We Learn to Resist Temptation

Wrestling with God, Jacob received a new name. . . ISRAEL.

Israel means wrestled with God. Have you wrestled with Him? I have and he won. God never loses a fight! Smile here!

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and He will flee from you.” James 4:7

“Satan still comes with his temptations to the children of men. He employs every means at his command to conceal himself from view, and this is why so many are ignorant of his devices. A few days since, the question was asked me, “Do you believe in a personal devil?” “I do,” was the answer.. “Well,” rejoined the questioner, “I do not believe that there is any such being; our evil thoughts and impulses are all the devil we know anything about!” “But,” I asked, “who suggests those thoughts? Whence do they origniate, if not from Satan?” . . .

“Just as surely as we have a personal Saviour, we have also a personal adversary, cruel and cunning, who ever watches our steps, and plots to lead us astray. He can work most effectually in disguise. Whever the opnion is entertained that he does not exist, there he is most busy. When we least suspect his presence, he is gaining advantage over us. I feel alarmed as I see so many of the youth yielding to his power while they know it not. Did they but see their danger, they would flee to Christ, the sinner’s refuge.

“Aim to be faithful students in the school of Christ, learning daily to conform your life to the divine Pattern. Set your faces heavenward, and press toward the mark for the prize of your high calling in Christ Jesus. Run the Christian race with patience, and rise superior to every temptation, however grievous it may be, that shall come to you. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God; and if you are desirous of taking the first upward step, you will find His hand streched out to help you. It remains with you, individually, as to whether you walk in the light of the Sun of Righteousness, or in the darkkness of error. The truth of God can be a blessing to you only as you permit its influence to purify and refine your soul.”

Sons and Daughters of God, by Ellen White p. 79, for March 13, 2023.

Lessons We Learn From Day to Day To Center our Thoughts in Christ

“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” Ephesians 4:25.

“The youth of to-day may be educated for the fulfilment of high and holy purposes. . . . They are pupils in the school of Christ, learning from day to day lessons of the divine Master.

“It is in youth that the affections are most ardent, the memory most retentive, and heart most susceptible to divine impressions; and in is during youth that the mental and physical powers should be set to the task in order that great improvements may be made in view of the world that now is, and that which is to come.

“The amount of valuable knowledge that can be acquired by young men and young women can hardly be estimated; but to reach a high standard, they must close the door to the debasing thoughts that Satan would thrust into the mind, and refuse to yield to his temptations. The youth may acquire that which gold cannot buy, by cherishing a pure, strong purpose in endeavoring to be all that God designed they should be. The mind should be trained to dwell upon right themes of thought. They should study the Scriptures, and bring into daily life the divine rules which God has laid down for their guidance. He who has grown old in the service of God may find his mind a blank in regard to the things that are happening about him, and recent transactions may soon pass from his memory; but his mind is all awake to the scenes and transactions of his/her childhood. O that the youth may realize how important it is to keep the mind guarded, pure and clean, from corrupting thoughts, and to preserve the soul from all debasing practices; for the purity or impurity of youth is reflected upon the old age.

“The truths of the Bible, received, will uplift the mind from its earthliness and debasement. If the Word of God were appreciated as it should be, both young and old would possess an inward rectitude, a strength of principle, that would enable them to resist temptation.”

Sons and Daughters of God, by Ellen White, p. 78, for March 12, 2023.

War against God’s Government?

May The Source of Peace Be With You!

The Riddles of Jesus Christ are embedded with symbols that permit us to hear His voice like Thunderbolts and 7Trumpets sounding from Heaven to Earth. . . to prepare us to receive a place for us. . .in His Kingdom. . . a living Paradise with a River Running Through It!

It is said, Satan used his powers, to try create
His Kingdom, based on his memories of walking in Heaven.
In Jerusalem, the Heavenly City
with a river running through it.

The Heavenly Jerusalem has the
Tree of Life,
that produces the fruit of the month
spanning both sides of the creek

The King of Babylon,
Was and still is the King of Confuson

His name is found in Revelation 9:11 as the

KING OF THE DESTROYERS

What begin in Genesis when God

created a drops of 💦 water

then turned “waters” into a sea of humanity

The inhabited worlds are watching

much like we watch the Nebraska Cornhuskers play in the stadium . . .

As the announcer broke the silence of a pile up of jerseys

on the one yard line by the goal post exclaiming:

WHAT A SEA OF HUMANITY!

If we could see the doom and destruction threatening our world. . .as the rest of the civilized world is watching from the safety of their homes in the heavens……they understand why God created this Earth to be the place, where the powers of evil dictate the destruction of the world.

Can we see the alien who lived among us, has the gentic code of eternal life? And Jesus wishes to permit us to believe, His plan was not to see us suffer. . . not to see us fighting a foe we cannot fight. . .for Satan was given the gift of eternal life. . . and Satan and his evil companions, still wish to think, they can change the times and laws of Gods Kingdom.

Ten little laws, that cause us to use our brains to decide which Government we will bow down to. . .by force

Or by recognizing The Source of our Peace and Contentment comes from Him, who gives us Freedom to believe, our world cannot exist without freedom. . . within bondaries. . . that give us the Sabbath, the weekly Day of Rest. . . to reflect on what all God has done, to guide us out of chaos and confusion, into His perfect peace with all who call upon His name.

This is my prayer, this is my HOPE, that somewhere in your brain, you seek love, peace, joy, long suffering, and believe, we understand why Jesus spoke as if, He would rather die than bow down to any human. . . that wishes to control our minds.

A.I. technology cannot read our minds. . . only God can.

What motivates mankind to do the things they do. . .depends upon the mind, connected to the living God. . .

And in this struggle to obey or not obey His Holy Spirit, mankind, being mankind, struggles to eat, think, and be the kind of men and woman, that walked on the shores of Galilee…being patient with his disciples, waiting for them to learn how to be patient, kind and true.

The work of righteousness is peace and the effect of His righteousness is quietness and assurance forever. And His people shall dwell in a peaceable habitiation, in good dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

“And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Isa 32:18  And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; . . .”

I needed this assurance today. . .as the Source of Righteousness is never to Force. . . His blessings on anyone. And in Quietness, I saw my father, Manford Ordelheide be a wise man of peace. Then I saw in my two sons, the effect his life and manners had on them. And I saw the look on their face, when he passed away. . . . they had lost a friend

Our weakness in human nature will not bar our access to the heavnely Father, for he [Christ] died to make intercession for us.

May God Bless You and Keep You, and may His face always shine upon you and give you peace!

You Cannot Take My Peace Away From Me. . . Because

Joh 14:27  “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” 

” . . .  And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: Exo 33:22  And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:. . . ” Exo 33:21-22.

“For without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5, last part.

“The first lesson to be taught . . . is the lesson of dependence upon God. . . . As a flower of the field has its roots in the soil, as it must receive air, dew, showers, and sunshine, so must we receive from God that which ministers to the life of the soul.

“The presence of God is guaranteed to the Christian. This Rock of faith is the living presence of God.. The weakest may depend upon it. Those who think themselves the strongest may become the weakest unless they depend on Christ as their efficiency, their worthiness. This is the Rock upon which we may build successfully. God is near in Christ’s atoning sacrifice, in His intercession, His loving, tender ruling power over the church. Seated by the eternal throne, He watches them with intense interest. As long as the members of the church shall through faith draw sap and nourishment from Jesus Christ, and not from man’s opinions and devisings, and methods; if having a conviction of the nearness of God in Chirst, they put their entire trust in Him, they will have a vital connection with Christ as the branch has connection with the parent stock. The church is established not on theories of men, on long-drawn-our plans and forms. It depends upon Christ their righteousness. It is built on faith in Christ, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” . . .

“The strength of every soul is in God and not in man. Quietness and confidence is to be the strength of all who give their hearts to God. Christ has not a casual interest in us but an interest stronger than a mother for her child. . . . Our Saviour has purchased us by human suffering and sorrow, by insult, reproach, abuse, mockery, rejection and death. He is watching over you, trembling child of God. He will make you secure under his protection. . . . Our weakess in human nature will not bar our access to the heavenly Father, for He [Christ] died to make intercession for us.”

We Are to Consider Nature’s Lessons

“And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin?” Matthew 7:28

“Natural science is God’s storehouse from which every student in the school of Christ may draw. The ways of God in natural philosophy, and the mysteries connected with His dealings with manknd, are a treasury from which all may draw.

“The flowers of the field, in their endless variety, are always ministering to the delight of the children of men. God Himself nourishes every root, that He may express his love to all who will be softened and subdued by the works of His hands. We need no artificial display. God’s love is represented by the beautiful things of His creation.

“Christ sought to draw the attention of His disciples away from the aritifical to the natural: “If God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith!” Why did not our heavenly Father carpet the earth with brown or gray? He chose the color that was most restful the most acceptable to the senses. How it cheers the heart and refreshes the weary spirit to look upon the earth, clad in its garments of living green! Without this covering the air would be filled with dust, and the earth would appear like a desert. Every spire of grass, every opening bud and bloming flower is a token of God’s love and should teach us a lesson of faith and trust in Him. Christ calls out attention to their natural loveliness, and assures us that the most gorgeous array of the greatest’s king that ever wielded an earthly scepter was not equal to that worn by the humblest flower. You who are sighing for the artificial splendor which wealth along can purchase, for costly paintings, furniture, and dress, listen to the voice of the divine Teacher. He points yo to the flowers of the field, the simple design of which cannot be equalled by human skill.”

Sons and Daughters of God, by Ellen White, p. 75, for March 9, 2023.

Sitting at the Feet of Jesus We Learn to Beware of Vain Deceit and Flattery

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Colossians 2:8.

“Flattery is an art by which Satan lieth in wait to deceive and to puff up the human agent with high throughts of himself. . . . Flattery has been the food upon which many of our youth have been nourished; and those who have praised and flattered have supposed that they were doing right; but they have been doing wrong. Praise, flatter, and indulgence have done more toward leading precious souls into false paths, than any other at that Satan has devised. Flattery is a part of the world’s policy, but it is no part of Christ’s policy. Through flattery poor human beings, full of frailty and infirmities, come to think that they are efficient and worthy, and become puffed up in their fleshly mind. They become intoxicated with the idea that they possess ability beyond what they do have, and their religious experience becomes unbalanced. Unless in the providence of God they shall be turned from these deceptions, and become converted, and learn the a-b-c of religion in the school of Christ, they will lose their souls. Many a youth has been flattered that he/she has ability as a natural gift; when the ability he/she thinks, he/she can be attained only through diligent training and culture, learning the meekness and the lowliness of Christ. . . . God permits him to be attacked by the enemy, in order that he may understand his own weakness. He is permitted to make some decided blunder, and is plunged into painful humiliation. But when he/she is writhing under a sense of his or her own weakness, he is not to be judged harshly. . . . This is the time when he/she needs a friend who . . . will deal patiently and faithfully with the erring. . . . He is not to be lifted up by the aid of flattery. . . . Rather he/she is to be pointed to the first rounds of the ladder, and his or her stumbling feet are to be placed on the lowerst round of the ladder of progress. . . . Through the aid of wise counselors, his/her defeat will be turned into victory.”

Photo by Khimish Sharma on Pexels.com

Sons and Daughters of God, by Ellen White, p. 73, for March 7, 2023.

Jacob’s ladder, came from a dream, where people and angels where going up and down the ladder. . . growing. . . learning. . . more about Jesus, and how He listened to His Father.

“God permits Satan to attack us, in order to understand our own weakness” is a good quote to remember, it inspired me to be more understanding of those who help us know . . . Jesus understands. . . the chaos and confusion we live in.

Words in red font, are helpful in some situations…and the Bible words in red, are the words of Jesus, Yahweh, God the Sun of Righteousness, forgiveness, and He knows our hearts.

Sitting at the feet of Jesus: We Learn to Speak the Language of Jesus

“My doctrines shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, as the showers upon the grass.” Deuteronomy’s 32:2.

? Who wrote Deuteronomy?

John_7:16  Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. (Jesus quoting Moses)

“We are to be witnesses for Christ: and this we shall be when we grow up daily into the full stature of men and women in Christ. It is our priviledge to grow more and more like Him every day. Then we shall acquire the power to express our love for him in higher, purer speech, and our ideas will enlarge and deepen, and our judgement become more sound and trustworthy, while our testimony will have more of life and assurance. We are not to cultivate the language of the earth, and be so familiar with the conversation of men, that the language of Canaan will be new and unfmiliar to us. We are to learn in the school of Christ: yet it is manifest that many are satisified with very limited experience in spiritual things, for they reveal but little knowledge of spiritual things in their prayers and testimonies. There is less good judgment manifested in matters concerning our eternal interests, than in matters concerning our earthly, temporal affairs.

“Christians are to be faithful students in the school of Christ, ever learning more of heaven, more of hte words and will of God; more of the truth and how to use faithfully the knowledge that they have gained.

“The chief requisite of language is that it be pure and kind and true…”the outward expression of an inward grace.” . . . The best school for this language study is the home.

“Kind words are as dew and gentle showers to the soul. The Scripture says of Christ that grace was poured into His lips, that He might “know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.” And the Lord bids us, “Let you speech be always with grace,” ” that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” When the heart is pure, rich treasure of wisdom will flow forth.”

Sons and Daughters of God, by Ellen White, p. 72, for March 6, 2023.

I blog and reblog these words from the pen of Ellen White, because I too wish to speak with grace. And learn how to speak a word in season to him/her who is weary.

If you are struggling today, and wrestling with your maker, God. . . than let this battle continue, until you like Jacob say, “Do not leave me until you bless me.”

This makes me smile, all the while, knowing and remembering, how I fought with God on a moonless early morning….shaking a fist at him in the darkness, saying, “Go to hell, this is not working. . .as I was walking toward the Bible across the room. . . when the only light I had turned on that dark morning, went out. Light bulb . . . came back on when I sat down to read, and went out, every time I begin to write down…what I was thinking…instead. . .when I begin to read, the LIGHT came back on, three times the light went out. . .and I realized what I was reading, was the message I needed, for the crisis I was in that year, in 1985.

God has the answers, He is the proof, He is listening, and there is not anything in the world, that is not addressed in His Word.

I had to laugh, in the darkness, when I knew, He had heard my prayer for help in a family squabble, that ended up dividing our family, and me going back to work. I knew he cared for our family, all of us, and going back to work, was something I could do. . . and my husband became Mr. Mom, and he would watch our sons. . . He was delighted with the solution, as he too serached for a job.

Though I read and reread these morning words, it never ceases to amaze me that I need to hear them again and again. I share my studies because it blesses me to find words that speak to my soul.

Have a good day, and be prepared like Noah, to get into the Ark, to be safe in His love, as we sail out on the seas of life, each day!

We Enroll In The School of Christ, All Who Are Weary of Sin. . .

REJOICE? Because demons obeyed them? No, But rejoice because their names Jesus says, “their names are written in heaven.”

The Return of the Seventy-Two
Luk 10:17  And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. 
Luk 10:18  And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 
Luk 10:19  Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 
Luk 10:20  Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. 
Jesus Rejoices in the Father’s Will
Luk 10:21  In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. 
Luk 10:22  All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. 
Luk 10:23  And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: 
Luk 10:24  For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. 

Promises to All Who Keep God’s Law of Love: We Shall Not Be Covetous

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wfe, not his manservant, not his maidservant, nor his ox, not his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbors.” Exodus 20:17

“The last commandment condemns covetousness. Every selfish desire,every degree of discontent, every act of overreaching, every selfish gratification works to the strengthening and developing of a character which will destroy the Christlikeness of the human agent, and close the gates of the city of God against him.

“When. . . angles come to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation, and witness the exhibition of selfishness, of covetousness, of overreaching, and benefiting self at others’ disadvantage, they turn away in grief. . . . In no way could the Lord be better glorified and the truth more highly honored, than for unbelievers to see that the truth has wrought a great and good work upon the lives of naturally covetous and penurious men. If it could be seen that the faith of such had the influence to mold their characters, to change them from close, selfish, overreaching, money-loving men, to men who love to do good, who seek opportunities to use their means to bless those who need to be blessed, who visit the widow and fatherless in their affliction, and who keep themselves unspotted from the world, it would be evidence that their religion was genuine. . . . Those who profess to be waiting and watching for the appearing of their Lord should not disgrace their profession by bantering in deal and standing for the last penny. Such fruit does not grow upon the Christian tree.

“The tenth commandment strikes at the very root of all sins, prohibiting the selfish desire, from which springs the sinful act. He who in obedience to God’s law refrains from indulging even a sinful desire for that which belongs to another, will not be guilty of an act of wrong toward his fellow creatures.”

Sons and Daughters of God, by Ellen White, p. 65, for February 28, 2023.

May God Bless You, and Keep you under His Wings…like a Mother hen. . . taking care of her chicks!

Farmers tend to understand life, by observing their livestock, pets, and fowls. Nature shows a Mother Hen, to gather her children, when it begins to rain…under her feathers. Her natural instincts, show how the chick, might “look up” and drown by getting rain in their nose…

This also shows how “words” change, even writing the word “chicks” can mean something else, to someone who isn’t in the habit of knowing the difference between hens and roosters.

Words change, and mean different things to different people. . . . but God’s WORD, continues to be light in the darkness. . . and we see it in the friendly smile of friends. . . . knowing we can trust them.

A sign along a farm, I saw today, read, “Love you neighbors as God loves you.” God loves you like His sons and daughters, He cares, He hears your prayers, like my daddy did when he knelt down with us by our bed at night to say our prayers.

For some praying, is like talking to God, and He already knows what I need before I pray. . . . He knows my thoughts, my dreams, and I can’t tell Him something He doesn’t already know….because He loves me, and He loves you too!

Jesus is the kind of friend, who would lay His life down for you!

We Shall Not Lie, or Bear False Witness

Who stands outside your door, knocking, wishing to come in?

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” Exodus 20:16

“The nineth commandment requires of us an inviolable regard for exact truth in every declaration by which the character of our fellow men may be affected. The tongue, which is kept so little under the control of the human agent, is to be bridled by strong conscientious principles, by the law of love toward God and man.

“False-speaking in any matter, every attempt or purpose to deceive our neighbor, is here included. An intention to deceive is what constitues falsehood. By a glance of the eye, a motion of the hand, an expression of the countenance, a falsehood may be told as effectually as by words. All intentional overstatement, every hint or insinuation calculated to convey and erroneous or exaggerated impression, even the statement of facts in such a manner as to mislead, is falsehoood. This precept forbids every effort to injure our neighbor’s reputation by misrepresentation or evil surmings, by slander or tale-bearing. Even the intentional suppression of truth, by which injury may result to others is a violation of the ninth commandment.

“He [Jesus] teaches that the exact truth should be the law of speech. “Let your speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay.” . . .These words condemn all those meaningless phrases and expletives that border on profanity. They condemn the deceptive compliments, the evasion of truth, the flattering pharses, the exaggerations, the misrepresentations in trade, that are current in society and in the business world. They teach that no one wo tries to appear what he is not, or whose words do not convey the real sentiment of his heart, can be called truthful . . .

“Everything that Christians do should be as transparent as the sunlight. Truth is of God; deception, in every one of its myriad forms, is of Satan. . . . We can not speak the truth unless our minds are continually guided by Him who is truth.”

Sons and Daughters of God, by Ellen White, page 64, for February 26, 2023