get God to answer their personal prayers. There could be many different reasons as to why you would have to stand in the gap for someone else and go to God and ask God to do something specific on that other person’s behalf.
Moses gives a perfect example on how to step into the gap to intercede for someone else. If Moses can do this, so can any other Christian who has established a good, working relationship with the Lord. This type of prayer can save lives, transform lives, and alter the course of natural events. There are other Scripture verses that say that we can approach God to reason with Him, to state our case before Him. This means God can be talked to, reasoned with, pleaded with, and sometimes persuaded to change His mind on something.
Moses is a very good role model and example on how to go into intercessory prayer with God the Father for someone else.
5. The Anointing

When God first makes contact with Moses, He tells Moses that He has chosen him to go into Egypt to deliver the children of Israel from out of their slavery to the Egyptians. Moses then starts to argue with God that who is he to accomplish such a mission, that he is too slow of speech and tongue, and for God to consider asking someone else to do this for Him.
God then replies back to Moses that he has nothing to worry about, that He will be with him, and that He will be with his mouth and teach him what to say. In other words, God was telling Moses that His anointing would be on him to accomplish this incredible task.
All Christians need to realize that if God calls you to do anything on His behalf, that He will also anoint you with His supernatural power to get the job done. All Christians have the Holy Spirit living and dwelling on the inside of them. The Anointing of God is really the presence and power of the Holy Spirit operating through you to accomplish whatever God will be asking you to do for Him.
The story of Moses is a dramatic example of the “anointing in action” operating through an individual to accomplish what appeared to be an impossible mission. But look at what happened when Moses stepped out and entered into God’s power and anointing! He literally accomplished the impossible through the power of God and changed the entire course of Jewish history!
The odds were totally against Moses accomplishing such a deliverance! However, the Bible says that nothing is impossible with God the Father. There is nothing He cannot do! This story proves, without any shadow of a doubt, that God’s supernatural power can overcome any situation – no matter how hopeless it may look to you in the natural.
For those of you who are ever faced with what appears to be an impossible mission or task to perform, just remember this man’s story and what happened when he was willing to step out with enough belief and faith in God to let God’s supernatural power flow and operate through him. He literally changed the entire course of Jewish history with the deliverance of the Israelites from the Egyptians.
If God did all of this for Moses – what can He do for you?
6. The Tabernacle – God Will Lead You on a Daily Basis

One of the most amazing things that occurred in the Israelites 40 year journey into the wilderness was the building of a tabernacle to house the manifest presence of God. Once this tabernacle had been built, God’s manifest presence came down in the form of a cloud during the day and fire by night. During the day, the cloud would lift off and the Israelites would then follow the cloud to wherever God was going to lead them to that day.
God thus led them on an everyday basis through this 40-year journey in the wilderness. The lesson to be learned from this is that not only will God anoint you with His power to get the job done, but He will also guide and lead you every step of the way to get the job done. God will lead you on a daily basis as to what needs to be accomplished for that day. All you have to do is be willing to step into God’s leadings for your life, and He will then start to take complete control of your life and then lead you down the path that He will want you to travel on.
The Bible says that we are to be led by the Holy Spirit. God perfectly led Moses every step of the way the minute he decided to accept God’s call on his life. Again, if God did all of this for Moses, then He will do it for each and every Christian who will fully surrender their lives over to Him and are willing to be led by the Holy Spirit on a daily basis.
God will anoint and empower you, and perfectly lead you every step of the way if you are willing to take this journey with Him. It really is that simple!
What more can any Christian ask for? God’s “power” and God’s “leadings” are ready and waiting for each and every Christian who will fully surrender their lives over to Him.
This man’s story proves that God can and will take each Christian on their own unique, individual and exciting journey with Him if they would only be willing to take that leap of faith and fully surrender their entire lives over to Him.
7. God Will Fight Battles For You When Needed

This story is a perfect example showing the extreme lengths to which God will go for you if He is forced to fight and engage with any enemy standing in your way.
God was wanting His people delivered from their slavery to the Egyptians and He was not going to take no for an answer. God threw 10 powerful judgments at the Pharaoh in order to break him so that he would let His people go. Finally, after breaking on the last judgment, the Pharaoh agrees to let God’s people go.
However, after initially letting them go, the Pharaoh all of a sudden changes his mind and starts back after them. The Israelites then get caught before the Red Sea. God then parts the Red Sea with a dry ground mass so they can safely cross over to the other side.
At this point, all the Egyptians had to do was to let these people go. They had just been hit by 10 powerful judgments from God – but they just could not leave well enough alone. They then start to cross over onto the dry ground mass that the Israelites had just crossed over on. At this point, God’s wrath then comes into full manifestation. He causes the waters of the Red Sea to return back to normal.
When this happens, the Egyptians get caught on the dry ground mass and the sea waters completely drown and kill each and every one of them that tried to chase down God’s people. All of their dead bodies ended up being washed up on the shore for all of God’s people to see!
I have over 95 powerful battle verses in my index card system that show that God can fight and engage with your enemies if he has to. This story is a perfect example of what God can do on your behalf if He should choose to do so. God will protect His own if He has to. So not only do you get God’s power, anointing and leadings operating for you if you are willing come into a full surrender with Him, but you will also get His full protection as well!
8. Parting of the Red Sea

The actual parting of the Red Sea as described above has to be one of the most dramatic and powerful miracles in all of the Old Testament. This part of Moses’ story really has major significance for all Christians.
How many of you, or how many of you have known someone who has been at the end of their cliff or at the end of their rope with absolutely nowhere else to go. If God does not come through with some kind of major miracle at the last minute, they are either going to die, have to file bankruptcy, lose their entire business, or lose their marriage. We have all heard of these types of stories.
In the natural realm, they have nowhere else to go or turn to. Their situation appears completely hopeless. The only thing that will save them is a major miracle from God. And then it happens – God comes through with some type of major miracle to either save their lives, keep them financially afloat, save the day, turn the tide, or stop some kind of impending disaster from hitting them.
For those of you who have never been at the end of a rope or the end of a cliff needing a major miracle from God to save you, it is not something that you should ever want to experience. It is scary, nerve wracking and it will test your patience and faith in God to its absolute limits like it did with Moses and the Israelites.
The Israelites started complaining once they got caught up in this situation. But Moses, whose faith and confidence in God had been built up during the time God was manifesting His 10 judgments on the Pharaoh, stepped forward and boldly proclaimed that God was going to save the day for them and that He would deliver them from the predicament they now found themselves caught up in. And sure enough God did – just like Moses proclaimed and believed he would!
If any of you should ever find yourself before your own personal red sea with nowhere else to go – just remember what God did for Moses. No matter how bleak or how hopeless the situation may appear to you in the natural, remember that nothing is impossible with our God!
If God can literally part the Red Sea like He did in this story with Moses, then God can part and take care of your red sea if you are willing to press in, request that He help you out, and be willing to believe and have faith that He will take care of the situation.
For those of you who have had this type of miracle with God in your own personal lives, or for those of you who may experience something like this in the future, the one thing I can tell you is that it will increase your faith tenfold once you see God come in at the last minute to save you. It is an experience that you will never, ever forget – and it will draw you that much closer to this awesome God of ours!
9. The Wilderness Experience

The 40-year wilderness experience that God put the Israelites through is something that He does to some of His own. In the story of Moses, the main reason He did it was to test the Israelites – to see if they would hold fast to Him, to see if they would follow Him fully, and to see if they would follow all of His laws and commandments.
As I said in the story of Moses, every one of the Israelites 20 years and older flunked this test. As a result, they were not allowed to enter into the Promised Land and every one of them died out in the desert.
Some of you have had your wilderness experience with the Lord and some of you have not. There is a definite and specific reason that God will have some of His people undergo this type of experience. Here are some of the reasons.
a) To test you – to see if you have what it takes to make the grade, to make the call that He has set up for your life. Just like professional sport teams have try-outs to see who is going to be good enough to make the team – God will arrange to have some of you tested to see if you will have enough faith in Him and have the fortitude, patience, resolve, courage and stamina to make it all the way through.
The Bible says that “Many are called, but few are chosen.” I believe this verse is referring to the ones that God has put a call on. He has something specific that He wants them to do in this life. He has a mission and a purpose for their lives. I do not believe this verse is referring to our salvation in Him. If it did, it would indicate that the majority of people are not going to get saved and make it into heaven.
This is also a price-paying period. As a result of the curse of Adam and Eve that is still in full operation in this world, there is a price to pay for anything good that we will want in this life. If you want God’s call on your life – if you want God’s best for your life – then there is going to be some kind of price you are going to have to pay to receive this call. Many of the times this price is actually paid in some type of wilderness experience.
Some people do not want to pay a price for anything. They want everything handed to them free of charge. These types of people will never make it with God in reference to the call that He would like to put on their lives.
b) It is in the wilderness experience that you will really draw close to God. He will strip out many of the normal things in your life. You feel like your out in the desert all by yourself and that it is only you and God going through all of this. Your social life may also wane during this time.
He also may strip your finances down during this period to just enough to get you by. The reason He is doing this is to see if you will stay faithful and loyal to Him. It is very easy to have faith and belief in God when everything is going good and great, but when things start to go bad, and you start to lose some of your material possessions, then the real test will come into play.
Will you stay true, loyal and faithful to God during these lean and dry times or will you bail out on Him because the going is getting too tough? Many people do not make it through this tough time of testing, and they then end up missing out on their calls with God. Had they made it all the through, God would have blessed them beyond their wildest dreams once they had entered into their true calls with Him.
By going through these lean and dry times, it will also cause you to really start leaning and depending upon God more than you may ever have done before. It goes back to the vine and branch analogy. Jesus is the vine – we are the branches. The branches totally depend upon and lean on the vine for their life and support.
God wants the same thing from each of us. The wilderness experience will really cause this kind of grafting to take place with you and the Lord. This kind of an experience will usually make or break you in your own personal relationship with God. If you make it all the way through and allow this grafting to occur, you will then become much more closer to God in your own personal relationship with Him.
c) This is also a time where a lot of knowledge will be worked into you regarding your specific call. Since much of your social time has been decreased, God will arrange for you to have more time to gain knowledge on whatever your call is going to be in Him. For many, the wilderness is where they make their greatest strides in spiritual growth.
I will be doing an article just on this one topic alone in the near future due to the importance of it. Again, this is not something that He puts everyone through. God alone will decide who goes through this type of testing and who will not. I will leave you with one last thought for those of you who either may be in some type of wilderness experience at this time or who may be brought into one sometime in the future.
If God wants to arrange for this type of experience to occur for your own spiritual growth and development in Him – rest assured that you will have what it takes to make it all the way through.
If God is going to call you to do something specific for Him in this life, then you can full faith and assurance that God knows exactly what He is doing with you, that you can trust Him to see you all the way through, and that you will make the team and the call that He has set up for your life once you have passed all of your tests.
Remember one last thing. All of the Israelites 20 years and older in the story of Moses all flunked their test in the wilderness. And look what they all missed out on – entry into the Promised Land. Joshua and Caleb led the younger generation into this Promised Land and they all received the abundant blessings that God had in store for them in this land.
Your promised land is God’s call on your life. Stay the course with God, hold fast to Him, let Him complete whatever He wants to do with you in this wilderness experience, and you will then be rewarded – possibly beyond your wildest dreams or expectations!
10. Do Not Always Be Questioning God

There is a time to question God, to press in and seek after answers from Him. The Bible says to ask, and you shall receive. Seek, and you will find. However, there is also a time not to question God and to accept whatever He is telling you to do!
When God first makes contact with Moses through the burning bush, He tells Moses exactly what He wants from him. He tells Moses that He will use him to deliver the children of Israel out from under their Egyptian bondage.
During this initial conversation with God, Moses questions God’s wisdom of choosing him for the job! Moses says that who is he to accomplish such a task. He says he is too slow of speech and tongue and then he finally tells God to consider calling someone else for the job.
The Bible says that Moses ended up kindling the anger of God with the pessimism that he was showing to God. God finally gives in at this point and tells Moses that He will also anoint his brother Aaron for the job, that He will be with the both of them, and that Aaron will be his mouthpiece to the people since Moses had no faith in God’s anointing to enable him to speak effectively to the people and to the Pharaoh.
I believe God’s original plan was just to anoint Moses for the job. However, when he showed God three times that he had no confidence in his own abilities to do this, God then goes to Plan B and anoints and sends his brother Aaron to go with him.
You can really feel as you study the conversation that was occurring between God and Moses – that Moses should have never been questioning God’s decision to call him out for this job. And look at what happened. God’s anointing came onto both Moses and Aaron and they both were able to fully accomplish the mission.
The lesson to be learned from this is that if God does call you and ask you to do something specific – do not ever question His wisdom on the matter. God’s knowledge and ways are absolutely perfect. Even if you do not think that you have what it takes to accomplish what He is asking you to do, remember that His anointing and His power will be on you to enable you to accomplish that task or mission!
Moses and Aaron had absolutely no problems in being able to accomplish this impossible mission because God’s anointing and power got the job done for them. All they had to do was to do exactly what God was telling them to do on a step-by-step basis and then God did the rest.
If any of you are ever asked by God to do something that is out of your comfort zone, out of your own natural abilities – remember this part of the story of Moses. Just as God’s power and anointing was more than enough to get the job done through Moses – His supernatural power flowing through you will be more than enough to successfully accomplish whatever He will be asking you to do for Him.
If there is nothing impossible with God – then there is nothing that God cannot do through you – just like the story of Moses perfectly illustrates!
The story of Moses is a perfect, dramatic, and powerful example of just how far someone can go with God if they are willing to follow God fully and not be afraid to walk with His anointing.
Burn this man’s story into your memory banks – it is one of the most dramatic and powerful stories in God that the world has ever seen!
11. Do Not Disobey a Direct Order From God

The saddest part of this man’s story is that he was not allowed to go into the Promised Land because of one act of disobedience. God had given him a direct order to speak out to a rock and God would then cause water to flow out from this rock.
For some strange reason, Moses ends up striking the rock twice with his rod instead of speaking out direct to it as God had specifically commanded him to do. Moses had disobeyed a direct order from God on how to perform this miracle. As a result, God kept him from going into the Promised Land and he then died out in the wilderness.
Some people may wonder why God was so harsh with Moses on this particular matter. Moses had done just about everything else right in God – so why would God hold this one thing against him? I believe the main reason is that God was holding Moses to a much higher standard. The Bible says that to whom much is given, much more will be expected!
Moses was also dealing with a miracle that God was wanting to perform. When you get into this level with God where He is manifesting miracles through you – you have to be operating in perfect obedience to God. There is no negotiating with God in this higher level with Him.
If God wants to manifest a particular miracle through you, then you better do exactly what God says as to how He wants to bring the miracle or manifestation about. This is one area where you cannot question God or attempt to try and do it your own way. If you do, you could seriously jeopardize anything else that God may want to do through you. You could lose your call, your ministry, your anointing and any other blessings that God may have in store for you.
For those of you who will ever receive any type of direct order or command from God on any issue – do not disobey the order or try to do it your own way like Moses did. If you do, the consequences could be severe. In some cases, it could be a matter of your own life and death. Remember – God always knows best – you do not.
CONCLUSION

Though the story of Moses ends up on a rather sad note with him not being able to enter into the Promised Land, just remember all of the good things that he did right in God. In one lifetime – in a 40 year period – Moses was able to:
Speak direct to God through a burning bush.

Be used by God to change the entire course of Jewish history by delivering the Israelites from the Egyptians.

Watch God throw 10 powerful judgments against Egypt.

Watch God part the Red Sea.

Personally receive 10 commandments from God the Father.

Talk a second time again with God the Father up on Mt. Sinai.

Be able to see the manifest presence of God – with God showing him His back side up on Mt. Sinai.

Watch God’s manifest presence come down on the tabernacle they had built and lead them on a daily basis.

And then be directly responsible for the teaching of God and all of His ways to the younger generation of Israelites who eventually would be the ones to enter into the Promised Land.
And all of this occurred within a 40 year time period! Now that’s what you call a major, whopper, power story in God.

Police list Spragga Benz as major person of interest

Deejay implicated in Dunkirk triple murder

Jamaica Observer

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Police-list-Spragga-Benz-as-major-person-of-interest#ixzz1KOSGENtZ

http://youtu.be/0C8-9_fouxI

BWAAY MOVADO MI WUDDA LOVE YUH FI GO LEARN ENGLISH PLEASE…

Peter’s Story

Peter was very enthusiastic and driven he believed that anything you wanted you should go out and get it. Being a very disciplined person it did not matter what time he would retired to be bed he would naturally get up at 5:00 am. He grew up knowing that sometimes you would have to do without. Peter was never recognized for his efforts although he would be ready and willing to help his relatives and others. He was always called lazy because he would forget to do basic things around the house. Nevertheless if anyone in his family wanted any help whatsoever he would be the first person to be called on. He was generous with his money that he worked very hard for. As soon as his relatives would get the money the novelty would wear off. He was back to being a nobody, he was cursed if he tried to defend himself. Peter continued to work and managed to maintain himself, his mother and siblings.

Peter depended on his bicycle to help him get to work and to avoid transportation cost, everyone knew this but they did not hesitate to use it. As usual one day Peter woke up at 5:00 am to get ready for work. He got ready and realized that his bicycle was gone, he would have to report to work at 6:30 am. Peter did not have any money to get to work that morning because he gave his mother his last 500 dollar bill and the money he saved was in the bank. He had no choice but to do the walk that would take him about an This would make him half an hour late for work. Peter hurried to start his hour long walk on his arrival he was told by his supervisor that he was dismissed because of his tardiness. Peter tried his best to negotiate with the foreman but he was not making any progress with this man that hardened his heart. Unfortunately, he would have to do a hour walk home. When he arrived to his house and asked his mother who used his bicycle that night an argument ensued. His mother told him that he should leave the house because he did not wash the pot that he used in the morning to fry plaintain. He was again in bargaining mode and pleaded with his mother but she wanted him out so he had no choice. He thought long an hard about his trials and what was happening to him. He was not only sad but wondered what he was going to do to survive. He said a short prayer and carried on.

The first night out Peter had to sleep on the street but decided that he had to get another job because he could not live like this. The second day Peter was walking and looking for work everywhere but he was not fortunate enough to find anything. On the second night Peter was sitting on the side of the road contemplating his life when he heard a loud noise it was the sound of a squeaking brake and a collision, when he got up to look the vehicle was on the edge of a precipice. Peter and another young man ran out to see what could be done but when the other man saw what seemed to be danger he warned Peter and did not go further. When Peter was about to turn back he heard a lady shouting, “Help! Help! My baby is inside!” Peter made a swift turn and went back he made a hasty decision to rescue the young child first but he could not hear a sound from the child. The residents told him to move because he would be in danger but he still looked for the child. He pushed his hand through the broken window again and felt the head of the child. He forced the door and took the child from the vehicle. After he took the child out of the vehicle it fell about ten feet and rolled. The lady had a cut on her forehead but was still conscious and physically shaken. He was not sure where he was going to sleep that night but was sure that he had to find a place for the young child and her mother to get some rest . The residents of the community came out and were able to find a taxi to take the woman and child to the hospital. Peter still had the traumatised child in his arms and jumped in the taxi as well. When he arrived at the hospital the taxi man said to Peter that he had to pay even half the cost of the gas, and requested the money. The lady’s purse was trapped in the car so again it was his responsibility. Peter had money for a room he wanted to rent but had to use some of the money for the taxi. When they got to the hospital he tried to explain himself but was cut short by a nurse who recognized the woman. Peter still had the terrified child in his arms because the child held on to him and would not let go. When the doctor came in he tried to take the child from Peter but it was not possible. So he had to do the check up with Peter with the child in his arms. After he was at the hospital for about 3 hours the child fell asleep and Peter laid her down.

As usual Peter thought his work was done and did not even expect to get a thank you so he turned his back and was on his way. While on the way out he saw a food vendor and thought about the child. He decided to buy something that if the child should wake up she will have something to eat. He returned to the front desk and was about to give the nurse the food. Before he could give the items to the nurse he was approached by three men one of the man hugged him and they all told him thank you. The nurse called him an angel and asked him his name. The questions were coming so fast that Peter started to stutter, he was asked if there was anything he needed and what they could do for him. Peter recognized that he saw the man on TV he told the man that the only thing he wanted right now was work. The man laughed and thanked him and told him that he would give him a ride home and that he had a job for him and he should contact him in the morning. Peter told the man that he was not living anywhere right now but he could leave him at the side of the road. The man turned to Peter and told him he could not do that because he did not leave his wife and child behind. The man told Peter that he had a place that he could stay. Peter was brought to a house that was built behind the man’s house that was fully furnished. The next day Peter was given breakfast and lauded by everyone on the premises for saving the woman and child. Relatvies came from far to meet Peter. The man employed Peter and he moved up quickly, the man offered to help Peter so that he could start his own business. He was now to be a sub-contractor. The wife of his employer bought him his first truck because he saved her life. Her daughter still remained Peter’s friend and the little girl’s sister taught him how to do sign language because she could not speak. Peter still maintained discipline and work deligently and worked his way up until he bought a second truck on his own. Within 7 years Peter had a fleet of trucks. He was now a succesful businesman and was now the star among his relatives. He remembered the times that he was exluded and ridiculed but he continued to give to others. He taught his children to do the same. He never saw the need to be selfish he always thought about what was done for him and helped others. The sacrifices that he made were riches that were stored up for him. These riches were given to him at his lowest point. When he was homeless and jobless and should have felt helpless he did what he had to do to help another. All his years of hard work was paid in full by the grace of God.

realking

Philippians 2:3-7 – Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

The Story of Adam and Eve
to really understand how we all got here, what it really means to be “born again,” and why there is so much death and destruction in the world we live in – you have to go back to the very beginning to the story of Adam and Eve as told to us in the Bible.
To truly understand our roots and beginnings as Christians, we have to understand exactly what had occurred in this story. I will go ahead and break this story down under the following captions.
GOD SETS THE STAGE

1. As Christians, we have to believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible. There are many secular and atheistic teachers and professors who are teaching in our high schools and colleges that man gradually evolved rather than actually being created by our Lord. However, the Bible tells us otherwise.
The account in Genesis tells us very specifically, and without any other possible interpretation, that both man, the heavens, the earth and all the creatures on the earth were all CREATED by the Lord – that they did not progressively evolve over some period of time. The very first verse in the Bible tells us that God created the heavens and the earth. Here it is:
“In the beginning God CREATED the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
The Bible then goes on to tell us that God then proceeds to create light, night and day, the seas, the stars, creatures to live in the seas, creatures to live on the dry land and then finally the man Adam – all in 6 days. Adam was created on the 6th day. Here is the verse that tells us that the very first man, Adam, was also created by God, and that he did not progressively evolve over any period of time:
“And the Lord FORMED MAN of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7)
Then God plants Adam in the Garden of Eden and gives him total dominion over everything in it – including all of the fish, the birds and every living thing that moved on the earth at that time. After a certain period of time, God then sees that it is not good that Adam continue to remain alone – so He then creates the first woman Eve by causing a deep sleep to fall on Adam and then takes out one of his ribs.
God literally creates the first woman from the rib of Adam. God meant for Eve to be a helper comparable to him and He then tells the both of them to be fruitful and multiply and to fill the earth and subdue it. Here is the verse that specifically tells us that Eve was also created just like Adam was and that she was not a product of some type of evolutionary process.
“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. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man HE MADE INTO A WOMAN, and He brought her to the man.” (Genesis 2:21)
Again, both of these accounts show that both Adam and Eve were created by God and that they did not evolve from any kind of evolutionary process or any kind of primates.
2. After God brings Eve to Adam to be his helper, Adam makes a very powerful statement that has future implications for all married people. Here is what he says in reference to Eve:
“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh …” (Genesis 2:22)

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)
Right at the beginning of creation, with the creation of the first man and the first woman, God tells us how powerful and how holy the marriage union is going to be. Bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh – two people becoming one flesh! These words right there tell you why divorce and marital breakups are so painful. It’s like flesh ripping from flesh when two married people try to dissolve the marriage union.
This is why divorce is so painful when one or both of the partners try to break it off. There is a spiritual union that occurs when two people marry for true love. And when one or both want out of the marriage for whatever reason, the pain can literally be excruciating because of the spiritual union that has taken place within the love and bonds of that marriage.
Then the Bible says that God now puts man in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. The stage is now set. God has now given this first man and first woman everything they could possibly need to be happy and fulfilled.
They have both been made in the image and likeness of God. They now have each other as marriage mates. God has given them total dominion over everything on the earth. He has told them that they are free to be fruitful and multiply – which means they are free to start having children within the marriage union. And then to really top it off, they both have direct contact and fellowship with God Himself, as this account says that God walked in the Garden of Eden where they were now living. They literally had it all!
However, there was just one small catch!
THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL

1. After God perfectly sets the above stage for Adam and Eve and literally gives them everything under the sun, He tells them that there is now one thing they cannot do. He specifically tells them they can eat of every single tree that is in this garden – with the exception of one tree. This one tree was called the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
Think about this. God makes this test they both had to pass for the future implication of all mankind as easy as He possibly could. He tells them that all they have to do is stay off of this one tree. He tells them that they can literally eat from every other tree that is in this garden.
The Bible does not tell us how many other trees were in this garden – but I bet there were thousands of them. All they had to do was to obey God’s one direct command to stay off of this one tree – and they would have eventually passed the test – and all of us could have been born into this perfect God environment. But they blew it big time – not only for themselves – but also for the rest of mankind that was to follow after them.
In addition to telling them not to eat any fruit that was on this one tree, God then allowed one other thing to occur in this setup. He allowed Satan himself to be able to roam in this garden in the form of a serpent – knowing full well that Satan would try and tempt them to disobey His direct command to the both of them not to eat any fruit off of this one forbidden tree.
So God sits back and watches this scenario unfold. Will Adam and Eve listen to and abide by God’s direct command not to eat any fruit off of this one tree – or are they going to allow themselves to be duped by the devil?
2. As we all know, they eventually fell for Satan’s lies and deception. Satan first targets Eve, telling her that she will be like God if she eats the fruit off of this one forbidden tree. He tells her that she will have God’s knowledge of good and evil if she partakes of it.
After Eve trespasses and eats some of the fruit off of this forbidden tree, she then turns to Adam and convinces him to do the same thing. Adam then proceeds to eat some of the same fruit and once both of them have eaten off of this tree – an amazing thing then happens!
Before they had eaten off of this forbidden tree, the Bible tells us that they literally were allowed to run naked in this garden. They had no shame in doing this. They were as innocent and pure as little children. Until they had transgressed by eating off of this one forbidden tree, they had no sin in their lives.
When they ate off of this forbidden tree, they had committed their first sin against God – and what happened after they did? The Bible tells us that their eyes were “opened” and they “knew” that they were naked. They then proceeded to sew fig leaves together so they could cover their nakedness.
Why all of a sudden would they want to cover their nakedness when they had been running around totally naked in this garden for who knows how long before this transgression took place? I believe the main reason was due to the fact that shame, guilt and condemnation immediately set in the minute they committed their first sin and transgression against God.
The minute this shame, guilt and condemnation set in as a result of committing their first sin against God – they lost all of their childlike innocence and purity. And once they lost all of their childlike innocence and purity, they then became self-conscious of their nakedness and then had to make an attempt to try and cover it up.
3. Why was it so bad that Adam and Eve ate the fruit off of this forbidden tree? It was just fruit. The Bible says that they could tell that the fruit on it was good for food and that it was very pleasant to the eyes. So what was so bad about eating this fruit besides disobeying a direct command from God not to eat of it? What did this fruit represent?
Besides disobeying a direct command from God the Father, I believe there was another reason that God did not want them eating any fruit off of this one tree. The clue is in what the tree was called – “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
The Bible tells us that God wants us to be “simple concerning evil.” In other words, He doesn’t want us crossing over any lines to experiment with, to test out, or to engage in any type of sinful activity – not even one time!
Instead of fruit being on this tree, imagine that there was a bag of pot, cocaine or heroin. God’s original plan and design for all of us was that we not even attempt to experiment, even one time, with anything that is sinful such as some of the above items. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death.
Once you cross over the line even one time to try and smoke pot, shoot up heroin or snort cocaine – you now have the knowledge of something that is sinful and evil because you have now ingested it – you have now taken it in – you have now officially tried it out. That is why this tree was called the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
God’s original plan for man was that man not have the “knowledge” of evil by engaging in it! Once you engage or enter into a specific sin – you now have the “knowledge” of it. That is why death resulted when Adam and Eve ate the fruit off of this forbidden tree.
So now Adam and Eve will have to face the full consequences of transgressing against God by eating off of this one forbidden tree.
THE CONSEQUENCES

As a result of transgressing against the Lord, Adam and Eve lost it all. Here are the specifics of what they lost. Study these very carefully, as these consequences had implications for the rest of the human race that was to come after them – which includes all Christians who are now living under the new covenant with Jesus!
1. Banishment From the Garden of Eden

The first thing that happens is that God tells the both of them that they will now be banished from this perfect garden. God also says that there was a second tree in this garden called the tree of life, and had they eaten from this tree, they would have lived forever.
Since they flunked their test with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they were not permitted to eat from this tree of life. Here is the verse that will show us that both Adam and Eve were then sent out from this most perfect garden.
“… therefore the Lord sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.” (Genesis 3:23)
The implication seems to be that had they passed their test with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would have eventually been able to eat from the tree of life – and had they done so, they would have lived forever. They would have never known physical death.
This account with their first test then ends with the following verse:
“So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:24)
Cherubim is one of God’s high-ranking angels. Adam and Eve had forever lost their one and only chance to eat from this tree of life and to live forever in this perfect God environment.
2. The Earth Is Now Cursed

In addition to banishing both of them out of this garden, God now pronounces a curse on them, their descendants, and on the earth in general.
God tells Eve that she will still be able to bear children, but that she will bear children in pain. The implication seems to be that had they passed this test, that Eve could have bore children without any pain. This part of the curse not only applied to her, but to all future women who would be born after her that would also have children.
God then tells Adam that he will have to work and sweat for his food. Here is the specific verse where God is making this statement to Adam:
“CURSED is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life … in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.” (Genesis 3:17-19)
Adam, and everyone to follow, will now have to “toil” and “sweat” in order to be able to put food on their table. This is why the world is set up where everyone has to work in some fashion. No work – no money. No money – no food.
This curse also explains why many of the bad things keep occurring on this earth. As a result of sinning against God, death now enters into the big picture. Adam and Eve, and all humans to follow, will now have to undergo aging and eventually the death of our physical bodies. All of our physical bodies will now corrupt and die and return to the ground from which God made Adam.
As a result of our physical bodies now being open and subject to the death process, this now opens up our bodies to all kinds of sicknesses, diseases, illnesses, ailments, aging and corruption. This is exactly why we have suffering, disease and sickness in our earthly lives – all because of the curse of Adam and Eve. Our earthly lives now have a mixture of both life and death. Some people live long lives, others do not. Some people get cancer, others do not. Some people become victims of crime, others do not.
Since death is now a part of our earthly lives as a result of this Adamic curse – we never know when something bad may happen to anyone of us at any time. We all know we are going to eventually die, but we have no idea when or how we are going to die. Life in general now becomes very uncertain, as we never know what is going to happen next – whether it be good or bad. This is why all Christians need to be walking in a full surrender with God the Father and have the Blood of Jesus pleaded on their bodies, homes, cars and all of their loved ones.
Here is God’s last statement on this curse that He is now pronouncing on both Adam and Eve and the world in general:
“In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19)
As a result of what happened in their story, we all have to be born into this cursed and fallen world before we can make it into heaven after being saved and born again – no exceptions. In this cursed world, we also have Satan and all of his demons being allowed to interact with us to a certain degree trying to cause as much trouble and chaos as they possibly can.
We also have bad and evil unsaved people being allowed to a certain degree to cause as much trouble and chaos as they can before they die – hence we are all stuck with wars, murders, robberies, rapes, muggings, abductions, scams, cheating, infidelity, etc. The local news on an everyday basis will tell you how bad things can really get from time to time. Whether we want to realize it or not, we have all been born into a war zone as a result of the curse of Adam and Eve that is still in full operation on this earth.
This is why the Bible tells us that we have to learn how to become good soldiers in Jesus Christ. Life is rough, and it is only through God’s grace, protection and guidance can we make it through this life in one piece before we finally die and cross over to be with Him for all of eternity.
So Adam and Eve not only blew it for themselves, but they also blew it for the rest of the human race as well. However, it is my own personal opinion, that not just Adam and Eve flunked their test with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but I feel that the same thing would have happened if God would allowed them to have children and then put them to the same test. I feel that a good portion of humanity, if not possibly all of us, would have also flunked this same test if presented with the same scenario.
This is why the Bible says that all men and women have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. If there is one thing that we can all admit to – is that we are all flawed sinners. We are not perfect. We all have character flaws and imperfections within our personalities. As a result of this sin nature that we have all born into this world with, we have now all become sinners in the eyes of God. The Bible tells us that there is none of us that appear truly righteous and sin-free before the eyes of God the Father.
God’s original plan for the human race was that we not sin and that we would obey all of His direct commandments and instructions. He wanted us to have never tasted the fruit of any kind of sin. But Adam and Eve set the stage as to how all humans would react to this initial setup. They could not abide by God’s specific commands and instructions, so now God is forced to go to plan B.
And thank God there was a plan B, or else we would have all been lost forever as a result of what happened in this story with Adam and Eve. This will now lead us into the next topic.
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE “BORN AGAIN”

After God pronounced the above curse on Adam and Eve and casts them out of the Garden of Eden, God makes a very powerful prophetic statement. Here is what He says direct to the devil:
“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.” (Genesis 3:15)
God the Father, in this statement, was foretelling of Jesus coming to our earth to be crucified for all of our sins. In this crucifixion, Jesus would defeat Satan and any stronghold that he has on people. This is what God meant when He said that Jesus shall bruise his head.
Satan was defeated once and for all at the cross! However, God also states that Satan would bruise the heel of Jesus, which occurred when He was crucified. Due to the position and weight of the human body when crucified, the heels are bruised, which is exactly what happened to Jesus when He was crucified.
However, Satan had no idea what God the Father was talking about when He made this prophetic statement. If he would have known what the crucifixion was really all about, he would have never allowed it to occur. The Bible tells us that the death and crucifixion of Jesus would remain a mystery to the entire world until after it had been completed. Here are two very profound verses that will specifically tell us this:
“… according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began but now has been made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures have been made known to all nation …” (Romans 16:25)

“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1 Corinthians 2:7)
Now here is where being “born again” comes into the big picture. Study this next verse very, very carefully. This is Jesus making this statement:
“… I say to you, unless one is BORN AGAIN, he cannot see the kingdom of God … unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3,5)
Water means “the Word.” The “S” in the word “Spirit” is with a capital “S.” This means it is talking about the Holy Spirit – not our human spirits.
Bottom line – unless one is born again of the Holy Spirit through receiving the Word of God on what it means to become saved – you cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven when you die and cross over.
If you will notice, this verse is using the word “again” after the word “born” – born “again.” If this second birth is not talking about our physical births into this world, what other second birth is it talking about? The word “again” is telling us that we are going to have to go through some kind of second birth to be able to make it into heaven.
Jesus tells Nicodemus that He is not talking about a physical birth where we are physically born again to be able to enter into heaven. He is now talking about a new spiritual birth. Jesus tells Nicodemus that what is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
When Adam and Eve first sinned against God the Father by eating off of the forbidden tree – they not only lost their right to stay in the Garden of Eden, but they also lost their direct spiritual connection to God the Father.
Why? Because sin separates us from God. God’s initial plan was for Adam and Eve not to sin. Once they did, they lost everything good that God had set up for them. They were banished from this perfect garden and physical death will now enter into the big picture, which means that their physical bodies would be subject to deterioration, corruption and eventual physical death.
And then to top it all off, they lost their direct spiritual connection to God Himself. The Bible tells us that God actually walked in this garden, which meant that Adam and Eve could walk and talk with God Himself in this garden. When they were banished, they had forever lost their one and only chance to ever walk with God again in this most perfect environment.
So not only did Adam and Eve open themselves up to physical death as a result of this one transgression, but they have now also suffered a direct spiritual death since they lost their direct, spiritual connection to God the Father.
This is why the above Scripture verse on being born again is so important for all Christians to fully understand. Bottom line – Adam and Eve lost their direct, spiritual connection to God the Father after they had eaten the fruit off of this forbidden tree – however, all born-again believers get their spiritual connection once more restored back to God the Father once they receive the Holy Spirit to come and live on the inside of their human spirits.
The Bible tells us that it is by the Holy Spirit that we have direct access to both God and Jesus who live in heaven! If the Holy Spirit is not living on the inside of us – then we are spiritually dead. We have no lifeline back to God the Father or Jesus Christ. This is why Jesus is telling us in the above verse that we cannot make it into heaven unless we literally have the Holy Spirit Himself living and dwelling on the inside of us.
Here are some major, key verses that will tell us that it is by the Holy Spirit that we have direct access to both God and Jesus in heaven. This first verse is showing us that we now have direct access to God the Father “by” the Holy Spirit.
“For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” (Ephesians 2:18)
In other words, through accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we now receive the Holy Spirit to come and live in our human spirits. And once we receive the Holy Spirit to come and live on the inside of our human spirits, we now have direct access back to God the Father who lives in heaven.
If God the Father lives in heaven and we have direct access to Him by the Holy Spirit – then we also have direct access to Jesus in the same way, since Jesus too lives in heaven sitting at the right hand of God the Father.
This is why the Bible uses such phrases as praying “in the Spirit,” worshiping God “in the Spirit” and walking “in the Spirit.” It is “by” and “in” the Holy Spirit that direct contact is made with both God and Jesus. Without the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us, we would have no direct, spiritual connection back to God or Jesus. We would still be lost and in the same state as Adam and Eve were in when they were banished from the Garden of Eden.
This is why the born again verse mentioned above specifically states that it is the Holy Spirit Himself that we are born again with. Here is another good verse that tells us that it is by the Holy Spirit that Jesus is able to literally abide in us, even though He is in heaven:
“And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” (1 John 3:24)
The word “He” is referring to Jesus. If Jesus is dwelling in heaven, but the Bible tells us that He is also living on the inside of us – how can this be? “By and in” the Holy Spirit who lives on the inside of us.
I believe that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are so perfectly one with one another – that if we have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us – then we have both God and Jesus living on the inside of us, even though both God and Jesus live in heaven.
Here is a verse I believe that tells us that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are perfectly one in their divine spiritual union with one another. Remember, Jesus is called the “Word of God.” Here it is:
“For there are three who bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” (1 John 5:7)
The above verse in 1 John 3:24 specifically tells us that Jesus abides in us by the Holy Spirit. This next verse tells us that both God and Jesus can come to us and make their homes with us.
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him … and We will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:21)
Notice that Jesus uses the word “We” – meaning that both He and God the Father will come to us and make Their homes with us – all because we now have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us.
Here is another good verse that will tell us that God the Father Himself abides in us by the Holy Spirit in the same way that Jesus abides in us by the Holy Spirit:
“No one has seen God at anytime. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” (1 John 4:12)
The word “Spirit” in the above verse is with a capital “S” – which means it is referring to the Holy Spirit. This verse is thus telling us that God the Father also abides in us because the Holy Spirit is now living on the inside of us. The key word in the above verse is “because.”
To think that we have the third Person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit, literally living on the inside of us – and it is by the Holy Spirit that we have a direct link and a direct spiritual connection back to both God and Jesus who live in heaven is truly mind-blowing!
This is why you will see me using words such as “tapping in” to the Holy Spirit in many of our articles. Since the Holy Spirit lives on the inside of us – not the outside – contact is made with Him by tapping in on the inside your being, not the outside!
This is why the Bible tells us in Luke 17:21 that the “kingdom of God is within you” – because we now have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us. And since God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are so perfectly one with one other – each one of us truly has the kingdom of God literally dwelling on the inside of us since God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the Kingdom of God Themselves.
CONCLUSION

To really understand what it means to be saved and born again, each Christian needs to fully understand what had occurred in the story of Adam and Eve. The story of Adam and Eve, and then the story of Jesus coming down to our earth in the flesh to be crucified for all of our sins in order to bring us back to God Himself, are like two puzzle pieces that perfectly fit side by side with one another.
The story of Adam and Eve tells us how everything began and why things are the way they are today – all because we are still living under the curse they had brought upon this earth as a result of their one transgression against the Lord.
The story of Adam and Eve then sets the stage for the greatest story that will ever be told – the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to our earth in the flesh to save us and deliver us from our sins and our lost condition that arose out of the story of Adam and Eve.
Had God the Father not sent His Son Jesus down to our earth to be crucified for all of our sins and our lost condition – we would all still be living in this lost condition with no chance of ever being able to make it into heaven after we die and cross over.
With Jesus literally being willing to die on a cross in order to get us back to Himself and His Father – we not only get to go to heaven when we die and cross over, but we also get our inside spiritual connection once more restored back to both God and Jesus since we all receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of our salvation.
This is something we get immediately. We do not have to wait until we get to heaven before we can receive the Holy Spirit. We receive the Holy Spirit at the exact moment we are saved and born again – and it is by, in, and through the Holy Spirit that we all now have a direct access and a direct spiritual connection back to both God and Jesus.
However, what we do not get is the stoppage of the aging process and the eventual deaths of our physical bodies. The Bible tells us that the last enemy that will be conquered will be death.
1. The Bible tells us that Eve became the mother of all the living. So if Adam and Eve were the first man and first woman to get the ball rolling in reference to starting the world’s population – how did they do this?
Most Bible scholars are in agreement that the only way this could have occurred is if the sons and daughters that Adam and Eve initially had were allowed to have sexual relations with one another. There is absolutely no other way that this could have occurred. The gene pool would not have been contaminated at this early stage.
However, as you get further into the Old Testament, God then ends up prohibiting any incestuous relations among any family members. However, in order to get the ball rolling off of this one man and one woman, God had to initially allow the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve to have sexual relations with one another in order to get things going.
2. The Bible then says that Adam lived to a ripe old age of 930 years. However, the Bible does not tell us how long Eve had lived for.
Bottom line – the story of Adam and Eve needs to be fully understood by every Christian in order to understand who we really are in Christ and why things are the way they are in the world we now live in.

Three Hills shooting survivor in US for treatment

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Three-Hills-shooting-survivor-in-US-for-treatment_8692253#ixzz1KG0macvu